Ready-to-Use Classroom Analysis Questions for Primary and Secondary

These questions are ready-to-use.

They are analysis questions, based on the fourth level of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

You can use the questions as part of verbal questioning or as written questions.

The questions are based around the words ‘Contrast and Comparison, Examine, Analyse, Question, and Investigate.’

All of which are synonyms for analysis.

You can use the questions as they are, adapt them for your learners, or use them as inspiration to develop your own questions.

Contrast and Comparison Analysis Questions (Fourth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might X be made more like Y?
How is X different from Y?
What might have caused X to be different to Y?
Why might X and Y have developed differently over time?
How could we distinguish between X and Y?
What could we do to prove that X and Y are different/similar?
Why are X and Y not identical?
Are we able to prove that X is not Y? How?
What would have to happen for X and Y to become more/less similar/different?
How could we categorise X and Y together? How could we categorise X and Y apart?
What elements of X does Y possess (and vice versa)? What then, makes them different?
What analogy might fit both X and Y?
X is to Y, as what is to what? Can you prove it through reasoning?
How does Z’s relationship to X and Y differ? Why?
What might Z and X’s relationship share with Z and Y’s relationship?
How might you draw out the differences/similarities of X and Y for an audience?
What events might affect X but not Y?
How do the elements which make up X and differ from those which make up Y?
How do the origins of X and Y compare?
How could X become Y in N steps?
What conditions might benefit one, but not the other, of X and Y? Why?
Where might X be found, yet not Y? Why?
Where might X and Y both flourish? Why?
How might the uses of X and Y differ?
Do X and Y have certain things in common? If so, what are they and why do they have them in common?
What sort of relationship do X and Y have with one another?
How might a world without Y be different from a world without X?
How does the importance of X to human affairs differ to that of Y?
How is human engagement with X and Y different?
What is the cause of the similarities/differences between X and Y?
Can you outline the similarities and differences between X and Y?

Examine Analysis Questions (Fourth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might you plan a thorough examination of X?
What findings might you predict prior to examining X? On what do you base your predictions?
What tools or concepts might you use to examine X?
Which tools/concepts do you feel would be of most use when examining X? Why?
What questions would you try to answer when examining X?
What key question would you use to frame your examination of X? Why?
How might your choice of framing question affect your examination of X?
How might you break down X into manageable segments to examine? What would you need to consider when doing this? What might be the benefits and pitfalls of reducing X to constituent parts for examination?
How might two examinations of X be different?
Where might be the best place to conduct an examination of X?
How might the environment affect your examination of X?
Who might have previously examined X and how might their findings assist (or hinder) us?
Why might you examine X?
What benefits may there be from working independently/with others on an examination of X? And what potential problems might there be?
What criteria might be useful as a framework for examining X? How might you choose these criteria? How might you apply them? And what might be the effect of all this?
Can an examination of X reveal its true nature or condition? If so, how and why? If not, why not?
How might the results you gain by examining X influence your opinion?
Does the nature or condition of X change over time?
What might be the meaning or purpose of X?
What conclusions might an examination of X lead to? How might you examine whether these are true/valid/reliable?
How might different examinations of X produce different results? What might this tell us about X? What might this tell us about the nature of analysis/the examinations?
In your examination of X, was certain material implicit? Did it rely on you making judgements or inferring meaning? If so, what are the implications of this? If not, can a surface-level examination tell us the true nature or condition of X? Why?
How might you conduct an examination of X that is biased by motive Y? How might knowing this help you to be more objective?
How might X be affected by your examination?
How might examining X affect your understanding of it?

