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How to ask a question in an essay (with tips and examples)

An essay question is designed to test your understanding of a given subject. It is typically framed as a statement, or series of statements, that require you to answer with an essay-length response. The purpose of asking questions in an essay is to explore ideas, concepts, and topics in greater depth, enabling you to demonstrate your knowledge and critical thinking skills.

Essay questions are often composed of several parts. The introduction sets the stage, giving the reader an overview of what’s to come. The body of the question will typically contain the main points you need to discuss in your response. Finally, the conclusion will ask for your overall thoughts on the topic and provide you with a final chance to drive home the overall argument of your essay .

Sometimes an essay question can be divided into two or more sections, each containing a separate, but related, set of instructions. This type of question requires you to break down the topic into chunks, focusing on one element at a time before connecting them together in a cohesive way.

Essay questions are a great way to show off your understanding of the material, so make sure to read the question carefully and provide thoughtful, comprehensive answers. Think about the key concepts and relationships that are being addressed and focus on the underlying message or point of the question. Doing so will ensure that you are providing the best possible answer to the essay question.

Asking the right questions can be a major factor in writing a successful essay . The goal is to craft questions that are both thoughtful and direct – questions that will help you uncover and explore the key ideas within the essay topic. Here are some tips on how to ask questions in an essay:

Focus on the Big Picture

When crafting questions, it’s important to keep the big picture in mind. Start by thinking broadly about the topic and narrowing it down to a specific question. Ask yourself, “what overall insight can I gain from this topic?” or “what relevance does this topic have to the present world?”

Use Open-ended Questions

Open-ended questions allow for more creative exploration of the topic than closed-ended questions. An open-ended question is one that requires the reader to think critically and offer more than a single answer, while closed-ended questions are ones where the reader sees only one possible answer. Examples of open-ended questions include: “What are the most important considerations to make when exploring this topic?” and “How could this topic impact future generations?”

Be Mindful of the Structure

Questions should have a clear structure and logical flow. When crafting questions, make sure that each subsequent question builds upon and expands upon the previous ones. This helps to provide a more comprehensive understanding of the topic.

Think Critically

Asking critical questions encourages deeper thinking and analysis. Questions that require the reader to reflect on the implications or consequences of their answers are especially effective. Examples of critical questions include: “What are the ethical implications of this topic?” and “How can this topic be used to better the world?”

Incorporate Problem-solving Questions

Problem-solving questions are those that challenge the reader to consider an issue from multiple points of view and to develop an appropriate solution. In addition to being interesting and thought-provoking, these types of questions also allow the reader to apply their own knowledge and skills towards solving the issue. Examples of problem-solving questions include: “What steps can be taken to reduce environmental damage?” and “What legal policies should be instituted to prevent discrimination based on gender or race?”

By following these tips, you can ensure that your questions are well-crafted and thoughtfully constructed. Asking the right questions will enable you to uncover important insights and make your essay a success!

Tip 1: Read the Prompt Carefully and Analyze Keywords

Understanding the essay prompt is key to coming up with questions that are relevant and meaningful. You should begin by carefully reading the prompt and evaluating any keywords or topics to consider. This will help you to stay focused on the task at hand and ensure that your questions address the relevant points.

It is a good idea to make a list of all the keywords in the prompt and then come up with a few questions for each keyword. This will help you to tailor your questions to the specific points of the essay and ensure that you don’t miss any important details. Additionally, make sure to focus on the main topic and try to avoid getting sidetracked by tangential topics.

Finally, it is important to remember that the essay question should be clear and concise, so you need to make sure that your questions provide an effective way to explore the topic in depth. Avoid asking too many questions that are overly general or provide little insight into the subject matter.

Tip 2: Brainstorm Ideas

Brainstorming is an important step in the essay writing process. It involves generating ideas and topics related to the essay prompt or topic. Brainstorming can help you come up with a range of possible questions related to the essay prompt, as well as the many ways those questions could be addressed.

First and foremost, it’s important to carefully read the essay prompt and analyze any keywords or key topics within the prompt. Then, think of broader topics that may relate to the prompt. For example, if the prompt is about the history of the civil rights movement in the United States, consider what specific events, people, or legislation could be included in an essay about this topic.

It can also be helpful to generate ideas related to the prompt by doing research online or by consulting additional texts. This way, you can find new facts, data, or examples that can be used when forming questions and developing arguments for your essay. Additionally, conducting research and familiarizing yourself with other essays on the same topic can help you gain a better understanding of vocabulary and sentence structure related to the prompt.

Finally, brainstorming can involve coming up with multiple questions from a single prompt. This means exploring different angles on the same topic and creating questions that can be answered in various ways. For instance, if the prompt is asking you to write an essay on the effect of the civil rights movement on public education, consider how this topic can be approached and what unique points you can make using evidence and facts.

Seeking Feedback to Ask Engaging Questions

When you are writing an essay , it is easy to get stuck on coming up with the right questions. Seeking feedback from peers or editors can be a great help in this process. Having someone else read your work can help identify areas that need improvement or need more thought. It also gives you the opportunity to get outside perspectives and develop new ideas for asking questions.

Having feedback from others can help you answer questions more effectively. It can also help you see your own essay from a different angle, helping you to come up with more engaging questions. Sometimes, even just talking about the essay idea to someone else can provide insight into the topic and help you come up with new and interesting questions.

When seeking feedback, it’s important to explain your goal: to come up with engaging questions. That way, the person reviewing your work can offer more help in that area. Additionally, it can be helpful to share any research you’ve already done, sources you’ve consulted, or any reading material you’ve found that could support your ideas.

To get the most out of feedback, it’s important to ask questions that will help you better develop your ideas. You might want to ask questions such as “What other questions could I ask to explore this topic further?” or “Are there any other points I could make to support my ideas?” Asking these types of questions will help you get the most out of the feedback and gain valuable insight into the topic.

Seeking feedback from peers and/or editors is a great way to improve your essay and come up with engaging questions. By leveraging feedback from others who are familiar with the essay topic , you can gain valuable insight, identify potential gaps in your understanding, and develop better questions. Ultimately, seeking feedback can help you write a better essay and ask questions more effectively.

Tip 4: Ask Clarifying Questions

Asking clarifying questions about the essay prompt or topic can be extremely helpful when trying to select the right question. It is important to focus on the key elements of the essay and try to understand the overall message or purpose being conveyed in the prompt. This can help guide you in finding the best question to ask in order to get the most out of your essay.

What Are Clarifying Questions?

Clarifying questions are questions that are used to help better understand a given topic or prompt. They are asked to gain a clear, concise understanding of what is being asked in the essay. For example, if the prompt for an essay was “Describe the changes that occurred in the economy during the Industrial Revolution”, a clarifying question might be “Which countries are being referenced when discussing economic changes during the Industrial Revolution?”.

How Can Asking Clarifying Questions Help?

Asking clarifying questions can help you hone in on the right question to ask in your essay. It can also help to provide context which can make it easier to craft an effective essay. Crafting the right questions before starting the actual writing of the essay can give you an advantage over other students who may not have put in the same time and effort to think through their essay topics.

Tips for Asking Clarifying Questions

When asking clarifying questions there are a few tips to keep in mind to make sure you get the necessary information from the prompt:

Be precise – use precise language that is easy to understand and doesn’t leave room for interpretation.
Ask why – don’t just ask what, but also ask why the prompt is asking what it is.
Be specific – make sure the questions you are asking directly relate to the essay prompt.

Asking clarifying questions can help you develop a deeper understanding of the essay topic and ensure that you are crafting the best question for your essay. Taking the time to ask clarifying questions will be well worth the effort as it can help you construct an engaging and effective essay.

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Tip 5: be specific.

Writing effective questions for an essay requires some thought and consideration. Asking the right question can mean getting the most comprehensive answer or uncovering significant detail. For this reason, it’s important to be specific and avoid vague descriptions when writing your questions.

The difference between a specific and a general question can be seen in the wording and detail provided. A specific question will ask for detail, analysis, and examples, while a general question will provide broad statements or multiple choice answers.

For example, let’s say you are writing an essay about the Revolutionary War. A specific question might be, “What role did African Americans play during the Revolutionary War?” This question requires more detailed research and thinking as it is specific. A general question such as, “Who fought in the Revolutionary War?” is much too broad and does not require any further thought on the matter.

When writing your question, consider what information you need to answer the prompt. A good rule of thumb is to write out a sentence that contains the main idea or point of the question and then break it down into two or three parts. Each part should ask for more detail or analysis. For instance, a more detailed question than the one above could be, “What contributions did African Americans make to the Revolutionary War effort, and how did this influence the outcome of the war?”

In addition, be sure to avoid creating questions that have no real answer. Your questions should always be able to be answered with evidence and/or research. For example, avoid questions like “Do you think the Revolutionary War was good or bad?” as there is no clear answer or evidence to back up either side.

By taking the time to create specific questions for your essay, you are ensuring that you are asking the right questions and getting the most out of the research and thought process. Being specific will also help focus your research and answer the essay prompt more efficiently.

Overall, when writing questions for an essay, you must be sure to create specific questions that ask for detailed answers and provide evidence to back them up. Avoid general questions and questions that can’t be answered with evidence or research. With practice and careful consideration, you will be well on your way to creating specific and effective essay questions.

Tip 6: Avoid Vague Descriptions

When asking questions in an essay, it’s important to avoid making statements that are too vague. Vague descriptions can easily lead to confusion and may cause the reader to misinterpret the intention of the question.

By avoiding vague descriptions, you can ensure that your essay is clear and concise. This will also make it easier for readers to understand the message that you are trying to convey.

Vague descriptions generally contain words or phrases that have unclear meaning. These may include words such as “many”, “some” or “most”, as well as phrases like “it varies”. It’s important to avoid these types of words and phrases when asking a question in an essay .

In some cases, you may need to use a vague description. In these cases, it’s important to provide additional context so that the reader can interpret the intention of the question. You can do this by providing specific examples or additional details about the topic.

For example, if you wanted to ask how technology has changed our lives, you could provide an example of a specific type of technology and ask how it has impacted our lives. This would provide clarity on the exact question that you are asking and make it easier for the reader to understand.

Overall, avoiding vague descriptions is essential when asking questions in an essay. This will help ensure that your questions are clear, concise and easy to understand. Additionally, provide additional context and examples if you do need to use a vague description. This will make it easier for readers to interpret the message of the question and understand the point that you are trying to make.

Examples of Good Questions to Ask in an Essay

Asking the right question can make all the difference when writing an essay. A good question will do more than just state a fact—it will help you to explore an idea, argue a point, or provide insight. That’s why it’s important to understand what makes a good question.

When asking a question in an essay, it should be direct, pointed and relevant to the topic. Here are few examples of good questions to ask in an essay:

What is the historical context of this issue?
How does this argument fit into current debates on the topic?
What are the implications of this argument for future research?
What do other scholars have to say about this issue?

When using example-based questions, it’s important to make sure that the example is relevant to the subject and that the question being asked isn’t too broad or difficult to answer. Here are some examples of good example-based questions:

How did John F. Kennedy’s speech on civil rights inform current policy debates?
What impact did the invention of the printing press have on the spread of literacy?
What role did the French Revolution play in the development of modern democracy?
What are the implications of the Eurozone crisis for economic growth in Europe?

These types of questions encourage deeper exploration of a topic and can help you to develop a more nuanced argument. Remember to always focus on asking relevant questions that are directly related to the essay prompt.

Conclusion:

Writing an essay is a great way to answer questions, express your opinion, and tell a story. It’s important to make sure you ask the right questions in your essay. A good rule of thumb is to ask yourself what you are trying to get out of this essay. Will it help you prove a point? Explain something? Move the reader’s understanding along? If you can answer these questions, you’ll be better prepared to pick the best questions for your essay.

