Sample POW: Shannon has 4 more CD's that Carla has. Neka has two more CD's than Shannon has. They have 100 CD's in all. How many CD's does each person have?
This is a good example of the kind of write-up I am looking for:
Just the Facts:
Shannon has 4 more CD's than Carla
Neka has two more CD's than Shanon
100 CD's in all
Problem Statement: How many CD's does each person have?
Procedure: I figured out who has the most, middle, and least number of CD's by the clues. Neka has the most, then Shannon, then Carla. I figured out that Shannon, Carla, and Neka were all going to have about 30ish CD's because 100 divided by 3 is about 33. Then I used the guess and check method. I started with Carla. I assumed that he had 32 CD's. That means that Shannon has 36 and Neka has 38. Since 32+36+38=106, I knew that I had to get rid of 6 CD's. In order to keep the differences the same, and follow the clues, I took 2 away from each person.
Now I have that Carla has 30, Shannon has 34, and Neka has 36. Since 30+34+36=100 then I know I have the right answer.
Conclusion: Carla has 30 CD's, Shannon has 34, and Neka has 36.