Unlocking Your Critical Thinking and Writing Skills with Question Stems
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By Tiffany Williams (Contributor)
Question stems help you to think about what you are reading or have just read. They are guides you can use to help determine and describe an author’s style and/ or purpose. You can also use them to help you talk or write about a book or article that you have read or need to write a report about. The stems below are divided into the following categories based of the type of material (genre) you are reading. In the last section you will see a list of questions that can help you to compare two different texts.
All Genres
Beginning Readers:
- What did the author mean by the sentence “_________”?
- How does the author feel about his/her subject?
- Is the author of this story writing about a personal experience or someone else’s?
- How does the author feel about ________?
Intermediate Readers:
- What was the author’s purpose for writing this article/story?
- What text feature(s) (e.g., italics, bold words, questions, quotations, comparisons/ analogies, repetition, figurative language, and exaggeration) does the author use and how does it affect the meaning of the text?
- How does the author’s use of the word/phrase ___________ create a mood/tone for the reader?
- How does it affect the meaning of the text?
- How does the author organize the selection? Why does the author organize the information in that particular way?
- Why does the author use a particular genre (e.g., fiction v. nonfiction, nonfiction v. expository, expository v. persuasive, etc.)?
- The author uses the information in paragraphs ___, ____, and _____ to show that ________.
Advanced Readers:
- What is the most likely reason the author wrote this article/story?
- You can tell that the author wrote this article/story to___?
- What is the author’s purpose for describing _____?
- Why does the author begin or end the article/story in a particular way?
- Why does the author include a particular paragraph or paragraphs?
- How does the poet/playwright/author’s use of similes, metaphors, personification, time disruptions (flashbacks or foreshadowing) create meaning?
- Which sentence from the text best indicates, suggests, establishes, illustrates, describes, explains, expresses, supports, reflects, reveals, shows ________?
Fiction/Narrative
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Fiction/ Narrative– A made-up story that is not entirely based on facts (i.e. a novel or comic).
(Click here for an example).
- What genre did the author choose to write in?
- The author chose to title the selection ________ most likely because _______.
- Why did the author choose ________ as the setting? What effect does the
- setting have on the story’s events/ characters/ outcome?
- The author’s use of figurative language in paragraph ____ is used to
- describe/ emphasize___________.
- How does the author use dialogue to develop a particular character or the
- relationship between characters?
- How did the author use figurative language to create meaning for the reader?
- What lesson does the author want the reader to learn?
Informational
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Informational– Meant to inform the reader using verified, or verifiable, facts or reports (i.e. a news or academic article, etc.).
(Click here for an example).
- The author includes heading in bold print to _______.
- Why does the author include ________ section to the text?
- Why did the author include a caption with the picture?
- The author used bold print or italicized words to help the reader ____________.
- The author included a table, chart, or graph to help the reader________.
- What was the author’s stated purpose of this selection?
- What was the author’s implied purpose of this selection?
- What is the difference between the stated purpose of this selection and the implied purpose?
Persuasive
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Persuasive– Meant to get the reader to think or feel a particular way (i.e. an opinion essay, advertisement blog, etc.).
(Click here for an example).
- What does the author want the reader to think/ feel about _________?
- What does the author try to convince the reader to do?
- How does the author organize the text?
- What evidence does the author use to support his/ her arguments?
- How does the author try to convince the reader to think _______ about ______?
- What words or phrases does the author use to influence the reader to think as he/she does about ________?
- What is the author’s main argument?
- What form of writing did the author choose (letter, speech, advertisement, etc.)?
- Why do you think so?
Procedural
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Procedural– Meant to give instructions, or a list of material, in order to produce a particular outcome (i.e. an instruction manual, a recipe, etc.). x
(Click here for an example).
- Why did the author write the selection?
- How does the author organize the text?
- What does the author hope to accomplish by writing this letter?
- What is the author’s purpose of the beginning paragraph?
- Why does the author include a picture with the text?
- How does the author’s use of a map help the reader?
- What can the reader infer from the photograph and it’s caption?
- Why does the author include boxed information?
- How does the author’s use of procedure add to the reader’s understanding of the text?
Comparing Texts
Persuasive
- Compare advertisements form the same company in a newspaper and a magazine. How did the ad change from the paper to the magazine?
- How is the message different in the web-based news article than the e-mail message?
- How is the message in the online news article the same as the email message?
Informational
- What is significant or important about _____?
- Which of these two selections did you think you would enjoy reading most?
- Which of the two reading selections is written in a third person point of view?
- What is the major idea found in both selections?
- An idea presented in both the article and biography is_________?
- What is the theme of both selections?
Responses