Tie Line

If the prompt has extra language, such as a statement beginning with if, then make sure you tie the What Statement to the prompt.  For example:

Prompt: If you could be any wild animal, what would you be?

If I could be any wild animal, I would be a Canaan seeing-eye dog.

Task 4.3.2 – Individual

Create a What Statement for your idea.

Assessing What Statements

To see if a What Statement is worth discussing, answer these questions:

1. Is the What Statement a sentence?
2. Are there two variables?
3. Is one variable New? (Use the Old/New formula to determine this.)

Sentence

A sentence is something you can say and it sounds okay. If it sounds strange, then it is usually a fragment. A sentence rarely starts with—

although/though
as/as if
because/since
if
in order to/so that
when/while
where/whereas

Variables

A variable is a central idea expressed in the What Statement.  They are the ends of the Barbell of Communication Some variables are hidden. We will cover those later.

Old Variable

Old Variables are ones the intended audience likely knows about or does not care about.

New Variable

New Variables are ones the intended audience does not know much about and are likely to interest the intended audience.