Here are some key takeaway points to remember when asking questions in an essay:

Read the prompt carefully and analyze keywords.
Brainstorm ideas and develop multiple questions from one prompt.
Seek feedback from peers and/or editors to refine your thoughts.
Ask clarifying questions to help guide your question selection.
Be specific when asking questions.
Avoid vague descriptions.

By following these tips, you’ll be able to easily identify the right questions to ask in any essay. Asking the right questions will help you get clear answers and move the conversation forward. This will ultimately help you write a better essay that expresses your thoughts more effectively.

Making sure you reference the sources of information that you use in your essay is important for acknowledging the work of others and also for avoiding plagiarism. Including references in your essay can help to support your arguments, add credibility and make your writing more compelling.

When writing an essay, it is important to look for outside sources of information or data that backs up your argument, but always make sure to cite them properly. You should include a list of references at the end of your essay, providing details such as the authors’ names, the year the source was published, and the title of the source.

When formatting your reference list, check with your teacher or professor to find out if there is a preferred style, such as MLA or APA. The format may vary depending on the type of sources you used. For example, books require different information than online sources.

For books: author name(s), title, edition number, publisher name, place of publication, date of publication.
For articles: author name(s), title of article, name of magazine or journal, volume and issue number, page numbers, date of publication.
For websites: author name(s) (if available), title of page/article, website name, web address, date of publication or last update.

It is good practice to cross-check your reference list with the in-text citations that you have used throughout your essay. Make sure the two match up. If you have any doubt about whether something should be referenced, it’s best to include it. It is also important to keep track of all information used in your research, so you can easily create a comprehensive list of references.

Last Edit 01 MAY 2023

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Nick's article, featured in Routledge's " Entrepreneurship in Central and Eastern Europe: Development through Internationalization ," highlights his sharp insights and unwavering dedication to advancing the educational landscape. Inspired by his personal motto, "Make education better," Nick's mission is to streamline students' lives and foster efficient learning. His inventive ideas and leadership have contributed to the transformation of numerous educational experiences, distinguishing him as a true innovator in his field.

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Can you ask Questions in an Essay? How to Blend them Well

How to Blend Questions in Your Essay

Sometimes when writing an essay, you might have a point or an argument that is best presented through a simple or rhetorical question. In this post, we explore questions that can be asked in essays. We expound on the tips to follow when asking questions in an essay and how to do it.

For those who would need personalized help writing essays with questions, we have a team of expert essay writers who can guide you further or even write the whole assignment for you. Just check out that page. However, read on if you want to handle it yourself.

You must provide a satisfactory answer whenever you ask questions in an essay. If you cannot answer it, you must explain why the question cannot be resolved effectively.

Can you ask Questions in an essay?

In academic writing, it is preferable to specify your research question as you start your paper and address it in the conclusion.

The question should not be so dramatic to spark interest among readers.

The question should be specific and as simply answerable as possible. The questions you consider using in your research should not in any way confuse readers.

Ideally, you can ask questions in an essay, provided they are relevant and add value to the arguments of a paragraph.

A question in an essay should always contribute something substantial to the arguments you make in the essay. Questions should not bring idle speculations that may drop the essay’s tone.

Questions are often very debatable and may change with time. Therefore, be sure of the questions you will use. This will help you put across clear and genuine arguments about the question.

As long as you can defend your argument, your critics will have to accept your points even if they are unconventional.

Questions that are not supported by strong existing debates and are mainly set up with the thought of pulling them down, later on, should be followed by a caution. This keeps you safe from attacks of those who may wish to fault your arguments.

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How to format a question in an essay?

According to the MLA writing format, questions in essays should be formatted as follows:

Use a colon to precede single questions that are contained in a sentence. This is done only if the word that comes before the question is not a verb. Capital letters should be used to start the questions.

Direct questions that are long with internal punctuations that are contained in a sentence should begin with a capital letter and set off with a comma.

Incorporating questions in sentences should be done correctly to avoid errors that can distort the information in a question.

For questions incorporated in series in sentences, lowercase letters should be used to begin the questions.

These questions in the series are not capitalized because they do not begin with proper nouns and are incomplete.

Complete questions should always start with a capital letter and end with a question mark.

Questions in the APA format are to be formatted as APA requires. This includes using the size 12 Times New Roman font, double-spacing the text, and using one-inch margins.

For question-and-answer essays, use numerals followed by periods to show the position of the question. Hit enter to write the answer and hit enter again after the answer to write the next question.

There is no need to differentiate the answer and the question, for example, by making the question bold.

Can you Start or End an Essay with a question?

You can start your essay with a question. Questions have proved to be a good method of getting readers hooked to your essay. They place the reader in doubt.

The reader is likely to mull over the issue rather than have their thoughts contradicted. Questions at the beginning of the essay also let the readers think about the issues discussed in the essay.

This keeps them involved as they go through the paper as well as gives you a nice opportunity to use a different angle to answer the question.

Questions also can excellently introduce striking news. Questions starting an essay should be related to the concept you are writing about.

The questions should be answered in the introduction part. The answer forms the thesis of your essay.

As long as it is used effectively, ending your essay with a question is not wrong. Questions can be used to involve readers and have their say on the topic discussed in the essay.

The question at the end of the essay should reflect on the issues discussed in the essay.

Ways of Ending an Essay with a Question

Concluding your essay can be effective in the following ways:

Questions usually make further discussions possible. Readers can start a discussion and explore more on questions asked at the end of essays.
Readers will always think and talk about essays that end with questions. They will always try to answer the question posed.
It is easy for readers to connect and relate with your essay through questions used to end essays because they make the essay more intriguing.
The questions also bring the reader close to your essay and can earn you some extra credit.
Choosing a question that relates to your essay helps you easily summarize the ideas you included in your essay and understand them clearly. Readers also are likely to familiarize themselves with the whole concept.
When you need a reader to remember your essay, using a question to end your essay is one of the perfect strategies. Finishing your essay with a question is a unique element that can help your essay stand out.

Can you use Rhetorical Questions in Academic Writing?

Rhetorical questions have no room in academic writing. Rhetorical questions are not in the third person as academic writing should be.

They are in first-person, which is a big error in academic writing. Academic writing needs to be direct to the point, and there should be no room for posting questions, causing uncertainty, or entertaining the reader.

Suspense is also not allowed in academic writing. This makes the use of rhetorical questions unacceptable in academic writing.

Academic writing should always be informative and is not a form of creative writing.

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How to ask a rhetorical question in essays.

Rhetorical questions in essays can be asked in the following circumstances. When emphasizing a point, rhetorical questions can be used after statements to drive the message home.

Example: Almost 100 million is lost every year in government sponsorships. How much more will we lose in the name of support?

In persuasive essays, rhetorical questions are used to evoke emotions in readers. By managing to do so your essay can be regarded as effective. Example: Isn’t everyone a sinner?

The most important reason rhetorical questions are used in essays is that they serve as the best hooks to grab the reader’s attention. The reader can predict where you are headed in the essay. Example: What is the world without feminists?

Rhetorical questions can be used to bring about a smooth transition in an essay. You can pose a question to emphasize, conclude, or introduce a point.

This is usually a hard skill to master. Example: Do you know that corruption is the main form of misuse of funds? 20% of the national budget was lost to corruption in the previous financial year .

How to Introduce a Question in an Essay?

To introduce an essay with a question, you have to know what you will talk about in the essay. This helps you use a question that fits your essay’s words. Questions that appear in between the essay should connect well with your content.

Always have correct answers to the questions you want to introduce in your essay. The questions should make the readers doubt their knowledge of that particular area.

This can include a question with facts and striking facts about the topic involved. You can learn more about writing good essays by reading our blog on how to write good paragraphs for essays and papers.

Also, check whether you can italicize essays and essay titles to get another perspective on essay writing and different ways of formulating titles.

With over 10 years in academia and academic assistance, Alicia Smart is the epitome of excellence in the writing industry. She is our managing editor and is in charge of the writing operations at Grade Bees.

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About the Author Stephanie Allen read Classics and English at St Hugh’s College, Oxford, and is currently researching a PhD in Early Modern Academic Drama at the University of Fribourg.

We’ve all been there. You’ve handed in an essay and you think it’s pretty great: it shows off all your best ideas, and contains points you’re sure no one else will have thought of.

You’re not totally convinced that what you’ve written is relevant to the title you were given – but it’s inventive, original and good. In fact, it might be better than anything that would have responded to the question. But your essay isn’t met with the lavish praise you expected. When it’s tossed back onto your desk, there are huge chunks scored through with red pen, crawling with annotations like little red fire ants: ‘IRRELEVANT’; ‘A bit of a tangent!’; ‘???’; and, right next to your best, most impressive killer point: ‘Right… so?’. The grade your teacher has scrawled at the end is nowhere near what your essay deserves. In fact, it’s pretty average. And the comment at the bottom reads something like, ‘Some good ideas, but you didn’t answer the question!’.

If this has ever happened to you (and it has happened to me, a lot), you’ll know how deeply frustrating it is – and how unfair it can seem. This might just be me, but the exhausting process of researching, having ideas, planning, writing and re-reading makes me steadily more attached to the ideas I have, and the things I’ve managed to put on the page. Each time I scroll back through what I’ve written, or planned, so far, I become steadily more convinced of its brilliance. What started off as a scribbled note in the margin, something extra to think about or to pop in if it could be made to fit the argument, sometimes comes to be backbone of a whole essay – so, when a tutor tells me my inspired paragraph about Ted Hughes’s interpretation of mythology isn’t relevant to my essay on Keats, I fail to see why. Or even if I can see why, the thought of taking it out is wrenching. Who cares if it’s a bit off-topic? It should make my essay stand out, if anything! And an examiner would probably be happy not to read yet another answer that makes exactly the same points. If you recognise yourself in the above, there are two crucial things to realise. The first is that something has to change: because doing well in high school exam or coursework essays is almost totally dependent on being able to pin down and organise lots of ideas so that an examiner can see that they convincingly answer a question. And it’s a real shame to work hard on something, have good ideas, and not get the marks you deserve. Writing a top essay is a very particular and actually quite simple challenge. It’s not actually that important how original you are, how compelling your writing is, how many ideas you get down, or how beautifully you can express yourself (though of course, all these things do have their rightful place). What you’re doing, essentially, is using a limited amount of time and knowledge to really answer a question. It sounds obvious, but a good essay should have the title or question as its focus the whole way through . It should answer it ten times over – in every single paragraph, with every fact or figure. Treat your reader (whether it’s your class teacher or an external examiner) like a child who can’t do any interpretive work of their own; imagine yourself leading them through your essay by the hand, pointing out that you’ve answered the question here , and here , and here. Now, this is all very well, I imagine you objecting, and much easier said than done. But never fear! Structuring an essay that knocks a question on the head is something you can learn to do in a couple of easy steps. In the next few hundred words, I’m going to share with you what I’ve learned through endless, mindless crossings-out, rewordings, rewritings and rethinkings.

Top tips and golden rules

I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been told to ‘write the question at the top of every new page’- but for some reason, that trick simply doesn’t work for me. If it doesn’t work for you either, use this three-part process to allow the question to structure your essay:

1) Work out exactly what you’re being asked

It sounds really obvious, but lots of students have trouble answering questions because they don’t take time to figure out exactly what they’re expected to do – instead, they skim-read and then write the essay they want to write. Sussing out a question is a two-part process, and the first part is easy. It means looking at the directions the question provides as to what sort of essay you’re going to write. I call these ‘command phrases’ and will go into more detail about what they mean below. The second part involves identifying key words and phrases.

2) Be as explicit as possible

Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you’ve made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material – but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don’t quite impress how relevant those points are. Again, I’ll talk about how you can do this below.

3) Be brutally honest with yourself about whether a point is relevant before you write it.

