Problem Solution Essays

CHAPTER - 6

PROBLEM SOLUTION ESSAYS

Problem solution essays are a type of essay questions that are asked in competitive examination of descriptive type.

In this type of essay you need to discuss the problems with regards to a particular topic and then suggest possible solutions to these problems. Writing about the reasons for problems is different from writing about problems and remedial measures.

Problem Solution essays are the most challenging essay type for many people.

 

The 3 Essay Types:

1. Problem and solution

2. Cause and solution

3. Just the solution

 

Essay Structure

1) Introduction

• Paraphrase the questioned

•  State 1 key problem/cause and related solution

2) Main Body Paragraph 1 - Problem or Cause

• Topic sentence - state the problem or cause

•  Explanation - give details explaining the problem or cause

• Example - give an example

3) Main Body Paragraph 2 - Solution

•  Topic sentence - state the solution

•  Explanation - give details explaining the solution

• Example - give an example

4) Conclusion

•  Summarise the key points

This structure will give us a well-balanced essay with 4 paragraphs.

Example of a problem solution essay topic: Traffic congestion

Analyse the question: Traffic Congestion

•  Generate ideas

•  Identify vocabulary

Cause:

• Too many cars on the roads - increasing numbers of people own cars, more convenient than buses & trains

•  Inadequate public transport - crowded, old & dirty

•  Poor road layout

•  Rush hour traffic - most people travel to & from work at the same times each day

Solution:

• Car sharing, park-and-ride scheme, congestion charge

• Improve public transport - more frequent and better quality

• Improve infrastructure - bus lanes, cycle lanes will make it safer for people to cycle

• Flexible working hours

Vocabulary

During the planning stage, quickly jot down some vocabulary that comes to mind. For example:

✓traffic jam

✓ vehicles

✓ private transport

✓ heavy traffic

✓ queue

✓commute

✓ rush hour

✓ infrastructure

 

How To Write an Introduction

Good introductions have a simple 2 part structure:

• Paraphrase the question

• State 1 key problem/cause and related solution/s (outline sentence)

It should:

• Have 2-3 sentences

• Be 40-60 words long

• Take 5 minutes to write

How To Write Main Body Paragraphs

• Topic sentence - outline the main idea

• Explanation - explain it and give more detail

• Example - give an example

Main Body Paragraph 2

Main idea 2 - Park-and-ride schemes

Topic sentence:

A solution that is proving successful in many areas is park-and-ride schemes.

Explanation sentence:

This is where you park your car for free in a large car park on the outskirts of the city and take a bus for the final part of your journey. The fee you have to pay for the bus trip is usually very small and this public transport system is generally very regular, running every ten minutes or so.

Example sentence:

A survey carried out in the city of Exeter showed that the rush hour congestion decreased by 10% when the council set up a park-and-ride scheme to the north of the city. There was an additional drop of another 10% in traffic volume when a second scheme began operating to the south.

How To Write a Conclusion

The conclusion is a summary of the main points and can generally be done in a single sentence. It should never introduce new ideas. msidora

You can add a prediction or recommendation statement if you don't reach the require word limit.

The conclusion is the easiest sentence in the essay to write but one of the most important.

A good conclusion will:

• Neatly end the essay

• Link all your ideas together

• Sum up your argument or opinion

• Answer the question

6 Common Mistakes that may emerge while drafting problem solution essays:

• Confusing problem and causes questions.

• Having too many ideas.

• Not developing your ideas.

• Not developing both sides of the argument equally.

• Not linking the problems and solutions.

Problem Solution Essay Topics - samples:

• Over population in cities

• Negative impact of playing computer games.

• Internet gives rise to new problems

• Water Scarcity

•  Problems related to monsoon season

• Work-Life balance for women

• Illiteracy

• Poverty

• Unemployment problem

• Landfills and lack of awareness

 

Examples

I. The internet is an amazing innovation but it poses threat in some ow cases. Discuss in an essay.

Twenty first century is a century of information. The people share, forward and disseminate information across the world using internet. There are social net working. websites which connect people across the world. The spread of information has dramatically changed the way of the world and life of the people. There are many advantages because of using internet and there are many disadvantages also. Some advantages are serious in nature.

The children access dangerous websites. It affects their thoughts and development. They see some scenes through you tube videos which will affect their thinking. They see what is not necessary for them at that age. It is important that action is taken to combat these problems. Governments should ensure that adequate legislation and controls are in place that will prevent young people from accessing dangerous sites. The parents have a major role in monitoring their children.

Another major problem is the growth of online frauds. Some fraudsters act in guise of responding to advertisement on line and send some links through whatsapp which will good to enable them to take money from bank account. The security system should be strengthened.

