Writing A Process Essay

1. Writing A Process Essay As you come in: write down 5 thoughts that you associate with your process word.

2. The process behind the process… • TTAPP/brainstorming & invention • Professional excerpts: mentor texts • Group and/or individual practice • Peer examples • Editing & refining • Final draft

3. A process paper either tells the reader how to do something (directional) or describes how something is done (informational). As you write your process essay, the following questions will help you to flesh things out a bit:

4. #1. What process are you trying to explain? Why is it important?

5. #2 Who or what does the process affect?

6. #3 Are there different ways of doing the process? If so, what are they?

7. #4 Who are the readers? What knowledge do they need to understand this process?

8. #5 What skills/equipment are needed for this?

9. #6 How long does this process take? Is the outcome always the same?

10. # 7 How many steps are there in the process?

11. #8 Why is each step important?

12. #9 What difficulties are involved in each step? How can they be overcome?

13. #10 Do any cautions need to be given?

14. #11 Does the process have definitions that need to be clarified?

15. #12 Are there other processes that are similar and could help illustrate the process that you are writing about?

16. #13 If needed, tell what should not be done or why something should be done.

17. #14 Process papers are often written in the second person (you), but some teachers prefer that you avoid this. Check always with your teacher.

18. Finally, begin your writing. Focus on clarity and tone. You need not use all these steps, but they will help you to fully flesh out your paper.

19. Example (a paraphrase) How to get to the Ft. Hall historic site in Idaho: Take another odometer reading, but don’t depend on your maps. You may get lost. Avoid asking the locals for directions as these will only serve to confuse someone unfamiliar with the terrain. The likelihood of having someone arrive to guide you to Ft. Hall is slim, but you may find a guide if you are lucky.

20. Example (original) How to get to the Ft. Hall historic site in Idaho (from The Oregon Trail Revisited): Take another odometer reading then go outside the car and burn every damn map in site. If you get lost, die like a man. Don’t ask any locals for directions because all those directions will bring you right back to where you should have died in the first place. Maybe if you are lucky a Sacajawea will be dispatched in her earthy pickup truck from on high to guide you to the site of old Ft. Hall.

21. In your groups • Choose a specific audience, purpose, point of view and tone • Flesh out a brief paragraph that details your steps, adds context (rationale & circumstance) and cautions, and uses two lesson 3 vocab words, begins with a periodic sentence and ends with a loose sentence.  • Highlight your transitions. You are not allowedto use simple time transitions (first, second, third, etc.)—branch out and try something new.