Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Problem/SolutionPaper
JohnsonCountyCommunityCollegeWritingCenter
WritingtheProblem/SolutionEssay
I. Whatistheproblemorissuetobesolved?Intheintroductiontheproblem
shouldbestated,andanynecessarybackgroundinformation(keyterms)
neededtounderstandtheproblemshouldbeaddressed.Thethesisisthe
statementoftheproblem.
II. Whatarethecausesoftheproblem?Whydidithappen?Forwhomisthisa
problem?Whataretheeffectsoftheproblem?Whyisitaproblem?The
betteryou,thewriter,understandtheproblemandallitsimplications,the
bettersolutionyouwillfind.(Bodyparagraphs)
III. Whataretheoptionstosolvingtheproblem?Whatarethevariouswaysto
solvetheproblem?Whatresourcesareavailable?(Bodyparagraphs)
IV. Eachsolutionmustbeexaminedforitsfeasibility.Whataretheadvantages
anddisadvantages?Uselogicalthinkinginyourdiscussion.Applylearnedor
researchedtheoriesand/orprinciples.Considerallsidesandlookfor
repercussions.Whatcouldgowrong;whatmightnotwork;whatmightnotbe
supported?(Bodyparagraphs)
V. Aftertheanalysiswhichsolutionisthemostfeasibleandwhydidyouchoose
it?Inthisconclusionthevalueofthechosensolutionisrationalized.
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TheProcessforWritingtheProblem/SolutionEssay
I. Prewritingsteps,includingcriticalreading,criticalthinking,journaling,
listing,outlining(thinkthroughtheorganizationanddevelopment(supporting
facts)ofthepaper.
II. Drafting,writingaroughdraftwhichfollowspatternsuggestedabove.If
strappedfortime,considertheapplicationofthe5paragraphtheme.Actually
statetheproblemandthesolutionoptionsinthethesis.Thenthebody
paragraphsdiscusseachsolutionwiththeconclusionstatingthebestsolution
andwhy.
III. Revising,makingsureargument/reasoningislogicalandwellsupported.
Usingtransitionaldevicestoconnectideastothethesisandtomovethe
readerfromoneideatothenext.
IV. Editing,correctingawkwardandillogicalsentences,choosingthecorrect
wordstoappropriatelyconveymeaning,andeliminatingmajorsentencelevel
errors,suchasrunonsentences,fragments,andcommasplices.
V. Proofreading,eliminatingmechanicalerrors,suchaspunctuation,spelling,
typographical,andusageproblems.
WritingCenterResources
Toreadsomesamplesofproblem/solutionessays.readWhoWillTakeCareofthe
Children?byHartzelLebedpp.284291inPatternsinActionbyRobertA.Schwegler
or
WhenIsItRape?byNancyGibbspp.144153inThinkingCritically,5thedition,by
JohnChaffee
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SampleEssays
Tiffany'sDisco
TherearemanydifferentapproachestotheproblemofBoyMeetsGirl,but,at
Tiffany's,themostpopulardiscothequeinthearea,solutionofthisproblembecomesan
art.Therearethreebasicrequirementsthatmustbemasteredbeforeonecompeteswith
orbecomesanacceptedmemberoftheTiffany's"rulingclass."Apersonmustlearnthe
artofbodylanguageinordertocommunicatewiththelocalinhabitants.Thisistheonly
languagetheyseemtounderstand.Itenablesapersontolookslightlyinterestedwithout
appearingtooeager.Second,apersonmustlearntokeepupwiththedifferentstylesof
dancethatareacceptable.Thepersonmustalsobedaringenoughtobeapacesetter
whenitcomestolearningthevarieddancesthatareintroducedmonthly.Finally,the
personmustdresslikeeverybodyelse,yet,aboveall,beindividual!Onehastodressina
waythatissouniqueand"farout"thattheindividualcostumeblendswithalltheother
costumesatTiffany'sacrossbetweenaHalloweencostumeandthoseinanoldBogart
flick.
Tobeconsideredunique,apersonmustdressfashionablybutnottooformally.It
isimportanttolookrelaxed,butatthesametimethedressermustwearsomethingthatis
eyecatchingandflashy.Generally,thismeanswearingfeathers,sequinstuddedjackets
andpants,orblousesandshirtsthatreveal,inthelight,morethantheirpaisleyprint
material.HatsarewornbybothmenandwomenwhofrequentTiffany'sbecausehats
createmoodsandaddtouchesofmystery,especiallywhentheyarecockedoveroneeye.
Theuseofscarvesalsorevealscreativityandartistryofthewearer.Theexperienced
malewillwearaverytailored,fairlyconservativesuitwithashirtthatisslightlyopenat
theneck.Thisgivestheimageofaffluence,butatthesametimegivestheimpressionof
amanwhoiswillingandabletohavefun,acombinationwhichwillattractanyred
blooded,allAmericanfemale.
