How to Write a Process Essay Like a Boss
Table of Contents
- What Is a Process Essay?
- Process Essay Structure
- How to Write a Process Essay: 7 Steps
- 1. Consider the audience
- 2. Research and list the required tools (steps)
- 3. Outline your essay
- 4. Write an introduction
- 5. Craft the body of your process essay
- 6. Write a conclusion
- 7. Proofread and edit
- Tips For Writing a Stellar Essay
- A Process Essay Example
- How to Train for a Marathon?
- Topic Ideas For Your Next Process Essay
- Still Need Help?
A process essay describes how to do something or how something works by explaining or giving step-by-step instructions.
Sounds easy, right?
This article reveals the details of how to write a process essay. You’ll learn its structure, get topic ideas, and see a process essay example from our experts. Prepare for practical tips and actionable writing advice that will help your process essay wow the audience.
What Is a Process Essay?
So, what is a process essay?
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💡 It’s a type of expository essay that explains how something works or how to do something. Its purpose is to give guidelines and directions to readers. |
Process essays are also called problem-solution papers: You present a problem and then tell readers how to solve it.
The two types of process essays are directional and informational:
- Directional: This type of essay shows how to do something. For example, how to cook eggs, use Excel, etc. It’s often written in the second person (using “you”). Such essays give a set of instructions the reader can follow to complete the process in question. You’re reading a directional process blog article right now.
- Informational: This type of essay shows how something works. For example, how solar panels function, how cats understand people’s words, etc. It’s written in the third person and is used more in academic writing, and the emphasis is more on the action rather than on who is performing the action.
Process essays can range from something straightforward, like how to drive a car, to more complex topics, such as the cleanup process of water and land contamination after catastrophes.
✔️ The features of a process essay:
- It explores a topic neutrally. (Be objective, not subjective.)
- It presents the topic in a thesis statement.
- It describes or explains the steps in chronological (fixed) order.
- It contains clear, formal language with transitional words for a logical flow and descriptive manner.
❓ Why do they ask you to write process essays in school or college?
Each essay type serves to help you develop specific skills. A process essay is an instrument for analytical thinking, information prioritization, attention to detail, and complying with instructions to reach a goal.
Process Essay Structure
This is something you must know to understand how to write a process essay.
A process essay structure is standardized, consisting of three core parts:
- Introduction (Present your topic and its significance.)
- Body (Describe and explain the process.)
- Conclusion (Summarize everything and restate the importance of the process.)
Depending on the type of process essay you need to write, its structure may vary slightly.
✔️ For a directional process essay (on how to do something), follow this structure:
- Present the essential steps.
- Explain the steps in detail. Use words like “first,” “then,” “next,” “finally,” etc. Present them in a logical (chronological) order.
- Remember to define key words in your essay so that readers will understand everything.
You’re more likely to craft informational process essays in academic writing. (They are technical essays that explain complex concepts and analyze each step in detail.)
✔️ For an informational process essay (on how something works), follow this structure:
- Introduce the topic and its importance.
- Explain the process in detail.
- Restate the importance of the topic.
Let’s dive into more details so that you understand the entire process better.
How to Write a Process Essay: 7 Steps
Let’s move to a step-by-step process of… hm, well… process essay writing. It follows a standard how to write an essay algorithm:
You start with examining your topic and audience and then continue by researching, outlining, writing, and editing your essay.
Here we go!
1. Consider the audience
First and foremost, read your assignment carefully. Does it give you any particular topic to write about? Or does your teacher allow you to choose one yourself? Below, we’ll reveal some tips on selecting a good topic for a process essay, but for now, let’s say you have one prescribed in the task.
Who is the target audience of your essay?
You need to know your readers, including their knowledge and skill levels. What might those people want to know about the process you’ll describe? Will the basics be enough for them to understand the topic, or will you need to get into more advanced details?
Understanding the audience will help you decide what vocabulary to use, whether you need to explain terminology, etc.
(P.S. Of course, if you are writing a process essay for your college professor to assess your knowledge on the topic, use more sophisticated terminology and information. The chances are that they know the basics.)
2. Research and list the required tools (steps)
With the topic and audience in your pocket, it’s time to research and decide how to structure your essay and what items (steps) to describe.
