Problem, Solution, and Description

Two more common ways to organize nonfiction are worth knowing well. One lays out a trouble and its fix; the other paints a detailed picture of a topic.

Problem and solution is a structure that presents a difficulty and then one or more ways to solve it. Description is a structure that explains a topic in detail by listing its features, traits, or examples. Spotting which one you are reading tells you what to expect and where the author’s main point sits.

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Problem and Solution

In a problem-and-solution passage, the writer first describes something that is wrong or difficult, then offers a remedy. You might read about a city’s traffic jams followed by a plan for new bus routes. Signal words include “problem,” “issue,” “challenge,” “solution,” “solve,” and “answer.” As you read, ask two questions: “What is the problem here?” and “What is being proposed to fix it?” Sometimes a passage gives several solutions, or weighs whether a solution will work. Keeping the problem and the solution clearly separated in your mind helps with questions like “What difficulty does the author describe?” or “How does the author suggest solving it?” The structure practically hands you the main idea — the problem and its proposed fix.

Description

A description passage does not tell a story or argue a point; it explains what something is like. It lists features, qualities, and examples to build a full picture. A passage describing a rainforest might cover its climate, its plants, its animals, and its layers. There are few time or cause signals; instead you see details piling up around one topic. Signal phrases include “for example,” “such as,” “characteristics,” and “features.” When reading description, the main idea is usually the topic being described, and the details are the traits that flesh it out. Ask, “What is being described, and what are its main features?” That keeps you from mistaking a supporting detail for the central point.

Watch: A Short Video Lesson

The Miacademy Learning Channel gives a clear overview to go with this lesson:

A Routine for These Structures

1. Ask whether the passage presents a problem, a description, or both.
2. For problem and solution, name the problem and the proposed fix.
3. For description, name the topic and its main features.
4. Use signal words to confirm which structure you are reading.

Practice

1. What does a problem-and-solution structure present?
2. Name two signal words for problem and solution.
3. What does a description structure do?
4. What two questions help with a problem-and-solution passage?
5. In a description passage, what is usually the main idea?
6. Name a signal phrase common in description.

Answers

1. A difficulty and one or more ways to solve it.
2. Any two: problem, issue, solution, solve, answer.
3. It explains a topic in detail through its features.
4. “What is the problem?” and “What fixes it?”
5. The topic being described.
6. Any of: for example, such as, features.

Where This Fits in Your RLA Prep

These structures round out overall text structure and pair with compare and contrast structure. See every topic on the Language Arts Prep Hub.

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