Theme : essay: writing about problems and solutions

1.2 How to Plan & Write IELTS Problem Solution Essays

IELTS problem solution essays are the most challenging essay type for many people. The way they are worded can vary hugely which can make it difficult to understand how you should answer the question.
Generally, you’ll be asked to write about both the problem, or cause, and the solution to a specific issue. Sometimes, however, you will only be required to write about possible solutions.
The 3 essay types:

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  Problem and solution
  

• 
  Cause and solution
  

• 
  Just the solution
  

Hence, it’s essential that you analyse the question carefully, which I’ll show you how to do in this lesson. I’m also going to demonstrate step-by-step how to plan and write IELTS problem solution essays.
Here’s what we’ll be covering:

• 
  Identifying IELTS problem solution essays 
  

• 
  6 Common mistakes
  

• 
  Essay structure
  

• 
  How to plan
  

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  How to write an introduction
  

• 
  How to write main body paragraphs
  

• 
  How to write a conclusion
  

Click the links to see lessons on each of these Task 2 essay writing topics. 
Once you understand the process, practice on past questions. Take your time at first and gradually speed up until you can plan and write an essay of at least 250 words in the 40 minutes allowed in the exam.

The Question
Here are two typical IELTS problem solution essay questions. They consist of a statement followed by the question or instruction.
1. One problem faced by almost every large city is traffic congestion.
What do you think the causes are? What solutions can you suggest?

2. Since the beginning of the 20th century, the number of endangered species has increased significantly and we have witnessed more mass extinctions in this period than in any other period of time.

State some reasons for this and provide possible solutions.
These are some examples of different ways in which questions can be phrased. The first half of the questions relate to the problem or cause, the second half to the solution.
What issues does this cause and how can they be addressed?
What are some resulting social problems and how can we deal with them?
What problems arise from this and how can they be tackled?
Why is this? How might it be remedied?
What are the reasons for this, and how can the situation be improved?
Why is this happening, and what measures can be taken to tackle this problem?
And here are a few questions where you only have to write about the solution.
How can this situation be improved?
What solutions can you suggest to deal with this problem?
How can this problem be solved?
What measures could be taken to prevent this?
It’s important that you are able to recognise the common synonyms, words and phrases used in problem solution questions. Here are the key words and their synonyms used in the questions above.

• 
  Problem – issues, resulting, situation
  

• 
  Cause – reasons, why
  

• 
  Solution – deal with, addressed, tackled, remedied, improved, measures taken, solved, prevent
  

Before we move on to some common mistakes, I want to quickly explain the difference between a problem and a cause. Read the following examples.

Problem – I've missed the last bus home after visiting my friend for the evening.
Cause – I misread the timetable and thought the bus left at 22.45 when it actually left at 22.35.

The ‘cause’ is the reason for the ‘problem’. We’ll be looking at question analysis in more detail in a minute.

1.3. Timed Essay Writing Strategies