It doesn’t matter how impressive, original or interesting it is. It doesn’t matter if you’re panicking, and you can’t think of any points that do answer the question. If a point isn’t relevant, don’t bother with it. It’s a waste of time, and might actually work against you- if you put tangential material in an essay, your reader will struggle to follow the thread of your argument, and lose focus on your really good points.

Put it into action: Step One

Let’s imagine you’re writing an English essay about the role and importance of the three witches in Macbeth . You’re thinking about the different ways in which Shakespeare imagines and presents the witches, how they influence the action of the tragedy, and perhaps the extent to which we’re supposed to believe in them (stay with me – you don’t have to know a single thing about Shakespeare or Macbeth to understand this bit!). Now, you’ll probably have a few good ideas on this topic – and whatever essay you write, you’ll most likely use much of the same material. However, the detail of the phrasing of the question will significantly affect the way you write your essay. You would draw on similar material to address the following questions: Discuss Shakespeare’s representation of the three witches in Macbeth . How does Shakespeare figure the supernatural in Macbeth ? To what extent are the three witches responsible for Macbeth’s tragic downfall? Evaluate the importance of the three witches in bringing about Macbeth’s ruin. Are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? “Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, there is profound ambiguity about the actual significance and power of their malevolent intervention” (Stephen Greenblatt). Discuss. I’ve organised the examples into three groups, exemplifying the different types of questions you might have to answer in an exam. The first group are pretty open-ended: ‘discuss’- and ‘how’-questions leave you room to set the scope of the essay. You can decide what the focus should be. Beware, though – this doesn’t mean you don’t need a sturdy structure, or a clear argument, both of which should always be present in an essay. The second group are asking you to evaluate, constructing an argument that decides whether, and how far something is true. Good examples of hypotheses (which your essay would set out to prove) for these questions are:

The witches are the most important cause of tragic action in Macbeth.
The witches are partially, but not entirely responsible for Macbeth’s downfall, alongside Macbeth’s unbridled ambition, and that of his wife.
We are not supposed to believe the witches: they are a product of Macbeth’s psyche, and his downfall is his own doing.
The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is shaky – finally, their ambiguity is part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. (N.B. It’s fine to conclude that a question can’t be answered in black and white, certain terms – as long as you have a firm structure, and keep referring back to it throughout the essay).

The final question asks you to respond to a quotation. Students tend to find these sorts of questions the most difficult to answer, but once you’ve got the hang of them I think the title does most of the work for you – often implicitly providing you with a structure for your essay. The first step is breaking down the quotation into its constituent parts- the different things it says. I use brackets: ( Within Macbeth ’s representation of the witches, ) ( there is profound ambiguity ) about the ( actual significance ) ( and power ) of ( their malevolent intervention ) Examiners have a nasty habit of picking the most bewildering and terrifying-sounding quotations: but once you break them down, they’re often asking for something very simple. This quotation, for example, is asking exactly the same thing as the other questions. The trick here is making sure you respond to all the different parts. You want to make sure you discuss the following:

Do you agree that the status of the witches’ ‘malevolent intervention’ is ambiguous?
What is its significance?
How powerful is it?

Step Two: Plan

Having worked out exactly what the question is asking, write out a plan (which should be very detailed in a coursework essay, but doesn’t have to be more than a few lines long in an exam context) of the material you’ll use in each paragraph. Make sure your plan contains a sentence at the end of each point about how that point will answer the question. A point from my plan for one of the topics above might look something like this:

To what extent are we supposed to believe in the three witches in Macbeth ? Hypothesis: The witches’ role in Macbeth’s downfall is deliberately unclear. Their claim to reality is uncertain – finally, they’re part of an uncertain tragic universe and the great illusion of the theatre. Para.1: Context At the time Shakespeare wrote Macbeth , there were many examples of people being burned or drowned as witches There were also people who claimed to be able to exorcise evil demons from people who were ‘possessed’. Catholic Christianity leaves much room for the supernatural to exist This suggests that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might, more readily than a modern one, have believed that witches were a real phenomenon and did exist.

My final sentence (highlighted in red) shows how the material discussed in the paragraph answers the question. Writing this out at the planning stage, in addition to clarifying your ideas, is a great test of whether a point is relevant: if you struggle to write the sentence, and make the connection to the question and larger argument, you might have gone off-topic.

Step Three: Paragraph beginnings and endings

The final step to making sure you pick up all the possible marks for ‘answering the question’ in an essay is ensuring that you make it explicit how your material does so. This bit relies upon getting the beginnings and endings of paragraphs just right. To reiterate what I said above, treat your reader like a child: tell them what you’re going to say; tell them how it answers the question; say it, and then tell them how you’ve answered the question. This need not feel clumsy, awkward or repetitive. The first sentence of each new paragraph or point should, without giving too much of your conclusion away, establish what you’re going to discuss, and how it answers the question. The opening sentence from the paragraph I planned above might go something like this:

Early modern political and religious contexts suggest that Shakespeare’s contemporary audience might more readily have believed in witches than his modern readers.

The sentence establishes that I’m going to discuss Jacobean religion and witch-burnings, and also what I’m going to use those contexts to show. I’d then slot in all my facts and examples in the middle of the paragraph. The final sentence (or few sentences) should be strong and decisive, making a clear connection to the question you’ve been asked:

Contemporary suspicion that witches did exist, testified to by witch-hunts and exorcisms, is crucial to our understanding of the witches in Macbeth. To the early modern consciousness, witches were a distinctly real and dangerous possibility – and the witches in the play would have seemed all-the-more potent and terrifying as a result.

Step Four: Practice makes perfect

The best way to get really good at making sure you always ‘answer the question’ is to write essay plans rather than whole pieces. Set aside a few hours, choose a couple of essay questions from past papers, and for each:

Write a hypothesis
Write a rough plan of what each paragraph will contain
Write out the first and last sentence of each paragraph

You can get your teacher, or a friend, to look through your plans and give you feedback. If you follow this advice, fingers crossed, next time you hand in an essay, it’ll be free from red-inked comments about irrelevance, and instead showered with praise for the precision with which you handled the topic, and how intently you focused on answering the question. It can seem depressing when your perfect question is just a minor tangent from the question you were actually asked, but trust me – high praise and good marks are all found in answering the question in front of you, not the one you would have liked to see. Teachers do choose the questions they set you with some care, after all; chances are the question you were set is the more illuminating and rewarding one as well.

Image credits: banner ; Keats ; Macbeth ; James I ; witches .

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The Writing Guide

The First Thing
Step 1: Understanding the essay question

Identify task, content & limiting words in the essay question

Words, words, words..., academic writing webinar part 1.

Step 2: Critical note-taking
Step 3: Planning your assignment
Step 4a: Effective writing
Step 4b: Summarizing & paraphrasing
Step 4c: Academic language
Step 5: Editing and reviewing
Getting started with research
Working with keywords
Evaluating sources
Research file
Reading Smarter
Sample Essay
What, why, where, when, who?
Referencing styles
Writing Resources
Exams and Essay Questions

Essay topics contain key words that explain what information is required and how it is to be presented. Using the essay question below indentify task content & limiting words. Regardless of your topic or discipline, if you can identify these words in your essay topic, you can begin to consider what you will need to do to answer the question.

Task words : These are words that tell you what to do, for example “compare”, “discuss”, “critically evaluate”, “explain” etc.

Content words : These words in the essay topic will tell you which ideas and concepts should form the knowledge base of the assignment. Refer to subject specific dictionary or glossary.

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays. Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.

Before you scroll down to the next box, what can you unpack from this topic? What are you actually going to look for in a search tool like One Search? What are you supposed to do?

Content Words
Limiting Words
Context Words

Task words are usually verbs and they tell you what to do to complete your assignment.

You need to identify these words, because you will need to follow these instructions to pass the assignment. As you research and write your assignment, check these words occasionally to make sure you are still doing what you have been asked to do.

Here are some definitions of different academic task words. Make sure you know exactly what you need to do for your assignment.

Don't try to use them in your research - they aren't things to find, only things to do.

The task words from our sample question are:

Discuss means to "consider and offer an interpretation or evaluation of something; or give a judgment on the value of arguments for and against something"
Examine means to inspect something in detail and investigate the implications

So, you would need to give a short description of what essay writing is all about, and then offer an evaluation of the essay structure and the way it presents content.

Task Words Here are some definitions of different academic task words. Make sure you know exactly what you need to do for your assignment.

The content words are the "meat" of the question - these are things you can research.

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays . Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content .

You will often be asked to talk about "the role" something plays or "processes", "importance", "methods" or "implementations" - but you can't really research these things just by looking for those words.

You need to find the keywords - the most concrete concepts - and search for those. The information you find about the concrete terms will tell you about the "roles" and "methods", the "process" or the "importance", but they probably won't use those words exactly.

One of the core skills of academic research is learning to extrapolate : to find the connections in the information you can find that will help you answer the questions which don't have clear, cut-and-dry answers in the books and articles.

So, the core keywords/concepts to research are:

"academic writing"
"higher education"
structure and content

Limiting words keep you focused on a particular area, and stop you from trying to research everything in the history of mankind.

They could limit you by:

Time (you may be asked to focus on the last 5 years, or the late 20th Century, for example)
Place (you may be asked to focus on Australia, or Queensland, or South-East Asia)
People groups (such as "women over the age of 50" or "people from low socio-economic backgrounds" or "Australians of Asian descent")
Extent (you are only to look at a particular area, or the details you believe are most relevant or appropriate).

In this example, you have two limits:

"higher education" is the industry focus. This could be expanded to include the tertiary or university sector.
Essays - we are concentrating on essay writing as the aspect of communication. Note that this is also a content word. There can be (and usually is) some crossover.

Sometimes it can help to add your own limits . With health sciences, you almost always limit your research to the last five or six years. Social sciences are not as strict with the date range but it's still a good idea to keep it recent. You could specifically look at the Australian context. You may decide to focus on the private sector within that industry.

With the question above you could limit yourself to only looking at first year university students.

Sometimes an assignment task will give you phrases or sentences that aren't part of the task at all: they exist to give you some context .

These can be ignored when you do your research, but you should read over them occasionally as you are writing your assignment. They help you know what the lecturer was thinking about (and wanted you to think about) when they set that task.

Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays . Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.

You don't have to do anything with the first sentence of this question - but it does get you to think specifically about the "using essays to communicate knoweldge" - something that isn't mentioned in the task itself.

Obviously, whoever wrote the task wants you to think about the assignments as a form of writing and communication.

It is easy to get distracted and go off on tangents when doing your research . Use the context words to help you keep your focus where it should be.

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Next: Step 2: Critical note-taking >>
Last Updated: Jul 12, 2024 4:02 PM
URL: https://libguides.jcu.edu.au/writing

A strong analytical question

speaks to a genuine dilemma presented by your sources . In other words, the question focuses on a real confusion, problem, ambiguity, or gray area, about which readers will conceivably have different reactions, opinions, or ideas.
yields an answer that is not obvious . If you ask, "What did this author say about this topic?” there’s nothing to explore because any reader of that text would answer that question in the same way. But if you ask, “how can we reconcile point A and point B in this text,” readers will want to see how you solve that inconsistency in your essay.
suggests an answer complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of discussion. If the question is too vague, it won't suggest a line of argument. The question should elicit reflection and argument rather than summary or description.
can be explored using the sources you have available for the assignment , rather than by generalizations or by research beyond the scope of your assignment.

