An Analysis of Questions Posed in “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” by Arthur Conan Doyle in Relation to Critical Thinking

Abstract

This research presents an analysis of the questions posed in three short stories of “The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes” by Arthur Conan Doyle, in relation to critical thinking. The research aims to identify the types of questions used in the novel and the levels of cognitive thinking of these questions based on the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. The study uses a qualitative research design with the data collected through text analysis. The findings indicate that there are two types of questions in the stories, namely divergent and convergent, with the majority being convergent questions. The levels of cognitive thinking of the questions are mostly at the lower levels of Bloom’s revised taxonomy, specifically understanding and analyzing. The implications of the findings suggest that there is a need for a more balanced use of divergent and convergent questions and higher-order thinking skills for readers and also EFL students. Overall, this study contributes to the field of EFL education by highlighting the importance of using a variety of question types and developing higher-order thinking skills to enhance critical thinking for students.