Anotherwaytoattracttheoppositesexandtobeacceptedbythe"regulars"at
Tiffany's(thosewhoarerequiredtomakeanappearanceatleastfourtimesaweek)isto
keepuptodatewithallofthenewdances.Thismayprovetobeafulltimejob,for
whenevermusicisplaying,thedanceflooristransformedintoastagewhereallthe
participantsshowofftheiragility,balance,and,aboveall,theirrhythm.Everyoneseems
tobeincompetition.Ifthemale'sfellowcompetitorprovestobenomatchforhim,he
willthengointocompetitionwithhimself,tryingtoprovehishardearnedgraceand
rhythm.Thefemalebehavesslightlydifferently.Ifagirlwantstodance,butnot
necessarilywiththepersonsheiswith,shemayfacetowardthemainbodyofmen
(usuallyatthebar)anddanceasifshe"wereadvertisinganewlineofunderwear.There
isnosetpatternorcertainwaytodanceatTiffany's.Adancermustsimplykeepinstyle
andhaveenoughrhythmtodanceandchewgumatthesametime.Thebrandofgum
doesnotmakeanydifference.
Thosepeoplewhodancewellseemtohaveaknowledgeofbodylanguage,and
theirmovesonandoffthedancefloorsendmessagestoallwhocaretointerpretthem.
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Eyecontactisvitalwhenoneisusingbodylanguage.Whenamemberoftheopposite
sexshowsinterestinthepersonseekingattention,theeyesplayanimportantpart.One's
eyesmustnotappeartooeager,butatthesametimetheattentionseekermustnotbetoo
aloof.Areturnedglanceforjusttherightlengthoftimecanprovetobeveryeffective.
Also,apersonmustsitinarelaxedmannerandavoiddrinkingasifone'slegishollow.If
apersonactsandcarrieshimselforherselfasifheorshewerehandsomeandbeautiful,
thenthosewhoprobablywouldnotgiveasecondlookwillbelookingwitheager
attention.
Afteronehasmasteredtheartofbodylanguageandtheproperwaytodressand
dance,thenthepersonisreadytoentertheworldofTiffany'swheretherestisuptoFate.
Oncethenovicehaslearnedthefundamentals,afewtrickswillbegintodevelop.One
mustremembertobeeyecatchingindressbycreatingmoodswithdifferentaccessory
items,tobeacceptablebyinventingnewandcreativedancesteps,andtousethebody,
especiallytheeyes,tocommunicate.Thesebasicrequirementswillinsurealifetime
membershipatTiffany's,thediscothequewheretheproblemofBoyMeetsGirlbecomes
achallengeandthesolutionbecomesanart.
CindyM.Torres
TheProblemsofWorkingandAttendingCollege
Astheoldsayinggoes,"Apersonmustgotoschooltogetabetterjob,anda
personmustworktogotoschool."Sometimesthisisnotaseasyasitsounds.Whena
persontriestocarryastandardcollegeloadoffifteenhoursandatthesametimetohave
aparttimejobworkingfromtwentytothirtyhoursaweek,problemsforthatpersonwill
arise.Threeofthemostcommonoftheseproblemsarenothavingenoughtimetostudy,
nothavingenoughtimetogettheproperrestanddiet,andnothavingenoughtimeto
relaxandsocialize.
Firstofall,thereneverseemstobeenoughtimetostudyanddohomework.
Carryingacollegeloadoffifteenhoursamountstofourorfiveclasses.Thismeansthata
studenthastostudyagreatdealinordertopassperiodicquizzesandfinalexams.Also,
thereismuchhomeworktokeepupwith.Usually,thestudent'sworkprecludesstudying
forexams,sothenightbeforeaquizfindsonecrammingandpraying.Theresultsare
neverhalfasgoodastheycouldhavebeenhadthestudenthadmoretime.Too,
homeworkisusuallyofpoorcontentandqualitybecauseitisputoffuntiltenminutes
beforeclasstime,ifitisturnedinatall.ThefinalgradeisaCorD,whichcouldhave
beenanAorBifalittlemoretimehadbeendevotedtothesubject.
Second,thereisneverenoughtimefortheworkingcollegestudenttogetthe
properrestanddiet.Runningaroundfromclasstoclassinthemorningandthengoingto
workintheeveningcanbeveryexhausting,yetbeingtireddoesnotguaranteeasound
sleep.Theconcentrationintheclassroomispoor;thereisnodesiretotakenotesnorto
contributetoclassdiscussions.Also,theaveragedailydietofthe"onthego"personis
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notaveryhealthyone.Thedietusuallyconsistsofacupofcoffeeoraglassofmilkfor
breakfast;asoda,sandwich,andabagofchipsforlunch;andeithernothingorarepeat
ofthelunchmenuforsupper.Thispoordietcontributestothefatigueandrundown
conditionofthestudent.
Thelastproblemofthestudentworkerisnothavingenoughtimetorelaxand
socialize.Thereisnevertimeforfavoriterelaxationssuchaswatchingtelevision,reading
agoodbook,andtakingalongbath.Thereisseldomtimeforhobbiessuchassewingor
painting;noristheretimeforsportssuchastennisorgolf.Thereisseldomtimefor
datingandparties.Alwaysattendingcollegeandworkingdoesnotleaveonewithvery
muchtimeforanactivefamilyandsociallife.Thus,apersonwhoworksandgoesto
schoolatthesametimefindsproblemswithgrades,physicalandmentalcondition,and
socialactivities.
NancyBillimek