Quote Originally Posted by Selexin
каков is very rare and limited mostly to an archaic or bookish style, it is used to ask what smt is like. You might go through life and never have to use this word or bump into it.
каков is neither rare nor archaic. It's an essential word which cannot be replaced by any other in some cases, and perhaps its usage should indeed be limited to those cases. But that doesn't make it rare in the least. An excellent example would be, Каковы ваши намерения? Or, Каковы ваши дальнейшие действия?