Confidential information gets revealed by hacking. Companies must also improve their onsite IT security systems to make fraud and hacking much more difficult by undertaking thorough reviews of their current systems for weaknesses.

The social networking websites put people into problems at times. The privacy of the people is interrupted. The security must be enhanced by IT department in keeping the details confidential..

Internet is an amazing technological advancement and it is a blessing for the mankind if it is used constructively. The world will be a safe place to live if the individuals, group, organization, government and businesses take only right action which beneficial for all.

 

II. Rash driving poses danger not only to riders but also to others. Discuss through a problem solving essay in about 250 words.

Pomp and luxury has become the order of the day. Many people buy car and two wheelers out of prestige, dignity and comfort and not out of necessity. The people hardly realize that dignity lies in character not in worldly possessions. One copy the other and many people buy vehicles and cause air pollution, traffic jam and accidents. Some accidents are fatal and some threat the life of the riders or drivers. Some accidents make people injured temporarily or permanently. The drivers or riders should be extremely careful while driving.

It is said that these days more people die of accidents on the roads than of any diseases except in the days of pandemic. Some of the accidents on the roads take place because of mechanical failure of vehicles. The vehicles must be serviced at reputed service centres regularly to prevent these kinds of accidents.

But in most cases the fault lies with human beings who drive these vehicles. The riders of two wheelers ride their vehicles fast. They use horns continuously and take it for granted that they use horns and hence there is no mistake on their part. It is the duty of the two wheeler riders to use horn as well as to ride carefully. The government should impose strict laws on speed limit and penalize those who violate the law. In spite of so many laws, people violate and hence it is the social responsibility of the individuals to be careful while riding because it endangers the life of people. Whichever the problem is, it is the individual who should act more responsibly. It is compulsory for both the rider and the pillion rider to wear helmets for safety. Helmet is the hardware which protects the software, brain.

As far as the four wheelers are concerned, many accidents happen because of rash driving, drunken driving and driving while drowsy or sleepy. To prevent this, the drivers should not cross the speed limit. They should avoid drunken driving. The drivers should stop the car and sleep in some boarding or lodging if they feel sleepy or the co passenger should give them company by interacting with them. Everyone knows the said information but accidents happen every now and then. Accidents happen unknowingly and no one wants it to happen but a few are always careful. Some youngsters are desirous of driving fast and others trigger them to ride or drive fast. Even the careful ones are triggered by their friends and this should be avoided. Once life is lost, it is lost forever.

For safety purposes, the drivers and the other passengers should wear the seat belt while travelling in car. The vehicle has to be serviced regularly at reputed service centers. The driver should not drive fast. They should follow the road rules. They should maintain the permitted speed limit. They should have license to drive. Too many people should not bas travel in one car. The people should be habituated to use public transport.

A person can make some error while-making a turn or passing through a crossing and that results in accident of some magnitude, minor or major. Such instances are not many. Most often the cause of an accident is rash driving on the part of the driver of one vehicle or the drivers of both the vehicles that collide. The driver may lose control over the brakes and the vehicle may just slip away downwards and capsize or it may hit a tree, pole or a stationary vehicle or wall or it may pass over some pedestrians or sleeping or sitting people. The most general cause of rash driving is drinking. Whatever may be the reason for accidents, careful driving prevents all mishaps and accidents.

 

III. More than one lakh trees are cut for making pencils annually in India. Suggest some remedial measures to solve this issue.

Pencils are necessary. The children learn to write using pencils. But the pencils are wasted in large numbers sometimes half of the pencils or three fourth of the pencils are thrown in garbage. The children should be taught to use till the end of the pencil by using some support. Even the pens without refill or ink can be used as support. The children should be trained by parents and teachers to use the pencil till its end. The pencils should not be dropped down because the lead inside and outside the pencil gets broken. Avoiding the usage of pencil is difficult but minimizing the use of pencil will decrease its demand and so the trees can be saved.

Now a days, pencils are made from recycled newspapers. This green innovation has been in the Indian market for the last 10 years and there are many manufacturers who are selling it. Rajesh Singh, a mechanical engineer turned entrepreneur from Pune, Maharashtra has set up Go Grameen, an online portal for eco friendly products in 2017. As an engineer, he wants to be the part of the solutions and not to aggravate the problems to environment. He is encouraged by his environmentalist friends to work on solutions. These eco friendly pencils save not only trees but also decrease landfills. Every school should make using eco friendly pencils compulsory.

 

IV. How to cope with work related stress?

It is very difficult to balance work and family and both are interrelated. The stress caused by the workload and lack of ability to cope with workload or the high expectations from the management harm the physical and emotional well being of the people. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), workplace-related stress is physically and emotionally harmful. The stress greatly affects a person's physical and mental health. Self-awareness is the first step to dealing with stress. Professional help can be sought if the stress causes a major decline in health and work performance.

