Thursday, 27 October 2011

Critiquing 5 questions

Q:Why did Sir Philip get so angry at Peter for throwing the rock? Would you be angry? Explain.

A: This is an RT(right there) question, not from the text, but equally as self-explanatory. It's quite obvious why Sir Philip would be angry with Peter if he threw a rock at him, and I would be very angry if I were in his shoes as well. Very little thinking, analysis, and reading between the lines is required to answer this question. First of all, no one wants to be injured, which the stone could have easily caused, second, people in general do not like rocks being hurled violently at them in a direct attempt to damage he or she, it gives them a feeling of great insecurity, knowing someone is trying to hurt you. Don't get it? If you had a rock thrown at you from up high and was nearly hit, would you be nervous or scared? This question cannot be modified enough to be considered a question of grade 9 standard, it should be omitted altogether. This question cannot be improved without completely changing the idea and what the asker is asking, so one may as well ask a different question instead.

Q:How do the struggles Peter and Kit fo through relate to an experience you’ve gone through in real life?

A: There are a few things that can improve this question. To begin with, it's possible that this question can't even be answered due to the fact that a person may not have experienced an experience close to Peter and Kit's. Even more, many people have not yet finished the novel, so they don't know what their full experience was like, making them unable to relate. To solve this problem, one should refer to only the first ten chapters, and in order to make sure that anyone can answer the question, make the relation more obvious, such as "How do the struggles Peter and Kit go through the first ten chapters relate to being a wanted pair of people?"
Also, the question is too vague. "Relate" can refer to a broad number of things. Being in the same timeline, being in the same area, eating the same food, drinking the same liquid, using the same muscles can all mean two things can relate to each other. One can say their experience of eating chips on the couch related to Peter and Kit's struggles because both of our experiences were on earth. In order to fix this, the asker must make the type or relation more specific. For example, one could ask for relations between the feelings you felt during your experience and the feelings Kit and peter felt during their struggles. One could even be more precise by asking how intense were those feelings, and if they were as intense as Peter and Kit's. Also, the question is worded "how do the struggles Peter and Kit go through relate to an experience you’ve gone through in real life", not, "how do the struggles Peter and Kit fo through relate to an experience you’ve gone through in real life?"

Q:In the novel, many people carry pistols and swords. Do you think death is a justified punishment? Peter could’ve been tortured for information. Are these violent methods of getting things you want right? How do you think people should be punished?

A: I can see one big thing that can be adjusted with this question. First of all, there is more than one question. At the beginning they talk about people carrying pistols and swords, and then asking someone if they think death is a justified punishment, and then talking about torturing, and then asking the reader how they think people should be punished. I don't understand how carrying pistols and swords means that they are punishing a person by death. In order to solve this problem, one must omit most of the questions and leave only one, making sure all the sentences relate to each other and are asking, or helping ask, the same question. For example: "Peter could've been killed for his participation in the destruction of Sir Philip Morton's wall. Do you think death is a justified punishment? If yes, why? If not, how do you think people should be punished for such crimes?"

Q:Does Peter life relate to other kids around the world? Does it relate to you? Explain why.


A: The question is far too vague. To use "life" in a question already makes the question extraordinarily broad. When someone asks how your life relates to other kids around the world, there are thousands of things that could relate between your life and kids around the world. You could say you relate to each other because you're both human beings. Also, to include kids around the world gives the question far too large an area for someone to cover in a week. To fix this, the asker should narrow the question down significantly, with what area of relation are you asking, and only one child or a small group of children. For Example: "Does Peter's financial status relate to a person in Canada living with bankruptcy?"
Also, omit the "Does it relate to you? Explain why" portion altogether. There should only be one question being asked, not two.
Another thing, the first three words should be worded "Does Peter's life," not, "Does Peter life."

Q:Does theatre have a say in political matters? If yes, explain.


A:This question is also quite broad. What kind of political matters are you asking for? Are you asking if theatre has a say in a declaration of war? What level of political power are you referring to, City, Provincial, or National? Also, theatre is quite broad. Are you referring to people? What kind of people within theatre? The actors, the playwriters, or watchers? this question should be narrowed down heavily. For example: "Do theatre playwriters have a valued opinion in environmentally-friendly issues? If yes, explain why."

Side note: It seems as though the main problem with most questions is that they are too broad.

5 comments:

  1. I don't know why the questions won't show up! If any of you can't see as well, Highlight the empty spaces above the answer.

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  2. How do we know what questions you are critiquing?

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  3. Bold you questions! Also make sure the font and size are the same on your page!

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  4. say who's question it is. For example AB

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  5. This is a really well written post, you edited well and have a good revision of each. I think the problem is you copied and pasted black letters and our background is black so it blended in.

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