ENG 1020 | VanKirk

Pondering Questions
We’ll discuss questions and questioning a lot this semester. We’re going to start with a concept
called pondering questions (or PQ for short).

PQ’s are questions that defy simple “yes” or “no” answers. They require complex responses and
are not so easily answered. Often, PQ’s cannot be expressed with a single question; they might
require multiple sentences to get at the point of inquiry’s heart.

Further, pondering questions cannot be answered by a simple, Google-search statistic. For

instance, a poor PQ would be something like, “How big is the moon?” Additionally, a strong
PQ will have more than one “correct” answer. “What purpose does the Mort Harris Rec Center
serve?” elicits multiple answers depending upon whom you ask and one individual’s answer
does not invalidate another’s.

Strong PQs avoid assumptions. A clue to know that your PQ contains an assumption is the
inclusion of tentative language: “maybe,” “probably,” “could, “might.”

Why might assumptions make for poor pondering questions?

To avoid assumptions, or the accusation of the presence of an assumption, PQ’s make use of
contextualization. This means that the PQ has a description of the thing being questioned,
perhaps providing the background information that the inquiry hinges upon.

Similarly, strong PQ’s avoid turning the point of inquiry into a question of morals and/or
ethics. Anytime the verbs “should” or “ought” sneak their ways into your PQ’s, you’re asking
for the reader/audience to make a judgment based upon the situation’s (mis)presented virtues.
While a PQ might result in the reader or audience making a judgment on the matter at hand
based on ethics, it is your job to ask a question without any rhetorical ulterior motives that
might influence that judgment.

No pondering question should have “right” or “wrong” answer. We’re raised in a society that
values logic, quantification, and marketability. I’m here to try to challenge the notion that
“everything has a right answer.” Few things outside of mathematics and science actually have
“right” answers. Most things are fluid, constantly changing, and cannot be fully understood or
realized within a singular encounter.

In a similar vein, leading questions are also a no-no: “Don’t you think all Wayne State students
should take English 1020?” This frustrates the curiosity you’re supposed to be supplying for
the reader because you’re already presenting a “right” answer.

Let’s look at this example paragraph below. After reading it, I’ve generated two PQs that
demonstrate the type of inquiry I’m looking for from you.
ENG 1020 | VanKirk

Walking into Mort Harris Rec Center on Wayne State’s campus, one of the first sights you encounter is
the weight room. By peering through the glass, you can see mostly young men lifting free weights. These
young men typically wear tank tops and athletic compression tights.

PQ 1) Why is the weight room mostly used by young men and not young women or people of
greater age?

PQ 2) Tights are traditionally seen as a feminine article of clothing. Why are these young men
engaging in a stereotypically masculine activity (weight lifting) while wearing a stereotypically
feminine article of clothing?

If you notice, neither of these questions are answerable with “yes” or “no.” They require some
pondering (hence the name) before they can be answered. Keep in mind, neither of these
questions are perfect, but they approach a more acceptable version of what I am looking for.

Keeping with our rec center example, write two things wrong with the following PQ.

“Should the Mort Harris Rec Center increase its hours of operation?”

1.

2.

Now, let’s spend some time writing strong pondering questions related to our topics.