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Sample Outline Using Problem-Cause-Solution Format

Title:Illiteracy: A Life-Long Disability

Thesis Statement:Difficulty with reading can cause a life-long disability.

It is important to know the problems associated with illiteracy, the causes

of illiteracy, and the solutions that are available to solve this detrimental problem.

Introduction

I.Tammie Marie Delong is a loving mother.

  1. She wants more than anything to be able to provide for her children in every aspect imaginable (“Learning”).
  2. Tammie, however, is unable to follow recipes, drive her children places, read them stories, or help them with their homework.
  3. Why? Tammie does not know how to read.
  4. Tammie suffers from a learning disability known as illiteracy (“Learning”).

1. As a child, this disability went unnoticed, or in several cases, ignored.

2. Tammie struggled through school and barely graduated from high school.

II.All of us at one point or another have experienced academic frustration.

  1. Perhaps we were overwhelmed with the amount of homework we had, upset that we had failed a test, or confused about an assignment.
  2. Try to imagine what it would be like if you could not read your assignments or tests.
  3. All of you know how important reading is; you made that quite clear in the questionnaire when you explained how important reading is to your everyday life.

III.This scenario is a reality for Tammie, the 923 million other Americans who suffer from illiteracy, and the 40 million Americans over the age of 16 who have only rudimentary reading and writing skills, which means they read and write below a fifth grade level (Castle).

  1. Illiteracy is the inability to read or write, or being uneducated in a certain field of knowledge (Random 658).
  2. Reading is a fundamental skill that many of us take for granted.
  3. When someone is having difficulty reading at an early age and this problem is not addressed, it can lead to a life-long disability (Castle).
  4. When illiteracy does become a life-long disability, several problems can occur.

IV.Today, let’s discuss the problems associated with illiteracy, the causes of illiteracy, and some of the solutions that are available to eradicate illiteracy.

Body

I.The three main problems associated with illiteracy are an increased likelihood of criminal behavior, difficulties in the workplace, and medical complications.

A. The first problem associated with illiteracy is its relationship to criminal acts (Cassidy).

1. According to literacy experts, children with poor reading skills are more likely to become criminals because it is difficult for them to succeed in school (Cassidy).

a. This frustration leads students to turn to crime as a method of handling their frustration (Cassidy).

b. Students drop out of school, are unable to find jobs, and therefore turn to crime as a means of making money (Cassidy).

2. Of the ten to fifteen percent of students who drop out of high school, over seventy-five percentreport difficulty in reading (Castle).

  1. Studies show that fifty percent of all prison inmates and individuals with criminal records are illiterate or functionally illiterate (Cassidy).
  2. Seven out of ten prisoners do not possess basic reading and writing skills (“Consortium”).’

B. The second problem associated with illiteracy is its negative impact on the workforce.

  1. The economy today demands high levels of literacy and technical skills.
  2. Many adults do not have the skills necessary to find or keep jobs, support their families or participate actively in civic life because of their learning disability (Castle).
  3. Employers are hesitant to hire workers who can neither read nor write--and with good reason (Dilworth).
  1. Illiteracy hampers the ability to perform tasks (Dilworth).
  2. Illiterate employees cost employers thousands of dollars as a result of mistakes and miscalculations (“Reading”).
  1. Currently, 15 million adults holding jobs are functionally illiterate (“Reading”).
  1. Forty percent of US workers do not have the basic literary skills to perform jobs efficiently (“Consortium”).
  2. Fifty percent of all high school graduates do not have the basic literary skills to perform their jobs efficiently (“Consortium”).

C. Health illiteracy is another problem associated with illiteracy.

1. Health illiteracy occurs when patients can not read their prescriptions,

correctly fill out medical forms, or comprehend medical instructions (“Doctors”).

a. The AMA estimates that about 90 million Americans have difficulty comprehending medical information and acting on it (“Doctors”).

b. This includes not being able to read notices from school or office health offices.

2. Health illiteracy can be devastating, resulting invisits to the emergency room, medical complications and even death (“Doctors”).

3. Health illiteracy costs the health care industry $73 billion per year in unnecessary doctor visits and hospitalizations (“Doctors”).

CAUSES OF ILLITERACY

  1. Illiteracy may be caused or linked to families, learning disabilities or the media.
  2. Parents are often the first cause of illiteracy in children (Glover).
  3. Language and literacy skills of parents are critical to the development and school performance of children (Glover).
  4. The reading-readiness skills of a child in the first grade are provided by parents during the first five years of life.
  5. Children cannot learn to read from illiterate parents, and subsequently start school behind their peers.
  6. “I look at my seventeen year-old son and my twelve year-old daughter and I want to help them with their homework, but I can’t,” said one illiterate woman (Glover).
  7. “My son was supposed to repeat the ninth grade for the third time this year…He finally said he wanted to drop out…I see my handicap being passed onto my son…and this is scary” (Glover).
  8. Learning disabilities play a major role in the causes of illiteracy (“Learning”).
  9. Often these disabilities go unnoticed or ignored, and therefore the children fall behind in school and are never able to catch up.
  10. Fifty to eighty percent of all adults affected by learning disorders received little or no help growing up (“Learning”).
  11. According to researchers, the impact of the media, especially television, is generally believed to be a significant factor in causing illiteracy (Glover).
  12. The majority of television programming is designed for people at the mental age of twelve (Glover).
  13. Therefore, although the television might expand the horizons of younger children, the programs might actually stunt the intellectual growth of older children and adolescents (Glover).

