IELTS Writing Task 2 Problem and Solution

Essay Lesson
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Problem Solution Essay

This lesson on how to write a problem solution essay will:

discuss common mistakes;

show you how to analyse the question;

show you how to think of ideas;

give you a structure that can be used again and again

on all problem solution IELTS essays;
describe how to write an introduction, main body

paragraphs and conclusion; and

give you a full band 9 sample answer.

Problem/solution questions are one of the most common

IELTS Writing Task 2 questions on the academic paper.
Despite being very common, many students fail to do well in
these questions. This post will look at some of the most
common mistakes and then take you through how to answer
these questions step-by-step.

Common Mistakes
1. The most common mistake for problem solution

essays is not expanding on your ideas and instead

simply listing lots of problems and solutions. The
examiner does not want a list of all the problems and
solutions you can think of, and please don’t do this in
the exam. Instead, if you look at how the exam is
marked, the examiner wants you to pick one or two
problems and solutions and then expand on them with
explanations and examples. More on how to do this
below.
2. Another common mistake is writing about problems
and solutions that are not directly linked to the
question. You should be like a sniper when answering
the question and only give very specific ideas rather
than ideas that generally talk about the overall issue.
This has a lot to do with how you identify keywords
and micro-keywords in the questions which we will
look at below.
3. Lots of people think of good ideas for problems and

then fail to link their solutions to these problems. Each

problem should have a solution directly linked to it, or
in other words, it should solve the actual problem.
4. Finally, some candidates think of really good problems

and solutions that answer the question properly and

then expand their answers with explanations and
examples, but they talk too generally. Instead, you
should be thinking of specific examples and
explanations. We will look at how to avoid this below.

Analysing the Question

This is one of the most crucial parts of answering any IELTS
writing question. If you don’t take the time to think properly
about what the examiner is asking you to do, then it is very
difficult to answer the question correctly.

We analyse the question by thinking about three things:

keywords
micro-keywords

action words

Keywords are the words that tell us what the general topic is.

Micro-keywords identify which part of the general topic the

examiner wants you to discuss. They often give an opinion,
qualify the statement or talk about a sub-category of the
bigger general topic.

Action words tell us what the examiner wants us to do.

Problem Solution Sample Essay

Global warming is one of the biggest threats humans

face in the 21st Century, and sea levels continue to rise at
alarming rates.

What problems are associated with this, and what are

some possible solutions?

If we look at this question, we can see that the keywords are

‘global warming‘. This is our general topic. We will write
about this, but we cannot write about any problems
associated with global warming. If we do this, we have not
answered the question properly. We, therefore, need to look
at the micro-keywords.

The micro-keywords are ‘humans‘ and ‘sea level rise‘. So

instead of writing just about the huge topic of global
warming and any problems associated with that (such as
increased storms, extinction of certain animals, erosion of
soil), we have to talk about how particularly sea level rises
will affect humans. If we talked about the problems affecting
the ‘planet’ or ‘animals’ or the ‘atmosphere’, we would not be
answering the question.

The action words are problems and solutions. Our task is,
therefore, to write about that and only that. It does not ask
our opinion about the disadvantages, advantages, or causes,
just the problems and solutions. If we discussed the causes
of sea level rise, we would not be answering the question.

For more information, go to effectively analyse an IELTS

question.

How to Think of Ideas

Now that we know exactly what the question is asking us to

do, we need to think of specific and relevant ideas. There are
many strategies for thinking of ideas for IELTS task 2
questions TO THINK OF IDEAS FOR IELTS WRITING TASK
2 but for problem-solving questions; I like to use something
called the ‘coffee shop method’.

Instead of brainstorming or mind-mapping- which take too

much time and lead to irrelevant ideas in my opinion- you
should pretend you are in a coffee shop with a friend and
they have just asked you a simple question. In this case, it
would be “What are the problems and solutions associated
with sea level rise on humans?”

If you were talking to a friend about this, I’m sure you would
have no problem thinking of at least 2 or 3 problems and
solutions. This method takes you out of an exam situation
and puts your mind into a more relaxed environment. Try it
and see. If you don’t like it, try one of my other methods.

There are several problems and solutions, including:

Problem: flooding of people’s homes and businesses

Solution: build flood barriers or move to higher areas

Problem: loss of agricultural land and starvation

Solution: switch to more suitable crops

Problem: displacement of millions of people

Solution: move people in a planned and orderly way before

the floods

Problem: groundwater undrinkable

Solution: build desalination plants

As you can see, I didn’t think of lots of problems and then

lots of solutions. For each problem, you should think of a
solution that directly solves this problem.

You now have lots of ideas, but now you must decide which
ones to use. I always tell my students to pick the ones they
know most about, i.e. that they can explain and give relevant
examples.

Structure

I advise my students to use a basic four-paragraph structure

with all problem solution IELTS essays. Your four paragraphs
should look something like this:

Paragraph 1- Introduction

Paragraph 2- Problems

Paragraph 3- Solutions

Paragraph 4- Conclusion

At a sentence level, your structure should look like this:

Introduction

1- Paraphrase question

2- Outline sentence

Problem

3- State problems

4- Explain first problem

5- Explain second problem

6- Example of second problem

Solution

7- State solutions

8- Explain solution to first problem

9- Explain solution to second problem

10- Example of solution to second problem

Conclusion

Sentence 11- Summary of main points in paragraphs 2 and

3

For more structures, check out our IELTS task 2 structures

guide.

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 continue
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 look for your ability to do this in the exam,
so practising this skill is a good idea.

Our outline sentence is next, which tells the examiner what

they will 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 problems

caused by this phenomenon are the loss of land and the
flooding of homes and then argue that pollution
reduction and building flood protection are the most
viable solutions.

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
problems caused by this phenomenon are the loss of
land and the flooding of homes and then argue that
pollution reduction and building flood protection are the
most viable solutions.

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 problems

Sentence 2- Explain first problem

Sentence 3- Explain second problem

Sentence 4- Example of second problem

State problems: The foremost problems caused by climbing

sea levels are that land is being lost and peoples’ residences
are often flooded.

Now that we have stated the problems, we must explain

these. 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 educated and knows
what you are talking about. These assumptions will stop you
from writing what you need.

Explain first problem: As water levels rise, low-lying land is

submerged, and many countries become smaller.

Explain second problem: Furthermore, millions of people

worldwide live in coastal areas, and if the sea rises by even a
few feet, they are inundated with water and lose their
property.

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.