I have taken, recently, to broadening my meager repertoire of responses to context-free questions beyond a bare "What have you tried?" because, in essence, I agree: There are plenty of times when that question just doesn't seem sensible. The hardest task is occasionally just figuring out how to begin. Alternatives to WHYT that sound reasonable to me include:

• What are you studying?
• What text is this drawn from, if any? If not, how did the question arise?
• What kind of approaches (to similar problems) are you familiar with?
• What kind of answer are you looking for? Basic approach, hint, explanation, something else?
• Is this question something you think should be able to answer? Why or why not?

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor are all of them applicable to all questions, but I have found them useful options to keep in mind.

I have taken, recently, to broadening my meager repertoire of responses to context-free questions beyond a bare "What have you tried?" because, in essence, I agree: There are plenty of times when that question just doesn't seem sensible. The hardest task is occasionally just figuring out how to begin. Alternatives to WHYT that sound reasonable to me include:

• What are you studying?
• What text is this drawn from, if any? If not, how did the question arise?
• What kind of approaches (to similar problems) are you familiar with?
• What kind of answer are you looking for? Basic approach, hint, explanation, something else?
• Is this question something you think you should be able to answer? Why or why not?

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor are all of them applicable to all questions, but I have found them useful options to keep in mind.

I have taken, recently, to broadening my meager repertoire of responses to context-free questions beyond a bare "What have you tried?" because, in essence, I agree: There are plenty of times when that question just doesn't seem sensible. The hardest task is occasionally just figuring out how to begin. Alternatives to WHYT that seem sensible to me include:

• What are you studying?
• What text is this drawn from, if any? If not, how did the question arise?
• What kind of approaches (to similar problems) are you familiar with?
• What kind of answer are you looking for? Basic approach, hint, explanation, something else?
• Is this question something you think should be able to answer? Why or why not?

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor are all of them applicable to all questions, but I have found them useful options to keep in mind.

I have taken, recently, to broadening my meager repertoire of responses to context-free questions beyond a bare "What have you tried?" because, in essence, I agree: There are plenty of times when that question just doesn't seem sensible. The hardest task is occasionally just figuring out how to begin. Alternatives to WHYT that sound reasonable to me include:

• What are you studying?
• What text is this drawn from, if any? If not, how did the question arise?
• What kind of approaches (to similar problems) are you familiar with?
• What kind of answer are you looking for? Basic approach, hint, explanation, something else?
• Is this question something you think should be able to answer? Why or why not?

This list is not meant to be exhaustive, nor are all of them applicable to all questions, but I have found them useful options to keep in mind.