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What Is This Asking?

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WORLD HISTORY PROJECTORIGINS/ LESSON 4.2CLOSERWHAT IS THIS ASKING?Unless otherwise noted, this work is licensed under CC BY 4.0. Credit: “What Is This Asking?”, OER Project, https://www.oerproject.com/1PurposeBeing able to break down a question to truly understand what it’s asking is a skill that will help you regardless of the situation or course. Dismantling a question in this way is called parsing.Process1.Review thisprompt: In the period 600 BCE to 600 CE, different factors led to the emergence and spread of new religions and belief systems, such as Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity. Develop an argument that evaluates how such factors led to the emergence or spread of one or more religions in this period.2.Rewrite the prompt in your own words.•(Hint: if you’d like a reminder of how to analyze certain words you find in prompts, check out page3!)3.Periodization: What is the time period you’re being asked to consider? (Write out the years,if you’re given a century. For example, twentieth century = 1900s.)4.Location: What areas of the world are included in this prompt?5.Topic: What is the main topic being asked about in this prompt?
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 4.2 CLOSERWHAT IS THIS ASKING?26.Historical reasoning practice: What historical reasoning practice is this prompt asking you to engage in? Provide justification for why you chose the one you did.7.Composition: What is the prompt stem asking you to do as part of your response? Remember,the prompt stem is usually a verb.8.Brainstorm: Now that you’ve figured out what the prompt is asking, brainstorm some possible responses. Respond to the prompt by writing threeor four sentences based on what you’ve learned about belief systems in this period.
WORLD HISTORY PROJECT ORIGINS / LESSON 4.2 CLOSERWHAT IS THIS ASKING?3Historical thinking skillKey words/phrasesCausationCause, effect, led to, lead to, emergence, resulted, bring about, give rise to, be the cause of, result in, produce, generate, spawn, precipitate, prompt, induce, promote, foster, provoke, triggerComparisonSimilarities, differences, compare, contrast, set side-by-side, juxtapose, differentiate, liken, equateCCOTContinuities, changes, continuation, persistence, consistent, over time, two points in timeClaim testingDefend, choose a side, useevidencePrompt stem examplesWhat it’s askingTo what extentWeigh, evaluate, assessEvaluate, assessHow much (this response needs a value in its response, such as “a little,” or “a lot”)Analyze, developDescribe and explainArgue, argumentMake a claim