Using Questions to Organize

Writing academically requires you to be more reader-aware than other kinds of writing. In many kinds of writing, the author can expect the reader to put things together using clues here and there. In academic writing, however, the writer is supposed to do all the work. This means the writing should have external coherence, a clear organization that a reader can follow easily.

One of the methods you can use to keep your writing organized is to constantly switch back and forth between thinking as a writer and thinking as a reader. In other words, it is good to have a conversation with yourself. You need to provide all the information, as any good writer must; but in the reader’s shoes, you may better see how to orchestrate the presentation, signal what should come next, and make sure that the structure does not get lost in the details. The reader is similar to an interviewer. As a reader, you should ask questions to clarify what the information is really about.

Using questions and answers for planning a paper might look similar to the exercise you’re about to do. Let’s assume that you are writing a paper about “the effects of travel.” For each question below, respond with at least one sentence using your notes. Check your understanding after each response. Don’t worry if you have different answers; many responses could be correct.

1. What position are you going to take on the topic “the effects of travel”? In other words, what is your thesis?
Check Your Understanding

Sample Response:

There are many, many positions you could take on the effects of travel. The main ones would be “Travel is good for you” and “Travel is bad for you.” We are going to demonstrate this position: “Travel can make people more tolerant.” This is the thesis of our essay. Use this as the demonstration thesis in the questions that follow.

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2. Can you express the thesis in different words? (Use the demonstration thesis.)
Check Your Understanding

Sample Response:

I hope you didn’t simply answer “yes.” This question is important. You probably understand what you mean in your own writing without restating it, but your reader may not. It’s always better to be clear. Express the position in different words: “What I mean is that travel can teach us better than books, movies, or even conversations with others who have traveled. Traveling can acquaint us with people in different cultures who are happy with ways of life that we may find strange. It can teach us that the way we happen to live is not the only way or even the best way.”

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3. What reasons will support your thesis and possibly make me agree with you?
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Sample Response:

Why should someone agree? This question can’t be answered off the top of your head. In an actual paper-writing situation, you would have to do some thinking, writing, reading, and perhaps talking to decide exactly what reasons to use to support your position. For the purposes of this demonstration, we’ll use two reasons: 1) traveling makes you aware that other people’s ways of living are normal to them and 2) traveling makes it clear that your ways of living may not be normal to other people. Both of these effects of travel can make us more tolerant.

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4. Can you restate your first reason and connect it to your thesis?
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Sample Response:

At this point, we can introduce what is called an extended topic sentence. The extended topic sentence explicitly connects the reasons with the position, or thesis. Here is an example: “One reason you should agree travel makes us more tolerant is that it makes us more aware that other people see their different ways of living as normal.” This step doesn’t add anything to the content of our writing, but lets us check that the reason is actually connected to the thesis. It is also a good way to start a new paragraph.

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5. Can you restate that connection in different words?
Check your understanding

Sample Response:

Are you getting annoyed? Does it seem like we are saying everything three or four times and not really getting anywhere? Well, remember the writing-as-travel metaphor: in academic writing, clarity is more important than excitement. We are not, at this point, moving to new towns or new adventures. We are getting to know the town we are in very, very well. We are making sure that everything is clear. We are saying to a reader, “In case you didn’t understand the first time, I’m now going to say it again a different way.”

So here’s the restatement: “Tolerance has to do with seeing alternative behaviors as permissible options that we don’t have to try to change or eliminate. When you travel, you see people who behave differently but who seem to be content with their way of living life.”

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6. Can you give some examples of what you mean?
Check Your Understanding

Sample Response:

Examples and explanations are the meat and potatoes of academic writing. Examples are concrete and explanations are abstract. The best way to clarify your ideas is by going back and forth between abstract and concrete. Remember that clarity is the primary focus in academic writing. Examples will strengthen your paper and convince your readers.

For the purposes of our demonstration, we will just give two examples without developing them into paragraphs. See if these ideas are at all similar to yours:

1. People live with dirt floors in a village in Peru and are leading perfectly happy lives.

2. People in a town on the Persian Gulf sleep on the roof every night without thinking it’s strange.

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7. Why might someone disagree with you? Can you respond to these disagreements?
Check Your Understanding

Sample Response:

This is crucial in academic writing. You must be aware of counterarguments and be able to defend your own position against them. Constantly invite this opposing voice into your writing. It will dramatically improve clarity and therefore quality. For the demonstration we can say this: “Someone might think that there are plenty of people living in different ways within any community. Therefore there is no need to travel if you stay alert to the lives of people around you.” As a response to this disagreement we could say, “But although your own community is a possible source of tolerance education, travel is much more immersive. When you see people living differently in communities that support and participate in that difference, you will begin to register those differences as permissible and approvable.”

We are introducing the opposing voice at the level of reasons; it could also be included with the examples. (With example #1 from the previous question, a disagreement might be, “But how do you know that the family in Peru is happy with a dirt floor?”)

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The question sequence for a thesis-and-support essay can stay pretty much the same no matter what your topic is. Some topics may, of course, require you to adjust the sequence, but remember these three points:

1. Switching back and forth between a writer’s mind and a reader’s mind will lead to better academic writing.
2. Restating the main points in different words can improve the clarity of the essay.
3. Including an opposing voice in the writing gives you the chance to answer the questions that readers might have. Using an opposing voice is a crucial addition to your body paragraphs.