Problem Solution Essay: MACBETH
Paper Topics:
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Humans are often in power struggles. How is the desire for power sometimes a
problem?
How do people deal with guilt?
How do we know what the right thing to do is?
Macbeth had a lot of ambition. What is the problem with ambition?
Are humans a product of their own choices or does fate play a role?
How do we deal with conflicting parts of our self?
Where do you draw the line between love and loyalty?
Other________________? Discuss with the teacher.
*All topics above are generally stated, but you must incorporate the ideas of
Macbeth into your essay as evidence/proof of your solutions
ASSESSMENT:
Refer to attached CCB10.4 and ARB10.1 rubrics.
When handing in your essay, you will need to include all of its parts in this order:
1. title page
2. typed good copy
3. Work Cited
4. rough copy with editing
5. 2 peer/other assessment sheets
6. Copy of a peer assessment that YOU did
7. graphic organizer or concept web (brainstorming)
8. rubrics
This is a 5 paragraph formal problem solution paper. You must write in the
present-verb tense throughout. The first paragraph is your introduction:
Introduction:
 Mention the title of the play and the author’s name at or near the beginning.
Examples:
Things are often not always how they seem in this world. (starts out general, yet alludes to the motif of
appearance vs reality in Macbeth).
Love often blinds people to what is really going on. Human emotion can drive people to act in certain
ways. Such is the case with the relationship of Macbeth and his wife, in Shakespeare’s play Macbeth…
Underline the title or place it in italics.
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Start generally and narrow things down to the specific.
States the problem
Identifies (generally) that there are solutions to the problem
Makes a claim (thesis) that the essay will argue and support
Body Paragraphs:
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Your main ideas become your topic sentences. (Or you can reword these if you
like.)
A topic sentence (first sentence in a body paragraph) can be considered a minithesis statement. It should sum up the argument you are making in the body
paragraph. This is an opinion, stated as a fact. You are not to say “I think” or
refer to yourself at any time. Your topic sentence should not contain pronouns (he,
she, them). Consider each body paragraph a fresh start and say the character’s
name the first time you mention him/her—then use “he” or “she” as long as it is
clear whom you are referring to.
You must have evidence supporting your assertions. This is what happens in the
play that supports the points you are making.
You should try and incorporate a transitional sentence at the end of each
paragraph, giving a hint as to what is coming next. Good essays have flow. They are
not choppy.
You should have no overlap of ideas among your body paragraphs. Don’t say the
exact same thing in two or more body paragraphs.
Each paragraph must be organized and have unity. It should be clear what the
paragraph is about.
Quotations
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You must use at least three quotations from the play, as evidence for your points.
Most people place these in the body paragraphs, but there is nothing to prevent you
from using quotations in your introduction or conclusion either.
After your quotations, include the act, scene, and line numbers eg. (I, ii, 23-24).
It is always best to work a quote into your existing sentence.
For a short quotation, use quotation marks within your sentence. Put your period (end
of sentence) after the bracketed act, scene, and line numbers.
Examples:
Early in the play, we see Macbeth’s ambition when his heroic efforts in battle are
explained by the Sergeant when he tells the King how he took on the enemy: “Till he faced
the slave,/ Which never shook hands, nor bade farewell to him,/ Till he unseamed him from
the nave to the chops” (I, ii, 22-24).
Macbeth is unsure of the witches when he hears them say “All Hail, Macbeth, that
shalt be King hereafter” (I, iii, 53).
 Lady Macbeth really makes Macbeth feel like he is an incapable man when she says you
are “a coward in thine own esteem” (I, vii, 46).
 For a long quotation (4 or more lines), create a new paragraph and type the quotation in
the same format as you find it in the play (indented)
Example:
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Macbeth contemplates whether or not to go through with murdering Duncan when he says:
If it were done, when ‘tis done, then ‘twere well
It were done quickly. If the assassination
Could trammel up the consequence, and catch,
With surcease, success, that but this blow
Might be the be-all and the end-all here (I, vii, 1-5).
If you leave something out within a quotation, use …
If you add something to a quotation, use [ ].
“Oh direst cruelty! Make thick my [skin]” (I, v, 46).
“O never,/Shall sun that morrow see!...Look like the innocent flower” (I, v, 67-68, 72).
Conclusion:
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You must have no new material in a conclusion.
A conclusion can be short, even as short as four sentences.
You restate your thesis and three main ideas, hopefully in a different way.
It shows how your problem leads to some well thought out solutions
Throughout:
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You must write formally, with no contractions, numbers, or slang.
Never say “I,” “we,” or refer to your essay: (“In this essay, I”…)
Use present verb tense throughout. (“Lady Macbeth goes mad.” Not “Lady
Macbeth went mad.”)
Your essay should be, above all, clear and concise.
This is not the best place to show off your astonishing vocabulary (if you’re not
sure of a word, look it up or use a different one) or flowery prose (if you can say it
in fewer words, do).
Try not to repeat yourself.
Don’t write something that you think sounds really good or deep, if you don’t know
exactly what you mean. If you don’t know, chances are no one else will either.
You are working at organizing and supporting your thoughts and presenting them in
a convincing, straightforward way. You are to use logic throughout.
Whenever possible, use active verbs (watch for is and has)
Red Flags: (a few words to watch for and usually not rely on)
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Very – overused to try to make something more, but making it less, especially with
words like “unique”
Seems/might - wishy-washy – you are trying to be logical in providing solutions to a
problem. Be firm.
Avoid pronouns (She, This, They, Some) – it is also unclear. Instead, use proper
nouns (Macbeth, The Witches, The King’s subjects)
Also watch for apostrophes. If there’s no ownership, there should be no apostrophes. If
you mean more than one of something, that is plural.
Eg. Bob’s Burgers (whose burgers? – ownership – Bob’s)
Change the name Bob to Curtis, then it changes the place of the apostrophe because
his name ends with an ‘s’.
Eg. Curtis’ Cupcakes (whose cupcakes? – ownership- Curtis’
How many burgers (plural – more than one – NO APOSTROPHE NEEDED) do you want?