How to come up with an analytical question

One useful starting point when you’re trying to identify an analytical question is to look for points of tension in your sources, either within one source or among sources. It can be helpful to think of those points of tension as the moments where you need to stop and think before you can move forward. Here are some examples of where you may find points of tension:

You may read a published view that doesn’t seem convincing to you, and you may want to ask a question about what’s missing or about how the evidence might be reconsidered.
You may notice an inconsistency, gap, or ambiguity in the evidence, and you may want to explore how that changes your understanding of something.
You may identify an unexpected wrinkle that you think deserves more attention, and you may want to ask a question about it.
You may notice an unexpected conclusion that you think doesn’t quite add up, and you may want to ask how the authors of a source reached that conclusion.
You may identify a controversy that you think needs to be addressed, and you may want to ask a question about how it might be resolved.
You may notice a problem that you think has been ignored, and you may want to try to solve it or consider why it has been ignored.
You may encounter a piece of evidence that you think warrants a closer look, and you may raise questions about it.

Once you’ve identified a point of tension and raised a question about it, you will try to answer that question in your essay. Your main idea or claim in answer to that question will be your thesis.

point of tension --> analytical question --> thesis

"How" and "why" questions generally require more analysis than "who/ what/when/where” questions.
Good analytical questions can highlight patterns/connections, or contradictions/dilemmas/problems.
Good analytical questions establish the scope of an argument, allowing you to focus on a manageable part of a broad topic or a collection of sources.
Good analytical questions can also address implications or consequences of your analysis.
picture_as_pdf Asking Analytical Questions

To answer an essay question (EQ), students must assess the purpose of the essay question: factual recall, analysis (explanation of relationships) synthesis (application/transfer of previously learned principles) opinion

How much information to include, repeat, restate (intro needed? details needed?).

The chart below outlines 4 main types of essay questions, the verbs/cues that indicate the type of essay question and its purpose, and the strategy to be used to answer it.


		è Restate or summarize from your notes.
	(Main ideas and Major supporting points)	è explain in detail, based on the information in a lecture or reading è è use Cause/Effect; (C/E) è use Comparison/Contrast (C/C)
		è transfer the principles or material learned in class to another example or situation (synthesis /“think”-question)
		è State your opinion and it with examples and/or supporting points by referring to information from a lecture or reading.

Read the questions very carefully at least 2 or 3 times. Circle the main verb (= action verb/imperative) in the question and decide on the necessary rhetorical strategy for answering the question (cause-effect, comparison-contrast, definition, classification, problem-solution). Make sure you understand what type of answer the main verb calls for (a diagram a summary, details, an analysis, an evaluation). Circle all the keywords in the question. Decide if you need to write a 1-paragraph or a multi-paragraph answer. Write a brief outline of all the points you want to mention in your answer. Restate the question and answer it with a topic sentence (for a 1-paragraph answer) or a thesis statement (for a multi-paragraph answer). Answer the question according to general rules of academic writing. Use indentations; begin each paragraph with a topic sentence; support the topic sentence(s) with reasons and/or examples; use transition words to show logical organization; write a conclusion. Use correct punctuation throughout. Read over your answer again and check if all the main ideas have been included. Check your answer for grammar and punctuation.

How to write good Essay Questions

Essay questions - you either love them or you hate them. There is no in between! These require written responses, which can consist of a few short paragraphs to thousands of words.

Also known as: long answer, open ended, subjective

Use Essay Questions to Assess:

Comprehension of material learned
Writing skills
User's ability to organize facts and ideas
Problem Solving

Question Usage Ideas:

Gain Feedback
Gather information
Comparison of two items

Advantages of Essay Questions:

Test takers can elaborate and provide detailed answers
Test takers are not able to guess and select an answer
Can review individualized responses from each user
Can be used for all types of subjects
Takes less time to create questions

Disadvantages of Essay Questions:

Takes longer to grade on paper
Graded manually online
Take longer to answer
Can be graded unfairly
Questions can be read differently resulting in not being able to answer correctly
Will not cover as much varied content in a Test as other question types
A user's writing skills could affect what they are trying to express

Tips for creating Essay Questions

Only add a few essay questions per Test
Keep essay questions per Test specific to one or two topics
Ask the question in your own words
Leave opinions at home when grading
Inform users ahead of time of how grading will be completed
Provide customized feedback per student
Make the question clear
Use directives such as “Compare”, “Identify”, “Explain”, “Describe”, “Define”
Show the points an essay questions is worth.
Provide instructions on how in depth and detailed you want in an answer.

Become a ClassMarker Guru: Pro Tips

Essay Question Features in ClassMarker.com

You're a Pro if You Know:

After grading essay Questions, Test scores will be automatically adjusted
You can add custom feedback for both correct/incorrect answers
How to give individualized feedback per essay question per user
Essay Questions are manually graded

Explore history
Learn skills
For teachers
Research skills
Clarify the language

Types of questions

Essay limits
Plan your essay
Using quotes
The writing process
The editing process
Bibliographies
Study skills

Quotation + Discuss' questions

One of the most common types of essay question is a direct quotation followed by a general task word or phrase like ‘Discuss' or ‘To what extent do you agree?'.

When answering these questions, the most important thing is to work out your argument – what you think about the ideas in the quotation. Are they right, or wrong? Is there more than one side to the issue? This type of question lets you argue both sides of an argument, as long as you still come to a clear conclusion.

'Double-barrelled' questions

‘Double-barrelled' essay questions contain several issues that you need to answer separately. It's easy to miss parts of these questions – especially in an exam – but you have to answer each part in order to pass.

One way to deal with these questions is to break them into smaller, simpler questions. This makes it easy to see if you need to discuss more than one idea, and gives your research some clear goals.

Double-barrelled questions also challenge you to find relationships between different issues, and show your understanding of how they affect each other.

‘World War II saw many people question old beliefs and argue for change.' To what extent do you agree?

A good essay would talk about both issues raised in this question and talk about how they impact on each other.

Firstly, you'd write about whether WWII made people question their beliefs and if so, how their beliefs changed.

Then you would talk about whether questioning old beliefs led people to argue for change.

General questions

General questions often use task words like ‘discuss', and ask broad questions that could apply to almost any topic. This means you have to decide on the scope of your essay, and build your argument from scratch.

The good thing about general questions is that they allow you to pick a topic you know about and really show what you can do.

Were there any winners in the conflict that you studied?

This is a History question, so topics you could write about include:

The American Civil War
Colonisation in Australia
World War I or II.

The key to answering this question well is exploring the idea of what it means to ‘win', and whether there are ever any real winners when societies come into conflict.

The question is broad so you could answer it no matter what period of history you studied.

Specific questions

Specific questions are usually quite long and clearly outline what you need to cover in your essay. They're often easier to answer because they tell you exactly what to do, but they aren't very flexible – you have to be able to do everything in the question, so there can't be any gaps in your knowledge.

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Can You Ask Questions in an Essay? (What You Should Know)

by Antony W

February 28, 2023

can you ask questions in an essay explained

Essays are argumentative in nature. You must take a stance on an issue and use evidence and reason to convince an audience that your point of view if ultimately the most convincing. But can you ask questions in an essay?

You can ask questions in an essay provided they lead to an idea or concrete answers. If you don’t intend to give an answer to a question, don’t ask. Also, instead of asking a direct rhetorical question, consider using a rhetorical statement.

We tend to shy away from asking questions in essay because it’s hardly the intention. We emphasize more on answering questions and investigating issues, as these are what readers want.

However, there may be instances when it makes sense to ask questions. So we’ll look at two things in this guide:

Why you should not ask questions in an essay
When it makes sense to ask questions in an essay

What is the Goal of Essay Writing?

An essay is a type of an assignment intended to draw people to engage to your argument and consider your position, even if what you stand for conflicts with their beliefs.

If you can get your audience to read your essay, you’ll have communicated and met your goal.

Essay writing is a process that starts with in-depth research, identification of relevant sources, and development of an outline to organize thoughts and ideas. Moving further, you have to grab readers’ attention with a strong and arguable hook and develop a strong statement of declaration that gives them the spark to read on.

Because essay writing is about drawing readers in on a significant issue, asking questions may add little value to the context. Still, it helps to learn when to ask a question and when not to do so at all.

Can You Ask Questions in an Essay?

Sometimes the temptation to ask questions in an essay feels almost irresistible. However, including questions in formal writing is a bad idea and it’s therefore something you want to avoid.

From an academics standpoint, here’s why it’s a bad idea to ask questions in an essay:

1. Don’t Ask Questions You Don’t Intend to Answer

One of the biggest mistakes you can make when writing an essay is to ask questions you don’t have the intention to answer.

It leaves a reader with a why or so what question, which is annoying.

Readers need answers to the research question that you proposed to explore. Therefore, every idea you introduce, every word you write, and every answer you give must contribute toward answering the question.

2. Questions Make Readers Lose Focus

If you ask questions in an essay and not answer them, you leave every reader hanging on a cliff with no clear direction.

So if you raise a question in your assignment, ensure you tell your reader why your essay cannot resolve or give a convincing response to the question.

Don’t just give a general answer simply because you don’t want to provoke the reader. Instead, focus on giving useful insights to the arguments you’re trying to build.

When to Ask Questions in an Essay

While we maintain a strong stand that you should avoid asking questions in an essay, there are instances when it makes sense to do so.

In the Introduction

An introduction is the most important part of an essay. It’s also the hardest part of the assignment.

If you think about it, the human attention span dropped from 12 to 8 seconds , which means you have a small window of opportunity to convince your audience that your essay is worth reading.

The best and the most effective way to grab their attention fast for the first 8 seconds is to start your essay with a hook. Asking a question can come in quite handy here since it can easily hook them in. Then, you can give a clear answer to the question in the body part of your essay.

If Followed by an Answer

Don’t be the student who asks questions in an essay and then leave it to the readers to figure out the answer. That can be so provocative that it forces your instructor to a point of losing the interest to read the essay. If you have to ask a question, make sure you follow it with an answer.

Remember, questions without answers are just but filler words in an essay. Not to mention that sometimes they can act as a trap that transfers the responsibility of answering the question from a writer to a reader, which is very unacceptable.

One last thing to keep in mind is that you should ask questions only if it’s necessary. Often, less is more, and given that your audience needs answers more than they expect to see questions in your essay.

Get Essay Writing Help from Help for Assessment

Do you need help with your essay and don’t know whether to start? Maybe you’ve tried a number of services but didn’t get the value for your money and ended up wasting your time in the process?

Don’t worry, because we’re here to help. Our team of professional writers and editors can help you with the following:

Custom Essay Writing
Theory of Knowledge Essay
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We have arrange of samples that you can look at here . Moreover, we’re a team that respects deadlines, so we will help you get your essay completed on time.

About the author

Antony W is a professional writer and coach at Help for Assessment. He spends countless hours every day researching and writing great content filled with expert advice on how to write engaging essays, research papers, and assignments.

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22 Essay Question Words You Must Understand to Prepare a Well-Structured Essay

(Last updated: 3 June 2024)

Since 2006, Oxbridge Essays has been the UK’s leading paid essay-writing and dissertation service

We have helped 10,000s of undergraduate, Masters and PhD students to maximise their grades in essays, dissertations, model-exam answers, applications and other materials. If you would like a free chat about your project with one of our UK staff, then please just reach out on one of the methods below.

Now, we may be experts in best essay writing , but we’re also the first to admit that tackling essay questions can be, well, a bit of a challenge. Essays first require copious amounts of background reading and research so you can include accurate facts in your writing. You then have to figure out how to present those facts in a convincing and systematic argument. No mean feat.

But the silver lining here is that presenting your argument doesn’t have to be stressful. This goes even if you’re a new student without much experience and ability. To write a coherent and well-structured essay , you just have to really understand the requirements of the question. And to understand the requirements of the question, you need to have a good hold on all the different question words. For example, 'justify', 'examine', and 'discuss', to name a few.

Lacking this understanding is a pitfall many students tumble into. But our guide on essay question words below should keep you firmly above on safe, essay-acing ground.

