The problem/solution method is an effective organization pattern to use if you want to persuade your audience that a problem exists for which you have a solution. The following steps are involved in problem/solution organization:

1. Define the problem.
2. Show the possible solutions.
3. Propose the best solution to the problem.

Let us briefly go through each step. We will use as an example the topic "Fad Diets" and the thesis "Fad diets can be dangerous to your health.”

Step 1: Define the problem

In the first step, you should describe the current situation, indicating that it is a serious problem affecting many people. For instance, you could begin by describing the current emphasis on being thin as a means of preserving one's health and maintaining one's physical attractiveness. The need to be thin has encouraged people to try fad diets that promise quick and dramatic results.

You would next explain to the audience that these fad diets can create serious health problems. You would support this assertion with facts, statistics, and examples.

Finally, you would describe how widespread the problem is. At this point you might have involved the audience already by asking them rhetorical questions about their own dieting habits.

Step 2: Show the possible solutions

In the second step, discuss two or three possible solutions. You might explain that we have several alternatives to fad dieting that are healthier and safer. These include counting calories, counting carbohydrates, and increasing the amount of physical exercise we engage in.

Step 3: Propose a solution to the problem

In the third and final step, propose your solution, indicating that it is the best solution and that it will not create other more serious problems.

The completed outline for our example, then, looks like this:

Topic: Fad Diets

Thesis: Fad diets can be dangerous to your health.

1. Fad dieting is a serious, widespread problem affecting people's health.
2. There are alternative solutions to the problem of being overweight.
3. People should seek professional medical advice in selecting the best way for them to lose weight.

A second logical arrangement is the cause/effect pattern or organization. With this pattern you can arrange your material by developing the cause and then explaining the effects, or vice versa.

This pattern is especially effective if the audience already knows that the problem exists. For example:

Topic: Assertion

Thesis: People are taught to be non assertive.

Cause/effect pattern:

• Cause { I: People are punished for assertive behaviors by superiors.
• Cause {II: People often have role models who are nonassertive.
• Effect {III: People learn to be passive.
• Effect {IV: People learn to be aggressive.

Deductive Ordering

A deductive ordering is the pattern of beginning with a general statement that is commonly accepted by the audience and then introducing more specific statements that will develop and lead to the main point of your speech. You reason from the general statement to the more specific statements to your conclusion or resolution. For example, your general statement is: "Reading is an important skill for every college student to have." You begin with this general statement, then list specific instances of the importance of reading to the college student (with examples that illustrate the results of an inability to read well) because you wish to persuade your audience that "every college student needs to take a course in reading.”

Inductive Ordering

Inductive ordering is just the reverse of the deductive. In the inductive pattern, you begin with specific examples, facts, and supporting evidence, then move toward more general arguments, and, finally, conclude with your general statement or thesis. One reason for using the inductive approach is to allow the audience to think through the process with you. Or if the audience feels negatively about your general statement, you need to begin with specific information that will be less threatening to them.

For instance, suppose the general statement or thesis is "Every child needs a dog." Maybe your audience is composed of parents who do not wish their children to have a dog for various reasons. You don't want to make the audience feel defensive. You might begin by stating that (1) my daughter has a pet; (2) many children in the neighborhood have pets; (3) Children are required to engage themselves by playing with them, taking care of them; (4) It is not only fun, but also builds confidence, responsibility in children; and finally (5) every child needs a pet.

In this instance, you started with a specific example, you progressed to a more general statement, and you concluded with the thesis. Hopefully, by the time you are ready to conclude, the audience will feel favorably toward your thesis. The inductive ordering begins with the specific and progresses toward the general; with deductive ordering, you would begin with the general statement "Every child needs a pet" and then develop the speech by stating specific reasons.