Mr. MeenachJanuary 2009

Write down this sentence and fill in the blank. One sentence only!

Be broad to begin.

I am learning about (reading, studying, etc.) _________________

Example:I am learning about public funding for the arts.

A statement that specifies something about your topic.

I am studying ___________________ because I want to find out _______________________. (who, what, when, where, why, how)

I am studying public funding for the arts because I want to find out how accessible the arts are to those people who are members of the working poor.

Now look for a good question stem such as

how why to what extent under what circumstanceshow effectively how accuratelyhow successfully…

Shave off some of your suggested question statement and tidy things up a bit. Turn it into an actual question.

How accessible are the arts to people who belong to the class of the working poor?

Take your questioning one step further to determine your rationale.

I am studying ____ because I want to find out _____ in order to better understand ___________________.(how, why, whether)

I am studying public funding for the arts because I want to find out how accessible the arts are to members of the working poor in order to understand whether our tax dollars support cultural enrichment for all citizens regardless of their socio-economic status.

Encapsulate your rationale into your question…

Remember your question stem!!!

How are federal tax dollars used to find cultural enrichment for all citizens regardless of socio-economic status?

1. Do I want to know how tax dollars are used or how effectively tax dollars are used?

2. What do I mean by find cultural enrichment? Is that different from fund?

3. There’s a big difference, right?!!? I might need to see my supervisor about this.

Do I need to specify factors such as whom, when and where?

Remember your EE could go anywhere in the world to be graded!

How effectively has the United States federal government used tax dollars to fund cultural enrichment for all North American citizens regardless of socio-economic status since 1990?

I might be on to something here! Let’s take a close look at my EE subject guide and make sure I’m meeting the requirements and setting myself up for success.

How effectively has the United States federal government used tax dollars to fund cultural enrichment for all North American citizens regardless of socio-economic status since 1990?

Let’s take this to my supervisor for feedback…

Try, try again!

Repeat this process until you feel good about your question.