Definition of Question Words with Examples

No matter their nature, question words are key and must always be adhered to. And yet, many students often overlook them and therefore answer their essay questions incorrectly. You may be a font of all knowledge in your subject area, but if you misinterpret the question words in your essay title, your essay writing could be completely irrelevant and score poorly.

For example, if you are asked to compare the French and British upper houses of parliament, you won’t get many points by simply highlighting the differences between the two parliamentary systems.

So, what should you do? We advise you start by reading this guide – we’ve divided the question words either by ‘critical’ or ‘descriptive’ depending on their nature, which should help you identify the type of response your essay requires.

Critical question words	Descriptive question words
Analyse	Define
Evaluate	Demonstrate
Justify	Describe
Critically evaluate	Elaborate
Review	Explain
Assess	Explore
Discuss	Identify
Examine	Illustrate
To what extent	Outline
	Summarise
	Clarify
	Compare
	Contrast

Question Words that Require a Critical Approach

Once you have done this, it’s also important that you critically (more on this word later) examine each part. You need to use important debates and evidence to look in depth at the arguments for and against, as well as how the parts interconnect. What does the evidence suggest? Use it to adopt a stance in your essay, ensuring you don’t simply give a narration on the key debates in the literature. Make your position known and tie this to the literature.

2. Evaluate

It is essential to provide information on both sides of the debate using evidence from a wide range of academic sources. Then you must state your position basing your arguments on the evidence that informed you in arriving at your position.

Also, you may want to consider arguments that are contrary to your position before stating a conclusion to your arguments. This will help present a balanced argument and demonstrate wide knowledge of the literature. Here, a critical approach becomes crucial. You need to explain why other possible arguments are unsatisfactory as well as why your own particular argument is preferable.

4. Critically evaluate

The key to tackling these question words is providing ample evidence to support your claims. Ensure that your analysis is balanced by shedding light on, and presenting a critique of, alternative perspectives. It is also important that you present extensive evidence taken from a varying range of sources.

State your conclusion clearly and state the reasons for this conclusion, drawing on factors and evidence that informed your perspective. Also try to justify your position in order to present a convincing argument to the reader.

Put another way, ‘review’ questions entail offering your opinion on the validity of the essay question. For example, you may be asked to review the literature on electoral reform in Great Britain. You'll need to give an overview of the literature. and any major arguments or issues that arose from it. You then need to comment logically and analytically on this material. What do you agree or disagree with? What have other scholars said about the subject? Are there any views that contrast with yours? What evidence are you using to support your assessment? Don’t forget to state your position clearly.

Review answers should not be purely descriptive; they must demonstrate a high level of analytical skill. The aim is not simply to regurgitate the works of other scholars, but rather to critically analyse these works.

However, when assessing a particular argument or topic, it is important that your thoughts on its significance are made clear. This must be supported by evidence, and secondary sources in the literature are a great start. Essentially, you need to convince the reader about the strength of your argument, using research to back up your assessment of the topic is essential. Highlight any limitations to your argument and remember to mention any counterarguments to your position.

Give a detailed examination of the topic by including knowledge of the various perspectives put forward by other scholars in relation to it. What are your thoughts on the subject based on the general debates in the literature? Remember to clearly state your position based on all the evidence you present.

You should also try to provide some context on why the issues and facts that you have closely examined are important. Have these issues and facts been examined differently by other scholars? If so, make a note of this. How did they differ in their approach and what are the factors that account for these alternative approaches?

‘Examine’ questions are less exploratory and discursive than some other types of question. They focus instead on asking you to critically examine particular pieces of evidence or facts to inform your analysis.

9. To what extent

Such questions require that you display the extent of your knowledge on a given subject and that you also adopt an analytical style in stating your position. This means that you must consider both sides of the argument, by present contrasting pieces of evidence. But ultimately, you must show why a particular set of evidence, or piece of information, is more valid for supporting your answer.

Question Words that Require a Descriptive Response

It is important that you provide more than one meaning if there are several of them as it shows that you are very familiar with the literature.

2. Demonstrate

Make sure you assert your position with these types of questions. It's even more important that you support your arguments with valid evidence in order to establish a strong case.

3. Describe

‘Describe’ question words focus less on the basic meaning of something, therefore, and more on its particular characteristics. These characteristics should form the building blocks of your answer.

4. Elaborate

In addition, always remember to back any claims with academic research. In explanatory answers it is important that you demonstrate a clear understanding of a research topic or argument. This comes across most convincingly if you present a clear interpretation of the subject or argument to the reader. Keep in mind any ‘what’, ‘how’ and ‘why’ questions as this will help you to structure a clear and logically coherent response. Coherence is extremely important in providing explanatory answers.

A somewhat detached, dispassionate tone can be particularly effective, in contrast to the more assertive, argumentative tone you might adopt for other types of essay question. Just remember that the key objective here is to give a nuanced account of a research topic or argument by examining its composite parts.

7. Identify

8. illustrate, 10. summarise, 11. clarify.

Such questions require you to shed light on a topic or, in some instances, break down a complex subject into simple parts. Coherence is very important for acing such questions, remembering to present your answer in a systematic manner.

12. Compare

Furthermore, you may also want to emphasise any differences, although the focus of your essay should be on establishing similarities.

13. Contrast

How to Strategically Structure Essay Based on Question Words

Understanding how to structure an essay based on question words is crucial for producing clear, focused, and compelling academic writing. The question words we analised above guide the direction of your response and dictate the type of content required. Recognising the demands of each question word allows you to strategically organise your essay, ensuring that your arguments are relevant and comprehensive. By mastering this approach, you can enhance the clarity and impact of your writing, making your academic work more persuasive and effective.

Here are a few more handy tips to bear in mind when addressing your essay questions:

When you first get your essay question, always try to understand exactly what the question means and what it is asking you to do. Look at the question word(s) and think about their meaning before you launch into planning what to write. Hopefully, our guide has shown you how to do this expertly.

Remember to read the question several times and consider any underlying assumptions behind the question. Highlight the key words and if possible, make a very basic draft outline of your response. This outline does not have to be detailed. But if you follow it as you write, it will help keep your response coherent and systematic.

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Rhetorical Questions in Essays: 5 Things you should Know

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Rhetorical questions can be useful in writing. So, why shouldn’t you use rhetorical questions in essays?

In this article, I outline 5 key reasons that explain the problem with rhetorical questions in essays.

Despite the value of rhetorical questions for engaging audiences, they mean trouble in your university papers. Teachers tend to hate them.

There are endless debates among students as to why or why not to use rhetorical questions. But, I’m here to tell you that – despite your (and my) protestations – the jury’s in. Many, many teachers hate rhetorical questions.

You’re therefore not doing yourself any favors in using them in your essays.

Rhetorical Question Examples

A rhetorical question is a type of metacommentary . It is a question whose purpose is to add creative flair to your writing. It is a way of adding style to your essay.

Rhetorical questions usually either have obvious answers, or no answers, or do not require an answer . Here are some examples:

Are you seriously wearing that?
Do you think I’m that gullible?
What is the meaning of life?
What would the walls say if they could speak?

I understand why people like to use rhetorical questions in introductions . You probably enjoy writing. You probably find rhetorical questions engaging, and you want to draw your marker in, engage them, and wow them with your knowledge.

1. Rhetorical Questions in Academic Writing: They Don’t belong.

Rhetorical questions are awesome … for blogs, diaries, and creative writing. They engage the audience and ask them to predict answers.

But, sorry, they suck for essays. Academic writing is not supposed to be creative writing .

Here’s the difference between academic writing and creative writing:

Supposed to be read for enjoyment first and foremost.
Can be flamboyant, extravagant, and creative.
Can leave the reader in suspense.
Can involve twists, turns, and surprises.
Can be in the third or first person.
Readers of creative writing read texts from beginning to end – without spoilers.

Rhetorical questions are designed to create a sense of suspense and flair. They, therefore, belong as a rhetorical device within creative writing genres.

Now, let’s look at academic writing:

Supposed to be read for information and analysis of real-life ideas.
Focused on fact-based information.
Clearly structured and orderly.
Usually written in the third person language only.
Readers of academic writing scan the texts for answers, not questions.

Academic writing should never, ever leave the reader in suspense. Therefore, rhetorical questions have no place in academic writing.

Academic writing should be in the third person – and rhetorical questions are not quite in the third person. The rhetorical question appears as if you are talking directly to the reader. It is almost like writing in the first person – an obvious fatal error in the academic writing genre.

Your marker will be reading your work looking for answers , not questions. They will be rushed, have many papers to mark, and have a lot of work to do. They don’t want to be entertained. They want answers.

Therefore, academic writing needs to be straight to the point, never leave your reader unsure or uncertain, and always signpost key ideas in advance.

Here’s an analogy:

When you came onto this post, you probably did not read everything from start to end. You probably read each sub-heading first, then came back to the top and started reading again. You weren’t interested in suspense or style. You wanted to find something out quickly and easily. I’m not saying this article you’re reading is ‘academic writing’ (it isn’t). But, what I am saying is that this text – like your essay – is designed to efficiently provide information first and foremost. I’m not telling you a story. You, like your teacher, are here for answers to a question. You are not here for a suspenseful story. Therefore, rhetorical questions don’t fit here.

I’ll repeat: rhetorical questions just don’t fit within academic writing genres.

2. Rhetorical Questions can come across as Passive

It’s not your place to ask a question. It’s your place to show your command of the content. Rhetorical questions are by definition passive: they ask of your reader to do the thinking, reflecting, and questioning for you.

Questions of any kind tend to give away a sense that you’re not quite sure of yourself. Imagine if the five points for this blog post were:

Are they unprofessional?
Are they passive?
Are they seen as padding?
Are they cliché?
Do teachers hate them?

If the sub-headings of this post were in question format, you’d probably – rightly – return straight back to google and look for the next piece of advice on the topic. That’s because questions don’t assist your reader. Instead, they demand something from your reader .

Questions – rhetorical or otherwise – a position you as passive, unsure of yourself, and skirting around the point. So, avoid them.

3. Rhetorical Questions are seen as Padding

When a teacher reads a rhetorical question, they’re likely to think that the sentence was inserted to fill a word count more than anything else.

>>>RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO MAKE AN ESSAY LONGER >>>RELATED ARTICLE: HOW TO MAKE AN ESSAY SHORTER

Rhetorical questions have a tendency to be written by students who are struggling to come to terms with an essay question. They’re well below word count and need to find an extra 15, 20, or 30 words here and there to hit that much-needed word count.

In order to do this, they fill space with rhetorical questions.

It’s a bit like going into an interview for a job. The interviewer asks you a really tough question and you need a moment to think up an answer. You pause briefly and mull over the question. You say it out loud to yourself again, and again, and again.

You do this for every question you ask. You end up answering every question they ask you with that same question, and then a brief pause.

Sure, you might come up with a good answer to your rhetorical question later on, but in the meantime, you have given the impression that you just don’t quite have command over your topic.

4. Rhetorical Questions are hard to get right

As a literary device, the rhetorical question is pretty difficult to execute well. In other words, only the best can get away with it.

The vast majority of the time, the rhetorical question falls on deaf ears. Teachers scoff, roll their eyes, and sigh just a little every time an essay begins with a rhetorical question.

The rhetorical question feels … a little ‘middle school’ – cliché writing by someone who hasn’t quite got a handle on things.

Let your knowledge of the content win you marks, not your creative flair. If your rhetorical question isn’t as good as you think it is, your marks are going to drop – big time.

5. Teachers Hate Rhetorical Questions in Essays

This one supplants all other reasons.

The fact is that there are enough teachers out there who hate rhetorical questions in essays that using them is a very risky move.

Believe me, I’ve spent enough time in faculty lounges to tell you this with quite some confidence. My opinion here doesn’t matter. The sheer amount of teachers who can’t stand rhetorical questions in essays rule them out entirely.

Whether I (or you) like it or not, rhetorical questions will more than likely lose you marks in your paper.

