Proposing a Solution |1

ENG 1023, Spring

2014

Proposing a Solution

Task Summary

Persuade us a local problem exists and to accept your solution to it. (Key
chapter: SMG 7)
Length: 1,000-1,200 words
Final Draft Due Date: __________________

Description

Write an essay proposing a solution to a problem. Choose a problem faced

by a community or group to which you belong, and address the proposal to
members of the group or outsiders who can help solve the problem.
Sourcing requirements:
At least three sources, total.
At least 1 peer-reviewed or primary-source government publication
source. (Examples of primary-source government publications include
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports on climate, the
Census Bureaus reports, reports at the Centers for Disease Control,
publications by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, etc.)
The remaining sources must be professionally edited publications:
newspapers, magazines, books, etc.
You may substitute an original interview of an expert in the field,
conducted by you, for any of the above sources.
Seek permission for any source not covered by the above descriptions.
In addition to the above types of sources, you need to make sure you
have at least one source for each of the following roles in your paper:
o You need at least one source to help you establish that the
problem is real and deserves attention.
o You need at least one source to help you establish that your
proposed solution is feasible.
o You need at least one source that disagrees with something
youve said: maybe it says the problem isnt that serious, or it
says your solution wont work. You need to counterargue
against this source in your paper.

Tips

1. If your reader doesnt take the problem seriously, you cannot possibly
persuade him or her to accept the solution. (If I tell you it will only cost
the federal government $500 to send all of the aliens back to Jupiter,
youre only likely to think that expenditure is worthwhilesmall as it
isif you think we have a problem with aliens from Jupiter.) For this
reason, most good proposals make an effort to get readers to care
about the problem first. Once we care about the problem, the solution
might not seem as expensive or painful.
2. If your reader has his or her own idea on how to solve the problem, and
you never talk about that idea, the reader may think you werent

Proposing a Solution |2

thorough enough. Even if the reader thinks your idea is good, he or she
will probably think that his or her own idea was better. For this reason,
good proposals also evaluate alternative solutions: Indeed, the best of
them will often list a bunch of possible solutions and then evaluate each
of them, comparing them to each other until arriving at a best choice.
For an example of this, see Crystal Allens paper on how to save
endangered turtles, located here: http://bit.ly/QYjIIF.
Related Readings

St. Martins Guide Ch. 7, 23, 24; They Say/I Say Ch. 6-7; and Chapters 4-5 of The
Craft of Research.

Supported Outcomes

EEOs: 1 (writing process), 2 (audience and purpose), 3 (modes of expression), 5

(problem solving), 6 (research-based paper)
FYC: 1 (accurate depictions of conflicting perspectives), 2 (structured analysis of
a problem), 3 (genre expectations), 4 (supports analytical conclusions)
1023: 1 (critical thinking strategies), 2 (process), 3 (purpose/audience), 4 (group
work), 5 (peer review), 6 (source integration), 8 (clear prose).