Expository Problem-and-Solution Essay

Ms. Hrabosky’s tenth grade English class composed an expository problem-and-solution essay to work on the skill of identifying a problem and offering a reasonable solution. The students’ essay topic was of their choice as long as they provided a clear description of a specific real-life problem, an analysis of the most important parts of the problem, proof that showed the significance of the problem in a way readers can understand, transitions that linked the parts of the essay to form a coherent whole, a complete evaluation of one or more possible solutions, a personal evaluation of any solution discussed, and free of errors, including correct subject-verb agreement. Students took part in the writing process and created a list or web map to begin composing ideas, then constructed an outline or skeleton for their essay, wrote a rough draft, took time to revise their essay, checked for subject-verb agreement, edited and proofread the essay, and then presented their final draft to the class. Students enjoyed this expository unit as it allowed them to express their thoughts on a topic that they were passionate about.