Writing the Problem/Solution Paper

How to write like a pro!

The first thing: Thesis Statement• The first thing you need to do when setting out

to write the paper on a problem/solution is to state the problem and offer a possible solution to the problem in a thesis statement. For example:

Thesis:

• Childhood obesity is a serious health problem in the United States today, but who is ultimately responsible for ensuring that children receive proper nutrition and adequate exercise? Most argue that the parents are responsible, but some believe the government needs to step in and solve this growing problem. There are many programs in place to ensure that children who live in poverty receive proper nutrition, but is this enough?

The body of the paper…

• The next step to successful writing is the body of the paper. There are a few things you need to master to write an exceptional paper:

• Word Choice

• Transitions

• Relevant Content

• Organizational Structure

The Outline

• You should create an outline based on your thesis and information you have found for your paper.

• The outline is your “Road Map” and will guide you through the process of writing your paper.

Outline Basics

• Your outline begins with the Thesis and the Introduction. It looks like this:

• Title of paper centered

• I. Thesis: Childhood obesity is……

• The thesis should state the problem, the solution or other relevant information that you will discuss in the paper.

• Often, the thesis or Introduction are left for last because information in your paper dictates what is discussed.

The Paragraphs:

• The next step is to break it down!

• Step one: During your brainstorming, you should have listed the main points that you planned on discussing or researching. Let’s look again at the introduction and pull out the points:

• 1-state the problem: Childhood Obesity A. How is obesity defined? What percentage of children are Obese in the U.

S. A. ? Is it a demographic problem?

Paragraphs, continued…

• The next paragraph should talk about who is responsible:

• II. Who bears responsibility for the child’s

health? Parents State or Federal Government Other Family members

Paragraphs, continued…

• Finally, you want to provide information that is part of the solution. If you are asked to offer your opinion in the paper, make sure you include a section in your outline for that as well. You may wish to include that in your concluding paragraph.

• III. Programs and Responsible Parties Government Programs Familial Solutions Parental accountability

Paragraphs, continued…

• Now you need to write your conclusion. Many teachers have told you in the past to restate your thesis, but this seems very redundant. It would be best to highlight the points in your paper and draw a conclusion based on what you learned. This requires that you actually take the time to think about what you learned.

The KWL

• You may have been assigned the KWL chart before your paper. Now is the time to take that last column and elaborate in the conclusion of your paper.

• On the next page, there is a strong conclusion based on the information that you probably found. I took the liberty of writing what I know to be true.

Conclusion:

• Example:

• Though childhood obesity is a problem, there are solutions and it does take a number of people and organizations to help combat it. Parents are the first line of defense since it is, ultimately, their responsibility to provide for the basic needs of their children. As long as people who can’t afford children keep having children, the society will have to foot the bill for keeping these children healthy so they do not become lifetime burdens on that society.

Transitions

• Now that you have put the information into a good working paper, you need to make sure your ideas flow from one point to the next with a logical and smooth flow. This is where transitions come into play.

• Transitions help move your points from one to the other without sounding choppy or like you just threw your thoughts willy-nilly onto the page.

Using Transitional Words…

• Using transitions is not just a quick fix…throw in a transitional word or phrase and you are done!

• Using transitions takes thought and planning.

• Let’s view some examples of transitional devices and sentences at the Online Writing Lab at Perdue University’s site:

• http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/574/2/

• Another great site: https://www.msu.edu/~jdowell/135/transw.html

Practice:

• Now that you have the basics of paragraphing and transitions, let’s practice. Your teacher will supply the practice worksheets for you.

Word Choice

• Using the right words in a paper or any writing, for that matter, is very important. You don’t want to use words that make you sound ignorant and you want to use words that are relevant to your subject.

• One rule to practice is to really know what the words mean.

• Some students do use words that do not mean what they think and this changes the meaning of the sentence, sometimes drastically!

Word choice

Malapropisms:

• "Oh! it gives me the hydrostatics to such a degree." [hysterics]

• "I hope you will represent her to the captain as an object not altogether illegible.

[eligible]

• "...she might reprehend the true meaning of what she is saying."

[comprehend]

• "...she's as headstrong as an allegory on the banks of Nile." [alligator]

• "I am sorry to say, Sir Anthony, that my affluence over my niece is very small.” [influence]

• "Why, murder's the matter! slaughter's the matter! killing's the matter! - but he can tell you the perpendiculars."

[particulars]

(fun-with-words.com 2011)

Spelling

• Another issue that many students face is spelling. There are many commonly confused words and these are silly mistakes that your spell checker does NOT identify.

• See this link for commonly misspelled words:

• http://grammar.yourdictionary.com/spelling-and-word-lists/misspelled.html

• It is always a good idea to check your spelling yourself. It pays to take your time!

Final thoughts…

• As a final thought, after you have written your paper, read it aloud to yourself or some one else who can hear mistakes. When you read a paper aloud, you often hear things that you would not read. This is because you are not as focused as you think and now you are engaging a different part of your brain.

• It works!

• Try it out.