Choosing a subject for problem solving

If one of your journal entries suggests a possible subject, try the collecting and shaping strategies below. If none leads to a workable subject, consider the following suggestions.

• Evaluating leads naturally into problem solving. Reread your journal entries and topic ideas for "evaluating." If your evaluation of your subject was negative, consider what would make your evaluation more positive. Based on your evaluation, write a proposal, addressed to the proper audience, explaining the problem and offering your solution.
• Organized groups are already trying to solve a number of national and international problems: homeless street people, illegal aliens, the slaughter of whales, acid rain, abuse of animals in scientific experiments, nuclear disarmament, drug and alcohol abuse, toxic-waste disposal, and so forth. Read severalcurrent articles on one of these topics. Then narrow the problem to one aspect that students or residents of your town could help to resolve. Write an essay outlining the problem and proposing some specific and limited actions citizens could take.
• Employers are always looking for workers with initiative and good ideas. At your place of work, take ten minutes during a break and observe what's going on around you. Take notes over a span of several days. Even though people may be getting the job done, would different procedures or policies improve efficiency, safety, quality, or personal relations? Write a letter to your boss identifying the problem you've noticed and justifying your solution.
• Take an inventory of the personal problems you regularly face, day to day. List the things that cost unnecessary amounts of time or money, that cause fear in your life, that increase your frustration level, or that simply make you less happy or productive than you could be. Then compare your inventory with your classmate's or friend's list. If there are common problems, discuss whether or how these problems might be solved.