Analyse Analysis Questions (Fourth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might you analyse X?
Can you produce an analysis of X?
Can you produce an analysis of X, paying particular attention to element Y/the influence of Y?
How might X impact on Y?
What is the structure of X?
How might you analyse the structure of X?
How might we analyse the parts that go to make up X?
What (elements) lie(s) at the heart of X?
What (elements) lie(s) behind the functioning/meaning/structure of X?
What might be the meaning of X? What has led you to that conclusion?
What might we conclude from our analysis of X?
How might we subject X to analysis?
What might you expect to find by subjecting X to analysis?
How might analyses of X differ? What implications does this have for our own analysis? What implications does this have for the knowledge of X we may claim to create?
What might we learn by comparing the results of different analyses of X?
When analysing X, what processes/tools/concepts/ideas might be useful? Why?
What method should we use to analyse X? Why? How will we judge if our method has been successful? What might we do if it proves unsuccessful?
What is central/vital/key to X? What is not particularly important to X?
How might X be used? What is it about X that lends itself to such uses?
Who? What? Where? When? Why? How? (5W’s + H)
What might X be trying to communicate?
How might motive/bias have influenced X?
What might be the motives of person A?
How might person A have been led to act in this way?
Why did you behave as you did?
What might be the reasoning behind X?
How might X have come to be as it is?
What might be the constituent parts of X?
How might individual/group A’s intentions have led to the development of X/situation X? What else may have caused it to develop as it did?
What might have made X like it is?
What influences X internally, what influences it externally? And what influence(s) does X have on other things?
What might be the nature of X? What evidence do you have to support this?

Question Analysis Questions (Fourth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

Why X? Why X and not Y?
Why might X exist? What might have to happen for X not to exist?
Why might someone ask questions of X?
What questions might we ask about X? Why those questions?
What aim should we use to decide what questions to ask about X?
How might a person’s motivation/bias/intention affect the questions they ask about X?
Based on your own purpose/motive/aim, what questions would you ask about X?
How might you plan your questioning of X?
What counterfactual questions might you ask about X, to offset your original questions?
How could we use questions to achieve a certain result? What might this tell us about the use of questions? How might we use the information to inform our future questioning?
How might the questions asked by person A and person B be different? Why? What might this tell us about the similarities and differences between them?
Would open or closed questions be more helpful to us when analysing X? Why?
How might our questions change if X could respond? (For example, if X was a person we were in contact with, as opposed to a group/idea/object etc.)
How might the situation affect the questions you ask about X? Or the answers you obtain?
What objective questions could we ask about X? What subjective questions could we ask about X? How might these questions be similar or different? What might be the use of asking questions of both types? How would our analysis differ if we favoured one type over another?
What is the overarching question framing your analysis? Why? What might be the pros and cons of beginning with such a question?
Bearing in mind what we have found out about X, how might you formulate a set of questions that someone else could use to reach similar conclusions?
Can you use everything you know about X to come up with a set of questions that anybody could use to analyse it?
What questions about X might we need to ask because of new information Y?
What assumptions do your questions rest on? What assumptions do person A’s questions rest on?
Are there any questions about X that cannot be answered? If so, why can they not be answered? Can you imagine how they might be answered in the future?
How valid/reliable/generalizable are the answers to your questions? Why? How might you improve their validity/reliability/generalizability?
Under what circumstances might it be difficult to ask and answer questions about X?

Investigate Analysis Questions (Fourth Level of Bloom’s Taxonomy)

How might we investigate (the nature of) X?
How might we investigate whether what person A says is true or not?
Why might it be useful to investigate X?
Under what circumstances might it become necessary to investigate X? Why might it become necessary to investigate X?
What motives might people have for investigating X?
How might an investigation of X proceed/work/be structured?
How might an investigation of X be made relevant to our learning?
What could you use to frame your investigation of X?
How might investigating X differ from investigating Y?
How might time, place and context affect your investigation of X?
How might an investigation into a concept be different from an investigation into a physical thing?
What could you use to investigate X?
What might be the benefits of investigating X?
What might you not be allowed to do or use when investigating X?
What problems might you encounter when investigating X?
What difficulties do you think you will have to overcome when planning how to investigate X?
How might the nature of X affect any attempt to investigate it?
What might a successful investigation of X require?
What do you hope to gain by investigating X?
How might different methods of investigation affect what you can find out?
What assumptions might underpin an investigation of X?
What criteria could you use to guide your investigation? Why? Could you use these to judge your results? Why or why not?
What principles will you follow when investigating X? Why?
What question(s) will you seek to answer by investigating X?
How might you check the validity/reliability of any results you generate while investigating X?
If X changed while you were investigating it, how would you respond?
What might be the similarities and differences when investigating X and Y?
How will you judge whether your investigation has been a success or not?
Where might it be easiest to investigate X? Where might it be hardest to investigate X? Where might it be most effective to investigate X?