Writing Workshop 28: Problems and solutions

Problems and solutions

When we write, we always need to think about the reader. That means we have to introduce our ideas clearly. To do this, we need to use topic sentences.

We have mentioned topic sentences several times during this Writing Workshop. They help the reader follow the plan of our composition. They are like signposts for a driver.

Topics sentences are usually the first sentence in a well-organised and well-developed paragraph. But topic sentences are helped by other sentences within the paragraph, the supporting sentences, which develop the main idea, give examples, and explain points.

Let’s have a look at an example. Take the composition topic “The number of people who are overweight or obese is far higher than in previous generations. What are the reasons for this, and how can the problem be dealt with?”. We have included five points within our paragraph:

1 The main idea of the paragraph = topic sentence
2 An explanation of the main idea
3 An example
4 The solution to the problem
5 The result of the solution (i.e. what would happen if we tried the solution). We tend to use the conditional would because we are making hypothesis.

One of the reasons that so many people are overweight is that they eat junk food instead of cooking a healthy meal (1). It is common these days for people to eat takeaway food or pick up a ready meal from the supermarket, rather than cook a healthy meal (2). For instance, in the UK, sales of pre-prepared meals, which contain high levels of fat and salt, have increased dramatically in the last few years (3). To tackle this issue, the government could increase sales tax on food considered to be unhealthy (4). This would hopefully encourage consumers to buy healthier food and therefore lose weight (5).

There are several ways we can develop topic sentences in a paragraph. Let’s have a look at some of them:

a) Linking phrases to explain the main idea: That is to say, … / In other words, …
One problem in cities is the cost of public transport. That is to say, in big cities like Madrid the price of using public transport such as the bus or tube is extremely expensive. As a result, …

b) Giving reasons:  This is because… / The reason is…
One issue is that a lot of young children don’t have a healthy diet. This is because their parents don’t have time to cook, so they end up having takeaways and processed food. As a consequence,…

c) Describing facts: … means that …
One issue of living in a big city is the stress of getting from one place to another. Living in a big city means that it takes at least an hour to get from your house to where you want to go, which is very tiring and time consuming. For example,…

d) Describing the result: As a result, … / As a consequence, … / Therefore, …
One problem with working at home is that you don’t have contact with colleagues. As a result, it is difficult to improve your knowledge and skills, as you don’t get new ideas from workmates. For instance,…

Problems and solutions is another typical task we can come across in composition writing. As usual, a clear organization of our writing is key:

Introduction
Paragraph 1: Cause 1 + Solution 1
Paragraph 2: Cause 2 + Solution 2
[Paragraph 3: Cause 3 + Solution 3]
Conclusion

With information from IELTS Advantage Writing Skills, Delta Publishing