How to structure your essay with the Minto approach

Use the Situation, Complication, Question, and Answer (SCQA) framework to structure your essay and communicate your analysis more effectively. This approach ensures your writing follows a logical sequence that mirrors how business readers process information and make decisions.

Situation
Complication
Question
Answer

The Situation section functions as your foundation. It’s where you establish the shared reality with your readers before introducing any problems or controversies. Think of it as building a platform that everyone can stand on together, regardless of their opinions about what should happen next.

Start with facts, trends, or circumstances that your audience already knows and accepts. This creates common ground and sets up your story.

Strategies to create a compelling Situation section:

Include specific numbers, percentages, or timeframes that readers can fact-check. This builds immediate credibility. Avoid vague statements like “many companies” or “recent studies show”. Instead, cite concrete figures: “Indonesia’s e-commerce market grew 23% in 2024” or “85% of Indonesian SMEs still rely on manual accounting processes.”
Begin with industry-wide or market trends before focusing on your specific case. For example, start with “Southeast Asia’s fintech sector attracted $8.2 billion in investment last year” before narrowing to “ABC Bank’s digital lending platform processed 2.3 million applications in the same period.”
Your situation shouldn’t be controversial or require explanation. If you’re writing about healthcare digitalisation, don’t start by arguing whether digital health is beneficial. Assume your readers already accept this. Instead, establish the current state: “Indonesia’s healthcare system serves 273 million people through 10,000 hospitals and clinics.”
Your situation should naturally lead toward your complication. If your essay will discuss supply chain problems, establish the current chain landscape first. If you’ll analyse competitive positioning, start with market share data or competitor activities.
Keep your situation neutral and factual. Don’t say “Unfortunately, Company X made the poor decision to…” or "Brilliantly, the government introduced…” Save your analysis for later sections. Simply state what happened, when, and the scale of impact.
Choose situational facts that your specific audience cares about. Business students might need financial performance data, while policy students might need regulatory context. Make your situation relevant to the people who will read your analysis.

Examples

Take a look at some examples of Situation section adapted from students’ assignments with anonymised company names and figures:

	Situation	Comment
Sample 1	“Pacific Bank announced a 2.1 trillion Rupiah digital transformation investment in 2024, following Indonesia’s banking sector growth of 15.3% annually. This investment represents the largest digital initiative in the bank’s 25-year history that targets mobile banking expansion and AI-powered customer service improvements. The move aligns with Bank Indonesia’s 2030 digital payment roadmap, which aims to achieve 90% financial inclusion across the archipelago.”	This sample works well because it layers context progressively, from industry trends to specific investment to strategic rationale. It connects the company’s actions to broader regulatory goals, showing how the situation fits into a larger narrative. The timeline specificity (25-year history, 2030 roadmap) adds credibility and helps readers understand the significance of the investment.
Sample 2	“Global Tech Solutions has established itself as a leading software provider, with cloud services growing 28% year-over-year in Southeast Asia. The company serves over 2,500 enterprise clients across six countries, specialising in supply chain management and data analytics platforms. As digital transformation accelerates post-pandemic, demand for cloud-based business solutions in the region has surged, with the market projected to reach $40 billion by 2026.”	This sample effectively combines company-specific achievements with broader market dynamics, establishing both the player and the playing field. It provides concrete scale indicators (2,500 clients, six countries) that readers can grasp easily. The forward-looking market projection creates anticipation for growth-related challenges, naturally setting up potential complications around scaling or competition.

The Complication section functions as your catalyst. You highlight the issue that disrupts the situation and creates urgency, which makes readers feel something needs to be done now. This section transforms your neutral situation into a crisis by showing that the status quo is impossible or dangerous to maintain.

Perhaps the most effective complications combine immediate symptoms with underlying systemic issues that explain why simple fixes won’t work. Your complication should create emotional resonance by connecting to what your audience values most, whether that’s financial threats for business readers or social costs for policy readers.

Examples

Here are some examples of complications based on students’ assignments with company names and data modified for confidentiality:

	Complication	Comment
Sample 1	“Despite massive investments, Pacific Bank’s customer satisfaction scores dropped 12% last quarter due to outdated digital interfaces and slow transaction processing. Internal audits reveal that 45% of mobile banking transactions take over 30 seconds to complete, significantly above the industry standard of 8 seconds. The bank now faces increasing customer churn, with 15,000 accounts closed in the past six months as competitors offer faster, more intuitive digital experiences”	This complication effectively uses the contrast between massive investment and declining performance to create cognitive dissonance. Readers expect investments to improve results, not worsen them. The progression from general dissatisfaction (12% drop) to specific technical failures (30-second transactions vs 8-second standard) to concrete business consequences (15,000 lost accounts) creates escalating urgency. The competitive threat adds external pressure that makes immediate action essential rather than optional.
Sample 2	“Global Tech’s rapid expansion has created operational bottlenecks, with project delivery times increasing 40% and client complaints rising 60% in six months. The company’s decentralised project management approach, effective for smaller operations, now struggles with coordination across 12 offices and 800+ employees. Three major clients have threatened contract cancellation, citing missed deadlines and inconsistent service quality. In turn, it puts $8 million in annual revenue at risk.”	This complication demonstrates how past success can become a future liability, the decentralised approach that enabled growth now threatens sustainability. The parallel metrics (40% longer delivery times, 60% more complaints) show the problem is systematic rather than isolated incidents. The specific revenue threat ($8 million) and timeline pressure (threatened cancellations) transform operational inefficiencies into an existential business crisis that demands immediate strategic intervention.