- When writing a directional process essay, make a list of the materials or tools readers will need to follow the process. Organize the process description in chronological order. (For example, if writing about how to cook lasagna, you’ll specify the ingredients and then describe the process of cooking it step by step.)
- When writing an informational process essay, research the steps and organize them in a fixed order to clarify your narration.
Examine reliable resources to find the information you need for your essay. Go to online libraries for scholarly articles, read reputable blogs, and utilize books, journals, and newspapers. Depending on your topic, you should check .edu or .gov websites and look for the data at ResearchGate, PubMed, reports from scientific conferences, etc.
3. Outline your essay
Organize all the information you’ll use in your essay. Create a process essay outline (plan) that includes the steps and descriptions so you can have everything clearly in mind while writing.
✔️ Here’s an outline idea for a directional process essay:
- Introduction
- List of ingredients (steps)
- Instructions for every step: One step = one paragraph
- Conclusion
✔️ The structure of your informational process essay could be as follows:
- Introduction
- Describing and explaining the process: One step = one paragraph
- Conclusion
When outlining, use bullet points so you remember the essential details and ideas you’d like to deliver. The outline will guide you through the writing process.
Example:
Say you want to write a process essay about how to cook lasagna. Your outline on this topic might look like this:
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Topic: How do you make lasagna?
Introduction:
Ingredients and resources:
Cooking instructions:
Conclusion:
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Now, all you need to do is to fill in every paragraph with details.
4. Write an introduction
How to start a process essay:
- Introduce the process and why it’s relevant or important to know.
- Provide readers with background information: Why you have chosen the topic and how you plan to approach the explanation.
Be creative yet concise. Grab the reader’s attention in the first sentence so that they want to keep reading and learn more.
All types of academic essays have a thesis statement in their introductory paragraphs. In process essays, your thesis presents the primary goal of your paper. Thus, if you write about cooking lasagna, your thesis may sound like, “This essay explores how to make lasagna at home by preparing the necessary ingredients in advance.”
5. Craft the body of your process essay
Consult your outline and start describing and explaining the process step by step. Divide the body of your process essay into smaller pieces, with one step in every paragraph.
As a rule, you’ll have three or more paragraphs in the body section. Use enough details, but keep your paper manageable: It must be coherent and straightforward to deliver the core ideas and not confuse readers.
- Explain each step. If some are too complex, think of sub-steps readers can use to understand the process better.
- Remember to explain the purpose behind that step. Why do readers do that?
- Use transitions between steps and paragraphs to create a well-structured essay with a coherent, logical flow. Words like “first,” “then,” “next,” “now,” “after that,” etc. improve readability and help readers follow the process.
Group the steps according to logical or chronological order. Consider your audience and choose the method that will be the most appropriate for them.
6. Write a conclusion
The conclusion will discuss the main result of the process you’ve described and restate its purpose.
Write a short paragraph discussing the following:
- The final result. So, readers have completed all the steps you presented in the body of your process essay. Now what? What do they have as a result? Explain what they’ll get after finishing the process and what they can do with it.
- Restate the purpose. Why did you explain the process? Why does the audience need to follow it? Help your readers feel satisfied with what they’ve learned or done: Explain what they’ve accomplished or gained and how it will help them in the future.
- End on a positive note. Encourage readers to follow your directions.
7. Proofread and edit
The final step is to improve your process essay. Once you finish the draft, reread it several times to ensure that everything is included, clear, and free from grammatical, stylistic, and semantic errors.
1️⃣ First, read your essay to evaluate whether you’ve maintained a logical order of steps and whether they are easy to understand and follow. Did you miss anything? Add points or more details if necessary.
2️⃣ Then, check if your instructions are clear. Have you explained the terms your audience might not know? Are there any inconsistencies in your style?
3️⃣ Next, read your process essay aloud to “hear” the typos and grammar mistakes. Online spell checkers and grammar tools can speed up this process, but please don’t over-rely on them, as they don’t understand the context of your assignment.
4️⃣ Ask a friend or someone from your target audience to read your essay and say if they understand your instructions. As readers, they may notice points or inconsistencies that you, as the author, might miss or consider too insignificant to mention.
5️⃣ Finally, scan your essay via a plagiarism checker and an AI writing checker. They will help you prevent accidental duplications and AI text patterns in your work and avoid accusations of violating academic integrity.
