Problem -Solution essay :-)
Paragraph 1- Introduction
Paragraph 2- Problems
Paragraph 3- Solutions
Paragraph 4- Conclusion
At a sentence level, your structure should look like this:
Introduction
Sentence 1- Paraphrase question
Sentence 2- Outline sentence (say what you will discuss in the rest of
the essay)
2nd paragragh -Problem
Sentence 3- State problem
Sentence 4- Explain what problem is
Sentence 5- What is the result of this problem
Sentence 6- Example
Paragragh 3 - Solution
Sentence 7- State solution
Sentence 8- Explain how the solution will solve the problem
Sentence 9- Example
Conclusion
Sentence 10- Summary of main points in paragraphs 2 and 3
Sentence 11- Prediction or recommendation
That’s it! 11 sentences that can be used again and again for any
problem solution IELTS essay.
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 problem caused by this
phenomenon is the flooding of homes and then submit building flood
protection as the most valuble solution.
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 problem caused by this phenomenon is
the flooding of homes and then submit building flood protection as
the most viable solution.
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 problem
Sentence 2- Explain what problem is
Sentence 4- What is the result of this problem
Sentence 5- Example
State problem: The biggest problem caused by climbing sea levels is
the flooding of peoples’ residences.
Now that we have stated the problem, we must explain what this is.
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: Millions of people all over the world live in coastal areas and
if the sea rises by even a few feet, they will be inundated with water
and lose their property.
Now that we have explained what our main point is we need to explain
why this is a problem. First, explain what and then happens and why.
Result: Shelter is one of the most basic of human needs and
widespread flooding would cause millions of people to become
homeless, not to mention losing all of their possessions.
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.
or
Example: The devastation brought about by widespread flooding 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 problem caused by sea levels creeping up is the
flooding of peoples’ residences. Millions of people all over the world
live in coastal areas and if the sea rises by even a few feet, they will
be inundated with water and lose their property. Shelter is one of
the most basic of human needs and widespread flooding would cause
millions of people to become homeless, not to mention losing all of
their possessions. 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 solution
Sentence 2- Explain how the solution will solve the problem
Sentence 3- Example
State solution: A possible solution to this problem would be 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 solution: 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:
A possible solution to this problem would be to build flood barriers.
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 many of the worlds’ cities being left
underwater, but a possible solution could be to utilise the flood
prevention techniques already used by countries like Holland.
It is also possible to make a recommendation or prediction. This
should only be used if you have time and you are over the word limit
already.
Prediction: It is predicted that more and more countries will be
forced to take such measures to avoid a watery catastrophe.
Our whole conclusion for this problem solution essay will look like
this:
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 many of the worlds’ cities being left underwater,
but a possible solution could be to utilise the flood prevention
techniques already used by countries like Holland. It is predicted
that more and more countries will be forced to take such measures to
avoid a watery catastrophe.
