WRITING CENTER "INFORMATION PICK-UP" (S.S.C.C.)

PROCESS WRITING

• WHAT IS PROCESS WRITING?

• WHAT ARE THE TWO TYPES OF PROCESS WRITING?

• STARTING OUT:

• GUIDELINES FOR DESCRIBING A PROCESS

• WHAT IS PROCESS WRITING?

If you tell someone how to make a cherry pie or how to drive to South Seattle Community College, if you tell someone how the earth orbits the sun or how the angles of a triangle are determined, you are describing a process.

Common process writing may be seen in instruction manuals, cook books, installation directions, operation manuals, and even textbooks that tell "how to" do something.

• WHAT ARE THE TWO TYPES OF PROCESS WRITING?

Process descriptions come in two types: directional and informational.

The directional approach tells someone how to do something. It assumes that the reader will be attempting the procedures described by the writer. It uses the second person perspective (e.g. "You pour water into the beaker.") and/or the imperative or command voice ("Pour the water into the beaker.").

The informational approach tells how something was done. The informational approach assumes that the reader will not necessarily be following the information given by the writer but is reading about this process out of interest or other value.

The informational approach may use the first person perspective ("I poured the water into the beaker.") or the third-person ("The next step involves his/her pouring the water into the beaker."). Sometimes, the passive voice may be used: "The water was then poured into the beaker."

• STARTING OUT:

Begin your description with a topic sentence that names the process you are describing--the topic--and the purpose of the description.

For example: "In order to find the angles of a triangle formed by columns in the courtyard of the R.S. (Robert Smith) Building, I took the following steps." Then describe the process you went through in the order that it occurred and in sufficient detail to explain the process.

Common transitions for a process include the following: first, second, third, initially, later, next, finally, then, and others.

• GUIDELINES FOR DESCRIBING A PROCESS

When describing a process, follow these guidelines:

1) Use chronological or time order, the sequence in which the steps in the process were accomplished.

2) Use transition words and phrases that indicate this order. (Don't use "now" to describe a step or process that has already occurred. Use "then" or "next" instead.)

3) Include all the necessary steps. Don't skip any important part of the process.

4) Use graphics, charts, tables, drawings, scanned photos, or other aids if these will help clarify the steps you took.

5) Use precise language and terms, for example: "I named the column near the telephone and the Career Center as Column A and the column in front of the R.S. 11 door as Column B."

6) Use an appropriate "voice": second person for directional process writing and first or third person for informational process writing.

Strong process writing...

Process writing should be clear, exact and informative, but it doesn't have to be dull. If you used Nike size 11 shoes to measure distance, by all means say so. If you stood in the middle of the courtyard with the rain dripping down your nose to see that the building is a rectangle, say so. Remember that you are writing this description for an average person--such as your peers--to read, follow and understand.

(Revised 1998)