Adapting Questions
You came up with some good questions yesterday, and some of
them needed to be changed slightly. Here are some examples, why
I changed them, and how I changed them.
Original question:
How does knowledge in “Learning to Read and Write” free
Douglass from slavery?
Problem:
He is still a slave at the end of the essay. (Inaccurate question)
Adaptation:
How does literacy liberate Douglass even while he remains a
slave?
Or
How does Douglass demonstrate the relationship between
freedom and knowledge?
Original question:
How does Sherman Alexie discover that he is different from other
children on the reservation?
Problem:
This is only one small part in the essay – the whole essay doesn’t
focus on his childhood or his difference from other children.
Adaptation:
How do Alexie’s actions demonstrate that he doesn’t conform to
the stereotype of Native Americans?
Original question:
What were the effects of Douglass’s learning to read and write?
Problem:
Question is a bit too broad and a little circular (Some answers
could be that the effects were that he learned to read and write.)
Adaptation:
 How were the effects of Douglass’s learning to read both
positive and negative?