This document outlines the requirements for a problem/solution essay assignment. Students must write a 4-6 page essay proposing a solution to a well-defined problem faced by a community. The essay must include at least three credible sources and address the problem's significance and proposed solution. It should also anticipate objections to the solution and evaluate alternative solutions. The document provides guidance on defining the problem context, describing the proposed solution and its impacts, and concluding the essay by summarizing the solution and calling readers to action.

1. PROBLEM
SOLUTION
ESSAY
(#4)
EWRT
1A
The Writing Assignment Essay #4: Proposing a Solution: Essay (4-6 pages) 175 points
Assignment: Write an essay from 4-6pages in length, that addresses the topic below. Use
a minimum of three credible sources to support your argument.
Prompt : Write an essay proposing a solution to a well-defined problem faced by a
community or group to which you may belong. Alternatively, you may address a well-
defined problem faced by one of the districts or communities in The Hunger Games.
Address your proposal to your audience: one or more members of the group, its
leadership, or to outsiders who may be able to contribute to solving the problem.
Student Learning Objectives
• Devise creative solutions to a problem
• Evaluate a range of possible solutions
• Learn about contemporary problems
• Engage in reasoned argument
• Convince readers of a problem’s significance before proposing actions
• Define a problem concisely and effectively
• Analyze audiences to anticipate likely questions and alternative, preferred solutions
• Refute, accommodate, or acknowledge possible objections to the proposed solution
• Read texts analytically
• Reflect metacognitively on what they have learned
Basic Features of a Problem/Solution Essay
A Well-Defined Problem
Defining your problem for your readers requires you to do the following:
- establish a context for the problem (historical/current)
- specifically define the problem
- explain how it works (i.e. that it exists)
- describe the problem’s importance (i.e. that it needs solving)
- use key words to label the problem
A clearly described solution and a convincing argument in support of the proposed
solution require you to do the following:
- establish the target audience for your solution
- explain how the solution will work
- show the extent of its impact (benefits)
- show that it is feasible
An anticipation of readers’ objections and questions requires you to do the following:
-answer readers’ questions to your solution
- acknowledge readers’ objections
- concede your solution’s shortcomings

2. PROBLEM
SOLUTION
ESSAY
(#4)
EWRT
1A
An evaluation of alternative solutions requires you to do the following:
- acknowledge alternate solutions
- refute most
- concede the alternative’s advantages
- work the alternative’s advantages into your solution
Conclude by:
- summarizing your solution
- reminding readers of its advantages
- calling readers to action by reminding them of benefits and noting the
consequences of inaction
Hints: - present the opposing ideas in an unbiased way, at least initially
- be sure to establish your ethos and use emotional appeals where appropriate
- be sure to use appropriate rhetorical strategies to help convince your audience
of your solution.
- use transitions to guide the reader through the stages and contrasts in the essay
For additional information and help on this assignment, please see the SMG chapters
“Proposing Solutions”