Be sure the question you are asking is clear in your own mind. Think through what you want from the student before you ask the question. Avoid ambiguous questions. Questions should be purposeful and direct.   Since tutoring sessions are usually brief, questions need to accomplish a lot in a small amount of time. 

Ask only one question at a time. 

Use "probing questions" Probing is the use of further questions to force the student to put together his or her partial knowledge into a more complete answer. Probing often involves the use of follow-on questions to help the student answer the initial question or to provide a more complete answer. 

Avoid leading questions. Questions, such as "Don't you all think that ... ?" will not encourage students to offer their opinions and views on the subject. Students often believe that they should wait to be told the answer and that they should think the same way as the tutor. 

Avoid yes/no questions and questions that require only a one-word response. It is difficult to get a discussion going or foster an active learning environment by asking students questions that only require a one-word response. 

Admit when you don't know the answer. You'll lose more credibility by trying to fake an answer than by stating that you don't know. If you don't know the answer to a student's question, say so, "That's a good question. I'm not sure about that." Follow up by looking for the answer. 

Try to use natural language. Tutees tend to be intimidated by technical talk. 

Try to focus on what is needed rather than what is missing (e.g., "You need an analysis section" vs. "You failed to analyze . . ." ). 

Acknowledge. Make sure that each comment is greeted with some gesture of acknowledgment: a head nod, a smile, a verbal "Good" or "Interesting" or "I see what you mean." 

Look for chances to give positive feedback, (e.g., "Now that's an intriguing way to look at it" or "Exactly, you've hit the nail on the head.") Use more positive than negative language in verbal responses. Use encouraging statements to show your interest and to keep the student talking about an important area. These include the simple "I see", "uh-huh" and "yes, keep going." 

Handle "wrong" answers by dignifying students' responses. Dignify an erroneous response by indicating what question the answer is correct for, and then clarifying why it's not correct for the question you asked (e.g., "That would be correct if X were true, but remember that this situation is different because of Y," or "I see why you might think that, because the terms are easy to confuse. However, keep in mind that we're talking about Z."). 

If a student does not or cannot respond, don't force the issue. Try rephrasing the question or probing to get to the question you have asked. Avoid answering the question yourself. Allow the tutee plenty of time to think and respond. 

Look for chances to refer back to a student's earlier contribution to weave into the current discussion (e.g., "That ties in nicely to what you said earlier about X.")