This post comes our list of “red flag” words and expressions, i.e., the ones we should think twice about to ensure correct usage.

“problem” Is the item being described clearly a problem? If so, is it necessary to label it a problem?

For example, “Increasing the size caused a problem of increasing the cost” can be stated more directly as, “Increasing the size increased the cost.”

The part that sounds wrong is

‘caused a problem of increasing the cost’

As we know that something more expensive is undesirable, the words ‘caused a problem’ sound unnatural. It’s thus better to simply say what happened,

‘Increasing the size increased the cost’

and cut any reference to ‘problem’.

So, is there any time when you might want to use the word ‘problem’? Not in a well-written piece of technical writing.

However, there is a famous exchange using this word, the one between astronauts Jack Swigert and Jim Lovell on Apollo 13 and ground control. It went like this:

Swigert: ‘Okay, Houston, we’ve had a problem here.’
GC: ‘This is Houston. Say again please.’
Lovell: ‘Houston, we’ve had a problem. We’ve had a main B bus undervolt.’

In this case, there was a life-threatening problem, and the astronauts needed to make ground control immediately aware of the problem situation. They did this by using the word ‘problem’.