An expert panel has proposed an alternative Scottish independence referendum question for the 2014 vote.
On Wednesday, the group revealed it felt the question should be: "Scotland should become an independent state: I agree/I do not agree."
The proposal was presented at Edinburgh University by the panel chair, Lord Stewart Sutherland, along with his colleagues Dr Matt Qvortrup and Ron Gould.
They had been asked by the three Scottish opposition parties to produce a single question on Scottish independence.
It will now be sent to the Scottish Government, while the Electoral Commission will not look at it.
At a media conference in Edinburgh, Lord Sutherland explained that the group was given a remit to "get the debate about wording virtually out of the way", so people in Scotland can debate the issues surrounding independence.
He added: "The referendum debate, and we are in no doubt about this, is about the future shape of Scotland. It's not about the future shape of the referendum question, though that is the stage we are at at the moment."
The panel considered the principles and criteria that should determine the referendum question, as well as looking at the international experience of similar votes, Lord Sutherland said. This led them to conclude "that as a general rule, there is no firm evidence that a particular wording has altered the outcome one way or another".
The wording of any referendum question is still important because it "relates to meeting the criteria of clarity, understanding, decisiveness and fairness", he said.
Lord Sutherland continued: "It's not rocket science. It's common sense. A question should be clear, it should be understandable, it should be decisive, it should be unbiased and fair. And what's more, it should be all of those and be seen to be and accepted to be all of those by all participating parties."
Panel member Ron Gould said that, as a result of their work, the panel concluded that the wording they proposed "probably is a fair, neutral and clear statement". The leaders of Labour, the Tories and Lib Dems in Scotland said, in their letter to the First Minister, that if he endorses the panel's suggested wording, it would "put beyond doubt that the referendum question has been drawn up free from partisan influences".
Consensus opportunity
It is "a real opportunity for all sides of this debate to reach a consensus on one of the fundamental parts of the referendum", according to Scottish Labour leader Johann Lamont.
She added: "The question has to be fair in order that the result properly reflects the will of the Scottish people and by endorsing the question put forward by the expert panel, ensures that no advantage can be gained from either side.
"I hope that we reach agreement with the First Minister on this at the next meeting of the party leaders and move on to the real debate about our country's future."
Conservative leader Ruth Davidson said the panel produced a "simple, unbiased question" that would produce a clear result in the key vote. She continued: "It is obvious from the panel's excellent work that a referendum is only effective when there is clarity on both the issue and the question. So this must rule out any notion of a further question on devolution, which would produce nothing but confusion."
Willie Rennie, leader of the Liberal Democrats, said: "This panel is the only independent expert panel that has been established to draft the question for the referendum. So the proposal from this expert group will help us all reach a conclusion to this matter."
The SNP-majority Scottish Government previously proposed to ask: "Do you agree that Scotland should be an independent country?"
First Minister Alex Salmond has already pledged that his preferred question will be rigorously tested by the Electoral Commission. Critics, including Westminster's Scottish Affairs Committee, complain that the wording invites a positive response.
