Problem statement

If you are focusing in a problem, be sure to define and state it specifically enough that you can write about it . You must know that naming a topic is not the same as defining a problem.

The problem statement has four elements which are related; these elements are:

• Stable Context: "The status Quo" surronding your particular problem. It is the point of entrance into your essay and consists of information that will not be challenged by your reader. For example, "Most contemporary literacy critics agree that William Shakespeare designates an actual person who lived from 1564 - 1616"

• Destabilizing Condition: some particular situation or problem that has the pontencial to cause difficulty, either pratical or conceptual, for the status quo. for example, "recent evidence, however, suggests that Shakespeare was actually a name used by various Renaissance writers who wanted to remain anonymous¨".

• Consequences: it is divided into two forms, the cost of leaving the Destabilizing Condition unresolved or the benefits of resolving it.

• Solution: is your proposal for how to resolve or dismiss the particular problem that destabilizing condition raises.