Question

As you read your materials, ask yourself questions continuously. Think about the purpose of your assignment and pose questions to help guide you deeper into your reading.

Some types of questions to consider are who, what, when, where, why, how. The following are some examples:

• Who: who are the intended readers of the text? Who benefits from or is affected by the ideas presented? Who are the authors (their background, credentials)?
• What: what ideas or constructs are being explored and debated? What evidence do the authors use to support their claim?
• When: when was this text written, and how might its historical context impact the ideas?
• Where: from which locations did the researchers draw their data?
• Why: why did the researchers employ a particular approach? why is this topic important? Why did the authors use this particular evidence to support their ideas?
• How: how do the authors’ examples illustrate the points that they are trying to make? How does this text connect to other readings, theories, or events?

The questions you ask will vary from simple to complex, but it is particularly important to ask questions that will help you make connections within the reading, connections among different readings and connections with your topic.