| syllabus | readings | tuesday night homework | tuesday/thursday | T. Bob's homepage |
“Proposing a Solution”
Invention and Research Activity
| syllabus | readings | tuesday night homework | tuesday/thursday | T. Bob's homepage |
“Proposing a Solution”
Invention and Research Activity
The following activity is intended to guide you toward choosing a topic for
your paper and exploring it thoroughly. Even if you think you already know what
you want to write about, please work through this activity to explore possible
alternative topics, to reconfirm your topic choice, and to explore your topic
more thoroughly as you prepare to enter the research and drafting stage. Answer
each of the questions as thoroughly as you can.
Choosing a Problem
List problems that you are aware of here at COD, either through personal
experience or through what you’ve gathered from others or from the student
paper.
List problems that you have personally encountered outside of school.
List problems that you are aware of in DuPage County or anywhere else .
List problems that you are aware of on a state, regional, or national level.
(If you are so inclined, feel free to list Clinton as a problem, but do not plan
on pursuing that as your paper topic because it is such a black-and-white issue
that does not lend itself well to complex or creative problem-solving.)
List problems that concern your future career choice or that relate to any
personal interests you have.
Choose one problem from your list that you consider especially important and
that you are interested in pursuing as a paper topic. Write it down here:
Analyzing and Defining the Problem
Analyzing. Start by writing a few sentences in response to these
questions:
 | What caused this problem? Can I identify any immediate causes? Any deeper causes? Is the problem caused by a flaw in the system, a lack of resources, individual misconduct or imcompetence? How can I tell? |
| What is the history of the problem? |
| What are the negative consequences of the problem? How is it hurting members of a community or group? What goals of the group are endangered by the existence of this problem? Does it raise any moral or ethical questions? |
Defining. Write a definition of the problem, being as specific as
possible. Idetify who or what seems responsible for the problem and give one
recent example.
Considering Your Readers
| How informed are my readers likely to be about this problem? How much background should I provide? How can I convince my readers of the importance of the problem? |
Finding a Tentative Solution
Look back at the way you defined the problem and considered your readers.
Then, with these factors in mind, list as many possible solutions as you can
think of. For ideas, reflect on the following problem-solving questions:
| What solutions to this problem have already been tried? |
| What solutions hve been proposed for related problems? Might they solve this problem as well? |
| What solution might eliminate some of the causes of the problem? |
| If a series of solutions is required, which should come first? Second? |
| What solution would ultimately solve the problem? |
| What might be a daring or creative solution? |
| What would be the most conservative solution, acceptable to nearly everyone in the community or group? |
Choosing the most promising solution. In a sentence or two, state what
you would consider to be the best possible way of solving the problem.
Testing Your Choice: A Collaborative Activity
Find someone near you who has reached the same point in this process as you
have (if you can’t find anyone, ask me for help). Describe your chosen topic to
each other and give your proposed solution a “test run” (or, as they say in the
public relations business, run it up the flag pole and see who salutes).
Listeners should tell the presenters whether they think the topic seems “doable”
as a paper, whether the proposed solution seems feasible and appropriate, what
possible objections might be offered to the proposed solution, and what
alternative solutions might be considered.