1. Process Analysis--- a technique that explains the steps
or sequences involved in doing
something, satisfies our need to
learn as well as our curiosity about
how the world works.
HOW TO---

2. How process analysis fits your purpose
and audience
• When giving step by step instructions,
showing how to do something
• When you want your readers to understand
how something happens even though they
may not actually follow the steps
DIRECTIONAL
or
INFORMATIONAL

3. Strategies for using process analysis
in an essay
• Formulate a thesis that clarifies your attitude
toward the process (more than announce your
subject; it should state or imply your attitude
toward the subject)
• Keep your audience in mind when deciding
what to cover (watch jargon; evaluate the
audience’s level of knowledge; don’t assume
the audience will know something just
because you do)

4. • Focusing on your purpose, thesis, and
audience, explain the process one step at a
time
– probably needs to be chronological
– or if there is no sequence, look for key steps
– or reject a traditional sequence and propose a
new one
• Help your audience understand/visualize the
process
– show, don’t just tell
– details without confusion

5. • Sort out directional and informational aspects
of the process analysis
– OK for second person if it’s directional (YOU
should…)
– Use first or third person if informational
– Do not shift persons in midstream
– Past tense is preferred; present adds drama and
immediacy
– Do not shift tenses in midstream

6. • Provide readers with the help they need to follow
the sequence
– Use traditional sequencing words
• Next, then, now, while, before, after, finally, etc.
• Select and maintain an appropriate tone
– Objective, nonjudgmental, angry, accusatory
– Be consistent
– Do not offend
• Open and close effectively
– Strong opening
– Don’t end with the last step, round out the essay with
a satisfactory closing

7. Suggestions for Directional:
how to do something
How to improve a course you have taken
How to make/create/construct something
How to show appreciation to others
How to look fashionable on a limited budget
How to be a responsible pet owner
How to be a friend to the outcast
How to improve the place where you work

8. Suggestions for Informational
how something happens
How (any machine) works
How bad habits develop
How a child develops a love for reading
How someone becomes an
internet/Facebook/video game addict
How people fall into debt
How a high school student chooses a college