The first step is to think about what information you need to answer your question. You may already be doing this but it could be helpful to adopt a more systematic approach.
Think about the following:
- finding the focus of your question
- what are the key concepts or ideas
- your understanding of these concepts
Look at the two examples below to help you with this. The first example gets you to think about the focus of your question by asking yourself questions about your topic. The second example gets you to rephrase your topic as a question, as this can help with analysing the topic.
You are asked the following question:
"How has England's relationship with Australia changed since 1945?"
Some relevant questions might be:
• What element(s) of the relationship? Political, popular opinion, military, legal, trade?
• What was the state of the relationship in 1945? What is it now?
• Has the relationship been affected by other countries?
You may need to consult some background material, such as encyclopaedias or general works to help you. Your answers may depend on the context in which the question is being asked. For example, you may be studying military history, or perhaps law. This will affect your perspective.
Sometimes, if your topic is hard to analyse, it can help to rephrase it as a question. Take this essay topic, for example:
"Many experts in the information technology field believe that it is impossible to try to develop effective protection against computer viruses because detection always lags behind the development of viruses. Discuss."
Phrased as a question, this could become:
"Can effective protection against computer viruses be developed?"
This makes it much easier to recognise the main ideas:
"Can effective protection against computer viruses be developed?"
