The writers of articles adopt a variety of purposes and roles, from informing to evaluating to solving problems to advocating, and their writers often find themselves adopting different roles as they learn about, reflect on, and eventually offer their perspective on a particular issue. As you consider how to write an article, keep your purpose and role in mind. If you are writing about a complex problem, for example, you’ll want to read widely about the problem’s origins and effects. You’ll also want to find out as much as you can about how the problem has been defined, what solutions have been offered, and which solutions have been tried so far. As you learn more about the problem, you’re likely to become interested in a particular solution and to want to advocate for that solution in your article. Whether you move into the role of advocate will depend on the nature of the publication in which you publish your article. Some publications, such as Time, focus largely on informing their readers, while others, such as the Nation, routinely publish work that takes a strong position on problems and issues.