Planning:
Asking the right questions
As a writer, you can begin by asking yourself
questions and then answering them. Your answers will bring your subject into
focus and provide you with the material to develop your topic. Here are twenty
questions or "thought starters" that present ways of observing or
thinking about your topic. Each question generates the type of essay listed in
parentheses after the question.
What does X mean? (Definition)
What are the various features of X? (Description)
What are the component parts of X? (Simple Analysis)
How is X made or done? (Process Analysis)
How should X be made or done? (Directional Analysis)
What is the essential function of X? (Functional
Analysis)
What are the causes of X? (Causal Analysis)
What are the consequences of X? (Causal Analysis)
What are the types of X? (Classification)
How is X like or unlike Y? (Comparison)
What is the present status of X? (Comparison)
What is the significance of X? (Interpretation)
What are the facts about X? (Reportage)
How did X happen? (Narration)
What kind of person is X?
(Characterization/Profile)
What is my personal response to X? (Reflection)
What is my memory of X? (Reminiscence)
What is the value of X? (Evaluation)
What are the essential major points or features
of X? (Summary)
What case can be made for or against X?
(Persuasion)
(Adapted
from Jacqueline Berke's Twenty Questions
for the Writer)