Developing Ideas
Start by considering these questions (some may apply, while others may not be appropriate):
- Who?
- What?
- Why?
- Where?
- When?
- How?
- What are its effects?
- Can you compare it?
- Can you connect it to culture?
- Do you have any predictions?
- Do you have any suggestions?
- What’s your personal experience?
- What are your feelings about this?
- Are there exceptions?
- Can you find facts, statistics, or quotes?
- Can you provide examples?
If after looking at these questions, you still don’t have ideas, consider the categories of questions below.
Explaining a Concept
- What is it?
- Who invented it?
- Is there discussion about it, or is it generally accepted?
- How is it used or applied?
- Has it changed over the years? If yes, why and how?
Describing a Phenomenon or Situation
- What is the situation?
- Why does it happen?
- What are some effects of the situation?
- What contributes to this situation?
- Who does this apply to? Who might it not apply to?
- When might this happen?
- Where does it happen more?
- How can this be prevented?
- What are attitudes towards this situation?
Making a Prediction
- What do you predict will happen?
- Why do you think this?
- Where has this happened before? Can you compare it to another situation?
- How will it affect things?
- What are indicators that it is already starting to happen?
- What will be consequences if you are correct?
- What might prevent this from happening?
- Should we prevent it from happening, or should we encourage it?
Making Suggestions
- What are your suggestions?
- Which is most important?
- Who do they apply to the most?
- When or where are they more useful?
- Why are they beneficial/better than other options?
- How can they be implemented?
- What are common pitfalls to avoid, and how can they be avoided?
- What are common mistakes that people make?
Describing Personal Perspectives
- What are your opinions?
- Why do you have these opinions?
- Is it related to your culture?
- Is it related to your upbringing?
- Is it related to your personal ethics or perspective?
- Is it related to logic?
- Are your opinions normal or common?
- How will these opinions affect you going forward?
- How can you avoid the negative effects and encourage positive effects?
Agreeing or Disagreeing
- What points do you agree with? Disagree with?
- What are the merits and weaknesses of each point? Why?
- Are there situations where this might not apply? Describe them.
- Are some points more useful than others?
- Are some points more practical than others?
- How might you be affected by your personal biases?
- Might people in different cultures view this differently than you? Why?