Good writing often begins with a good question, a question for which there is no readily accepted answer. Such questions are called problematic questions. To wrestle with a problematic question is to explore it, to weigh various pieces of information, various angles, and various possible answers or solutions. Successful wrestling requires that we resist the temptation to come to closure too quickly, that we be able to live with uncertainty. It also requires us to actively look for additional questions, problems, puzzles and contradictions-to make a messy problem even messier.

Microtheme: Posing a Problematic Question

Your assignment is to pose a problematic question about the picture and explore possible answers to this question. To get full credit for this assignment, you must do the following:

Pose a problematic question about the picture. Relate the question to details in the picture.

Explore several possible answers to your question. To do this, choose details from the picture that support a possible answer.

Explain why your possible answer is not satisfactory.

Choose another detail that supports another possible answer or develops the previous answer further.

Explain why this new answer or development is still not satisfactory.

Continue this process until you reach the word count limit of 200 words. Write an ending statement to complete the exercise.

Write this assignment in paragraph form. Be sure to do the following:

Start a new paragraph with each new speculation.

Use transitions (however, therefore, but, and, also, on the other hand) to show the relationships between the ideas you are presenting.

Write in speculative language (something might be true, could be correct).