Process Analysis: The "How to" Paper

(900-1,500 words, don't forget the works cited page)

DEADLINES

  • 1st Rough Draft due:
  • Peer Review That Works:
  • Essay #2 due:


What is Process Analysis?

Process analysis is a technique that explains the steps or sequence involved in doing something, satisfies our need to learn as well as our curiosity about how the world works.

Assignment

Write an essay that describes a process. Choose a process that interests you and that will engage the reader in some way. Your assignment is as Roberts describes, "to make a dull subject interesting" (361). Consider carefully what your readers already know about it and how your essay might add to what they know.

Examples

How to kill 8 hours a day and keep your job; how to succeed at a temp. job; how to manage stress; how to manage money; how to break-up with a friend; how to solve a problem; how to write an essay exam; how television became so important in public campaigns;
how to _________

You will need to do the following:

    • Choose a subject that is focused and answers the "how to" question
    • Include a Works Cited page
    • Use at least 1 source
    • Describe the process
    • Engage the reader
    • Present the process in a new way
    • Include an explicitly stated thesis
    • Persuade the audience of something
    • Organize the steps involved in the process logically

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    Last Updated 8-01-02