November 9, 2007

English 10P
Finish Ch. 10 Secret Life of Bees

English 10HP
Read Ch. 1 and 2 Grendel
Question paper ~ 2 pages written or 1 page typed
Description of a Question Paper

1. What is a question paper?

It is a kind of rough writing, which permits the writer to think freely on the paper. It is based on the premise that fruitful thinking depends above all on the willingness to ask questions. In form it is antithetical to the conventional expository essay since, instead of elucidating or arguing one position, it explores many, often conflicting positions. The question paper takes the shape of a dialogue between the writer and himself, which at best generates a freewheeling alternation of question and answer.

2. How does the question paper work?

- The writer starts with a problem: for example, a poem or chapter that he has read, but doesn’t fully understand
- He starts to write about the poem or chapter, ignoring for the moment the need for apt diction, clear syntax, or correct grammar or spelling. Instead, he concentrates on searching for a question about the poem which intrigues him. It may take him some time to come up with a good one. He may have to write down several remarks or string together a few weak questions before he discovers a question that is important to him—that is, one which he feels some stake in grappling with but for which he doesn’t have a clear answer. Usually, if this question is vital to the student, it will probe the text revealingly.
- Once he has isolated an important question, he generates several possible answers. He should deliberately refrain from seeking the answer that he believes is right or thinks someone else is looking for. It’s important then that he keep his mind as open as possible.
- After he has come up with a few possible answers, he studies them briefly to formulate another question. This question may stem from one of the answers or from the tension between two or more answers. What is important at this stage is not how neatly answer and question dovetail, but how vitally the shift from question to answer to question proceeds.
- This dialectical process can go on as long as the writer wishes. He should write quickly, keeping the current of inquiry pulsing. He should not be afraid to end openly—with a question, with a number of possible answers, or even in confusion—if no clear solution to his original problem presents itself in this first writing session.
- If the writer ends the session in the air, he can return later to extend his question paper, perhaps at this point pressing toward a conclusion to his thinking.

3. What are the purposes of the question paper?

- By encouraging the writer to pose questions rather than seeking answers, it helps her to confront those presuppositions and prejudices that impede fruitful thinking.
- By cultivating openness, it enables her to feel comfortable in an air of intellectual and psychological uncertainty and to reap the benefits of a deferred conclusion to his thinking.
- By freeing the writer from considerations of correctness, it allows her to concentrate for the moment on the movement of her thought between question and answer.