In this post: The three variants (Causes & Effects, Causes & Solutions, Problems & Solutions) and how Body A and Body B relate in each, how to draw a matching table before you write, and how to make a solution concrete: who acts, how, and why it works.
Problems/solutions essays · 3 parts
- 1. Variants, matching table, concrete solutions (you are here)
- 2. My essays, frames and demo
- 3. Mistakes, plan and practice
✦ In this post
To be honest, problem/solution questions are the type I practised least. Looking back over the 50 essays I sent for marking, not one was a standard “problems + solutions” question. The closest were Essay 23 (why many people choose to be self-employed + the disadvantages of self-employment, band 7) and Essay 17 (why some people want to know the history of their house + how they can research it, band 6.5). But my notes contain a framework specifically for this type, and its most important line is: Body A and Body B must match.
I have already covered how to split every kind of two-question combination into paragraphs in the two-question essay post, so I will not repeat that here. This post is all about matching: how to pair causes, problems and solutions one to one, how to make solutions concrete, and how to use a table to line up the two body paragraphs before you start writing.
“Essay N” means the order in which I sent essays for marking. The scores are the four criterion scores (TR / CC / LR / GRA) and the overall band my marker gave; the reasons behind the scores are my own analysis against the public IELTS band descriptors.
1. Three variants: how causes, effects, problems and solutions pair up
These questions are often lumped together as “problem/solution”, but there are at least three variants, and the relationship between Body A and Body B is different in each:
| Variant | Typical wording | Body A | Body B | How A and B relate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Causes & Effects | What are the causes of …? What effects does this have? | Two causes | Two effects | Time order: causes come first, effects after. An effect is “what this trend leads to”, not the cause said again |
| Causes & Solutions | Why is this happening? What can be done about it? | Two causes | Two solutions | The solutions target the causes: pull out the root of the problem |
| Problems & Solutions | What problems does this cause? How can they be solved? | Two problems | Two solutions | The solutions deal with the problems: reduce consequences that already exist (treating the symptoms is fine too) |
The “causes + disadvantages” question I wrote (Essay 23) is really a kind of Causes & Effects, with the effects limited to negative ones. “Causes + methods” (Essay 17) is closer to Causes & Solutions, except that the “methods” are not solving a problem but ways of achieving a goal.
Same topic, three variants, three very different essays
Take traffic congestion in cities as an example (this is a demonstration). You will see that the solutions in Causes & Solutions and Problems & Solutions point in different directions:
| Variant | Body A | Body B |
|---|---|---|
| Causes & Effects | ① Too many private cars ② Public transport is not convenient enough | ① Longer commutes and lower productivity at work ② More exhaust fumes, harming residents’ health |
| Causes & Solutions | ① Too many private cars ② Public transport is not convenient enough | ① A congestion charge in the city centre at peak times → fewer private cars ② More frequent buses and bus lanes → more convenient public transport |
| Problems & Solutions | ① Long commutes ② Air pollution | ① Employers introduce flexible working hours → the rush hour is spread out ② Buses switch to electric → fewer emissions |
2. Draw a matching table before you write: Body A and Body B must match
“Matching” means that whatever two points Body A makes, Body B gives one response to each of them, ideally in the same order. The best approach is to spend two or three minutes drawing a matching table before you start:
| No. | Body A: cause / problem | Body B: matching solution | Who acts | How | Why it works (link back to A) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ① | (write the cause or problem) | (write the solution) | Government / schools / employers / parents / individuals | A concrete action | Explain using A’s key words |
| ② | Ideally different from ① |
Example: “More and more children are overweight: causes and solutions” (this is a demonstration):
| No. | Body A: cause | Body B: solution | Who acts | How | Why it works |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ① | Busy working parents often buy fast food and sugary drinks for meals | Make healthy food convenient | Schools | Provide balanced school lunches and ban sugary drinks on campus | Children get at least one meal a day that is not fast food; answers “no time to cook” |
| ② | After school, most of their time is spent on screens, with little exercise | Build exercise into daily life | Schools + parents | A fixed daily PE session; parents agree screen-time limits with their children | Directly swaps “sitting time” for “moving time” |
When I draw the table, I check four things:
- One to one, same order: the first cause in Body A matches the first solution in Body B.
- Key words echoed: Body B’s sentences should contain A’s key words or synonyms (fast food, screen time) so that the reader can see the match.
- Different people act: if both solutions are “the government should…”, the paragraph reads monotonously. Switching to schools, parents or employers also makes the argument more complete.
- If you cannot think of a solution, change the cause: some causes are very real but hard to solve (for example “people are just lazy”). Swap them out before you start, rather than getting stuck halfway.
An example that does not match
Same question, but suppose Body B looks like this (a demonstration of what goes wrong):
| Body A: cause | Body B: solution | What is wrong |
|---|---|---|
| Busy parents often buy fast food | The government taxes sugary drinks | The cause is “no time to cook proper meals”, but the solution deals with the price of drinks; the two are only loosely related |
| Children spend all their time after school on screens | The media promote the importance of healthy eating | The cause is “too little exercise”, the solution is about “diet”: they miss each other completely |
Each solution is fine on its own, but put together, the reader feels that Body A and Body B are two separate lists rather than one essay analysing a problem. Judged against the Coherence and Cohesion descriptors, this kind of “no clear progression between paragraphs” makes it very hard to get 7 or above.
3. Make solutions concrete: who acts, how, and why it works
The most common problem with solutions is that they are too vague: The government should solve this problem. That sentence fits any question, so it carries no information. I check solutions against three elements:
| Element | Question to answer | Too vague | More concrete |
|---|---|---|---|
| Who acts | Which organisation or group of people? | The government should… | Local councils could… / Schools should… / Employers could… |
| How | What is the concrete action? | …take action / raise awareness | …introduce a congestion charge during rush hours |
| Why it works | How does this action change A? | (missing) | This would discourage drivers from entering the city centre at peak times, so traffic would move more smoothly. |
The third element is the one most often left out, yet it matters most: it is the thread that ties Body B back to Body A. After writing a solution, ask yourself “so what happens to that cause or problem in A?” and write the answer as one sentence.
Who acts: common actors and verbs
| Actor | Common verbs | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| National or local government | introduce, impose, subsidise, invest in, require | impose a tax on sugary drinks; subsidise public transport |
| Schools | provide, offer, include … in the curriculum | include cooking lessons in the curriculum |
| Companies / employers | allow, offer, encourage | allow flexible working hours |
| Parents / families | set limits on, encourage, spend time … | set limits on children’s screen time |
| Individuals | choose to, reduce, take part in | choose public transport for daily commuting |
| The media | launch campaigns, highlight | launch campaigns that show the real cost of … |
Continue reading · Part 2 of 3
IELTS Notes in English · Task 2 Structure (post 7 of 9)
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✦ Target Your Future
Some days you practise for hours and the score still does not move. I hope these notes remind you that the setbacks are part of the road: every recording you replayed, every essay you rewrote and every sentence you finally dared to say is progress you have already made.
I wrote this down so the next person can take fewer detours. You do not have to follow my method exactly. Find a rhythm that works for you, rest when you need to, and come back for the next small step.
I hope what you take away is more than a number on a score report: a little more confidence in yourself, and the courage to step a bit closer to the world.
— Ting
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