Writing the problem-solving essay

The next assignment in Writing the Essay is a problem-solving essay, an assignment that asks you to examine a difficulty or challenge that you faced, and how you over came it. Everyone has faced some kind of difficulty or challenge in his or her life and has worked through them. Let's write about it.

In constructing the essay, we will address the following objectives:

• stating a specific problem in the controlling idea
• explaining how the problem was solved
• providing specific details to describe each attempt to solve the problem
• using transition words to link ideas
• using concrete verbs

Start by brainstorming a list of possible topics. Narrow down your choices and create a web or idea map to generate ideas for your essay. If you are to write this effectively, your essay must adhere to a specific structure that lays out your problem, explains different attempts to solve it, and finally describes the ultimate solution.

Rough draft due Sept. 18 - Final draft due Sept. 20. Check out the calendar to the right.