Tips For Writing a Stellar Essay
These practical tips on process essay writing will help you craft a stellar paper that is interesting and useful for readers.
- Choose the right topic for a process essay: Think of something relevant and engaging for your target audience. Research it well before outlining and writing.
- Consider the audience to understand how to write your essay in a way that they get everything.
- Use straightforward yet descriptive language for readers to see how to do something or how something works or happened.
- Refrain from playing with imperative sentences so that your essay doesn’t sound like a manual.
- Place the statements, steps, or ideas in logical or chronological order.
- Follow the rule: One step (statement, idea) = one paragraph.
- Avoid overly long sentences and complex phrases: They’ll make it challenging for readers to follow the thread of your narrative.
- Explain any terms that are most likely new for your target audience.
- Remember to use transitional words when switching between steps or ideas. They will contribute to a smooth and logical flow in your essay.
- Revise your essay after finishing the draft to ensure that you’ve covered everything. Use tools to check it for grammar mistakes, plagiarism, and AI text patterns. Consider using a word to page converter to ensure that you’ve reached the required length.
What are relevant transitional words for process essays?
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Addition of ideas |
and, also, besides, furthermore, moreover, in addition, then, equally important, another |
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Time |
next, afterward, finally, later, last, now, then, when, soon, thereafter, after a short time, the next week (month, day, etc.), a minute later, in the meantime, at length |
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Order or sequence |
first, second, (etc.), finally, hence, next, then, from here on, to begin with, after, before, as soon as, in the end, gradually |
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Results |
as a result, hence, so, accordingly, consequently, thus, since, therefore, for this reason, because of this |
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Summary or repetition |
in summary, to sum up, to repeat, briefly, in short, finally, on the whole, therefore, as I have said, in conclusion, as you can see |
A Process Essay Example
Below, you can see a process essay example from our writers. It’s an informational essay explaining how to train for a marathon. Please pay attention to the structure: It doesn’t provide step-by-step instructions for readers to follow but instead describes different aspects the preparation for a marathon includes.
How to Train for a Marathon?
In the world of constant changes, rushing, and business, very often people forget about their personal growth, their development, and in general their satisfaction from life. The point is that apart from the daily work, meetings, and the household, each member of society is in search of the means to train themselves, to try something unusual and see the results. Everyone would like to challenge their strength, to set a certain goal, and to ruin the particular stereotypes created by their imagination and lack of confidence. In many such cases, a marathon can turn into a perfect idea to overcome fear, to observe one’s victory, and to ensure others that you can do more. Still, participation in a marathon is not an easy task especially for those who are not professional runners, and it takes time and effort to become ready.
The first point to make is to state that running a marathon means something different for everyone. To be more precise, some people do it to lose weight, while others do it to get out from their comfort zone, and the rest may not even pursue the individual goal and just do it for the pleasure and support of their friends or family members. They might say, “If I can do this, I can do almost anything!” Still, frequently people consider a marathon as the ability to prove one’s sporting skills and capacity and do not take into consideration such factors as personal traits, fears, and psychology. That is why the person who is perfectly trained in the physical dimension can fail because of unpreparedness from others.
It is important to be conscious of all the rules and principles to know what you can count on and whether you feel the readiness to overcome all of the difficulties. In this case, future marathon runners need to try their abilities, to challenge their stamina and health in general. What this means is that it is critical to start running from the minimum mileage and to raise it continually, observing how it impacts your body and well-being. Moreover, it is recommended not to rush in your training; the attentive and careful runner must begin the training a year before the marathon. Human health and the body have to be challenged gradually with the notes which will contribute to the proper analysis and avoidance of irreversible mistakes. Those who feel they can not understand the specificity of the preparation by themselves should rely on the professional trainers who will give unbiased advice and will prevent serious injuries (Murphy, p. 13).
People who decide on running the marathon must be involved in the sporting world. They must realize the importance of being competent in different types of marathons, in terms of different distances and rules. What is more, to better recognize the process, the beginners can try different short marathons first to find the type suitable for their needs, preferences, and abilities. It is interesting, but there also exist marathons on familiar roads which make it easier and more comfortable to run before taking part in more challenging and unfamiliar marathons.
