Problem

If ever I live to see it, I will challenge it. (Henry V, 4.1.215)

Problem is the second of three elements of an effective introduction.

PROBLEMS set up a conflict.   Imagine you have to describe in some detail the general kind of knowledge gap or misunderstanding that your POINT resolves.   The PROBLEM overturns or challenges your COMMON GROUND or points out the error of that belief.   Most likely it will start with “but” or “however.”

Here are some rather simple examples to get you thinking about how you might construct a “problem.”   These, of course, follow from the “common ground” examples on the previous sheet.

• However, when we look at the native country dwellers rather than the interlopers from Duke Senior’s court, the forest appears to be a place with its own conflicts and hierarchy.
• However, he and Borachio are the only men who truly believe that Hero is innocent.   Other male characters readily accuse Hero because they are so willing to believe in women’s infidelity.
• However, in her final speech, she does more than simply accept a simple inferior role for women.

Assume that you are writing for an audience who has already read your text.   A paper that reveals something new to your readers is much more interesting than one that tells them something they already know.   Observations are great for class discussion, but we want you to develop something more complicated in your essay.

A PROBLEM WITH YOUR PROBLEM:   Good literature contains shifts in plot and changes in characters.   It is not a “problem” to merely state these.   For example, to say that Oliver begins as a cruel brother but reforms in the end is merely summarizing the action of the play without uncovering something intriguing for the reader.