THE PURPOSE
The aim of a problem / solution essay is to set out a
problem in the introduction and then spend the main body of the essay focusing
on the solutions. This does not mean that causes and effects cannot or should
not be mentioned at all; far from it, it makes perfect sense that they do but
the main focus of the essay needs to be on the solutions because after all,
this is the task that has been set; the reason for writing the essay. Having
clarified this point, let us move on to the planning of such essays.
THE PLAN
An essay of this sort starts out with an introduction where
the problem and the gravity thereof is introduced. The writer needs to prove
that the problem is deserving of attention. The solutions are discussed in the
development and a restatement is provided in the conclusion. Let us examine
these three parts of the essay in greater detail.
The introduction
The purpose of the writer in this section of the essay is to prove that
there is actually a serious problem and it needs attention; this he does in the
introduction and having achieved his aim, ends the paragraph with a thesis
statement which states clearly that solutions will be discussed in the essay
and also points at the broad categories of solutions. A misconception needs to be addressed at
this point: like in other types of essays, here too, the points that are going
to be covered do not need to be listed in the introduction. In fact,
stylistically it is much better that they are not. Let us now study
an example:
Reading related
essay: “Your Brain on Trial” Level **** reading tasks
All judicial
systems are plagued by miscarriages of justice and some of them on a very large
scale. We read or hear on the news of people being released from prison having
been cleared by DNA evidence after spending half their lives in prison. Often
they get compensation but does this really make up for years of lost
opportunities? The aim of every judicial system is to first and foremost
prevent such gross errors from taking place. A group of psychologists, having
examined police procedures, have come up with various suggestions some
concerning the period before the trial and others concerning the actual trial.
On reading this introduction it is easy to see that the
rules described above have been adhered to: the fact that miscarriages of justice
are a serious problem is proved, recent examples are hinted at and a thesis
statement with two broad categories of solutions are provided. Narrowing down
the focus of the solutions in this way prevents repetition and provides plenty
to write about in the development. Let us look at one more example:
Reading related problem solution essay: “The 4 Million
Dollar Teacher”, Level ** reading tasks
Research shows that the shadow education system, that
is to say private cources designed to supplement classwork after school for a
fee, are becoming increasingly popular arround the world and nowhere more so than in South Korea.
Shadow education has become a million dollar business in a lot of places with
institutions featuring on the stock exchange. Since these institutions lead to
inequity in terms of education received and that they undermine standard
schooling, their activities do need to curbed. After all, education cannot be
permitted to become a business. There are various solutions that have been
tried in the past which haven’t worked so a new approach is necessary.
Notice in this example,reasons why the shadow education system needs to be
dealt with are also provided; this is a good way to prove that the problem
requires attention. Once again, the points have not been listed but one general
category, a new approach, has been mentioned.
The development
The system of working from the general to the particular continues in the
development. The broad categories mentioned in the thesis statement help form
the topic sentences of each developmental paragraph which in turn branches out
into details of this category. Writing in this way will prevent repetion and
give the writer plenty to write about. Common sense demands that each point be
introduced, supported and then provided with an example. Let us examine the
development of the first introduction we examined above:
There are
various changes which can be made to standard procedures before the trial to
ensure greater fairness and accuracy. The first involves line ups where
suspects are identified. The standard procedure is to line up ethnically and
physically similar people and then ask the witness to pick the guilty party.
Implying that the guilty party is in the lineup forces witnesses to pick
someone, despite not being sure if the guilty party is in fact present. Leading
questions don’t help either. The alternative is showing the witness photos or
suspects one by one and asking if they recognize anyone. Confessions should
also be taken with a pinch of salt if they are to be believed. According to the
text, 27% of all confessions are false. In order to save time, convict the
right person and provide justice, all interrogations should be videotaped in
such a way that the whole room is visible and an attorney should always be
present.
There are
various changes that should be made in courtroom procedures too to provide
justice. The first issue is the selection of the jury: a racially mixed jury
has been found to more thorough and much fairer so this should be ensured. An
all white jury on the other hand, has been found to be much tougher on black
defendants so this needs to be avoided. Secondly, during the trial, when judges
ask a specific fact to be ignored by the jury, reasons should be given to make
sure that they are actually ignored. Not giving reasons but just telling
the jury to disregard a particular statement has been found to have no effect
at all. Reading out the charges at the beginning of the trial also leads the
jury to try and find evidence with which to convict the defendant
On reading this development, we see something very
important: past procedure is explained, criticized, the criticizm is justified
and then the solution is suggested. Other methods having been proved
impractical, this new approach requires little support. The result is a problem solution essay
where there are elements of a cause and effect essay as well as an
argumentative essay and this is perfectly natural. So don’t take those formulas
for essay writing too seriously but as a very general framework; this is essay
writing after all. Let us take a look at the development of the
second introduction provided above:
The only way to reduce the
influence of the shadow education system is to adopt some of the policies they
implement. There is a very important reason for this: parents need to be
persuaded to trust standard education; something they don’t currently do. One
popular policy of such establishments is regular contact with parents. This
feedback involves texting parents every day to report the safe arrival of the
student and the progress he has made that day, weekly emails and regular
meetings. Keeping the parents in the loop and involving them will motivate them
and as a result, the students.
