Short answer: A problem and solution essay answers two questions the prompt asks in order: what is wrong (or why), and what should be done. Four paragraphs: an introduction that paraphrases the situation and announces one main cause or problem and one main solution; a body paragraph that develops the problem with its mechanism and an example; a body paragraph that proposes a solution which answers that specific problem, says who should act and admits a limit; a conclusion that ties the two together. One problem developed well beats three listed. Below: the three wordings this prompt takes, the plan sentence by sentence, a full model essay of about 300 words on household waste annotated by criterion after each paragraph, how to link each solution to its problem, a table of cause and solution vocabulary, and the five mistakes.
The problem and solution essay looks like the easiest Task 2 type, because it asks for information rather than an argument, and it is the one where band 6 essays are most alike: a list of three problems in one paragraph, a list of three solutions in the next, none of them explained, none of them connected. The examiner scores Task Response on whether the ideas are developed and Coherence on whether they progress, and a list does neither. The essay below shows the alternative: one problem taken seriously, one solution that answers it.
Reading the instruction: three wordings, one shape
The prompt describes a situation and then asks two questions. The first question decides what your first body paragraph contains; the second is always some form of "what can be done". Read the exact words, because "causes" and "problems" are not the same paragraph.
| Wording | Body 1 contains | Body 2 contains | Example prompt |
|---|---|---|---|
| "What are the causes of this, and what solutions can you suggest?" | Why the situation exists: the mechanism that produces it. | A measure that removes or weakens the cause. | "Many cities produce more waste than they can dispose of. What are the causes, and what measures could solve this?" |
| "What problems does this create, and how can they be solved?" | The harm the situation does: to whom, how. | A measure that reduces the harm. | "More people are moving to cities. What problems does this cause, and how can they be addressed?" |
| "What are the effects of this, and what can be done about it?" | The consequences, which may be harm or change. | A measure that deals with the consequences. | "Children spend more time on screens than before. What are the effects, and what can parents and schools do?" |
Two things do not change across the three. The prompt does not ask for your opinion on whether the situation is good or bad, so the essay does not argue; it explains. And the prompt asks for solutions to the problems you identified, not to the topic in general, which is the rule that most band 6 essays break: three problems in Body 1, three unrelated solutions in Body 2, and no sentence that connects them.
The plan, sentence by sentence
The general four-paragraph shape from the IELTS Writing Task 2 Structure: Band 7 Templates, 4 Types guide, adapted so that each body paragraph answers one of the two questions in the prompt.
Sentence 1 paraphrases the situation: what is happening, where, with what result. Sentence 2 announces the essay in one line that names the main cause (or problem) and the main solution: "This essay argues that the main cause is ... and that the most effective solution is ...". This sentence is your plan; write it before the body.
Sentence 1 names one main cause or problem, in a topic sentence: "The principal cause is that ...". Sentences 2 and 3 explain the mechanism: how this cause produces the situation, step by step. Sentence 4 says why nothing corrects it on its own, who benefits or who has no incentive. Sentence 5 gives one concrete example of the result, something the reader could see.
Sentence 1 proposes the solution and links it to the cause explicitly: "The solution that addresses this cause directly is to ...". Sentence 2 says who should act and what exactly they should do: governments, employers, schools, individuals. Sentences 3 and 4 explain how the measure changes the mechanism described in Body 1. Sentence 5 gives an example or a place where something like it exists. Sentence 6 admits a limit or a condition, in one clause, which shows the examiner you have thought about it.
Sentence 1 restates the cause and the solution together, so that the link between them is the last thing the examiner reads. Sentence 2, optional, gives the expected outcome. Nothing new.
A full band 7 model essay, annotated
The question: "Many cities now produce more household waste than they can dispose of. What are the causes of this problem, and what measures could be taken to solve it?" The essay takes the first wording in the table, causes then solutions, and develops one cause and one solution that answers it. It is written to the band 7 descriptors and is a model to imitate, not an official sample. Word counts are per paragraph.
