QAR's - Question-Answer Relationships
Whether you are answering questions or creating your own questions as you read, it is helpful to know where to look for the answers to various types of questions. When you are reading, there are four main types of question-answer relationships. Here they are, with a brief explanation for each:
- Right There. The answer is in the text, and if we pointed at it, we'd say it's "right there!" Often, the answer will be in a single sentence or place in the text, and the words used to create the question are often also in that same place.
- Think and Search. The answer is in the text, but you might have to look in several different sentences to find it. It is broken up or scattered or requires a grasp of multiple ideas across paragraphs or pages.
- Author and You. The answer is not in the text, but you still need information that the author has given you, combined with what you already know, in order to respond to this type of question.
- On My Own. The answer is not in the text, and in fact you don't even have to have t read the text to be able to answer it.
Where do you look for the answers?
Right There. How many little pigs are there? Three. The answer is right there.
Think and Search. What did the three pigs use to build their houses? You have to read more than one sentence -- maybe even more than one page -- to find the complete answer.
Author and You. Which little pig are you more like -- the one who used straw or the one who used bricks? You'd have to know the story to answer this, but you also have to know yourself.
On My Own. What do you know about wolves? You don't need to have read or even heard of the story of "The Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf" to answer this question.
