2 Inquiry via Other Modes

Writing is one form of inquiry but there are others. Professional writers, such as journalists, are skilled at interviewing and reporting with accuracy and fairness in mind. Another form of inquiry might be a cross-examination in a court of law, which occurs on a daily basis around the world. If you’ve witnessed a legal cross-examination on television or in real life, then you likely know how this legal inquiry unfolds. A jury watches an eye witness be questioned by a gentle prosecutor, who called the witness to the stand. The prosecutor’s direct examination is followed by a sharper cross-examination from a defense attorney, who asks questions aimed at eliciting specific information to win a case. Questions fly through the courtroom like arrows in crossfire until the case rests and it’s time for the jury to deliberate.

Inquiry doesn’t need to be a grand performance on paper or in a court of law. Sometimes inquiry happens in unexpected places and times, such as when we’re singing in the shower alone or walking to class with a friend. In fact, many well-known historical thinkers have praised the art of asking questions at will, aloud, alone or in the company of others as a way of exploring new ideas. In the following TED Talk, Socrates’ preference for asking numerous questions is spotlighted as a virtue of his intelligence.

By asking questions aloud, Socrates externalizes a thought so that he can clasp it and observe it in the company of other related thoughts. Maybe you’ve engaged in a similar process of inquiry while writing. Have you ever read your writing out loud for an audience or for yourself? If you did, what did you notice? What did you want to change after reading aloud? What did you realize about your ideas from reading aloud?

Also, as seen in the video, moving and thinking about ideas presents an opportunity to engage in inquiry in a physically engaged, embodied way, but very rarely do students learn in writing classrooms that they can use their bodies as a vehicle for their minds’ best thinking. History is rife with examples of famous thinkers and writers who talked or walked their way to personal enlightenment. Haruki Murakami, Joyce Carol Oates, and Emily Dickinson have all noted how movement improves their writing practices. Some have even expressed a deep appreciation of daily walks (Virginia Woolf and Charles Dickens, for example) as an opportunity to observe the hustle and bustle of a city at night in order to clear their minds for the work of writing and to better describe characters in their work.

Creative and arts-based inquiry prompts us to ask questions, too. Each time we pick up a pencil to sketch out an idea for a project, our fingers are fumbling around for answers that our minds are subconsciously asking. What if I draw to these dimensions? Can I pencil this object in here? Will this doodle change the focus of the picture? Likewise, if you’ve ever put together a puzzle with 100 pieces or more, then you’ll understand that assembling pieces to construct a larger, more cohesive picture of the puzzle requires asking questions of yourself or those helping you.