03.

Problem and Solution Essay Lesson

This lesson on how to write a problem solution essay will:
 discuss common mistakes;
 show you how to analyse the question;
 show you how to think of ideas;
 give you a structure that can be used again and again on all
problem solution IELTS essays;
 describe how to write an introduction, main body paragraphs
and conclusion; and
 Give you a full band 9 sample answer.

Problem/solution questions are one of the most common IELTS

Writing Task 2 questions on the academic paper. Despite being very
common, lots of students fail to do well in these questions. This post
will look at some of the most common mistakes and then take you
through how to answer these questions step-by-step.

Common Mistakes
1. The most common mistake for problem solution essays is not
expanding on your ideas and instead simply listing lots of problems
and solutions. The examiner does not want a list of all the problems
and solutions you can think of and please don’t do this in the exam.
Instead, if you look at how the exam is marked, the examiner wants
you to pick one or two problems and solutions and then expand on
them with explanations and examples. More on how to do this
below.
2. Another common mistake is writing about problems and solutions
that are not directly linked to the question. You should be like a
sniper when answering the question and only give very specific ideas,
rather than ideas that generally talk about the overall issue. This has
a lot to do with how you identify keywords and micro-keywords in
the questions which we will look at below.

3. Lots of people think of good ideas for problems and then fail to
link their solutions to these problems. Each problem should have a
solution that is directly linked to it, or in other words, should solve
the actual problem.

4. Finally, some candidates think of really good problems and

solutions that answer the question properly and then expand their
answers with explanations and examples, but they talk too generally.
Instead, you should be thinking of specific examples and
explanations. We will look at how to avoid this below.

Analysing the Question

This is one of the most crucial parts of answering any IELTS writing
question. If you don’t take the time to properly think about what the
examiner is asking you to do, then it is very difficult to answer the
question correctly.
We analyse the question by thinking about three things:
 keywords
 micro-keywords
 action words
Keywords are the words that tell us what the general topic is. Micro-
keywords identify which part of the general topic the examiner
wants you to talk about. They often give an opinion, qualify the
statement or talk about a sub-category of the bigger general topic.

Action words tell us what the examiner wants us to do.

Problem Solution Sample Essay

Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face in the 21st
Century, and sea levels are continuing to rise at alarming rates. What
problems are associated with this and what are some possible
solutions.

If we look at this question we can see that the keywords are ‘global
warming‘. This is our general topic. We are going to write about this,
but we cannot write about any problems associated with global
warming. If we do this, we have not answered the question properly.
We, therefore, need to look at the micro-keywords.
The micro-keywords are ‘humans‘and ‘sea level rise‘. So instead of
writing just about the huge topic of global warming and any
problems associated with that (such as increased storms, extinction
of certain animals, erosion of soil), we have to talk about how
particularly sea level rises will affect humans. If for example, we
talked about the problems affecting the ‘planet’ or ‘animals’ or the
‘atmosphere’, we would not be answering the question.
The action words are problems and solutions. Our task is, therefore,
to write about that and only that. It does not ask our opinion or
about the disadvantages and advantages or about the causes, just
the problems and solutions. If we talked about the causes of sea
level rise, then we would not be answering the question.

How to Think of Ideas

Now that we know exactly what the question is asking us to do, we
need to think of specific and relevant ideas. There are many
strategies for thinking of ideas for IELTS task 2 questions HOW TO
THINK OF IDEAS FOR IELTS WRITING TASK 2 but for problem solution
questions I like to use a simple method.
Instead of brainstorming or mind-mapping- which take too much
time and lead to irrelevant ideas in my opinion- you should just
pretend you are in a coffee shop with a friend and they have just
asked you a simple question. In this case, it would be “What are the
problems and solutions associated with sea level rise on humans?”

