In order to do the best argument, writers have to think through their proposed course of action (their argument) and determine what questions readers may need answered. The following heuristic questions have been with us since ancient times as a way to think through the important questions readers will have. They are also useful as analytical/critical-reading tools.

Questions of Conjecture: “Is there an act to be considered?”

• Does it exist? Is it true?
• Where did it come from? How did it begin?
• What is its cause?
• Can it be changed?

Questions of Definition: “How can the act be defined?”

• What kind of thing or event is it?
• To what larger class of things does it belong?
• What are its parts? How are they related?

Questions of Quality: “How serious is the act?”

Simple Questions

• Is it a good or a bad thing?
• Should it be sought or avoided?
• Is it right or wrong?
• Is it honorable or dishonorable?

Comparative Questions

• Is it better or worse than something else?
• Is it more or less desirable than any alternatives?
• Is it more/less right/wrong than something else?
• Is it more/less honorable than something else?
• Is it more/less base than something else?

Questions of Policy: “Should this act be submitted to some formal procedure?”

Deliberative Questions

• Should some action be taken?
• Given the rhetorical situation, what actions are possible? Desirable?
• How will proposed actions change the current state of affairs? Or should the current state of affairs remain unchanged?
• How will the proposed changes make things better? Worse? How? In what ways? For whom?

Forensic Questions

• Should some state of affairs be regulated (or not) by some formalized policy?
• Which policies can be implemented? Which cannot?
• What are the merits of competing proposals? What are their defects?
• How is my proposal better than others? Worse?