Asking The Right Questions -- Note One: Find the issue and conclusion.

Q: Why do I start taking notes?

A:

There are several reasons that I start taking notes.

1. My past learning experience tells me to do that If I want to learn better.

2. Many advices about taking notes as a good habit are given in many books.

3. I can review these notes after finishing this book.

4. Watching is easier than reading, reading is easier than writing, here I am practising my writing skills. So I write this note in English.

5. When writing I am forced to think more thoroughly and deeply.

In a word, I want to make my learning more effective, so I take notes from now on, and will go on taking notes after finishing every chapter.

Q: If it worths the time, what’s the meaning of issue and conclusion?

A:

An issue is the main problem an article or a speaker is talking about. And a conclusion is the final descision of how something shoud be or ought to be or what something really is.

Q: How many kinds of issues and conclusions are there?

A:

Kinds of issues:

1. Descriptive issues: they require answers attempting to describe the way the world was, is, or is going to be.

2. Prescriptive issues: they require answers suggesting the way the world ought to be.

Kinds of conclusions:

1. The real conclusion.

2. NOT a conclusion, such as examples, statistics, definitions, background informations and evidences.

Q: how can I find the issue and conclusion when I am reading or listening?

A:

How to find issues?

1. Sometimes the writer or speaker will tell us.

2. Sometimes it is not easy to find it, so we must find the conclusion first.

How to find conclusions?

1. Ask what the issue is.

2. Look for indicator words.

3. Look in likely locations.

4. Remember what a conclusion is not.

5. Check the context of the communication and the author’s background.