How to Write Ask a Problem

Describe an “ideal” status quo. There are many ways to write a problem statement — some recommend getting straight to the point, while others ask to provide background context first so that the problem (and its solution) follows. that can be more easily understood by the reader. If you’re not sure how to start, save it for later. While we already know brevity is the goal of any type of writing, a well-understood writing is far more important. Let’s start by describing how things “should” work. Before even mentioning the problem, explain in a few sentences what it would be like if the problem didn’t exist.

• For example, we are working at a large airline and realize that the way passengers board the plane is very inconvenient in terms of time and wastes other resources. In this case, we could start the problem by describing the ideal situation where the system would work well for the company to work towards, something like this: “Your boarding procedures ABC Airlines should aim to get passengers on board for each flight quickly and efficiently so that the plane can take off early.This process should be time-optimized but also simple enough. so that all passengers can understand it easily.”

Explain the problem. Inventor Charles Kettering once said, “When a problem is solved, it is half solved.” ^[1] One of the most important (if not the most important) goals of any problem formulation is that it should be consistent with the problem it is trying to convey to the reader and so it needs to be clear, direct and easy to understand. Briefly summarize the problem you intend to solve — this will get to the heart of the problem immediately and place the most important information about the problem you report near the top of the article, most visible place. If you’ve just come up with the “ideal” situation suggested above, you might want to start the sentence with phrases like “However,…” or “Unfortunately,…” to bring up the problem. prevent that ideal vision from becoming a reality.

• Let’s say we’re thinking of developing a system to get passengers on and off the plane faster and more efficiently than the traditional “back to front” seating system. In this case, we can continue to write sentences like: “However, ABC’s current boarding and disembarkation system is inefficient in terms of time and resources. It wastes a lot of time and resources. Over time, the current boarding and disembarkation procedures make the airline’s competitiveness less. Also because of this slow process, the brand image is no longer popular.”

Explain the financial cost of the problem. Once you’ve formulated the problem, you’ll want to explain why this is a big solution — because after all, no one wants to waste time and resources trying to solve a small problem. In the business world, money is almost always the last resort, so highlight the financial implications of the issue at hand for the company or organization you’re targeting. For example, is the issue you are discussing making a more profitable business? Is it actively costing your business funds? Will it damage your brand image and thus cost your business money? Be precise and specific about the financial burdens of your chosen problem — try to make it clear exactly how much (or carefully estimate) the cost of your problem.

• For the airline example, we can interpret the financial costs of the stated problem as follows: “The inefficiencies of the current boarding system are a financial burden On average, the current system wastes forty minutes per boarding, resulting in a total of 20 hours wasted per day on all flights. costs about $400 per day, or $146,000 per year.”

Support assertions. No matter how much money you claim to have on the matter to the company, if you can’t come up with evidence to support that claim, seriously you probably won’t be selected. When making specific claims about the severity of the problem, begin to support that claim with evidence. In some cases, evidence may come from your own research, from data from a related research or project, or even from a reputable third-party source.

• In some academic or business situations, you may need to explicitly relate to the evidence contained in the problem statement, while in others it may be sufficient to simply use footnotes or citations. If it’s still not clear, ask your boss or teacher for advice.
• Let’s also review the sentences used in the previous step. They describe the costs of the problem, but do not explain how those costs are found. A more coherent explanation might be something like this: “…Based on data obtained from internal performance, ^[1] on average, the current passenger boarding system is wasteful. about four minutes each hop on and off, which takes 20 hours of work a day for ABC’s total flights. Staff pay $20 per hour, which means we’re wasting about $400 per day, or $146,000 per day. year.” Explanation for footnotes — in an actual problem paper you will have to include a reference or appendix containing the data mentioned.

Offer a solution. Once you’ve explained what the problem is and why it’s important, then explain how you’re going to deal with it. Along with the initial statements, the explanation of the solutions should be written as clearly and succinctly as possible. Focus on the big, important, solid concepts first and leave the smaller problems behind — you’ll have plenty of opportunities to learn small aspects of the proposed solution in the body.

