ProblemSolution Text
The Swiss-Army
Knife of Academic
Writing Structures
By Jennifer L. Greer
University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB)
TESOL, March 30, 2012
Preparing for Excellence: Practical Strategies for Successful Graduate
Writing
Narrative Structures in Academia
Problem-Solution Text
Situation
Problem/Question
Solution/Answer
Evaluation
Case Study
Index Case
Pathology
Treatment
Evaluation
Conference Abstract
Outline the field
Justify the research/idea
Summarize study
Highlight implications
Empirical Research Article
Introduction
Methods
Results
Discussion/Conclusion
Challenge for L2 Grad Writers
• Situation: Introductory graduate writing course; first
writing assignment; confidence issues, writer’s block
• Problem: Need a genre that is short, structured, and not
too complex; a topic that is familiar, low-risk
• Solution: 4-part Problem-Solution Text on a problem in
home country or in graduate education
• Evaluation: Peer review, instructor feedback, and group
publishing
*Problem-Solution Text
For over 20 years now biologists have been alarmed that certain
populations of amphibians (frogs, toads, and salamanders) have
been declining. These declines have occurred both in areas
populated by humans as well as areas seemingly undisturbed by
people. However, offering clear proof of the declining numbers of
amphibians has been difficult because in most cases there is no
reliable data on past population sizes with which to compare recent
numbers. Moreover, it is not entirely clear whether the declines are
actually part of a natural fluctuation in populations arising from
droughts or a scarcity of good. To address this problem biologists
are changing the way that they observe amphibian populations. One
good documentation method involves counting species over the
course of several years and under a variety of climatic conditions.
This method should yield reliable data that will help researchers
understand the extend to which amphibian populations are in
danger and begin to determine what can be done to stem the
decline in populations. Excerpted from Academic Writing for Graduate Students
(Swales and Feak, 2004) by the University of Michigan Press.
Activity: Writing & Publishing
• Home-work: Read “AU scientist helps clean water in
India” from The Birmingham News
• In-class: Analyze, discuss, and outline “AU scientist” for
P-S elements
• In-class: Group-write a P-S Text on “AU scientist” – 4
groups, each takes a different section; writes at desk,
then adds to group-write on projected text
• Home-work: Outline own P-S Text on problem in home
country
• In-class: Write all or part of P-S Text and peer review
• Home-work: Revise and submit to instructor for
publication in newsletter
Student Comments
• Student 1: “It is important to make sure we can arrange
our ideas, situation, or problem in sequence order
[because] it will help us writer our solution in a better
way. . .P-S text really gives us a clue.”
• Student 2: “Problem-solution text [is] important for
solving a problem. We are thinking [in a] different way
when we solve the problem.”
• Student 3: “Before this class I had some intution about
this kind of organization, but I didn’t know the specific
parts on these types of text… [it] helps me think in an
organized manner [and] focus on a small part, rather
than think in a chaotic way.”