The volume of rubbish that city households throw away has grown beyond what landfills and incinerators can absorb. This essay argues that the main cause is the way products are packaged and sold, and that the most effective solution is to make producers responsible for what they put on the market.
Task Response: the situation is paraphrased ("more waste than they can dispose of" becomes "beyond what landfills and incinerators can absorb"), and the second sentence answers both questions in outline: one cause, one solution. Coherence: the reader knows what each body paragraph will contain.
The principal cause is that waste is built into what people buy rather than chosen by them. Food arrives in layers of plastic, electronics are designed to be replaced rather than repaired, and online shopping adds a cardboard box to every purchase. Since the cost of disposing of all this falls on local councils, neither the manufacturer nor the shop has any reason to reduce it. The result is visible in any residential street on collection day: bins that were adequate a generation ago now overflow weekly, and the surplus ends up in landfill or, worse, in rivers.
Task Response: one cause, stated in the first sentence, explained as a mechanism (packaging, disposability, delivery), with the reason it persists (the cost falls elsewhere) and a concrete image of the result. Coherence and Cohesion: "Since" carries the causal link, "The result" announces the example; no numbered connectives. Lexical Resource: "built into", "designed to be replaced rather than repaired", "falls on local councils", "the surplus". Grammar: a "rather than" contrast, a "since" clause, "neither ... nor", a colon introducing an example.
The solution that addresses this cause directly is to shift the cost of disposal back to the producer. Governments can require companies to pay a fee for every unit of packaging they sell, scaled to how hard it is to recycle, and to take back electronic goods at the end of their life. Once waste has a price at the point of production, companies redesign products to avoid it: lighter packaging, refillable containers, appliances built to be repaired. Where such schemes exist, manufacturers have cut the material they use, because every gram now costs them money. Such a policy needs enforcement and a transition period for small businesses, but it works where it has been tried.
Task Response: the first sentence names the cause it answers ("this cause"), the second says who acts (governments) and what they do (a fee, a take-back duty), the third explains how the mechanism of Body 1 changes, the fourth gives evidence, the last admits a limit. Lexical Resource: "shift the cost back to", "scaled to", "at the point of production", "a transition period". Grammar: "Once ... has ..., companies redesign", a "where" clause, a "because" clause with a present result, a concessive "but".
In conclusion, household waste has outgrown the systems that collect it because producers can create it for free, and the measure most likely to reverse this is to charge them for it, so that reducing waste becomes a matter of profit rather than goodwill.
Task Response: cause and solution restated together in one sentence, linked by "because" and "the measure most likely to reverse this". Nothing new. Total: 309 words.
How to link each solution to a problem
The sentence that separates a band 6 from a band 7 in this essay type is the first sentence of Body 2. In a band 6 essay it reads "There are several solutions to this problem", followed by measures that could belong to any essay on the topic. In a band 7 essay it names the cause from Body 1 and says that the solution answers it. Three ways to write that sentence, from most to least explicit:
- Repeat the cause in a noun phrase. "The solution that addresses this cause directly is to ...", "To remove the incentive described above, governments should ...". The reader sees the link without going back.
- Reverse the mechanism. If Body 1 said "the cost falls on councils, so producers have no reason to reduce waste", Body 2 says "once the cost falls on producers, they have every reason to reduce it". The solution is the mechanism run backwards.
- Answer the example. If Body 1 ended with overflowing bins, Body 2 can end with what the street looks like after the measure. The reader closes the loop.
The test to apply at the planning stage: cover Body 1 and read Body 2 alone. If the solution still makes sense without the problem, it is not linked to it, and the examiner will read the two paragraphs as two lists. If you have two problems, give each its own solution in the same order, and say so: "The first of these can be addressed by ..., the second by ...".
