64b. Recognizing the questions that writers in a discipline ask

64bRecognize the questions that writers in a discipline ask.

Disciplines are characterized by the kinds of questions their scholars attempt to answer. Social scientists, who analyze human behavior, might ask about the factors that cause people to act in certain ways. Humanities scholars interpret texts within their cultural contexts; they ask questions about the society at the time a text was written or about the connections between an author’s life and work. Historians, who seek an understanding of the past, ask questions about the causes and effects of events and about connections between current and past events. Scientists collect data and ask questions to help them interpret the data.

One way to understand how disciplines ask different questions is to look at assignments on the same topic in various fields. Many disciplines, for example, might be interested in the subject of disasters. The following are some questions that writers in different fields might ask about this subject.

education Should the elementary school curriculum teach students how to cope in disaster situations?
film How has the disaster film genre changed since the advent of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in the early 1970s?
history How did the formation of the American Red Cross change this country’s approach to natural disasters?
engineering What recent innovations in levee design are most promising and most likely to prevent disaster?
psychology What are the most effective ways to identify and treat post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in disaster survivors?

The questions you ask in any discipline will form the basis of the thesis for your writing. The questions themselves don’t communicate a central idea, but they may lead you to one. For an education paper, for example, you might begin with the question “Should the elementary school curriculum teach students how to cope in disaster situations?” After considering the issues involved, you might draft the following thesis.

School systems should adopt age-appropriate curriculum units that introduce children to the risks of natural and human-made disasters and that allow children to practice coping strategies.

Whenever you write for a college course, try to determine the kinds of questions scholars in the field might ask about a topic. You can find clues in assigned readings, lecture topics, discussion groups, and the paper assignment itself. When in doubt, ask your instructor for guidance.