List of 111 Problem and Solution Essay Topics Has Got You Covered
If you are struggling to pick your problem and solution essay topic, you are welcome to proceed reading this article, which will not only clarify everything you need to know about this type of essays, but will also provide a categorized list of 111 attention-grabbing and creative topics.
What Is a Problem and Solution Essay?
Writing a problem and solution essay might seem challenging at first, but once you’ve got your topic, you’re golden. The reason is that there are basically only two major things you will need to write about in your problem and solution essay, which makes it so much easier to research information and structure the paper. Problem and solution essay structure and format are quite specific and they are useful to know before you start writing. Let us cover the concepts of problem and solution at first.
Problem is a question that requires solution. Anything that demands settling is a problem, which means you have a whole lot of issues to choose from.
Solution is a process or action that settles the problem. Problem and solution go together like peas and carrots.
Questions that contain topics for problem and solution essays usually start with “how?”
Problem and Solution Essays Topics List
In this article you will find 10 major categories of topics, which will make it quick and easy for you to decide what type of problem and solution you would like to focus on in your essay. Here is a list of these topic categories:
- Social issues
- Crime issues
- Economic issues
- Cultural issues
- Interpersonal relationships
- Political issues
- Health issues
- Environment issues
- Education
- For college students
Below you will find 111 topics for each category that are truly topical and interesting at the moment.
Social Issues
- How to improve privacy in digital society?
- How to create a fair and ethical immigration system?
- How can the issue of racial discrimination be solved in our society?
- What are the ways of reducing gender pay gap?
- How can the problem of cyberbullying be solved?
- How can body shaming issue be solved?
- What can our society do to reduce the impact of gender roles?
- How can body positivity movement be prevented from going too far?
- How to encourage people to adopt children?
- How can domestic violence be reduced in our society?
- What are the ways of eliminating domestic violence against elderly?
- How is it possible to control and regulate teenage pregnancy issue?
Crime Issues
- How can the issue of gangs be brought under control?
- How can the increasing problem of mass shootings be solved?
- What are the solutions to gun violence problem?
- What are the ways to prevent white collar crime?
- How can police brutality be eliminated?
- How is it possible to eliminate the association between poverty and crime?
- What are the ways to prevent large corporations from polluting the environment?
- What are the most effective ways of reducing driving under influence (DUI) rates?
- What are the ways to reduce racial violence?
- How can the issue of cyber crime be solved?
- What are the ways to solve real estate fraud problem?
- How can wrongful imprisonment cases be minimized?
Economic Issues
- How can the problem of unemployment be settled in the long run?
- How can monopolies be brought under control?
- How can SMEs be promoted by the government and society?
- How can technologies be used to reduce waste?
- How can domestic economy be stimulated without limiting imports?
- How can different types of unemployment be solved?
- How can the issue of consumer debt be reduced?
- How can domestic goods and services remain compatible in global markets?
- What are the ways to control inflation?
- How can tourism rate be increased?
Cultural Issues
- How can cultural appropriation be reduced or eliminated?
- How can cultural diversity be promoted in organizations?
- How is it possible to increase the number of films that pass Bechdel test?
- What are possible solutions to consumerism?
- How can detrimental impact of fast fashion industry on consumerism be reduced?
- How can the culture of throw-away society be eliminated?
- How can people learn respect for other cultures?
- How can the issue of ageism be solved in our culture?
- What are the ways of encouraging cultural exchange?
- What are the ways of reducing cultural impact of the ideal body image promoted in the media
- What are the solutions to cultural issues in managing culturally diverse workforce?
Interpersonal Relationships
- How can a person go out of abusive relationships?
- How can trust between children and parents be built?
- How can people fight racial discrimination on the level of interpersonal relationships in everyday life?
- How to develop confidence?
- How can negative effects of social media be reduced in face-to-face communication?
- How can we as individuals increase technical literacy across all ages?
- How can we as individuals support the elderly?
- What are the ways to solve the issue of marital rape?
- How can the issue of overprotective parents be solved?
Political Issues
- How can piracy be stopped?
- How can military threats in the world be reduced through diplomacy?
- How can the government make education more affordable?
- How can the government improve the quality of life for the disabled?
- What are the ways of eliminating child labor?