Don’t shoot the messenger.

Some (possible) Exceptions

Personally, I would say don’t use rhetorical questions in academic writing – ever.

But, I’ll offer a few suggestions of when you might just get away with it if you really want to use a rhetorical question:

As an essay title. I would suggest that most people who like rhetorical questions embrace them because they are there to ‘draw in the reader’ or get them on your side. I get that. I really do. So, I’d recommend that if you really want to include a rhetorical question to draw in the reader, use it as the essay title. Keep the actual essay itself to the genre style that your marker will expect: straight up the line, professional and informative text.

“97 percent of scientists argue climate change is real. Such compelling weight of scientific consensus places the 3 percent of scientists who dissent outside of the scientific mainstream.”

The takeaway point here is, if I haven’t convinced you not to use rhetorical questions in essays, I’d suggest that you please check with your teacher on their expectations before submission.

Don’t shoot the messenger. Have I said that enough times in this post?

I didn’t set the rules, but I sure as hell know what they are. And one big, shiny rule that is repeated over and again in faculty lounges is this: Don’t Use Rhetorical Questions in Essays . They are risky, appear out of place, and are despised by a good proportion of current university teachers.

To sum up, here are my top 5 reasons why you shouldn’t use rhetorical questions in your essays:

Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Number Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Word Games for Kids (Free and Easy)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 25 Outdoor Games for Kids
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd-2/ 50 Incentives to Give to Students

Good Questions for Better Essay Prompts (and Papers)

April 8, 2020
Jessica McCaughey

Blank notebook with idea lightbulb emerging from it

Most professors would admit that they’ve found themselves frustrated when grading papers. Yes, sometimes those frustrations might stem from students ignoring your clear, strategic, and explicit instructions, but more often, I’d argue, “bad” papers are a result of how and what we’re asking of students, and how well we really understand our goals for them. Further, we often struggle to strike a balance between providing too much information and too little, and placing ourselves in a novice’s shoes is difficult. In an effort to combat these challenges, I present a series of questions to ask yourself as you begin developing or revising prompts.

1. What do you want your students to learn or demonstrate through this writing assignment? Is an essay the best way reach these goals? If so, do they understand those learning goals? Assigning an essay is, for many instructors, our go-to. But paper writing isn’t always the best assessment tool. Think hard about what it is you’re hoping for your students to take away from an assignment. Are there other, better forms the assignment might take? And if the answer is a resounding, “This paper is the right venue!” you should consider whether you are explicitly conveying to your students why you’re asking them to do certain work. Transparency benefits them tremendously. Transparent assignment design—being explicit about how and why you are facilitating their learning in the ways that you are—helps all students, but it particularly helps those students who may not have the experience, networks, or models in college that other students have, such as first-generation college students, minorities, or students with disabilities. Whether in class discussion or in the written prompt itself, strive to follow these transparent assignment design principles . 2. Who is the audience (real or imagined) for the assignment, and what is the purpose of the text? For most writing assignments, the “audience” is, of course, the instructor, and students strive to meet that instructor’s expectations, even if they’re guessing about what this instructor knows, wants, and expects.Even assignments as specific as “Write a letter to the Editor on X topic” beg for more detail. (Is this for my hometown paper or the New York Times ? Those letters will of course read very differently.) And when it comes to purpose or goals, while it might seem obvious to you what the purpose of this paper is, it might not be to your students. Work to be as explicit as possible as you can in what you’d like them to achieve in their paper. You might use language such as, “In this paper you are writing to an audience of scholars in X field, who are/are not familiar with your topic,” or “Your overarching purpose in this paper is to persuade your reader towards a specific, implementable solution to the problem at hand, and support your argument with scholarship in the field.”

3. Do you want to read their papers? This question may seem silly, but it’s not. In every field, professors have the capacity to set students up for authentic, engaging assignments. If you don’t feel excited to read the paper, you can likely imagine how difficult it will be for students to engage in the much more substantial process of writing it. So, consider retooling the assignment into something you look forward to spending time reading. Might you consider new genres, audiences, or purposes for their writing? Develop a traditional essay into a problem-solving task ?

4. What does good writing look like in your field? How can you convey this to students? We all know what good writing looks like in our fields, but students sometimes don’t even understand that writing forms, expectations, and conventions vary from discipline to discipline. Whether we like it or not, and whether we think we have time for it or not, it is our job to teach students about texts in our specific disciplines. Maybe that includes offering them annotated sample papers. Maybe this happens over a series of beginning-of-class conversations as they’re drafting. Maybe it’s showing them some of your own work or looking closely at the writing in a flagship journal. Regardless of how you do it, be sure that a part of the writing process for your students includes exposure and at least an introductory understanding to what “good” writing is to you and your field.

5. Are your grading criteria clear—and thoughtful and reasonable? We know that clear grading criteria—whether in the form of a rubric or a narrative—is key to student writer success, but it’s not as simple as assignment weights to columns such as “Grammar” and “Thesis.” In order to think deeply about how we’re grading, we also have to interrogate what assumptions we have about our student writers? What do we think they already know? Why do we think this? What do we prioritize in an essay, and more importantly, why is that the priority? Do our priorities align with our learning goals for students? These answers to these questions too should be transparent to students as they embark on your writing assignments.

6. What support and structure are you able to provide? Traci Gardner’s Designing Writing Assignments illustrates that the kinds of prompts that allow students to write strong papers share certain characteristics, and among the most important is providing support, both materially and in their process (35). How are you going to facilitate the writing that you want to see your students develop and showcase it in your prompt? Can the assignment be broken down into smaller, scaffolded steps? Or, if you want the students to practice managing projects and figure this out themselves, how can you serve as a guide as they work through time and resource management in order to do so? As scholars, we are not expected to create excellent work without feedback, and we shouldn’t expect it of our students either. We’re not only teaching content and, as noted above, what writing looks like in our discipline, but we’re also working to instill a writing process. Before assigning a paper, be clear about how you’ll build in steps, support, and this process of feedback and revision into your assignment.

7. Does it make sense for this particular assignment and your particular class to include a reflective element? Research shows that metacognition and reflection aid in the transfer of knowledge and skills , so building in some way for students to reflect on the writing and learning they’ve done through your assignment is a valuable way to help them take that knowledge forward, into other classrooms and, later, the workplace. 8. How can you go through the writing process yourself to create the most productive possible prompt? Ask for feedback from colleagues—or your students! There’s no shame in showing students a prompt and revising it based on their questions, perceptions, and, after the semester ends to benefit your next class, their writing.

Bio: Jessica McCaughey is an assistant professor in the University Writing Program at George Washington University , where she teaches academic and professional writing. In this role, Professor McCaughey has developed a growing professional writing program consisting of workshops, assessment, and coaching that helps organizations improve the quality of their employees’ professional and technical writing. In 2016, she was nominated for the Columbian College’s Robert W. Kenny Prize for Innovation in Teaching of Introductory Courses, and in 2017, she won the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Emergent Researcher Award.

References:

Elon Statement on Writing Transfer. (29 July 2013). Retrieved from http://www.elon.edu/ e-web/academics/teaching/ers/writing_transfer/statement.xhtml

Gardner, Traci. (2008). Designing Writing Assignments . National Council of Teachers of English. https://wac.colostate.edu/books/gardner/

Jessica McCaughey is an assistant professor in the University Writing Program at George Washington University, where she teaches academic and professional writing. In this role, Professor McCaughey has developed a growing professional writing program consisting of workshops, assessment, and coaching that helps organizations improve the quality of their employees’ professional and technical writing. In 2016, she was nominated for the Columbian College’s Robert W. Kenny Prize for Innovation in Teaching of Introductory Courses, and in 2017, she won the Conference on College Composition and Communication’s Emergent Researcher Award.

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Question Marks (?) | Rules, Use & Examples

Question Marks (?) | Rules, Use & Examples

Published on April 9, 2015 by Shane Bryson . Revised on November 29, 2022.

Considering the numbers of questions we try to answer in academics, we use question marks infrequently. You might use them to state your research question, to clarify an issue that requires future research, or once in a while to pose a question for your reader to consider as you proceed with your discussion .

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Some tips for questions and question marks

Avoid rhetorical questions .
Avoid genuine but unnecessary questions. Asking a genuine question in formal text is odd, since usually you won’t have access to your audience’s response. So why ask the question? I suspect that most genuine questions (as with the one I’ve just struck out) are posed to the writer by the writer as she’s writing, in order for her to find some direction for the next sentence; much of the time such questions are unnecessary.
For questions embedded in statements. In some situations, you might be unsure of whether to use a question mark, as when you embed your question in a statement. In cases like the one below, use a question mark rather than a period, even though you’re stating a question rather than asking one.

Examples (with a nod to Dirty Harry )

The question is, do you feel lucky, punk.

The question is, do you feel lucky, punk?

Sources in this article

We strongly encourage students to use sources in their work. You can cite our article (APA Style) or take a deep dive into the articles below.

Bryson, S. (2022, November 29). Question Marks (?) | Rules, Use & Examples. Scribbr. Retrieved August 5, 2024, from https://www.scribbr.com/language-rules/question-marks/

Butterfield, J. (Ed.). (2015). Fowler’s dictionary of modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

Garner, B. A. (2016). Garner’s modern English usage (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.

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Shane Bryson

Shane finished his master's degree in English literature in 2013 and has been working as a writing tutor and editor since 2009. He began proofreading and editing essays with Scribbr in early summer, 2014.

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How to Use Rhetorical Questions in Essay Writing Effectively

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50 Argumentative Essay Topics for Students

4-minute read

11th June 2022

The goal of an argumentative essay is to persuade the reader to understand and support your position on an issue by presenting your reasoning along with supporting evidence. It’s important to find the right balance between giving your opinions and presenting established research.

These essays discuss issues around a range of topics, including science, technology, politics, and healthcare. Whether you’re a teacher looking for essay topics for your students or a student tasked with developing an idea of your own, we’ve compiled a list of 50 argumentative essay topics to help you get started!

● Does texting hinder interpersonal communication skills?

● Should there be laws against using devices while driving?

● Do violent video games teach or encourage people to behave violently?

● Should social media sites be allowed to collect users’ data?

● Should parents limit how long their children spend in front of screens?

● Is AI helping or hurting society?

● Should cyber-bullying carry legal consequences?

● Should Supreme Court justices be elected?

● Is war always a political decision?

● Should people join a political party?

● Is capitalism ethical?

● Is the electoral college an effective system?

● Should prisoners be allowed to vote?

● Should the death penalty be legal?

● Are governments around the world doing enough to combat global warming?

● Is healthcare a fundamental human right?

● Should vaccinations be mandated for children?

● Are there any circumstances under which physician-assisted suicides should be legal?

● Should parents be able to choose specific genetic modifications of their future children?

● Should abortion be legal?

● Is it ethical to perform medical experiments on animals?

● Should patients who lead unhealthy lifestyles be denied organ transplants?

● Should doctors be able to provide medical care to children against their parents’ wishes?

Mental Healthcare

● What causes the stigma around mental health?

● Discuss the link between insufficient access to mental health services and the high suicide rates among veterans.

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● Should cannabis be used as a treatment for patients with mental disorders?

● Is there a link between social media use and mental disorders?

● Discuss the effect of physical activity on mental health.

● Should sports be segregated by gender?

● Should male and female athletes be given the same pay and opportunities?

● Are professional athletes overpaid?

● Should college athletes be paid?

● Should sports betting be legal?

● Should online access to art such as music be free?

● Should graffiti be considered art or vandalism?

● Are there any circumstances under which books should be banned?

● Should schools be required to offer art courses?

● Is art necessary to society?

● Should schools require uniforms?

● Should reciting the Pledge of Allegiance be required in schools?

● Do standardized tests effectively measure intelligence?

