Elaborative interrogation
Elaborative interrogation is a study technique where you take one fact you are learning, ask why it is true, and answer from what you already know. It turns a stated fact into an explanation. Dunlosky and colleagues (2013) rated it moderate utility: it helps, but it works best when you already know something about the topic.
In more detail
The prompt is always a version of "why would this be true?", asked about one specific fact. Not "why is the heart important?" but "why does the left ventricle have a thicker wall than the right?". Answering forces you to link the fact to a cause, a mechanism or something you already know. If you cannot answer, you found a gap before the exam did.
It sits next to two ideas it is often mixed up with. Elaboration is the broad habit of linking new material to what you know in any way, through examples, analogies or reasons. Elaborative interrogation is one precise way to do it: a why-question on a stated fact. Self-explanation is about how a step or sentence follows from the one before, so it suits worked problems and processes.
The limits are real. You need some background knowledge, because with none you can only guess. It works better on separate facts and short passages than on a whole chapter. And check your answer against the source, since a confident wrong explanation is worse than none. In one classroom study quoted by a teaching center, students who got why-prompts in a biology passage on digestion scored 76 percent against 69 percent for plain studying.
Elaborative interrogation next to related techniques
| Technique | What you do | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Elaborative interrogation | Ask "why is this true?" about one stated fact | Separate facts and rules in a text |
| Elaboration | Link new ideas to what you know in any way | Any new material |
| Self-explanation | Explain how each step follows from the last | Worked problems and processes |
| Retrieval practice | Recall the answer without looking | Checking what you actually know |
Example
Kevin reads that the Roman Republic fell partly because armies became loyal to their generals instead of the state. He asks: why would that be true of Rome and not of earlier states? He answers from what he knows: generals paid the soldiers and gave them land after the wars, so the soldiers' future depended on the general. He checks the chapter, finds it matches, and adds the land detail to his notes.
How to use it
- 1
Pick one specific fact from your material, a sentence and not a chapter.
- 2
Ask "why is this true?" or "why this and not something else?".
- 3
Answer in your own words from what you already know, before you look anything up.
- 4
Check your answer against the source and fix it.
- 5
Come back to the same question a few days later and answer it from memory.
How StudyPDF does this
StudyPDF's quizzes and practice exams ask the why behind your material, and each question carries an explanation with its source, so you can check your reasoning against the page. Open a material in the split view and ask Bo why an answer is right. A bare "why?" is enough, because Bo sees which question is on screen.
See also
Common questions
What is elaborative interrogation in simple terms?
Asking why a fact is true and answering it yourself. You turn "X is true" into "why would X be true?" and explain it from what you already know.
Is elaborative interrogation effective?
Dunlosky and colleagues rated it moderate utility in their 2013 review. It beats plain rereading for facts, but it works best with some prior knowledge and has less support than practice testing and spaced practice.
Put it to work on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.