Focus statement quiz
Select the best answers to the following questions. Please read all questions first before answering.
1. Who is the main character of the story?
a. Benjamin
Feedback: We agree. Benjamin is the person who faces the challenges, considers how to solve them, and takes action to do so. He is therefore the main character.
b. Clara
Feedback: While it is probably true that Benjamin’s wife, Clara, faces the same challenges that Benjamin does, this story talks mainly about Benjamin. The only time Clara comes into the story is when her attitude is described as conflicting with Benjamin’s ideas, therefore constituting an obstacle to his plans.
c. The fertilizer seller
Feedback: The fertilizer seller is not the person in this story who faces and solves the problem. Therefore, he is not the main character. Rather, the fertilizer seller plays the role of someone who helps Benjamin understand his problem.
2. What is the most significant problem the main character faces?
a. Poor soil fertility
Feedback: Poor soil fertility is a very significant problem. As this story describes the situation, if the soil was fertile, then Benjamin and his family would harvest good crops of maize, and have enough to eat. But poor soil fertility is itself not the most significant problem; not having enough to eat is the most significant problem.
b. Not enough money to buy fertilizer
Feedback: We disagree. If Benjamin decided that he wanted to use fertilizer to improve the fertility of his soil, then not having enough money to buy fertilizer would be the main obstacle to his plan. In this story, not having enough money to buy fertilizer is one of the main obstacles standing in the way of Benjamin solving his problem, but it is not his most significant problem.
c. Unable to produce enough maize to feed his family
Feedback: We agree that this is the most significant problem faced by the main character. Poor soil fertility is a secondary problem.
3. What is the main character’s primary goal? What is the main character trying to achieve?
a. To improve farming until it is as good as it was in the past.
Feedback: While it’s true that Benjamin would like to improve his farming activities so that yields are as good as they were in the past, this is a secondary goal. His main goal is to ensure that his family has enough to eat.
b. To ensure that his family has enough to eat.
Feedback: We agree. This is the most significant goal. This is the most important thing “at stake” in this story.
c. To improve the fertility of his soil.
Feedback: It is very important to improve the fertility of the soil. But, we would argue that this is a secondary goal. His main goal is to feed his family.
4. What obstacles to achieving his goal does the farmer face?
a. He cannot afford fertilizer.
Feedback: We agree. This is an important obstacle. It is interesting to note that, because Benjamin faces this obstacle, he is, in a sense, forced to consider other options. This situation results in Benjamin adopting an innovative method for improving soil fertility. Innovative actions are often driven by obstacles, and by necessity. There is a saying in English, “Necessity is the mother of invention.” Answers (b) His wife does not agree with his ideas and (c) The soil does not have enough nitrogen, are also obstacles.
b. His wife does not agree with his ideas.
Feedback: Yes, this is an obstacle. His wife’s objections may actually have changed Benjamin’s plans. Although we don’t know this from the story, it’s possible that Clara’s disagreement with Benjamin may have caused him to proceed more cautiously with his experiment, and plant only a portion of his land with cowpeas. This is an example of an obstacle which stimulates good planning. Answers (a) He cannot afford fertilizer and (c) The soil does not have enough nitrogen, are also obstacles.
c. The soil does not have enough nitrogen.
Feedback: Yes, this is certainly an obstacle to Benjamin achieving his goal of producing enough food to feed the family. Answers (a) He cannot afford fertilizer and (b) His wife does not agree with his ideas are also obstacles.
d. All of the above.
Feedback: Yes! All 3 are examples of obstacles. It is interesting to note that, because Benjamin cannot afford fertilizer, he is, in a sense, forced to consider other options. This situation results in Benjamin adopting an innovative method for improving soil fertility. His wife’s objections may actually have changed Benjamin’s plans. Although we don’t know this from the story, it’s possible that Clara’s disagreement with Benjamin may have caused him to proceed more cautiously with his experiment, and plant only a portion of his land with cowpeas. This is an example of an obstacle which stimulates good planning. The fact that the soil does not have enough nitrogen is certainly an obstacle to Benjamin achieving his goal of producing enough food to feed the family.
5. What solution does the main character develop to address the problem?
a. The main character speaks with someone who sells fertilizer.
Feedback: Benjamin does talk with a fertilizer salesperson. But it’s unclear from the story whether Benjamin sought out the fertilizer salesperson, or whether the man selling fertilizer made a sales call to Benjamin. In any case, when the fertilizer salesperson told Benjamin that his soil didn’t have enough nitrogen, this helped Benjamin think about how to solve his problem. However, the advice the salesperson gave was not the solution.
b. The main character plants cowpeas between the maize plants.
Feedback: We agree. This is the solution that addresses Benjamin’s problem, and it is an action that Benjamin decided upon and implemented himself, based on his knowledge (from the fertilizer salesperson) that his soil had insufficient nitrogen, and his creative adaptation of a farming practice from another country.
c. The main character decides to experiment with part of his land.
Feedback: Yes, he does experiment with his land. But it’s not just experimentation that solves his problem – it’s the particular experiment of planting cowpeas between rows of maize that solves Benjamin’s problem.
6. What is the best focus statement for the story?
a. A poor farmer finds a way to improve the fertility of his soil, which increases the yield of his crops, so his family has enough to eat.
Feedback: We agree. This statement contains a “who”, a “what” and a “why.”
b. A farmer finds out that some crops add nitrogen to the soil.
Feedback: This is not a good focus statement, because it doesn’t include a “why.” It doesn’t address the question of why the farmer wanted to add nitrogen to the soil.
c. A farmer grows confident that new ideas will work well.
Feedback: The farmer probably does develop some confidence in trying out new things. But this statement doesn’t tell us the “why.” It does address the question of why the farmer needs to try something different. Also, it does not address the “what.” It doesn’t tell us exactly what new idea he tried.
