Questions in papers

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I'm discovering that my freshman and sophomore high school students regularly ask "rhetorical questions" in their essays and reports rather that making their own statements. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why they do that and how I can help them quit doing it? Thanks.

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R. Morrison wrote on 16 Apr 2004:
[nq:1]I'm discovering that my freshman and sophomore high school students regularly ask "rhetorical questions" in their essays and reports rather ... anyone have any suggestions as to why they do that and how I can help them quit doing it? Thanks.[/nq]
It seems to me that they do that because they are rhetorically immature and don't understand when it is and is not appropriate to ask rhetorical questions in essays. They obviously never learned much about writing in junior high school or at home, which is not surprising.

I suggest a lesson on the rhetorical question and why it's usually poor style and poor strategy in expository prose. Then take from their papers as many examples as you can deal with in the time you allot to the lesson and show them how to make statements where they seem to prefer questions. That's what opne must do when teaching people of any age and skill level how to write.
If they can't break themselves of the habit, then tell them that any paper that includes a rhetorical question will have to be rewritten before it can be accepted.
I don't think this is an unusual writing problem for first- and second- year high school students.

Franke: EFL teacher & medical editor.
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[nq:1]I'm discovering that my freshman and sophomore high school students regularly ask "rhetorical questions" in their essays and reports rather that making their own statements. Does anyone have any suggestions as to why they do that[/nq]
What younger students get praised for is different from what more mature students get praised for.
[nq:1]and how I can help them quit doing it?[/nq]
In my experience the best ways are (1) tell them not to do it (or, better still, limit them to one r.q. per essay) and (2) mark them down if they do. My first-year college students were in a state of shock when I gave many of them an E for their first essay (they were all in the upper quartile at school and used to getting As for everything), but by the end of the first term they had learned better habits.
Adrian

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What is a rhetorical question? any example?
thanks.

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Mark > misc.education.language.english
in
[nq:1]What is a rhetorical question? any example?[/nq]
Questions where the answer is already known, but you ask them anyway to recall or emphasize something. Sometimes the answer would be "Yes, of course!", sometimes "No, of course!".
"Is Africa a cold place? Yet, he left for Nairobi with ten sweaters in his suitcase."

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