In order for our online discussions to be useful and interesting, we need to begin with good questions.  But what makes a good question?

Good questions have these qualities:
They focus on a specific element of the text, such as a character, a scene, style or form, events, setting, etc., but they also invite you to think about the significance of these elements.
You have to use the text to answer the question.
You have to interpret or evaluate some aspect of the text, not simply summarize it.
They invite different interpretations, so they generate multiple good answers. 

Consider these questions about Ragtime:

Who is Evelyn Nesbit?

What role does Evelyn Nesbit play in this novel?

What aspects of early 20th century urban life does Evelyn Nesbit’s story allow Doctorow to show us?  Why do those aspects matter?

What does Evelyn Nesbit’s story have to do with diversity?

Each of these questions invites a different kind of answer, and you’d need to think in different ways in order to answer each one.  

“Who is Evelyn Nesbit?” focuses on a specific element of the text, and you would have to use the text to answer this question.  But it only asks for description and summary.  In order to answer this question, you would put Doctorow’s descriptions of Evelyn and the story he tells into your own words.  You don’t have to interpret or evaluate, and there is only one right answer.  This is not a good question.

“What role does Evelyn Nesbit play in this novel?” requires you to describe her relationship with other characters and with the story at large.  If you only did that, you wouldn’t interpret or evaluate.  But this question could also generate interpretation if you not only described her relationships with other characters but also commented on how those relationships shape the larger story or why those relationships are important.  At that point, you’re evaluating her role, and this might yield different answers.  So this question is good only if the person answering makes it good.

To answer the question about what Nesbit’s story shows us about urban life, you might begin with summary, listing the things her story shows, but the second half of the question invites you to think about their meaning.  Why do they matter?  In order to answer this, you have to consider the relationship between urban life and the novel as a whole.  You would also have to offer your own judgment about what matters and why, so this question might yield several different good answers.  This question is good because of the second part.  Once you ask why something matters, you have a good question.

“What does Evelyn Nesbit’s story have to do with diversity?” also asks for interpretation and judgment, but like the others, you would want to begin answering it by looking at the events, images, and ideas in the novel.  You might think about Evelyn’s interaction with Tateh and the little girl, as well as her relationship with Emma Goldman, for example.  With that example in mind, then you could comment on her story’s connection with diversity.  As you move from referencing a specific moment in the novel to commenting on what it means, you shift into interpretation.  Different people might interpret those interactions differently, so this question might also yield multiple good answers.