● Should high school students take a gap year before pursuing higher education?

● Should higher education be free?

● Is there too much pressure on high school students to attend college?

● Are children better off in two-parent households?

● Should LGBTQ+ partners be allowed to adopt?

● Should single people be able to adopt children as easily as couples?

● Is it okay for parents to physically discipline their children?

● Does helicopter parenting help or hurt children?

● Should parents monitor their children’s Internet use?

Proofreading & Editing

An argument could also be made for the importance of proofreading your essay ! The reader can focus more on your message when your writing is clear, concise, and error-free, and they won’t question whether you’re knowledgeable on the issues you’re presenting. Once you have a draft ready, you can submit a free trial document to start working with our expert editors!

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IELTS Preparation with Liz: Free IELTS Tips and Lessons, 2024

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100 IELTS Essay Questions

Below are practice IELTS essay questions and topics for writing task 2. The 100 essay questions have been used many times over the years. The questions are organised under common topics and essay types. IELTS often use the similar topics for their essays but change the wording of the essay question.

In order to prepare well for writing task 2, you should prepare ideas for common topics and then practise applying them to the tasks given (to the essay questions). Also see model essays and tips for writing task 2.

Below you will find:

Essay Questions By Topic
Essay Questions by Essay Type (for example Opinion, Discussion etc)

Please also note that my new Grammar E-book is now available in my store along with my Ideas for Essay Topics E-book and Advanced Writing Lessons. To visit store, click here: IELTS LIZ STORE

1) Common IELTS Essay Questions

IELTS practice essay questions divided by topic. These topics have been reported by IELTS students in their tests. Essay questions have been recreated as accurately as possible.

Art (5 essay questions)
Business & Money (17 essay questions)
Communication & Personality (20 essay questions)
Crime & Punishment (12 essay questions)
Education (17 essay questions)
Environment (12 essay questions)
Family & Children (8 essay questions)
Food & Diet (13 essay questions)
Government (6 essay questions)
Health (9 essay questions)
Housing, Buildings & Urban Planning (8 essay questions)
Language (6 essay questions)
Leisure (1 essay question)
Media & Advertising (12 essay questions)
Reading (5 essay questions)
Society (10 essay questions)
Space Exploration (3 questions)
Sport & Exercise (6 essay questions)
Technology (6 essay questions)
Tourism and Travel (11 essay questions)
Transport (7 essay questions)
Work (17 essay questions)

2) IELTS Essay Questions by Essay Type

There are 5 main types of essay questions in IELTS writing task 2 (opinion essays, discussion essay, advantage/disadvantage essays, solution essay and direct question essays). Click on the links below to see some sample essay questions for you to practice with at home.

Opinion Essay Model Answer with Useful Tips
Discussion Essay Model Answer with Useful Tips
Solution Essay Model Answer with Useful Tips
Direct Questions Model Essay
Adv/Disadv Model Essay with Useful Tips

3) Recent Essay Topics

You can also track recent essay topics on this page: IELTS ESSAY TOPICS 2024

Note: you must also prepare all other topics on the page above because questions are recycled each year.

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Are the use of questions acceptable in essays?

winniesun 9 / 19 Jun 13, 2011 #2 I think it is acceptable. I often use question in my essays. And there are a lot of sample essays that use the question sentence.

kofolaguda 1 / 5 Jun 13, 2011 #3 I know it is acceptable and safe to ask questions when writing essay. I personally like to start my essays with statements or questions that will interest my readers and it's never been a problem by my professor's. It makes my essays more interesting... They are a very good attention- grabbing lead. Good luck on your essay writing. kofo

Writer10 - / 1 Jul 11, 2011 #5 Even though they are acceptable but its not some kind on blog post that you are interacting with the readers.Take it as an article and let it be professional.It will look and sound more better that way!

atjobsearch 3 / 6 Jul 11, 2011 #6 It is acceptable to used question in the introductory paragraph because I think it get the reader start thinking.

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Press Releases

DHS Places Additional PRC-Based Companies on the UFLPA Entity List  

UFLPA Entity List Will Now Restrict Goods from 73 PRC-Based Companies from Entering the United States

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of five entities based in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, bringing the total entities listed to 73. These additions build on DHS’s commitment to eradicate forced labor and promote accountability for the PRC’s ongoing genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other religious and ethnic minority groups in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR).

Effective August 9, 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) will apply a rebuttable presumption that goods produced by Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd., Kashgar, Construction Engineering (Group) Co.; Ltd., Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, Ltd.; Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd., and Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. will be prohibited from entering the United States.

“As DHS identifies more entities across different sectors that use or facilitate forced labor, we act to keep their tainted goods out of our nation’s supply chains,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro N. Mayorkas . “Today's announcement strengthens our enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and helps responsible companies conduct due diligence so that, together, we can keep the products of forced labor out of our country.  We will continue to implement this law with full force in our efforts to fight the exploitation and abuse of the Uyghur people and other persecuted groups and protect a free and fair market.”

Including the five entities identified today, the FLETF – chaired by DHS and whose member agencies also include the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Departments of Commerce, Justice, Labor, State, and the Treasury – has added 73 entities to the UFLPA Entity List since the UFLPA was signed into law in December 2021. The UFLPA Entity List includes companies that are active in the apparel, agriculture, polysilicon, plastics, chemicals, batteries, household appliances, electronics, and food additives sectors, among others. Identifying these additional entities provides U.S. importers with more information to conduct due diligence and examine their supply chains for risks of forced labor to ensure compliance with the UFLPA.

“We have shown again through today’s enforcement actions that the United States is committed to keeping goods made with forced labor out of U.S. supply chains,” said DHS Under Secretary for Policy Robert Silvers, who serves as Chair of the FLETF . “Companies must conduct due diligence and know where their products are coming from. The Forced Labor Enforcement Task Force will continue to designate entities in a variety of sectors that meet the criteria for inclusion on the UFLPA Entity List, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will continue its vigilant enforcement at our ports.”

The FLETF has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that two entities meet the criteria for inclusion under Section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) of the UFLPA by working with the government of the XUAR to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor or receive forced labor of Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR; two entities meet the criteria for inclusion under Section 2(d)2(B)(v) of the UFLPA, which identifies facilities and entities that source material from the XUAR or from persons working with the government of Xinjiang or the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps for purposes of the “poverty alleviation” program or the “pairing-assistance” program or any other government labor scheme that uses forced labor; and one entity meets both criteria under Sections 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) and (v) of the UFLPA.

Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd. is a company located in the XUAR that mines nonferrous metals, including zinc, copper and silver. Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd. is a subsidiary of one of the world’s largest mining company, and produces approximately 10% of that company’s copper and silver. The United States Government has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd. works with the government of the XUAR to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR. Information reviewed by the FLETF, including publicly available information, indicates that Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd. works with the Habahe County government of the XUAR to recruit Kazakh workers through PRC labor programs to mine metals, such as zinc, copper, and silver in the XUAR . The FLETF therefore determined that the activities of Xinjiang Habahe Ashele Copper Co., Ltd. satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii).

Kashgar Construction Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd. is a company based in Kashgar, Xinjiang, China, that manufactures structural components and materials for construction, and is engaged in general construction, construction engineering and operations, and real estate development and operations. The United States Government has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that Kashgar Construction Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd. works with the government of the XUAR to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR. Information reviewed by the FLETF, including publicly available information, indicates that Kashgar Construction Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd. has repeatedly participated in the transfer and recruitment of ethnic minorities from Xinjiang, including Uyghurs, through Jiashi County Xinjiang government labor programs. The FLETF therefore determined that the activities of Kashgar Construction Engineering (Group) Co., Ltd. satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in section 2(d)(2)(B)(ii).

Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd. is a company based in Hong Kong that manufactures magnesium fertilizer and magnesium alloys. The United States Government has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd. sources material, specifically magnesium, from the XUAR. Information reviewed by the FLETF, including publicly available information, indicates that Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd. has established its magnesium production base in the XUAR through its vertically-integrated subsidiaries, and sources magnesium from the XUAR. The FLETF therefore determined that the activities of Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd. satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in section 2(d)(2)(B)(v).

Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, Ltd. is a company based in Hong Kong that manufactures and sells magnesium alloy products. The United States Government has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, Ltd. sources material, specifically magnesium, from the XUAR.  Information reviewed by the FLETF, including publicly available information, indicates that Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, Ltd., a principal subsidiary of Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd., operates Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd.’s magnesium product business, and sources magnesium from its magnesium production base located in the XUAR. The FLETF therefore determined that the activities of Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, Ltd. satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in section 2(d)(2)(B)(v).

Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. is a company based in Hami, Xinjiang, China, that manufactures magnesium and magnesium alloy products. The United States Government has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. works with the government of the XUAR to recruit, transport, transfer, harbor, or receive Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Kyrgyz, or members of other persecuted groups out of the XUAR. Information reviewed by the FLETF, including publicly available information, indicates that Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. receives Uyghurs or members of other persecuted groups that the local Yizhou District government transfer from Xinjiang. The United States Government also has reasonable cause to believe, based on specific and articulable information, that Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. sources material, specifically the raw materials required to produce magnesium, such as coal and dolomite, from the XUAR.  Information reviewed by the FLETF, including publicly available information, indicates that Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group Holdings, Ltd. and a principal subsidiary of Century Sunshine Group Holdings, Ltd., operates a magnesium production facility in the XUAR and sources raw materials from the XUAR, including coal and dolomite, to produce magnesium. The FLETF therefore determined that the activities of Xinjiang Tengxiang Magnesium Products Co., Ltd. satisfy the criteria for addition to the UFLPA Entity List described in sections 2(d)(2)(B)(ii) and 2(d)(2)(B)(v).

The bipartisan Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, signed into law by President Joseph R. Biden, Jr., in December 2021, mandates that CBP apply a rebuttable presumption that goods mined, produced, or manufactured wholly or in part in the XUAR or produced by entities identified on the UFLPA Entity List are prohibited from importation into the United States unless the Commissioner of CBP determines, by clear and convincing evidence, that the goods were not produced with forced labor. CBP began enforcing the UFLPA in June 2022.  Since then, CBP has reviewed over 9,000 shipments valued at more than $3.4 billion under the UFLPA.  Additionally, Homeland Security Investigations, through the DHS Center for Countering Human Trafficking, conducts criminal investigations into those engaging in or otherwise knowingly benefitting from forced labor, and collaborates with international partners to seek justice for victims.

Today’s announcement supports President Biden’s Memorandum on Advancing Worker Empowerment, Rights, and High Labor Standards Globally.  The memorandum represents the first whole-of-government approach to advance workers’ rights by directing federal agencies engaged abroad to advance international recognized labor rights, which includes DHS’s work implementing the UFLPA.

This expansion of the UFLPA Entity List reflects DHS’s prioritization of efforts to combat the introduction of forced labor into U.S. supply chains. This commitment is outlined in the Department’s recent Quadrennial Homeland Security Review , which added combating crimes of exploitation, including labor exploitation, as the newest and sixth DHS mission. Last month, DHS published updates to the UFLPA strategy , which outlines how the FLETF has significantly advanced our objectives through several initiatives including strong enforcement by CBP; expansion of the UFLPA Entity List; designating new high priority sectors for enforcement; and greater collaboration with stakeholders.

You can read more about the FLETF by visiting: https://www.dhs.gov/uflpa .

Secretary of Homeland Security
Customs and Border Protection (CBP)
Forced Labor

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Pelosi questions whether biden wrote letter saying he’d stay in 2024 race: ‘it didn’t sound like joe’.

Ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has openly doubted whether President Biden wrote the letter he sent to Democrats last month insisting he was “firmly committed” to staying in the race.

Biden, 81, sent the missive to congressional Dems to try to put to rest any notion that he’d exit the race over widespread concerns about his mental acuity after his June 27 debate performance against GOP foe Donald Trump. Two weeks later, Biden dropped out.

