Lesson 1: What Is a Problem/Solution Essay?

We can start to analyse the question by identifying keywords and instruction words. 

Keywords are words that help us understand what the topic of the sentence is. In the sample question above, we can use the keywords to identify the topic as obesity. However, there are other keywords such as “all over the world”, “societies” and “children and adults”. These keywords are important too because they tell us why obesity is a problem that needs to be addressed. 

The instruction words will tell you what type of essay you will need to write. In this case, the instruction words are: “What are the reasons for this?” and “How it could be tackled?” This means that you will have to explain the reason for the problem and how the problem can be solved. 

Another important part of a problem-solution essay is the use of transition words. When writing your essay, transition words will improve the connections between your sentences and paragraphs giving your writing a more logical organization and structure.

Let’s review some examples of transitions and how we might use them in a problem-solution essay. 

To introduce suggestions: to begin/start with; One way to; another solution would be…; Another way to…would be…

To express cause: because of/owing to/due to the fact that; for this reason

To express effect: thus; therefore; as a result; consequently; so; as a consequence

To express reality: in fact; as a matter of fact; actually; in practice

To emphasize what you say: obviously; clearly; needless to say; in particular

To conclude: all in all; To sum up; All things considered