The second group of solutions
involves the teachers. The practice of regular performance reviews involving
questionnaires given to students should become commonplace. In shadow
education establishments, salaries teachers receive are then linked to
these reviews with those scoring badly first being put on probation then
dismissed. Such a policy might provide an incentive for teachers to work harder
and not rest on their laurels. Regular in house training should also become
widespread to enable the system to keep up with changing demand. At present,
shadow education establishments are more innovative, more apt to use modern
technology and keep up with the demands of the current century. Standard
education needs to catch up.
If you notice there are again two broad categories which are
then further elaborated on but this doesn’t mean that all developments are two
general paragraphs; there is no such rule: a development can be two, three,
four, five paragraphs or more depending on the demands of the topic and the
length of the piece of writing. Both the samples provided here are
reading relared activities; this being the case, the points have been taken
from the texts.
The conclusion
The conclusion is traditionally the part of the essay where
the writer commences to genralize and move away from the specifics of the
topic. This is one way to write a conclusion; another is to write a restatement
or a summary. Let us look at the conclusion to our first example, Miscarriages
of Justice:
As can be seen, human psychology is of great
value when trying to arrive at the truth and deliver justice. With the help of
information provided by psychologists, the number of judicial errors could,
perhaps, be minimized, which would benefit the individuals concerned as well as
the state and the institution.
This conclusion is not a restatement but a sort of ‘moving
away from the spesifics of the topic’ and therefore a typical conclusion. Let
us now examine the conclusion to our second example “The shadow education
system”
Education is becoming more competitive as
demands of students for better education increases and the private sector
becomes ever more involved. The belief that quality of education is positively
correlated with the money spent needs to be ammended and the only way to do
this is to persuade state establishments to change with the times. Such a
transformation will bring trust in the system and make the country an academic
superpower
This conclusion is what we call a restatement: the main
arguments made in the essay are touched on but expressed in a different way.
This conclusion also fits in with accepted norms by moving away from the
spesifics of the development due to its more genral tone. Before we end this
section, let us look at one complete example:
Reading related essay: Search
Me: Online Reputation Management; Level *** reading tasks
Until quite recently, building
a reputation took years of hard work and proving yourself in society. Be they
good and worthwhile or dangerous and unsavory, reputations involved memories of
deeds done. Although a general impression was often retained, it was possible
to escape one’s past and start again. Memories were not set in stone as they
are now thanks to the internet.In the modern world, unlike tha past, an unfair and
snide remark may stay around forever making starting up impossible. Since
nothing on the internet is ever “forgotten”, online reputation management has
been gaining ever more importance in the modern world. There are various ways,
according to experts, a company or an individual can amend his reputation thus
providing himself with new opportunities.
There are various solutions
companies can resort to in order to improve their standing. The first thing
they need to make sure of is that all that comes up on the first page of a
Google search is positive and complementary, which is the case because most
people don’t look beyond the first page as a rule. This can be achieved most
easily by actually owning the assets on the first page; most globetrotting companies
like Siemens, Sony and Toyota achieve this automatically. Failing that, false
reviews may be posted on behalf of the company. Naturally, the most honest way
of gaining actual control of the first page is by posting real assets where
possible. If all else fails positive searches can be conducted until the penny
drops with Google. It is obvious that there is a lot that can be done in
the modern world to manipulate a company’s reputation.
Individuals can also do a lot
to help themselves by improving their online reputations. An obvious first step
is joining big networking sites like LinkedIn, which has become one of the
first places people will look when checking an individual out for a job. In the
case of a lot people, there are photographs that one would rather forget about,
thoughtless remarks one has made and wish one hadn’t out there on the web. One
way to get rid of them is to make positive searches until your fingers bleed.
Another good idea is to have online profiles lodged with professional listing
sites. Then there is the silver bullet: establish a blog or website and update
regularly. There is nothing like this to tidy up that first page in a Google
search.
Although in the modern world
nothing ‘is forgotten’, the undesirables can be buried so deep that they are
effectively made to disappear. The techniques that can be used to affect such a
transformation are relatively simple and well within the realms of possibility.
Naturally, prevention is easier than cure and the best rule of thumb is to think
before you post.
