Instructions

In this task you need to identify whether a question is an answer-seeking question or a rhetorical question, according to the following definitions.

Definitions:

1. An Answer-Seeking Question is a question of which the main purpose is to seek answers for what it literally asks from the hearers.

2. A Rhetorical Question is a question of which the main purpose is NOT to seek answers for what it literally asks from the hearers. Instead, the speaker uses the question mainly for some other purpose, for example, suggestion and criticism.
Examples are given at the bottom of instruction.

1. What you'll be given during annotation:
You'll be given annotation samples collected from Twitter. Each sample contains 2 tweets from different users. The second tweet is a comment to the first tweet and it contains a question to label.
Note that the comment(the second tweet) is always provided within a green box.

2. What you'll need to do during annotation:
  • i. Read the sample carefully.
    • ii. Choose from 3 options the one that best describes the question in the comment, based on the following criteria.
    .
    Option Guidance
    Probably Answer-Seeking The main purpose of the question is more likely to be answer-seeking than rhetorical
    Probably Rhetorical The main purpose of the question is more likely to be rhetorical than answer-seeking
    Non-English / Hard to understand The language used is not English, or it is hard to understand what the question/tweets mean.
    IMPORTANT: Please do not use this option unless necessary (Sometimes you could still infer the main purpose of a question even if you may not understand most part of it, e.g. "What is cerebral vasomotor reactivity ?" is obviously answer-seeking although most people don't know "cerebral vasomotor reactivity". )
IMPORTANT:
  • When you feel the question is ambiguous, make your decision by determining whether its main purpose is more likely to be rhetorical or answer-seeking.
    Ex.
    • @Alice: John got accepted into MIT !!
      @Bob: Oh my god is it real ??

    To some people, Bob's question is ambiguous since it could be rhetorical (use the question to express shock) or answer-seeking (asking whether it is real). If you think the main purpose is more likely to be answer-seeking than expressing shock, choose "Probably Answer-Seeking ". Otherwise choose "Probably Rhetorical".

  • Please go through the examples below to fully understand the difference between Answer-Seeking Questions and Rhetorical Questions.

Some Examples of Answer-Seeking Questions:

  • What is the difference between IOS 11 and IOS 10 ?
    The question literally asks about the difference between two versions, and its main purpose is to seek an answer about the difference.

  • What is your opinion about this news ?
    The question literally asks about the hearers' opinions about the news, and its main purpose seeks an answer about the hearers' opinion.

  • Do you have any time tomorrow ?
    The question literally asks if the hearer has any time tomorrow, and its main purpose is to seek an answer for that.
Some Examples of Rhetorical Questions:

  • make an assertion or opinion:   Could this be worse ?!
    The question literally asks for possibility of being worse, but obviously its main purpose is not to seek any answer for the possibility but to make an assertion that it couldn't be worse.

  • provide a suggestion or advice to the hearers :   @Bob why don't you start writing something if you want to improve your writing skills?
    The main purpose of the question is not to seek any answer for what it literally asks - the reason why Bob doesn't write anything. Instead its main purpose is to recommend Bob to start practice writing. The question could be phrased into a statement: "You should start writing something if you want to improve your writing skills".

  • express emotion:   What the hell ?!

  • draw the hearers' attention onto a topic, or promote something:   Excited for another #ToolkitTalk ? Next month we're talking peer mentoring. Join us on Oct 17th @7pmET!
    The quesion literally asks whether the heareres are excited, but its main purpose is to draw hearers' attention over or promote the talk.

  • agree/disagree, argue, or persuade:   (a mother says to her child) If you are not going to school, how could you get educated ?
    The question literally asks what other way to get educated than by going to school, but its main purpose is to argue that going to school is the only way to get educated. The question could be phrased into a statement: "If you are not going to school, there is no other way to get educated".

  • imply that the solution is trivial:   Is the sky blue?
    Instead of seeking a yes-no answer to whether the sky is blue, its main purpose is to imply the solution is obvious.

  • make a joke:   I run faster to my dorm after class to take a nap than I do while at practice. Isn't that what we are trained for ?
    Instead of seeking a yes-no answer to what the question literally asks, its main purpose is to make a joke.

  • self question:   Why am I doing this to myself ?
    The question is not for any hearer but the speaker himself/herself.