“I didn’t accept the letter as anything but a letter,” Pelosi told New York Times ‘ columnist Ezra Klein in an interview last week. “I mean, there are some people who are unhappy with the letter.

“Let me say it differently. Some said that some people were unhappy with the letter. I’ll put it in somebody else’s mouth. It didn’t sound like Joe Biden to me. It really didn’t,” she said.

Two days after Biden sent the letter, Pelosi (D-Calif.), 84, turned heads with an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” rumored to be one of the president’s favorite political programs.

“It’s up to the president to decide if he is going to run,” she said on the program — even though Biden had just insisted through the letter that he was still in the race. “We’re all encouraging him to make that decision because time is running short.”

Asked about the discrepancy between her comments and Biden’s letter, Pelosi replied at the time, “Whatever he decides, we go with.”

Some observers surmised that Pelosi’s remarks on that show were intended to send a message of some kind to the president to throw in the towel. Other commenters such as David Remnick, the editor of the New Yorker, suggested it gave Democrats “space” to revolt against Biden.

Pelosi has claimed she merely went on the show to promote Belarusian dissident politician Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.

Pelosi also has regurgitated her well-worn defense that she merely sought a winning presidential campaign, telling the New Yorker that she had “never been that impressed with [Biden’s] political operation.

“I wanted to see a campaign that could win. Because I had made a decision that I stayed in Congress to defeat what’s-his-name, because I think he is a danger to our country,” Pelosi reflected, referring to former President Donald Trump.

Beyond her public statements, several of Pelosi’s key allies such as Reps. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) joined the rebellion against a Biden re-election bid.

At one point behind the scenes, Pelosi grilled Biden about polling data indicating he couldn’t win the presidential election, and when he disputed that, she had him put his longtime adviser Mike Donilon on the phone, CNN reported .

“Nancy made clear that they could do this the easy way or the hard way,” a Democrat who had knowledge of the private conversation told Politico . “She gave them three weeks of the easy way. It was about to be the hard way.”

Biden’s longtime former adviser, Anita Dunn, who has since departed the White House, appeared to take a subtle swipe at Pelosi in a recent interview.

“The task in front of us is to win this election and to not let Donald Trump become president again and to win the House of Representatives, which, had certain leaders in 2022 done a slightly better job, maybe we would control today, but we don’t,” she told Politico’s “Playbook Deep Dive” podcast .

“That is the job ahead of us,” Dunn said. “And it’s critical because, as the president has said, this country is at an inflection point.”

Biden himself is rumored to be “furious” with Pelosi. He name-dropped her in an interview with “CBS News Sunday Morning” that just aired.

“A number of my Democratic colleagues in the House and Senate thought that I was going to hurt them in the races,” he explained during the interview.

“And I was concerned if I stayed in the race, that would be the topic — you’d be interviewing me about why did Nancy Pelosi say [something] … and I thought it’d be a real distraction.”

Pelosi has been adamant that she “never called one person” — instead saying people called her — during the revolt against Biden.

“People were calling me saying that there was a challenge there. So there had to be a change in the leadership of the campaign or what would come next,” she admitted to the New Yorker.

Pelosi and Biden have not spoken since at least between Biden’s July 21 announcement about withdrawing from the race and the start of last week, according to Pelosi. It is unclear if they’ve talked since.

For her part, Pelosi has seemingly been trying to mend fences with him, hailing him in public as a “consequential” president and arguing that he deserves a spot on Mount Rushmore.

“I hope so,” she told the magazine when asked if their decades-long relationship could survive. “I pray so. I cry so.”

IMAGES

Rhetorical Questions in Essays: 5 Things you should Know (2024)
How to Answer Extended-Response or Essay Questions
Steps to write an essay questions and answers
Can You Ask Questions in an Essay? (What You Should Know)
Key words in Essay Questions
Analysing essay question

COMMENTS

How to ask a question in an essay (with tips and examples)
Tip 4: Ask Clarifying Questions. Asking clarifying questions about the essay prompt or topic can be extremely helpful when trying to select the right question. It is important to focus on the key elements of the essay and try to understand the overall message or purpose being conveyed in the prompt.
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
• suggests an answer complex enough to require a whole essay's worth of discussion. If the question is too vague, it won't suggest a line of argument. The question should elicit reflection and argument rather than summary or description. • can be explored using the sources you have available for the assignment,
PDF Strategies for Essay Writing
about the question, and they do not want you to bring in other sources. • Consider your audience. It can be difficult to know how much background information or context to provide when you are writing a paper. Here are some useful guidelines: o If you're writing a research paper, do not assume that your reader has read
Can you ask Questions in an Essay? How to Blend them Well
Alicia Smart. Ideally, you can ask questions in an essay, provided they are relevant and add value to the arguments of a paragraph. A question in an essay should always contribute something substantial to the arguments you make in the essay. Questions should not bring idle speculations that may drop the essay's tone.
Focus and Precision: How to Write Essays that Answer the Question
2) Be as explicit as possible. Use forceful, persuasive language to show how the points you've made do answer the question. My main focus so far has been on tangential or irrelevant material - but many students lose marks even though they make great points, because they don't quite impress how relevant those points are.
Step 1: Understanding the essay question
The content words are the "meat" of the question - these are things you can research. Effective communication is considered a core skill in higher education and is usually conveyed through the medium of academic papers and essays.Discuss the process of writing academic essays and critically examine the importance of structure and content.. You will often be asked to talk about "the role ...
PDF PREPARING EFFECTIVE ESSAY QUESTIONS
This workbook is the first in a series of three workbooks designed to improve the. development and use of effective essay questions. It focuses on the writing and use of. essay questions. The second booklet in the series focuses on scoring student responses to. essay questions.
Asking Analytical Questions
Your answer to that question will be your essay's thesis. You may have many questions as you consider a source or set of sources, but not all of your questions will form the basis of a strong essay. For example, your initial questions about a source may be answered by reading the source more closely. On the other hand, sometimes you will ...
Example of a Great Essay
This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people's social and cultural lives.
ESSAY QUESTIONS--Types & How to Answer
Make sure you understand what type of answer the main verb calls for (a diagram a summary, details, an analysis, an evaluation). Circle all the keywords in the question. Decide if you need to write a 1-paragraph or a multi-paragraph answer. Write a brief outline of all the points you want to mention in your answer. Restate the question and ...
How to write Essay questions
Ask the question in your own words. Leave opinions at home when grading. Inform users ahead of time of how grading will be completed. Provide customized feedback per student. Make the question clear. Use directives such as "Compare", "Identify", "Explain", "Describe", "Define". Show the points an essay questions is worth.
Types of questions
General questions. General questions often use task words like 'discuss', and ask broad questions that could apply to almost any topic. This means you have to decide on the scope of your essay, and build your argument from scratch.. The good thing about general questions is that they allow you to pick a topic you know about and really show what you can do.
Can You Ask Questions in an Essay? (What You Should Know)
You can ask questions in an essay provided they lead to an idea or concrete answers. If you don't intend to give an answer to a question, don't ask. Also, instead of asking a direct rhetorical question, consider using a rhetorical statement. We tend to shy away from asking questions in essay because it's hardly the intention.
The Four Main Types of Essay
Argumentative essays. An argumentative essay presents an extended, evidence-based argument. It requires a strong thesis statement—a clearly defined stance on your topic. Your aim is to convince the reader of your thesis using evidence (such as quotations) and analysis.. Argumentative essays test your ability to research and present your own position on a topic.
22 Essay Question Words You Must Understand to Prepare a Well
Definition of Question Words with Examples. Words such as 'explain', 'evaluate' or 'analyse' - typical question words used in essay titles - provide a useful indication of how your essay should be structured. They often require varying degrees of critical responses. Sometimes, they may simply require a descriptive answer.
Guide: Using the Question and Answer Format in Essays
The question and answer format is an essay whereby a professor presents an inquiry, and the students write a solution to the query. In this format, you quickly provide valuable information by involving the readers when asking the question and proving your answer. Some of the most common types of essay questions include:
Rhetorical Questions in Essays: 5 Things you should Know
1. Rhetorical Questions in Academic Writing: They Don't belong. Rhetorical questions are awesome … for blogs, diaries, and creative writing. They engage the audience and ask them to predict answers. But, sorry, they suck for essays. Academic writing is not supposed to be creative writing.
How to Generate Strong Essay Topics, With 30 Topic Examples
Here are a few examples of essay topics and accompanying thesis statements: Topic: Changing the legal voting age. Thesis statement: When nations lower the legal voting age to 16, youth civic participation increases. To combat low voter turnout among young adults, the United States should reduce the voting age to 16.
Good Questions for Better Essay Prompts (and Papers)
Good Questions for Better Essay Prompts (and Papers) April 8, 2020. Jessica McCaughey. Most professors would admit that they've found themselves frustrated when grading papers. Yes, sometimes those frustrations might stem from students ignoring your clear, strategic, and explicit instructions, but more often, I'd argue, "bad" papers are ...
Question Marks (?)
Revised on November 29, 2022. Considering the numbers of questions we try to answer in academics, we use question marks infrequently. You might use them to state your research question, to clarify an issue that requires future research, or once in a while to pose a question for your reader to consider as you proceed with your discussion.
How to Write Rhetorical Questions in an Essay [EXAMPLES]
This question does not seek an answer because it aims to make readers feel that the world would be dreary without art. #2. Evoke Emotions. Your writing is considered genuinely effective when you trigger an emotional response and strike a chord with the reader.
44 Essay Prompts for College That Will Get You Inspired
Overall, college essay prompts and essay questions are a great opportunity for students to showcase their achievements, grades, unique qualities and more to help them stand out in the admissions process. With careful consideration and thoughtful writing, students can use these prompts to create powerful and compelling essays that will impress ...
50 Argumentative Essay Topics for Students
These essays discuss issues around a range of topics, including science, technology, politics, and healthcare. Whether you're a teacher looking for essay topics for your students or a student tasked with developing an idea of your own, we've compiled a list of 50 argumentative essay topics to help you get started! 50 Argumentative Essay Topics.
Document-Based Question (DBQ) and How Ace Your Essay
The instructions on how to answer the section appear at the top of the page, followed by the essay prompt and then the historical documents. You have 15 minutes to read and understand the documents and 45 minutes to compose your essay. The DBQ is one of two questions that make up the AP history exam. The second question requires a longer response.
100 IELTS Essay Questions
The questions are organised under common topics and essay types. IELTS often use the similar topics for their essays but change the wording of the essay question. In order to prepare well for writing task 2, you should prepare ideas for common topics and then practise applying them to the tasks given (to the essay questions).
Are the use of questions acceptable in essays?
Jun 13, 2011 #2. I think it is acceptable. I often use question in my essays. And there are a lot of sample essays that use the question sentence. kofolaguda 1 / 5. Jun 13, 2011 #3. I know it is acceptable and safe to ask questions when writing essay. I personally like to start my essays with statements or questions that will interest my ...
PDF Review Questions to Ask Revision suggestions
Start an essay with interesting dialogue or vivid details for an effective hook. Use enough details so your reader can easily determine how your story/essay addresses the writing without an ^announcement. This is a personal essay, do not include niceties or ^thank-you _ appropriate in a personal letter. 2.
Hagiwara Sakutarō Transmutations of a Westernizer
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DHS Places Additional PRC-Based Companies on the UFLPA Entity List
UFLPA Entity List Will Now Restrict Goods from 73 PRC-Based Companies from Entering the United States. WASHINGTON - Today, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the addition of five entities based in the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) Entity List, bringing the total entities listed to 73.
Pelosi questions whether Biden wrote letter saying he'd stay in: 'It
Ex-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi has openly doubted whether President Biden wrote the letter he sent to Democrats last month insisting he was "firmly committed" to staying in the race.