Instructions For the Problem Statement and Background Essay, you want to take the idea you discussed in your Article Summary and Response Essay and turn it into a straightforward introduction to what will be your final essay. In this essay you want to clearly explain 1) what the problem is, and 2) how it got that way. Note! If the article you used for your summary is no longer useful to you, then break away from it. Just state the problem as a fact, provide a new source to make it relevant (i.e. Study 1 shows that 92% of Oregon teens plan to attend PCC, which will create a problem with overloaded classes…. This came about because of…(add the full explanation and background)). This is a focused revision of your Article Summary and Response from last week–that one got you thinking about the idea and now you need to clarify that idea into a problem statement and background. Make any changes necessary, now that you have a more developed view of the problem. A later paper will focus on your solution, so don’t add that part yet. You are writing this as a single essay now, but it will be only one section of your final paper. This introduction should be informative, problem-focused, and clear. You want to explain exactly what the problem is, why it is important, and what the background to it is (how did it start, where did it come from, what have people done to make it better or worse so far?). Don’t spend too much time on why you chose this problem–instead spend that time on saying why it is important and providing evidence for it. Make sure that your problem is local and relevant and that you have personal experience with it. This paper should be in MLA style, just like the others, which means 12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, proper headers and page numbers, proper citations (and Works Cited page), and 1″ margins on every side. Research Sources: You need at least one new source for this section of the paper. This source should help you contextualize the argument and make it relevant to you right now. If your earlier source (in the Article Summary and Response) was about a idea in general, then you need to add a source that makes the topic relevant here and now (i.e. here in Hillsboro, or wherever the topic of your discussion is). For example, if you were talking about how we need better maternity leave laws in the United States, then you want to find an article that shows how Oregon law is dealing with that subject, so that you make the problem specific and relevant here. Length Requirement: 750 words. Solution Statement (Methods and Implementation) (1000 words, 15%) Instructions For the Solution Statement (Methods and Implementation), here’s the prompt and requirements: Description: Now that you have written the Problem Statement and Background (which should have introduced the problem, explained why it is a problem, where it came from and why it exists, and why it is important), you now need to write your solution to that problem. Think of yourself as a critical researcher. It is your job to provide the best solution you can come up with to the problem that you’ve explained. You want to explain not only your solution, but the method by which you would accomplish it. In these 1,000 words, include your proposed solution, a consideration of solutions that have already been suggested or tried, and an implementation plan for why yours will work where the other ones didn’t. Your solution should be unique (new and not just a copy of someone else’s work), reasonable (able to be accomplished), and ethical (no world wars or assassinations). Qualifications: having a unique argument doesn’t mean you can’t use what people have already done; it just means that you have to take it a step farther, add a new part, or create a unique blend of approaches that hasn’t been seen in exactly that way before. Here are some questions to consider: How will you solve this problem? What do you recommend we do to fix it? What have people tried already that may or may not have worked as a solution? How are you incorporating those previous efforts into your vision of the best solution? How will you implement that solution in a realistic way? Length: 1,000 words. Style: MLA (12pt Times New Roman, double-spaced, Works Cited, in-text citations, page numbers, correct header, etc) Research Required: Three required new sources. Cite these in the text of your argument and also give the full information on your Works Cited page. You should have about five sources total now that are helping you to contextualize and support your argument. But remember that you are not just copying one of these sources. You can use them for support, but you have to go a step farther and make a unique point of your own: an approach that deals with current sources by acknowledging them and then insisting that we try harder in a particular area (with details, argument, explanation of how, etc) will work. You can think of this as the “One Step Farther” approach.