Purpose: To organize writing about a process using a questioning strategy.
Process papers concentrate on the who, why, what, and how of accomplishing a task. Often, writers forget to include the explanation of how a task is accomplished when they write about a process. Since explaining how is an important part of process writing, we will concentrate on it more heavily that the other two elements as we move through this short chapter.
Process papers are usually organized around time, but they do have a more "hidden" order that you might not have noticed.
Organizing by Type of Information
Introductions for Process Papers: Answering Who and Why
In the introduction, there should be some indication of who the intended readers are for your information. By recognizing who your audience is, you can reduce the number of things you have to explain, because the reader will already know them, or you can justify why some things are very detailed, because your audience is inexperienced. If you would like to know more about judging your audience, you can click here. Your introduction will also establish the reason, or reasons that the readers will want to know about the process. In other words, the introduction answers the "why" question in the thesis statement. Here is a short introduction for a process paper about registering for classes:
Students at South College are often frustrated by the registration process. They can either register in the counselor's office or use an online form, but many students complain that they cannot get convenient appointments at their counselors' offices and that the online form is confusing and hard to use. They are right. In the past, the online form has not worked well, often losing information. However, with the new system upgrade, this problem should be solved. Students using the new registration website should have no trouble successfully registering if they follow a few simple steps.
By opening with "Students at South College," this writer immediately answers the who question. Readers who don't fit this definition know that the paper is not for them, and will understand that some of the information might be more specific than they really care about. The why question is also clear: things were confusing in the past but are better now if users follow the instructions.
Using the following ideas, you can practice identifying who might care about these issues, and why they should care about them:
| Diapering a Baby |
Getting Dressed for a Date |
Making Fudge |
Some of the ideas we came up with are here:
- Expectant parents, fathers, babysitters, and grandparents might be interested in how to diaper a baby. Their reasons, the why part, would each be different. Can you think of what the differences are?
- Males, females, first time daters and older people would probably get ready for dates differently. How could the information in the paper be aimed at the needs of a particular group?
- Children, microwave users, unsuccessful fudge makers, and inexperienced cooks would be good audiences for this kind of paper. What ways could this information be aimed at a special "cooks" audience?
As you can see, who you define as a reader makes a difference in what you will write in the "how" and "why" part of your paper.
The Body of a Process Paper: Explaining What, How, and More Why
As we said, most process papers are organized by time: what you do first, second, etc. But, how do you write this into paragraphs? You can begin by thinking of your task as a whole and trying to divide it into some kind of stages that can become your paragraphs. This sounds like classification writing, doesn't it? Well, you can borrow those sorting ideas and use them here! Let's look at our three topics from above and see what kind of stages we could define:
- Diapering a baby: recognizing that the diaper needs to be changed, gathering supplies and picking a place, cleaning the baby, diapering, cleaning up
- Getting Ready for a Date: choosing what to wear, hygiene (showering, tooth brushing, etc.), hair and/or shaving issues, getting dressed, finishing touches, waiting
- Making fudge: gathering tools, assembling ingredients, measuring and mixing, cooking, cooling
These stages define the what that you will write about in each paragraph, and that all important how element will become the body sentences. The body of process paragraphs often contains examples and definitions to help readers visualize the process. Depending on your audience, you might make this part personal, often called directive, or keep it informational. Let's look at how to gather the tools stage of cooking fudge for examples of personal and informational, okay?
Personal Approach: The tools you will need to make fudge the old fashioned way are in most kitchens; a medium-sized mixing bowl, non-metal cooking spoon, measuring cup, medium sauce pan, and the dish to pour the fudge in are all you will need! Now, some people use a candy thermometer, but that is not necessary if you follow the instructions below. For me, the spoon is important. Fudge just doesn't taste right to me unless I use the old wooden spoon I inherited from my mother. If you don't have your mother's spoon, any non-metal spoon will do.
This paragraph would probably go on to describe the other tools in a way that indicates how to pick the best tools for the process. Did you notice that this paragraph relies on the idea of "you" and "I"? These are elements of personal writing. This writer assumes that the audience has access to a kitchen, and will know the sizes of things. There are no specific sizes of anything, leaving the ideas of medium-sized and dish to the imagination of readers. What audience do you think this paragraph is written for? We would guess that it is "unsuccessful cooks."
Informational Approach: Tools to make fudge the old fashioned way are a one quart mixing bowl, non-metal cooking spoon, glass two-cup measuring cup, two-quart sauce pan, and square 8"x8" dish to pour the fudge into once it is cooked. Some people use a candy thermometer, but this process does not require one. Using a non-metal spoon is important because metal affects the taste of the finished product.
In this part of a paragraph, the personal pronouns are gone and in place of the vague terms the writer has included exact sizes. The reasons for the cook's choices are not personal, but the ideas of how to choose remain the same. Which audience do you think this paragraph was written for?
We should also look at a way to describe a specific task in process papers. If we use the cooling stage of making fudge, the ideas of how and why might be clearer:
Once the fudge is cooked, it should be poured slowly into the center of the serving dish. If it does not spread evenly, the back of the cooking spoon can be used to even it out by gently moving the spoon over the surface left to right. Circular or stirring motions will affect the texture of the fudge, so they should not be used. The goal is to have a smooth surface on the fudge. Finally, freshly cooked fudge should not be put in the refrigerator because cooling too quickly will cause the texture to become grainy, but letting it cool at room temperature will keep it creamy and smooth. A countertop or table, away from children and pets, are good choices for places to cool fudge.
Can you identify the different how and why ideas here? You can make a list of them in the text boxes below.
Conclusions in Process Papers: Returning to Who and What
Conclusions always sum up the information in a paper and re-visit the thesis. In a process paper, the conclusion also describes the finished process: a happy dry baby, a nervous person ready for a date, or an inviting dish of fudge. You might want to review some descriptive writing techniques to help you with the conclusion.
Transitions and Process Writing
Because process writing is time based (chronological) certain sentence level transitions are handy to remember: first, second, third, then, soon, now, next, finally, at last, therefore, and consequently.
Summary
Process papers help readers perform or understand tasks and actions. They are always ordered by time, and generally contain a level of detail that is appropriate for a defined audience. In the introduction, writers identify that audience and explain the purpose of the paper. The body will explain the task or action, and the conclusion will describe the results. Probably the most important part is deciding who you are writing to because it will tell you how much and what kind of detail you will need to provide in your paper. It is hard to write a process paper that has the whole world for an audience, so narrowing who your readers are will make you writing task easier!
  
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