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.

Example: The devastation brought about by

this was clear for all to see during the 2011
Tsunami in Japan, in which millions of people
were displaced.

This example is much more specific. Stating

a place and/or date can help you make your
examples more specific.

Our second paragraph will look like this:

The foremost problems caused by

climbing sea levels are that land is being
lost and people’s residences are often
flooded. As water levels rise, low-lying
land is submerged, and many countries
become smaller. 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. This devastation was clear for all
to see during the 2011 Tsunami in Japan, in
which millions of people were displaced.

Now we must move on to our solutions.

Solutions Paragraph
Our solutions paragraph will have this
structure:

Sentence 1- State solutions

Sentence 2- Explain solution to first problem

Sentence 3- Explain solution to second

problem

Sentence 4- Example of solution to second

problem

State solutions: Possible solutions to these

problems would be to reduce the amount of
pollution created and build flood barriers.

We now need to explain how our solution will

help solve the problem. Again, do not assume
that the examiner has any specialist
knowledge of this topic, so you need to
explain what you mean.

Explain first solution: If each person

reduces their carbon footprint, the negative
effects on the environment will be reduced,
which will mean that the water level will stop
rising.

Explain second solution: Furthermore, flood

defences, such as dikes, dams, and
floodgates, could be built along coasts and
waterways, thereby stopping the water from
reaching populated areas.

Example: The Netherlands is one of the most

populated areas in the world and one of the
most vulnerable to flooding. They have
successfully employed various flood defence
systems.

Our whole solutions paragraph will look like

this:

Possible solutions to these problems

would be to reduce the amount of pollution
being created and to build flood barriers. If
each person reduces their carbon
footprint, the negative effects on the
environment will be reduced, which will
mean that the water level will stop rising.
Furthermore, flood defences, such as
dikes, dams, and floodgates, could be
built along coasts and waterways, thereby
stopping the water from reaching
populated areas. The Netherlands is one of
the most populated areas in the world and
also one of the most vulnerable to
flooding, and they have successfully
employed various flood defence systems.

We have now answered the question and

need to sum up what we have said in the
conclusion.

Conclusion

The conclusion should have no new ideas but

instead should list the main points from the
previous two paragraphs. You can also use
synonyms in this paragraph to avoid
repetition.

Conclusion: To conclude, stemming the

rising tides caused by increasing global
temperatures is one of the foremost