Analyzing an Issue: This activity will help you analyze a particular issue within a larger topic. It will help you define your issue, identify key approaches to your issue, identify relevant sources, and consider the interests, needs, values, and beliefs of the writers and readers involved with this issue.

Issue Analysis Worksheet: This activity helps you analyze the writing situation that shapes debate about an issue. You will be asked to identify approaches to a publicly debated issue and then to answer questions about the writers who take each approach.

Defining a Problem: This tutorial will help you to define a problem by asking you a series of questions. You can read more about defining a problem below.

Analyzing a Problem: In this activity you will analyze your problem by examining the Agent, Action, Goal, Result, and Potential Consequences directly related to your problem.

Alternative Solutions: Once you've defined the elements of a potential problem, the next step is to consider potential solutions. Problems of all types rarely have a single solution; however, it is important to define and analyze each potential solution, so that one can create a hierarchy of solutions. Rarely is there a solution which will solve the entire problem, and many times solutions raise new problems themselves. Keep in mind that there is hardly ever a solution to any problem which will make everyone happy---this is why searching for and evaluating alternative solutions is so important.