Example
You are trying to decide whether to take a job offer in another state or stay where you are. The considerations are
salary, housing, schools, and standard of living. While you already have the salary information, you will need to
go to the library or Internet to find out the other facts you need to make your comparison. To guide you in your
search, you create a chart that looks like this:
Decision Salary Housing Schools Standard of Living
Move to Chicago
Stay in Atlanta
Practice
You are trying to decide what type of college to attend. Make a chart that would show the similarities and dif-
ferences between your state university, a community college, and a private four-year school.
Answer
Possible answer:
Student-
Teacher Strength of
Choices Cost Ratio Location Major Program
State University
Community College
Private Four-year School
Problem/Solution Outline
Regular outlines (the kind that use Roman numerals, capital letters, Arabic numbers, and lower case letters) are
highly structured graphic organizers that don’t work well for brainstorming. It is too difficult to come up with
ideas quickly when you are trying to fit them into a complex pattern, such as a traditional outline, at the same
time.
The problem/solution outline, however, is more simply structured. This type of graphic organizer is useful
because the act of filling it out forces you to:
1. clearly delineate the problem at hand, including causes and effects
2. come up with solutions, and even possible outcomes of those solutions
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38
Problem/Solution Outline Example
Causes Problems (fill in as many as applicable) Effects
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39
rent is going
up; neighbors
are noisy
Who: me and my family
What: should we buy a house or continue to rent a
condominium?
Where: hometown
When: lease is up in two months
Why: possibly save money, build equity, improve quality of
life
How: not applicable for problem
1. establish budget for home purchase, get pre-approved for mortgage, and go house hunting to see if we can
find something in next two weeks within budget
2. remain in condo for another year while saving more money for a down payment
1. find suitable house, secure mortgage, purchase house, move in
2. live with noisy neighbors for one more year, have bigger down payment and more time to look for house
If we buy: monthly payment
would decrease, so have more
money to save or invest; also
would have more privacy and
quiet. If we continue to rent:
won’t have moving expenses;
will pay more in rent, so have
less money to save or invest;
will continue to have little pri-
vacy and noisy neighbors
Possible Solutions
Possible Outcomes
Practice
Your company has been selling its hammers to its distributors for $3 a piece. It costs $2.30 to manufacture each
hammer. Your boss asks you for ways to decrease manufacturing costs in order to increase profits. Create a
problem/solution outline to represent this scenario.
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40
Who:
What:
Where:
When:
Why:
How:
Possible Solutions
Possible Outcomes
Causes Problems (fill in as many as applicable) Effects
Answer
Problem/Solution Outline
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41
Roadblock to Brainstorming with Graphic Organizers
If you are having trouble visualizing your problem or decision using graphic organizers, there is most likely a sin-
gle culprit: you have not followed the previous three lessons and clearly defined the situation you face. It is nearly
impossible to fill out an organizer if you don’t have a distinct understanding of what you are trying to do. Fol-
low the advice in Lessons 1–3, clarify your issue, and then try again to create a graphic organizer.
wood for han-
dle costs too
much; labor
costs
increased due
to higher
insurance pre-
miums
Who: boss/company
What: isn’t making enough profit on hammers
Where:
When:
Why: manufacturing costs high and sale price possibly
too low
How:
1. locate cheaper source of wood
2. get quotes to see if we can get less expensive insurance policy
3. raise price of hammer
1. hammer would cost less to make and therefore profit would increase
2. if less expensive policy found, switch to it and save on labor costs, increasing profits
3. profits would increase, but retailers might choose to stock cheaper hammers instead
not making sense to repair
manufacturing machines and
pay employees to make
hammers
Possible Solutions
Possible Outcomes
Causes Problems (fill in as many as applicable) Effects
In Short
Graphic organizers are great tools for brainstorming.
They create a visual map of your thinking, showing pat-
terns and organization where you might not have
expected them. Graphic organizers also keep you
focused on your goal, and can clearly point the way to
effective solutions and smart decisions.
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42
■Create a chart the next time you are faced with a decision such as which restaurant to choose or
where to go on vacation. Use criteria important to you (such as ambience, service, beach, and
museums) to compare and contrast your choices.
■Practice creating a graphic organizer by looking back over the past year and thinking about a prob-
lem you had to solve, such as one involving your car or a job change. Make a web showing the
symptoms or causes of the problem and solutions. Brainstorm and include other solutions in addi-
tion to the one you originally chose.
Skill Building Until Next Time