Sample Essay
In academic writing, it is important to make sure your essay is well organized so you can express your ideas and
arguments clearly. This sample essay about the language problems faced by migrants shows you how to organize
your academic writing using the Situation - Problem - Solution - Evaluation (SPSE) model.
Task
‘Globally today, migrants face a number of problems once they begin to settle in their chosen country. Identify one
or more such problems in a country of your choice. What possible solutions can be found?’
Write an academic essay of about 750 words. Use your own ideas to suggest solutions to these problems.
Evaluate these solutions and support your argument with examples.
Sample Answer
Around the world today we can observe populations on the move. Where there is
freedom of movement, migration tends to take place for economic and other
reasons. Migration is thus the phenomenon of people travelling across national
borders for economic or political reasons. North-western European countries of
the EU, notably Ireland and the UK, have seen mass influxes of workers since
2005 from the poorer, newer EU countries such as Poland. Significant movement
of people, however, is likely to cause tensions. Concerns have been raised over
access to limited healthcare and educational resources, possible increases in
crime, pressure on jobs, and language problems. Of all the possible problems, this
essay focuses on language issues, in particular meeting the educational needs in
the UK of workers whose first language is not English. I then offer two solutions,
and assess these from financial, practical and social perspectives.
Since the introduction of the single market in the European Union in 2005, large
numbers of people have migrated from eastern European countries such as Poland
to the British Isles. Many have found work in the agriculture sector and service
industries from hotels to coffee shops. These workers have gained survival
language skills. Yet many migrants are now hoping for something better: with
more advanced vocational training and academic qualifications, superior
opportunities await. The key to education in the UK and Ireland is, of course, the
English language. What significant numbers of potential applicants are discovering
is that while their spoken language might be passable, their academic writing is
insufficient. The problem here is one of language level rather than intellectual
capability.
© Macmillan Publishers 2008.
The first solution is for educational institutions to assist their students. This
solution recognizes that where there are needs, with good planning these needs
can be met. Education is needs-driven. The UK marketplace has known needs for
well-qualified personnel from healthcare professionals through bankers to lawyers.
There are needs not only at the top levels but also among all the middle tiers of
management. If prospective applicants lack sufficient English language skills for
their studies, the education sector should liaise between the marketplace and the
individual. In other words, colleges should help the migrant workers secure
appropriate funding for their preparatory language studies. After all, the
migrants are contributing to the national economy and it is in the country’s wider
interest to maximize this resource.
The second solution is essentially a skills exchange: the migrant offers one hour
of work (or more) in exchange for access to one hour’s language lesson, whether by
the employer or their delegated professional. The principle of a skills exchange is
that no money actually changes hands; rather, a similar amount of time is spent by
two parties, each giving the other what they require. With the employers needing
a motivated workforce and the migrants requiring English language skills this
solution is straightforward.
To evaluate the effectiveness and workability of the two solutions proposed, I
suggest examining them firstly in practical terms. Although the first solution
appears to follow the principles of economics and supply and demand, there are
clearly practical difficulties. Foremost among these is the principle of trust: a
prospective employer is unlikely to offer financial help for a candidate who is not
yet an employee. There is too much at stake. The second solution, meanwhile, is
relatively simple: the employee is in place and presumably trusted, and the
mechanism should be easy to implement.
From a financial perspective, again the first solution offers high risk. Provided
the arrangement works and the candidate does eventually work for their sponsor,
the risk is minimized as the employee in effect pays back what they have been
loaned. Nevertheless, there is much room for the arrangement not to work.
Solution two, though, clearly offers minimal financial risk necessitating as it does
no real exchange of money: indeed only in the sense that time is money.
Finally, in social terms the question of effectiveness is more finely balanced. The
first solution is characterised by an impersonal relationship between migrant
worker and sponsor. In the second scenario the relationship is likely to be more
familiar. Which of these is the more desirable is a matter of debate, but I would
suggest a degree of impartiality is desirable for the exercise not to become little
more than an unfocused conversation.
To sum up, we have seen that for the important issue of language facing today’s
migrant workers in the UK and Ireland there are a number of possible solutions.
From those proposed here, the skills-exchange appears to offer a low-cost and
easily-administered solution to the language training problem. Whether the
employer, as provider of training, is able to fulfil the employee’s needs effectively
is perhaps a question which needs further examination. Over the coming years we
should be able to observe how migrants and the countries themselves overcome
the problem of language training for further study.
© Macmillan Publishers 2008.
Comments
The SPSE model for structuring an essay involves describing a situation and a problem, then putting forward
a solution (or solutions) and providing some evaluation of this solution.
• Like any good essay, the three parts of introduction, body and conclusion should be easy to identify.
The body is likely to comprise up to 80% of the material, with the other parts each about 10%.
• This essay has a strong introduction. The introduction should move from the general to the particular, or
the global to the local. One purpose is to gain the reader’s interest; also the subject needs to be
contextualized; we set out the situation clearly. Therefore we start with general statements.
• It is also helpful to define any key concepts or technical terms in the introduction, for example in this
essay: Migration is thus the phenomenon of people travelling across national borders for economic or
political reasons.
• The reader should be clear by the end of the introduction exactly what the essay is about - the topic and
any subtopics - where it is going and how it is going to get there. We normally express such information in
the thesis statement. The thesis statement contains the essence of the argument and purpose, and gives
basic information on organization. In this essay it is: Of all the possible problems, this essay focuses on
language issues, in particular meeting the educational needs in the UK of workers whose first language is
not English. I then offer two solutions, and assess these from financial, practical and social perspectives.
From this thesis statement we can see exactly what problems will be discussed (language), in what
context (the UK), and why (to find solutions and evaluate these from three specific perspectives).
• The introduction should also state what is not included. This essay mentions such problems as
healthcare, educational resources crime, jobs, and language, but then effectively excludes all but the
latter, with the result that only language is focused on. This is acceptable here as the questions asks you
to ‘identify one or more problems’. Note that it is still useful to mention the other problems: it shows you
are aware of them and your context is nicely set.
• Where there are two or more solutions to put forward, we can either explain and then evaluate each one
in turn, or, as here, present all the solutions first, then evaluate them together in a separate section.
• Many questions do not explicitly ask for evaluation, yet it is an essential component in academic writing.
Evaluation is not just about giving personal opinions, but putting forward an assessment, judgement or
comment together with clear reasons and evidence where possible. In this essay, evaluation is presented
from three perspectives; practical, financial and social. Although the writer’s stance is clear, favouring the
‘skills exchange’ solution, arguments for and against each solution are offered in the evaluation section.
• This essay has a good balance. It describes the situation and problem clearly in the first two paragraphs,
it sets out two possible solutions in paragraphs 3 and 4, then evaluates these in paragraphs 5, 6 and 7,
before summarizing and confirming the writer’s stance in the conclusion.
• The reader should be able to follow the thread clearly from title through the thesis statement in the
introduction to the concluding remarks.
© Macmillan Publishers 2008.