I’ve been doing tons of work to re-write old questions. You can see all of my updated questions here and, if you’re a Depth and Complexity person, you can see my Depth and Complexity re-writes here.
I’ve gotten pretty good at spotting how I can fix my bland, low-level questions. But one problem is un-fixable. That’s when a question has been written without being connected to actual content. These abstract, theoretical questions are so vague, so bland, that I can rarely do anything with them.
An example:
Describe a character or situation that changed over time.
Could there be a duller question? This is meant to apply to any situation in any story. As a result, it doesn’t fit anything particularly well. I broke this one down in more detail here.
A Bland Set of Questions
Here’s a set of so-vague-it-hurts questions I found on my old laptop:
- Tell me where you are in the book.
- Are you enjoying the book so far?
- Is there anything you don’t like?
- How do you feel about the characters?
- How do you feel about the author’s style of writing?
- Would you suggest this book to other people?
Ugh. I can’t believe I used stuff like this. These questions were not written about any particular story.
Can you imagine going to a book club for adults and asking, “How do you feel about the author’s style of writing?” No way. You’d say something specific like, “I thought Poe’s writing was too over-the-top in The Murders in the Rue Morgue. Do you agree?”
Make It Specific
Imagine a student just read The Wizard of Oz. Are you seriously going to ask them, “How do you feel about the characters?”
No way! You’d ask them things like:
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Who do you think was bravest out of Dorothy’s group?
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Why would that person disagree with you?
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If Dorothy had to leave one friend behind, who would it be?
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How would the story turn out if the group was missing that person?
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Which person in Dorothy’s group do you most identify with?
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Which person would you disagree with the most?
These questions are about The Wizard of Oz. They spring naturally from my mind as someone who has read an enjoyed the book.
I simply cannot write great questions when I don’t know what content I’m asking about! So, please, beware questions that are not connected to content.