- What are legal ways to stop human trafficking?
- What steps should the government take to solve the issue of immigrant assimilation?
- How is is possible to increase the number of voters during elections?
- How can legislation limit the sources of campaign financing for political candidates?
Health Issues
- How can the issue of obesity be solved?
- What are the ways of reducing child obesity?
- How can people be educated about healthy food?
- How can overconsumption of sugar be reduced?
- What are the ways to promote physical activity and sports?
- How can open discussion of mental health issues be encouraged in our society?
- What are the ways of regulating the risks of increasing rates of cosmetic plastic surgery?
- What are the ways of solving stress-related health issues?
- How can the problem of substance abuse be solved?
- How is it possible to minimize the issue of STDs?
- What are the ways of reducing the number of tobacco consumption?
Environment Issues
- How can green cars solve the issue of air pollution?
- How can the problem of greenwashing be solved?
- What are the ways to reduce plastic pollution?
- What are the ways we can recycle as individuals?
- How can fracking be brought under control?
- How can deforestation be reduced?
- What are the ways of waste management we need to implement as a society?
- How can reducing biodiversity be improved?
- What are the ways of reducing population density in urban areas?
- What are possible solutions to the issue of overpopulation and resource depletion?
- What are the ways of transferring to alternative energy sources?
- How can production process externalities be minimized?
- What are the ways to solve the issue of landfills?
- How can lack of clean drinking water be solved?
Education
- What are the ways of solving the issue of disruptive students?
- How can schools improve social programs, such as art?
- How can schools improve school security systems to ensure safety of students and teachers?
- How can schools promote tolerance?
- How is it possible to eliminate bullying in schools?
- How can schools contribute to solving the issue of gender discrimination?
- How can schools contribute to solving the issue of racial discrimination?
- How can schools contribute to the solution of the issue of suicide?
- What are the ways of reducing cheating?
- How can schools encourage students to be lifelong learners?
- How can schools adjust their education programs to the requirements of modern society (e.g. technical literacy)?
For College Students
- How can the issue of student loans be solved?
- How to increase efficiency of studying in college?
- What are the ways college student can choose their major?
- How to avoid procrastination in college?
- What are the ways of avoiding cheating?
- How to control the level of stress in college?
- What are the ways to maintain healthy diet while studying in college?
- How can colleges adjust their programs to the requirements of current labor market?
- What are the ways the government can support college education?
- How can college students avoid substance abuse?
- How can college students avoid alcohol abuse?
- What are the ways to make college education more affordable?
Problem and Solution Essay Structure
Now that you have selected your topic, you may proceed to learning the problem and solution essay format and structure. As soon as you read these structural elements, you will know how to write a problem and solution text:
- Introduction of the problem
This part of the essay will uncover the issue you write about and its causes. Make sure to explain why this issue is topical and requires settlement. Also, you can review current situation with this problem and evaluate past steps made to solve it. For instance, use OECD and Greenpeace websites to research about environmental issues and World Bank resource to find out about demographics.
- Discussion of possible solutions of the problem
Research and discuss all possibilities available to settle the problem. This part of the essay should fully answer to the question “how to solve the problem?” and provide evidence. To research ways of problem solution, you can turn to news agency websites, such as The New York Times, The Guardian, and good old Wikipedia.
- Conclusion
Summarize your essay here and restate your thesis. Evaluate the ways of problem solution you have found.
Problem and Solution Speech
The problem and solution topics listed above will also make great topics for your problem and solution speech.
While preparing your problem and solution speech, you will find these tips useful:
- Form your topic as a question that will help you communicate and engage with the audience
- Include 4 major structural elements in your speech: introduction of the problem and its causes, discussion of solution, visuals, and conclusion.
- Make sure to prepare visual aid that will support your speech
- Avoid reading whole passages from your speech – pick the most essential information and present it to your audience
- Choose a problem that you personally care about – this is how you will enjoy writing problem and solution essay and perform better too!
- Research the causes of the problem you write about to have better understanding of it
- Any problem has multiple aspects to it and make sure to cover them all
- Focus on the ways to reduce or eliminate the problem. If you feel like a problem you focus on, can’t be eliminated completely, it doesn’t mean nothing can be done.