• In the airline example, the solution to the inefficiencies was the new system we just discovered, so we should briefly explain the generalities of this new system and avoid going into too much detail. . Say something like: “Using a modified boarding system by Dr. Edward Right from the Kowlard Institute of Business Efficiency, disembark passengers from the sides instead of from the back to the front. , ABC will eliminate the four extra minutes mentioned above.” We can then go on to explain the nature of the new system, but no more than a sentence or two should be used for this, since analyzing it more fully is the “body” of the proposal.

Explain the benefits of the solution. Again, now that you’ve told your readers the “what” should be done at the problem, it would be great if you could explain the “why” this solution is good for. Because of the fact that businesses are always looking for ways to increase efficiency and get more money, you therefore need to focus primarily on the financial impact of the solution — such as what costs will be reduced less, and what new forms of income will be created, etc. Of course, you can also explain intangible benefits, like increased passenger satisfaction, but this whole explanation should not be too long, a few lines should suffice.

• In our example, it is possible to briefly describe how the firm can benefit from saving money with the above solution. The following sentences could be written: “ABC Firm could essentially profit from adopting the new program. For example, an estimated $146,000 in annual savings could translate into revenue generation. such as expanding the selection of flights to high demand markets.Additionally, by being the first US airline to adopt this solution, ABC can be recognized as is an industry driver in the region in terms of both value and convenience.”

Conclude by summarizing the problem and solution. After you’ve presented the ideal status quo to the company, outlined the limitations to achieving this ideal, and provided solutions to it, you’re almost done. What remains is to conclude the report by summarizing the main arguments allowing you to easily get into the main body of the proposal. There’s no need to have a lengthy conclusion — try to say it in a few sentences, describing the main ideas stated in the problem statement as well as what you intend to say in the body.

• In the airline example above, we could conclude the following: “Optimizing boarding or disembarking procedures or opting to adopt new more efficient procedures is a survival condition for the airline. In this proposal, the alternative boarding procedure developed by Dr. Right was analyzed for feasibility and effective steps were taken. ” This conclusion summarizes the main point of the problem-solving step — that the current boarding process is not good and this option is better — and tells the reader what to expect if they continue reading.

For scholarly articles, don’t forget to include thesis statements. When it comes to writing problem papers at school, most are pretty much the ones you use for work, but there are also things that need to be added if you want to be appreciated. For example, many essay writing classes require the thesis statement to be placed right in the problem statement. A thesis statement (or sometimes just “argument”) is a single sentence that summarizes your entire argument, to its essence. A good thesis should outline both the problem and its solution as concisely and clearly as possible.

• For example, we are writing about academic plagiarism — companies that sell ready-made essays and/or writing assignments to students to submit as their own work. With the thesis statement, we can use the following sentence to note the problem and solution we are about to propose: “Buying and selling academic essays will sabotage the learning process because rich students will have an advantage. compete better simply by purchasing essays written by professors with more powerful digital analysis tools.”
• Some categories require you to explicitly place your thesis in a certain place in the article (for example, the first or last sentence). After that, you are allowed to write more freely — ask your teacher for guidance if it is not clear.

Follow the same process for concept problems. Not all problem formulations are based on factual documents, tangible problems. Some, especially in academia (and especially in the humanities), will face conceptual problems — abstract problems that we are forced to think about. . In these cases, you can still use basic problem-solving techniques to present the problem (which obviously has nothing to do with the business focus). In other words, you will have to define the problem (usually, for conceptual problems, this will be difficult to understand), explain why the problem is of interest, explain about the plan you have in place to deal with the problem, and summarize them in a concluding sentence.

• For example, we were asked to write a problem statement for a report on the importance of religious notation in Fyodor Dostoevsky’s The Brothers Karamazov . In this case, our questioning should examine some of the less obvious aspects of religious symbolism in the novel, explaining why they are important (for example, we could say because A better understanding of religious symbology may help extract more from the book), and show how we plan to support the argument.