The Question section functions as your bridge. You frame the specific challenge that logically follows from your complication and prepares readers to seek a solution. This section transforms reader anxiety into focused curiosity by asking the precise question that everyone is already thinking after reading the problem.

Strategic questions strike the right balance between specificity and scope: focused enough to guide your analysis without constraining the range of possible solutions. They focus on “how” rather than “whether” that assumes action is necessary and ask about the best approach instead of debating if intervention is needed. Your question should also align with your audience’s decision-making authority and concerns (e.g., operational efficiency, strategic positioning, or policy implementation).

Here are four strategies to help you formulate effective questions:

Structure your question by identifying the main actor, the goal they need to reach, and the primary obstacle from your complication. For example: “How can Pacific Bank improve customer satisfaction while working within budget constraints?”This formula ensures your question directly connects the complication to an actionable solution space.
Frame your questions around building capacity, improving processes, or developing strategies rather than asking whether something should be done. Instead of “Should Global Tech expand its operations?”, ask “How can Global Tech scale operations while maintaining service quality?”This approach assumes action is necessary and focuses on implementation methods.
Your question should acknowledge the central dilemma or trade-off that makes the problem challenging. If your complication shows conflicting priorities (like growth versus quality, or cost versus service), your question should reflect this tension. For instance: “How can MegaCorp reduce inventory costs without increasing stockout rates?”This approach signals that you understand the complexity and won’t offer simplistic solutions.
Tailor your question to what your audience can actually influence. For senior executives, ask about strategic positioning or resource allocation. For operational managers, focus on process improvements or efficiency gains.

The Answer section serves as your decisive conclusion. You deliver the specific recommendation that solves the problem established in your Situation and Complication sections. This section immediately presents your main solutions, then builds supporting arguments that demonstrate why this approach will work.

In other words, your answer converts the problem narrative into a solution-centric plan by showing exactly what needs to happen and why it will succeed. A strong answer balances boldness with practicality, offering solutions that are comprehensive enough to address root causes while remaining feasible within real-world constraints. You can consider these four techniques when constructing your Answer section:

Start your answer section with a clear, decisive statement of what should be done. Avoid beginning with lengthy explanations or justifications. Instead of “After careful analysis of multiple factors, it becomes apparent that several approaches could work, but the most viable option appears to be….”, simply state: “Pacific Bank should implement an AI-powered customer experience platform to reduce transaction times and improve satisfaction scores.”
Organise your supporting arguments into logical groups that build toward your main recommendation. For example, if recommending a new technology system, group your arguments into categories like "efficiency benefits”, “cost analysis”, and “implementation feasibility” rather than presenting a random list of advantages. Let’s take a look at the image shown below.
This image shows that each level provides structured support for the level above it. Start with your main answer at the top, then build supporting evidence systematically (Minto, 2020).
Make your solution actionable by specifying how it would work in practice. Include timelines (e.g., “Phase 1 implementation within 3 months”), resource requirements (e.g., requiring 15 additional staff members”), expected outcomes (e.g., projected to reduce processing time by 40%), and measurable goals. This level of detail demonstrates feasibility and helps readers visualise successful execution
Acknowledge potential challenges, limitations, or alternative viewpoints with your answer section rather than ignoring them. This shows you’ve considered the complexity of the situation and strengthens your credibility. For instance, “While this approach requires significant upfront investment, the projected ROI within 18 months justifies the initial costs, and phased implementation reduces financial risk.”

The Reference List and Appendices

Similar to other academic writing formats, supporting materials in Minto writing include reference lists and appendices that follow the main analysis and recommendations. These sections allow readers to verify your sources and examine the comprehensive evidence behind your recommendations. This arrangement enables readers to dive deeper into supporting details without disrupting the logical flow of your main argument.

Your reference style (e.g., APA, MLA) depends entirely on your marker’s requirements, but business writing using SCQA typically relies more on industry reports, company data, and professional sources rather than purely academic journals. Use references to support factual claims in your Situation, provide evidence for problems in your Complication, and validate solutions in your Answer section.

Appendices serve a strategic purpose by housing detailed data, calculations, or supporting materials that would disrupt your main argument’s flow (e.g., financial projections, survey results, or implementation timelines). Organise them using a systematic appendix structure with clear numbering or lettering (Appendix 1, 2, 3… or A, B, C). Your SCQA sections should reference these appendices mentioned in your analysis. For example, your Situation section might reference “market trends detailed in Appendix A” while your Answer section could point to “implementation costs outlined in Appendix B.” Appendices do not count toward word limits in academic assignments.

Both elements support the Minto approach’s emphasis on credibility and actionable recommendations. Specific instructions for proper reference formatting can be accessed through the Library guide on citing and referencing.

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Student Academic Success

Student Academic Success

How to structure your essay with the Minto approach

Examples

Examples

The Reference List and Appendices