If you were talking to a friend about this, I’m sure you would have no
problem thinking of at least 2 or 3 problems and solutions. This
method takes you out of an exam situation and puts your mind into a
more relaxed environment. Try it and see. If you don’t like it, try one
of my other methods.
There are several problems and solutions including:
Problem: flooding of people’s homes and businesses
Solution: build flood barriers or move to higher areas
Problem: loss of agricultural land and starvation
Solution: switch to more suitable crops
Problem: displacement of millions of people
Solution: move people in a planned and orderly way before the
floods
Problem: groundwater undrinkable
Solution: build desalination plants
As you can see, I didn’t think of lots of problems and then lots of
solutions. For each problem, you should think of a solution that
directly solves this problem.

You now have lots of ideas, but now you must decide which ones to
use. I always tell my students to pick the ones you know most about
i.e. that you can explain and give relevant examples.

Structure
Use a basic four paragraph structure with all problem solution IELTS
essays. Your four paragraphs should look something like this:
Paragraph 1- Introduction
Paragraph 2- Problems
Paragraph 3- Solutions
Paragraph 4- Conclusion
At a sentence level, your structure should look like this:
Introduction
1- Paraphrase question
2- Outline sentence

Problem
3- State problems
4- Explain first problem
5- Explain second problem
6- Example of second problem

Solution
7- State solutions
8- Explain solution to first problem
9- Explain solution to second problem
10- Example of solution to second problem

Conclusion
Sentence 11- Summary of main points in paragraphs 2 and 3
For more structures check out our IELTS task 2 structures guide.
Now let’s look at each paragraph in more detail.
Introduction
The introduction will have two sentences: a paraphrase of the
question and an outline statement.
Paraphrasing is simply saying the sentence again with different
words but with the same meaning. We can do this by using
synonyms and/or changing the order of the words.

Question- Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face

in the 21st Century, and sea levels are continuing to rise at alarming
rates.

Paraphrased- Climate change is among the principal dangers facing

people this century, and ocean levels are increasing dramatically. As
you can see above, I have used synonyms to change the words of the
questions but it still has the same meaning. The examiner will be
looking for your ability to do this in the exam, so it is a good idea to
practice this skill.
Our outline sentence is next and this tells the examiner what they
are going to read in the rest of the essay. This makes it very clear to
the examiner and makes the rest of the essay much easier to
understand. You will, therefore, gain marks for coherence and
cohesion.
Our outline sentence should look something like this:
This essay will first suggest that the biggest problems caused by this
phenomenon are the loss of land and the flooding of homes and
then argue that pollution reduction and building flood protection are
the most viable solutions.
Our introduction will, therefore, look like this:
Climate change is among the principal dangers facing people this
century, and ocean levels are increasing dramatically. This essay
will first suggest that the biggest problems caused by this
phenomenon are the loss of land and the flooding of homes and
then argue that pollution reduction and building flood protection
are the most viable solutions.

It should be noted that this introduction does not contain a thesis

statement. This is because this particular question does not ask us
for our opinion. However, IELTS problem solution questions
sometimes do ask you for your opinion and you should then include
a thesis statement.

Problems Paragraph
Our problems paragraph will have this structure:
Sentence 1- State problems
Sentence 2- Explain first problem
Sentence 3- Explain second problem
Sentence 4- Example of second problem
State problems: The foremost problems caused by climbing sea
levels are that land is being lost and peoples’ residences are often
flooded.
Now that we have stated the problems, we must explain what these
are. You should always consider your audience to be someone with
no specialist knowledge in this area and you, therefore, need to
explain what everything means. Don’t assume that the IELTS
examiner is an educated person and knows what you are talking
about. These assumptions will stop you writing what you need.
Explain first problem: As water levels rise, low-lying land is
submerged and many countries become smaller.
Explain second problem: Furthermore, millions of people all over
the world live in coastal areas, and if the sea rises by even a few
feet, they are inundated with water and lose their property.

Now we must give an example of what we are talking about. When

we give an example, it should be as specific as possible.

An example of a very general example would be:

Lots of people in the world have experienced floods recently.
This is far too general to be considered a good example.
Example: The devastation brought about by this was clear for all to
see during the 2011 Tsunami in Japan, in which millions of people
were displaced.
This example is much more specific. Stating a place and/or date can
help you make your examples more specific.

