How to Use the Guiding Questions

Standard Level papers usually include guiding questions that are meant to draw your attention to the interesting / important aspects of a text. However, you do not have to use the guiding questions in your answer if you do not want to.

If you are given guiding questions, try to follow these basic rules:

• Do not treat them as separate questions each of which requires a separate answer. The points raised by the guiding questions are meant to be included seamlessly in one big essay!
• Do not feel that you have to write about all (there are usually four) of the guiding questions: you can make some points related to the guiding questions and mix them up with some points of your own.
• Do use the points raised by the guiding questions as inspiration for main points that you might like to include in your essay.
• Do not try to write about a guiding question if you do not understand it.
• Do make sure that you can find quotations from the text that is relevant to a guiding question before you begin to write about it
• If a guiding question raises a point that is ambiguous or can be interpreted in a number of ways then discuss them all, perhaps identifying the one that you prefer