"How To Answer A Discussion Question"

1. Restate part of the question or statement.

2. Refer to the title and author of the literature in which you are referring to in your writing.

1. Write a character analysis of the main character in the novel. EX. In John Steinbeck’s novel, The Pearl, the main character…

2. Discuss how the author describes small town American life in Our Town. EX. Thorton Wilder’s play, Our Town, depicts small town America in the early 1900’s and displays…

3. Identify the story type of “The Masque of the Red Death” and explain how it fits in this category. EX. “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe is an allegorical short story which…

4. Explain the theme of the “The Road Not Taken.” EX. The theme of Robert Frost’s poem, “The Road Not Taken,” is about life’s…

Think of literature being alive and ever-present. Every time you read Romeo and Juliet, they kill themselves. Every time you read The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, they construct a raft and float down the river. 3. Write in the present tense, using present tense verbs and verbals.

Present Tense Past Tense (You may use) (Don’t use!) is/are play/plays/playing has/have gallop write/writes/writing was/were played had galloped wrote/had written

4. Write in the 3rd person. 1ST PERSON I, Me, My, Myself, Mine, Our, Ours, Ourselves, Us, We…

Write in the 3rd person. 2ND PERSON You, Your, Yours, Yourself…

Write in the 3rd person. 3RD PERSON He, Him, Himself, His, She, Her, Herself, Hers, They, Them, Themselves…

Writing in the 3rd Person also means one can use the author's name, the characters’ names, and other words: person, one, the boy, the author, a dog, etc…)

5. Write a concluding sentence; a final statement. This allows the reader/grader to know that your answer is completed. Ex. These five aspects show that Joseph really does care about the other boys, and he is willing to put his pride aside.

6. Avoid Run-on’s and Fragments. RUN-ON - Elijah celebrates the harvest and his family survives the winter. SENTENCE - Elijah celebrates the harvest, and his family survives the winter. FRAGMENT – With winter soon approaching.

7. Answer the question. (Address the topic for discussion; stay on the subject.) This is called the content of the answer. Correctly address what is being asked.

Do not ramble. Hint: Make a brief outline or list of your key points of discussion. This will help organize your answer in a logical way.

8. Spelling must be accurate. If you don’t know how to spell it: a. look it up. b. choose another word that you do know. c. use “Spell Check.”

2. Restate part of the question or statement. 2. Refer to the title and author of the literature in which you are referring to in your writing.

3. Write in the present tense, using present tense verbs and verbals. 4. Write in the 3rd person. 5. Write a concluding sentence; a final statement.

6. Avoid Run-on’s and Fragments 7. Answer the question. (Address the topic for discussion; stay on the subject.) 8. Spelling must be accurate.