'Stress' is a feeling of 'too much' and results when pressures exceed the ability to cope. Some of the psychological symptoms of work-related stress are anxiety, loss of productivity and even depression. We should not stress ourselves. We should prioritize works and complete them one by one. We can opt for stress free jobs even if the pay is less. If 'wealth' is lost, nothing is lost. If 'health' is lost, something is lost. If 'character' is lost, everything is lost.

Physical symptoms of stress include fast heart rate, the quickening of breath, tense muscles, insomnia or loss of sleep leading to tiredness, irritability or outbursts of anger, low mood, consuming too much caffeine, backache, indigestion, weight loss or gain, and regular or lingering colds. To avoid, physical illnesses, we should balance work and health. We should motivate ourselves. We should have faith in God or in ourselves. We should do yoga and breathing exercises like Pranayama.

As per experts, the possible causes of stress at the workplace are job insecurity, inadequate income and uncaring supervisors. The effects of stress, as per experts, are increase or decrease in food intake, low productivity, absenteeism from work, conflicts between co-workers. As far as job insecurity is concerned, we should avoid taking housing risol bas loans, personal loans or car loans. We should save and multiply funds. First of all we should save well and make our financial status secure. Then we can proceed towards loan or spending. Lavish spending and spending for extravagance should be avoided. Spending for necessity is fine. Inadequate income is not a problem if we limit our expenditures within our income limits. We can do some part time jobs to meet the expenditure or to increase one's income if time permits. As far as uncaring supervisors are concerned, we should practice tolerance and forgiving nature. But we have to be systematic and perfect in our work execution.

The experts say that people at the burnout stage feel lonely, have no motivation and experience self-doubt. Physical symptoms that show that a person is in the burnout stage are feeling drained, headaches, low immunity and change in appetite. Some of the possible causes of burnout include lack of control over work, lack of recognition, lack of sleep, and perfectionist tendencies. We can interact with our family members or we can interact with colleagues with whom we feel comfortable to drive away loneliness or self-doubt. Taking a short break from work refreshes one's mind.

A panic attack, according to experts, is an episode of overwhelming fear that peaks in 10 minutes and comes at an unexpected time. At the panic attack stage, people have a 'flight response'. The experts say that some people experience confusion and feeling of losing control. Some of the physical symptoms of a panic attack are-- nausea, chest pain, blurred vision, chills and hot flashes, hyperventilation, and numbness in the fingers. Some of the possible causes of a panic attack are unpleasant life events, overactive thyroid gland, other psychological disorders, automatic negative thoughts. We should train our mind effectively to escape panic attack. Coping mechanism includes therapy to gain confidence to re-enter the feared situations. Over all, with faith in God or faith in ourselves, self-motivation, leading life with social responsibility, we can tackle the mental health issues.

 

V. Virtual learning and how face to face interaction with teachers solves the demerit of technology.

Virtual learning has revolutionized the traditional concept of education. It is preferred by the students but the parents prefer class room teaching, education through lab, experiment and research centers.

The traditional books have given way to e-books and the concrete classrooms have given way to virtual classrooms. Virtual learning is also known as e-learning or edu tech. The students miss the face to face interaction between them and teachers. The absence of face to face communication may not improve the confidence of the students. Virtual learning may pose an obstacle to interpersonal skills. The class room teaching improves the presentational skills and group discussion skills.

A Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) is a set of teaching and learning tools, which bluone av The sto incorporate the computers and the internet as important components of the education process. They are in a way designed to enhance the learning experience of the student. Instant messaging (chat), wikis and weblogs, discussion forums, audio and video conferencing, e-mail, smart boards, online games and activities, internet and computer softwares all come under the umbrella of virtual learning. This concept is slowly gaining popularity due to its benefits and due to unusual circumstances like pandemic.

The technology can never substitute a teacher in a student's life. Over the years, the schools have been the learning grounds for the students. Right from interacting with the people and learning the art of socializing, the schools have much more to offer. The students are exposed to different competitive environments which play an important role in the building and shaping of an individual's personality. Schools and classrooms make the child learn the art of accepting failures graciously. During the growing years of one's life, it is the teacher who is always there as a mentor, friend, philosopher and guide for the students.

The teachers have played the role of mentors, guides, leaders and facilitators in the lives of the students. They have encouraged, motivated and inspired the students to aspire, dream and fulfill their desires. This is something which no robot or artificial intelligence machinery can do. This type of warmth and personal care offered by the teacher can in no way be substituted by a machine. Thus, we can say that virtual learning resources can revolutionize the teaching learning process, but they cannot completely replace the teacher.