Cause and solution vocabulary
The words below carry the logic of the essay. Precision here scores under Lexical Resource and, because they build the links, under Coherence too. Use each once or twice, not in every sentence.
| Function | Verbs and phrases | Nouns | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Naming a cause | stems from, arises from, is driven by, results from, is rooted in | the principal cause, the underlying reason, a contributing factor, the root of the problem | "The problem stems from the way products are packaged." |
| Explaining a mechanism | leads to, gives rise to, encourages, removes any incentive to, makes it impossible to | a chain of events, a consequence, a knock-on effect | "Since the cost falls on councils, producers have no incentive to reduce it." |
| Describing the harm | places a burden on, overwhelms, puts pressure on, undermines | a strain on, a threat to, the burden of | "Collection systems built a generation ago are overwhelmed." |
| Proposing a solution | address, tackle, curb, reverse, discourage, require, oblige | a measure, a remedy, a policy, an incentive, a deterrent | "The measure most likely to reverse this is to charge producers." |
| Naming who acts | governments should require, councils could introduce, employers might offer, individuals can choose to | the authorities, policymakers, the private sector, households | "Governments can require companies to pay a fee for every unit of packaging." |
| Admitting a limit | would need to be enforced, takes time to, depends on, is only effective if | a condition, a transition period, a drawback, resistance from | "Such a policy needs enforcement and a transition period for small businesses." |
The five mistakes this essay type produces
- Lists instead of development. Three causes in three sentences, three solutions in three sentences. None is explained, so Task Response stays at band 6 ("relevant but may be inadequately developed"). One cause with its mechanism and an example scores higher than three named.
- Solutions that do not answer the problems. Body 1 says the cause is packaging; Body 2 says people should recycle more and governments should build incinerators. Nothing in Body 2 touches packaging. Name the cause in the first sentence of Body 2 and make the measure act on it.
- Answering "causes" with problems, or the reverse. The prompt asks why cities produce so much waste; the essay describes the harm waste does. That is the other wording. Read the first question in the prompt and check that Body 1 answers exactly that.
- Vague solutions with no actor. "Something must be done", "awareness should be raised", "people should be educated". Who does it, how, and what changes afterwards. A solution the examiner cannot picture is not developed.
- An opinion the prompt did not ask for. A paragraph on whether waste is a serious problem, or a conclusion that "in my opinion this is a negative development", answers a different question and takes words from the two that were asked. Your view of which cause matters most is welcome; your view of the topic is not the task.
When the essay is written, the Task 2 checker on this site returns an estimated band per criterion with the correction. For this type, read Task Response for whether both questions were answered and developed, and Coherence for whether the solution paragraph was read as linked to the problem paragraph. The band is an estimate to guide practice, not an official result.
Quick answers
How many problems should I give?
One developed properly, or two at most, each with its own solution in the same order. The Task Response descriptor rewards ideas that are extended and supported, not ideas that are listed, and a single cause explained as a mechanism with an example takes a full paragraph. If the prompt says "causes" or "problems" in the plural, two is safe and one is acceptable when it is clearly presented as the main one: "the principal cause is ...".
Do solutions need to be realistic?
Yes, in the sense that the examiner must be able to picture them: who acts, what they do, what changes as a result. "Governments should solve the problem" is not a solution; "governments can require companies to pay a fee for every unit of packaging they sell" is. A solution can be ambitious as long as it is concrete and answers the problem you described, and admitting a limit or a condition in one clause makes it more convincing, not less.
Should I give my opinion?
Only where the prompt asks for one, and the problem and solution prompt usually does not. Your judgement about which cause is the main one and which measure would work best is part of answering the question and is welcome. A paragraph on whether the situation is good or bad, or a conclusion that starts "in my opinion, this is a negative development", answers a question that was not asked and costs words that the two real questions needed.
Is the AI band official?
No. The band from the checker is an estimate produced by an AI model against the four official criteria, to guide your practice. Only a certified examiner gives an official IELTS band. This site is independent and not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to IELTS, the British Council, IDP or Cambridge English.
The short version: read which of the three wordings you have, name one cause or problem and explain its mechanism, propose one solution that names the cause it answers and says who acts, admit a limit, tie the two together in the conclusion. Paste the result and read Task Response and Coherence first.