Our second paragraph will look like this:

The foremost problems caused by climbing sea levels are that land
is being lost and peoples’ residences are often flooded. As water
levels rise, low-lying land is submerged and many countries become
smaller. Furthermore, millions of people all over the world live in
coastal areas, and if the sea rises by even a few feet, they are
inundated with water and lose their property. The devastation
brought about by this was clear for all to see during the 2011
Tsunami in Japan, in which millions of people were displaced.

Now we must move on to our solutions.

Solutions Paragraph
Our solutions paragraph will have this structure:
Sentence 1- State solutions
Sentence 2- Explain solution to first problem
Sentence 3- Explain solution to second problem
Sentence 4- Example of solution to second problem
State solutions: Possible solutions to these problems would be to
reduce the amount of pollution being created and to build flood
barriers.

We now need to explain how our solution will help solve the
problem. Again, do not assume that the examiner has any specialist
knowledge of this topic, so you need to explain what you mean.

Explain first solution: If each person reduces their carbon footprint,

the negative effects on the environment will be reduced and this
will mean that the water level will stop rising.
Explain second solution: Furthermore, flood defences, such as dikes,
dams, and floodgates, could be built along coasts and waterways,
thereby stopping the water reaching populated areas.
Example: The Netherlands is one of the most populated areas in the
world and also one of the most vulnerable to flooding and they
have successfully employed various flood defence systems.

Our whole solutions paragraph will look like this:

Possible solutions to these problems would be to reduce the
amount of pollution being created and to build flood barriers. If
each person reduces their carbon footprint, the negative effects on
the environment will be reduced and this will mean that the water
level will stop rising. Furthermore, flood defences, such as dikes,
dams, and floodgates, could be built along coasts and waterways,
thereby stopping the water reaching populated areas. The
Netherlands is one of the most populated areas in the world and
also one of the most vulnerable to flooding and they have
successfully employed various flood defence systems.
We have now answered the question and we now just need to sum
up what we have said in the conclusion.
Conclusion
The conclusion should have no new ideas but instead should simply
list the main points from the previous two paragraphs. You can also
use synonyms in this paragraph to avoid repetition.

Conclusion: To conclude, stemming the rising tides caused by

increasing global temperatures is one of the foremost challenges
we face and it will ultimately lead to some countries losing
landmass and many of the worlds’ cities being left underwater, but
possible solutions could be to protect our environment and to
utilise the flood prevention techniques already used by countries
like Holland.
Problem and Solution Sample Essay
Here is the whole essay:
Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans face in the
21st Century, and sea levels are continuing to rise at alarming rates.
What problems are associated with this and what are some possible
solutions.
Climate change is among the principal dangers facing people this
century, and ocean levels are increasing dramatically. This essay
will first suggest that the biggest problems caused by this
phenomenon are the loss of land and the flooding of homes and
then argue that pollution reduction and building flood protection
are the most viable solutions.
The foremost problems caused by climbing sea levels are that land
is being lost and peoples’ residences are often flooded. As water
levels rise, low-lying land is submerged and many countries become
smaller. Furthermore, millions of people all over the world live in
coastal areas, and if the sea rises by even a few feet, they are
inundated with water and lose their property. The devastation
brought about by this was clear for all to see during the 2011
Tsunami in Japan, in which millions of people were displaced.
Possible solutions to these problems would be to reduce the
amount of pollution being created and to build flood barriers. If
each person reduces their carbon footprint, the negative effects on
the environment will be reduced and this will mean that the water
level will stop rising. Furthermore, flood defences, such as dikes,
dams, and floodgates, could be built along coasts and waterways,
thereby stopping the water reaching populated areas. The
Netherlands is one of the most populated areas in the world and
also one of the most vulnerable to flooding and they have
successfully employed various flood defence systems.
To conclude, stemming the rising tides caused by increasing global
temperatures is one of the foremost challenges we face and it will
ultimately lead to some countries losing landmass and many of the
worlds’ cities being left underwater, but possible solutions could be
to protect our environment and to utilise the flood prevention
techniques already used by countries like Holland.