How to Answer a Discussion Question

How to Answer a Discussion Question on a Test

To answer a discussion question effectively, you need to work from a general statement to the specifics that support it, just like you learned to do in your earlier composition classes.

For example, if you were to write a discussion question on the characteristics of ROMANTICISM (which we do not study in this class, by the way—mostly), one part of your discussion essay could be the use of supernatural elements. So you might consider writing the following paragraph; notice that the topic sentence makes your general statement and that the rest of the paragraph shows the examples in the literature.

One popular trend in Romantic literature was the use of supernatural elements, sometimes to teach some sort of moral lesson, but often just to entertain. In “Young Goodman Brown,” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Satan is used to lure Brown into witchcraft. Brown is granted the power to see all the secrets in the community, which disillusion him about the nature of mankind and totally distract him from his supposed God-centered life. So he falls victim to Satan in spite of all. Edgar Allan Poe, on the other hand, used supposedly supernatural forces in most of his stories, to entertain. In “The Fall of the House of Usher,” the house itself seems to control the behavior and attitudes of the residents. Likewise, Washington Irving mostly attempted to entertain his readers with his “Legend of Sleepy Hollow.” In this story, Rip Van Winkle drinks some magical moonshine that keeps him asleep for 20 years, after which he awakens healthy and, blessedly, relieved from his mean wife. Although not all Romantic writers employed supernatural forces in their stories, quite a few did, making the forces from beyond a popular subject of stories even till the present day.

Notice that three writers are referred to, along with their specific story and character reference to serve as PROOF of the general statement. This form is the easiest way to say what you need to say in the simplest discussion. However you do it though, the specific examples from stories must be provided for you to get any credit at all for your answer.