Twenty Questions

1.      What does X mean?                                               Definition

2.      How can X be described?                                      Description

3.      What are the component parts of X                     Simple Analysis

4.      How is X made or done?                                        Process Analysis

5.      How should X be made or done?                           Directional Analysis

6.      What is the essential function of X?                     Functional Analysis

7.      What are the causes of X?                                      Causal Analysis

8.      What are the consequences of X?                           Causal Analysis

9.      What are the types of X?                                        Classification

10.  How does X compare with Y?                                Comparison

11.  What is the present status of X?                              Comparison

12.  How can X be interpreted?                                     Interpretation

13.  What are the facts about X?                                    Reportage

14.  How did X happen?                                                   Narration

15.  What kind of person is X?                                      Characterization

16.  What is my personal response to X?                       Reflection

17.  What is my memory of X?                                      Reminiscence

18.  What is the value of X                                             Evaluation

19.  How can X be summarized?                                   Summary

20.  What case can be made for or against X?              Argumentation

from Berke, Jacqueline.  Twenty Questions for the Writer: A Rhetoric with Readings.  New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1976. 20.