After you feel that you are ready to train professionally for the marathon, you can start training specifically for the result and not for pleasure. This means that the running schedule must be followed strictly, and the runner has to note their showings and achievements. It is advisable to train five days per week and to run in a relaxed pace to prepare the heart rate and be able to increase the challenges with small steps. When the runner realizes they are good with a short run, the runner needs to go on with the long run. The intervals and speed in these cases will change within each training week contributing to the stability of heart rate, the ability to breathe freely, and on the whole, to build endurance.
Many of those willing to take part in the running marathon make the huge mistake of running every day. It is rather crucial for the results and prevention of damaging health to have some rest days. To say precisely, these are the times or days the runner does not run at all because during the time of relaxation, the runner’s muscles recover, and there is no risk of injury. Still, it is not forbidden to do the other kinds of sports which help to remain fit but do not disturb the health (Murphy, p. 66). These sports are like walking, cycling, yoga, or hiking. It is interesting but essential advice to get used to drinking water during the marathon. There are always water stations available, but it is better to keep a water bottle for running and start running with it from the first training.
Professional runners consider a proper breakfast to be important before the marathon. They advise drinking a glass of water the night before the running day and in the morning. What is more, the runner’s breakfast must exclude heavy products, and on the contrary, consist of meals or fruits several hours before the race. “Have a high-carb meal 2 or 3 hours before you run, or have a small high-carb snack or drink about 30 minutes beforehand” (Allen, p. 93). Another critical preparation is without a doubt the runner’s outfit. Many would say that if you are a professional and trained athlete, it does not matter what clothes you wear. This is a massive mistake in thinking, because having shoes and a jumpsuit that are both comfortable and fitting for the occasion is half the battle.
Apart from the physical preparation, runners need to be confident in their psychological readiness. It is about the ability to feel the body and to use the mind, which must be prepared for the stress and challenges. Moreover, the psychology of running is not about the different tag lines in your mind, but the preparation of it to overcome the physical hurdles with the strength of the brain, which can withstand frustration or even depression caused by failures (Murphy p. 84).
To sum up, getting ready for a marathon is a tremendous amount work, which includes the efforts and preparations for the inside and outside parameters. Only a proper attitude and thoughtful advice can contribute to the positive outcomes without health aggravations and disappointments. The person should decide first on their marathon goal and to work it out until victory; particularly, this does not mean to win first place, but to break the prejudices concerning their body, health, and abilities. In this case, the marathon proves to be not only for professional running, but the race for overcoming a person’s fears, stereotypes, and errors.
Works Cited
Higdon, Hal. Marathon. 4th ed., Pennsylvania, Rodale, 2011.
Murphy, Sam, and Sam Murphy. Marathon and Half Marathon. 2nd ed., London, A. & C. Black, 2009.
Van Allen, Jennifer. The Runner’s World Big Book of Marathon and Half-Marathon Training. Emmaus, Pa., Rodale, 2012.
Topic Ideas For Your Next Process Essay
If you need to choose a topic but are struggling to do so, try out our college essay title generator and writing prompt generator: Both are free online tools to help you unleash your creativity and find an interesting topic for your next paper.
✔️ How do you know whether a particular topic is worth taking on?
- It’s relevant to your college discipline and will interest your target audience.
- It’s specific and original. (Why write about truisms or boring stuff that no one cares about?)
- It’s helpful and has practical worth.
- It’s a topic you like and understand. (It’s much easier to write about something you know or want to learn more about yourself, don’t you agree?)
- It’s a theme you can explain without pictures, schemes, or other visuals. In essays, you’ll focus on words.
💡 Below are some topic ideas for writing a process essay.
Directional:
- How do you make pizza?
- Outline the steps involved in opening a bank account
- How to create a website
- Provide a guide to recycling paper waste
- How to assemble a bicycle
- Explain the process of soap-making
- How are backpacks produced?
Informational (Process Analysis):
- How time can be managed properly
- How the brain perceives different colors
- How group projects can be managed effectively
- How gold is extracted from dirt
- How one can use social media without becoming addicted
- How our immune system fights viruses
- How plants react to different stimuli
Still Need Help?
That is how to write a process essay. We hope that you now have a better understanding of how these types of essays work. If you are still uncertain, please ask our writing service for assistance. EssayShark writers know how to craft different academic papers and are happy to help with your writing assignments.
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