SOLUTIONS THAT ARE AVAILABLE TO HELP STOP THIS DEVASTATING PROBLEM

  1. Illiteracy is a problem that affects everyone and must be stopped.
  2. There are several ways that you and I can help solve this problem.
  3. Recognize the importance of literacy by encouraging individuals who are illiterate to contact their local literacy foundation (“Learning”).
  4. Become a tutor and volunteer your time to help struggling children become better readers (“Learning”).
  5. Become involved in a local literacy foundation or literacy program.
  6. An example of a program which promotes literacy is the Magic Carpet Time Tour (Roker).

i.This is a program that tours the country visitingschools to promote the concept of literacy.

ii.The program’s theme is “A Journey Through the World of Books”.

iii.The children read stories that relate to different countries (Roker).

(a.) Each child gets to visit a different country on a

magic carpet.

(b.) Each story gets children excited

about reading and also teaches them morals

(Roker).

(c.) At the end of every program, each child is

presented the “Very Special Reader” badge

(Roker).

  1. Anotherexample is the Black Stallion Literacy Program (Black).

i.This program uses horses to get children interested in reading (“Black”).

ii.The children are required to read the classic BlackStallion books and are then taken to local horse farms and introduced to the animals about whichthey have been reading (“Black”).

iii. This program has been installed in 350 schools for first through fourth graders and has had a positive effect on 36,000 children (“Black”).

  1. On a larger scale, state and local governments should be encouraged to continue recognizing the problem and implementing changes (Castle).
  2. Recently the “No Child Left Behind” Education Reform Law was enacted.
  3. This law includes a new early Reading First program, that will enhance reading readiness for children ages three to five (Castle).
  4. This program will also help to ensure that every child knows how to read by the end of third grade (Castle).
  5. Former New York City Mayor, Rudy Giuliani,directed the donation of $31.5 million to the state of New York to establish 21,000 school libraries (Goodnough).
  6. Also, each state has several literacy programs which provide tutoring and classes to adults and children suffering from illiteracy (Learning).

Conclusion

I. From the evidence given above we can see the problems associated with illiteracy, the causes of illiteracy, and ways that you and I can help solve the problems.

A. Tammie, frustrated with not being able to read, decided to enroll in a literacy program.

1. She and her tutor focused on learning to read sources that would help her parenting skills (“Learning”).

2. Tammie studied the basics; she learned pronunciation and reading and writing techniques.

3. Tammie is now able to read at a fifth grade level and is able to read bedtime stories to her children (“Learning”).

4. With the help of her tutor, Tammie was also able to pass her driver’s exam, once she was able to read the driver’s manual (“Learning”).

B. Though Tammie overcame her difficulty, she is just one of 90 million Americans suffering from illiteracy (“Learning”).

  1. Ninety million Americans can’t read a story to a child, pass a driver’s test, or read instructions to bake a cake.
  2. Ninety million Americans suffer from illiteracy.
  3. Become a tutor or join a literacy program, and strive for solutions to this debilitating problem.

Works Cited

“Black Stallion Literacy Project Uses Horses to Interest Children in Reading.” Narr. Peter Jennings. World News TonightABC. 29 Mar. 2002. Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <

Cassidy, Sarah. “Poor Reading Skills Make Life of Crime More Likely.” The

Independent May 2002Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct.

2002 <

Castle, Michael. “Literacy Partnership that Works.” Capitol Hill. 8 Oct. 2002.Lexis-Nexis.Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <

“Consortium Targets ‘Get Ready For Life’ Campaign to Fight Low Literacy.”Dateline.Washington. 7 Sept. 2002.Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <

Dilworth, Thomas. “Employment Policies Institute.” Investor’s Business Daily. 13 Jan.

2002.11 Oct. 2002 <

“Doctors Stress Literacy as a Prescription for Good Health.” Dateline. Washington. 3

Mar. 2001. Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <

Glover, Rebecca. “Promoting Family Literacy: An Alternative Intervention.” Journal of

Instructional Psychology Sept. 2000 EPSCOHOST. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta,

OH. 18 Oct. 2002

Goodnough, Abby. “How to Make 21,000 Classroom Libraries.” The New York Times

May 2001: B9. Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <

Honors 202 Questionnaire. MariettaCollege. 4 Oct. 2002. Marietta, OH.

“Learning to Read Late in Life.” NorthCounty Public Radio Online. 16 Jan. 200220 Oct. 2002 <

Random House Webster’s College Dictionary. 2nd ed. 2000.

“Reading a Family Affair.” The Denver Post1 Mar. 2002: B6. Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <

Roker, Al. Interview with FlorenceHenderson. Today. NBC. 12 June 2002. Lexis-Nexis. Dawes Memorial Lib., Marietta, OH. 18 Oct. 2002 <