For example, you may have a main situation like, “obesity and poor fitness,” or “trigger warnings on college campuses. ” If you get to choose the situation, make a list of groups you belong to, such as “school,” “family,” “race,” “culture”,” or “local community. ” Then, identify a situation or issue you have encountered as a member of one of these groups.
In the situation component, you will paraphrase the prompt of the paper in your own words. In the problem component, you will state the problem or problems and explain what they are in your own words. In the solution component, you will state your solution or solutions to the problem. You will also explain how it will address the problem. In the evaluation component, you will list the main ideas in the paper and offer a prediction or recommendation based on your solution to the problem. There will only be one situation presented to you in the prompt for the paper. You can then have multiple problems and multiple solutions that link back to the situation.
Introduction section, where you discuss the situation Problem 1 Problem 2 Transition sentence or paragraph Solution 1 Solution 2 Conclusion section, where you discuss the evaluation
Introduction section, where you discuss the situation Problem 1 and Solution to Problem 1 Problem 2 and Solution to Problem 2 Problem 3 and Solution to Problem 3 Conclusion section, where you discuss the evaluation
For example, if the situation in the paper prompt is “obesity and poor fitness,” you may focus on specific aspects of the situation in the introduction. You may look at how the consumption of unhealthy food and the overuse of cars plays into obesity and poor fitness in society.
If you cannot find a lot of outside material on the problem, you can collect your own data for the paper. Do this by making a survey that you give to people who are affected by the problem. You can also interview people associated with the problem, or with possible solutions. For example, if you were researching the problem “trigger warnings on college campuses,” you may interview college representatives at your university or college. You may also talk to students on campus. Most problem solution papers written for exams do not require you to cite any outside sources. You may need to cite your sources if you are writing the problem solution paper for a class.
For example, if you were writing about the situation “obesity and poor fitness,” you may have the following thesis statement: “Obesity and poor fitness can lead to a decrease in life expectancy, and it is essential that individuals and governments work together to tackle this issue by improving their citizen’s diet and fitness. ”
For example, you may come up with a solution that addresses a lack of resources by adding support, money, or more staff. Or you may come up with a solution that addresses the problem by changing an existing practice or habit.
For example, if one of your solutions to the problem of obesity and poor fitness is to encourage people to cook at home, you may list a few specific ways people can do this. You may suggest that national eating healthy at home campaign is created, offering recipes online that take less than 30 minutes to prepare at home.
For example, you may end up a call to action like, “With rising levels of obesity in our country, it is essential that we take action now to address this serious issue. ”
You can create a reverse outline using your paper as a guide, where you go through each section and confirm it follows the outline you started with.
You can also show the paper to a peer, friend, or family member and get them to proofread it for you.
If you are writing the problem solution paper for a class assignment, you may still have a set word count. Check that your paper falls within this word count.
