Problem analysis & solution framing
Master the Shenlun problem-analysis and solution-framing method: diagnosing root causes from materials and writing actionable, official-style countermeasures.
The Shenlun problem-analysis (问题分析) task
The Guokao Shenlun (申论) paper, administered by the State Administration of Civil Service (国家公务员局) and held nationally on the same day as the Xingce (行测) paper—most recently 26 November 2023 for the 2024 cycle—routinely sets a 'problem analysis' or 'comprehensive analysis' question (综合分析题) worth 15–20 marks. The candidate is handed a packet of给定资料 (given materials): news excerpts, official statements, interview transcripts, and data tables. The task is not to opine but to extract and organize the problems those materials disclose.
The three-layer diagnostic
Mature Shenlun answers separate a problem into three layers, mirroring the analytic logic of Communist Party of China policy documents such as the 二十大报告 (20th Party Congress Report, October 2022):
- 表现 (manifestation) — the observable symptom: queues at clinics, idle rural land, polluted rivers.
- 原因 (cause) — why it occurs, split into 主观 (subjective:官僚主义/formalism, weak oversight) and 客观 (objective: funding gaps, demographic pressure).
- 危害/影响 (harm) — the consequence if unaddressed: eroded 群众 trust, social instability, blocked 高质量发展 (high-quality development).
The single most penalized error is conflating manifestation with cause. If the material says '村民办事来回跑三趟' (villagers make three trips to get one thing done), that is a manifestation; the cause is fragmented 政务服务 (government service) and absent 一窗受理 (single-window intake). Examiners reward candidates who name the layer explicitly.
Source discipline: 找点 (point-finding)
Shenlun is a closed-material exercise. Article-style invention is fatal. Every problem you assert must be traceable to a sentence in the materials. The disciplined technique is 找点—reading each paragraph and tagging it with a keyword in the margin (问题/原因/对策/影响). The 国家公务员局 official scoring keys (评分细则) award marks per 要点 (point), typically 1.5–2 marks each, so a 15-mark answer expects roughly 8–10 retrieved points. Coverage beats eloquence: a plain list of the right points outscores a beautiful paragraph that misses half of them. Always lead with the keyword, then the brief evidence: '监管缺位——材料3显示职能部门互相推诿' ('regulatory absence—Material 3 shows departments passing the buck').
