Purpose: Some learners limit their writing to simple sentences that do not include enough detail to make their intended meaning clear to a reader. Through asking the writer questions, additional information can be generated and added to the simple sentence.
STEP 1: Choose a sentence from the learner’s work that requires more information.
STEP 2: Ask the following kinds of questions to gather more information: When? Who? Where? How? Why? What happened then?
STEP 3: You may choose to record the learner’s responses.
STEP 4: Revise the sentence by incorporating the information you gathered by asking questions.
Campbell, P., & Brokop, F. (1996). STAPLE ’96. Edmonton, Alberta: Grass Roots Press. Copyright held by Literacy Alberta. ISBN for CD ROM 0-9680235-1-7, for handbook 0-9680235-0. Used with permission.
Handout 7.16