Writing Book 5 · Lesson 14

Margin questions that predict the test

A margin question is only useful if it is worth answering.

What it is

Turning a note into a question forces you to know what the note is FOR. A margin question should be answerable only by the note beside it — if it could be answered from memory or common sense, it is not testing the reading.

Watch it built

1
Here is a line of your notes.
A. Roots grow toward water, not down
2
Ask what a quiz would want you to know here — the surprising part.
The surprising part is not down.
3
Write the question in the margin, narrow enough that only this note answers it.
Which direction do roots grow, and what decides it?

One more

A. The treaty was signed in 1648
↓
Q: Which year ended the war, and what was the agreement called?
Remember
If common sense answers your question, it is the wrong question.
Ask yourself: “Would this question be worth asking on a test?”

Remember

Ask the question the quiz would ask.

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