Ideas for Process Essays

GETTING STARTED-Journal Ideas (from Moves Writers Make by James C. Raymond.)

1. Think of a process you know better than most people in your class—like canning
strawberries, using a spreadsheet, or taking inventory, or building an architectural
model, or resolving conflicts, or kayaking through whitewater. Or think of a zany
process—like how to become famous by being really incompetent (ala Paris Hilton), or
how to travel around the world without paying for it, or how to get someone else to wash
your car. Make a list of steps, and then describe each step. To make an essay of a process
paper, you have to interpret the process—make it interesting to people who have no
intention of doing it themselves. (63)

2. You have already done a lot of reading and a lot of writing in your life. Pick some
aspect of your experience with the printed word and write a "How To" paper, or if you
prefer, a "How Not To" paper. Topics could include "How to find a good book," " How to find
what you want in the library," " How to find ideas for writing a paper," "How to organize a
bibliography," "How to find a publisher for your writing," "How to write about sports (or
music, art, or social events)," "How to find things on the Internet." Think of your
classmates as readers: make sure you explain terms that they might not otherwise
understand, and try to make the process interesting even to those who may never
attempt it themselves. (69)

3. Choose an institutional process you know well—perhaps one you learned as part of a
summer job: how hamburgers are made, how people are admitted to hospitals, how
lawyers operate behind the scenes, how political campaigns are run, how a play is
produced. If possible, choose a process that looks different to insiders than to the general
public. See if you can write an exposé of sorts—a process paper that reveals the real, true
story (for better or worse). (78)

Other Ideas (from The Macmillan Reader by Judith Nadell et al.)

1. How to improve a course you have taken
2. How to drive defensively
3. How to get away with ___________
4. How a student becomes burned out
5. How to succeed at a job interview
6. How to show appreciation to others
7. How a dead thing decays or how some other natural process works
8. How to conduct a garage sale or yard sale
9. How people choose mates
10. How to look fashionable on a limited budget
11. How people fall into debt
12. How to meet more people
13. How a bad habit develops
14. How to get over a disappointment
15. How to be a responsible pet owner
16. How to move into a new home
17. How the college financial aid process (or some other process) works (392)
DRAFTING

A Recipe for Writing Process (from Moves Writers Make by James C. Raymond)

A process paper has a very practical objective: it explains how something is done. A
process essay has a different purpose: it interprets the process, gives the writer's "take"
on it, reveals an attitude.

Here is a recipe for writing a process essay:

1. Choose a process that you understand better than most of your readers.
2. If the process occurs in a set sequence of steps (e.g., baking a cake, changing a tire),
create an outline by naming the steps and arranging them in the right sequence.
3. If the process is one that does not necessarily occur in a set sequence of steps (e.g.,
winning at chess, succeeding in college), create an outline by naming the necessary
activities and arranging them in a sequence that will best maintain the interest of
your readers.
4. If your purpose is just to explain the process, expand each step into a sentence, a
paragraph, or a few paragraphs—depending on how complex the step is. Be sure to
define any terms that may not be clear to your readers.
5. If your purpose is to interpret the process, describe each step in a way that makes
your readers feel, understand, or believe what you want them to feel, understand, or
believe about it.
6. After you've selected and arranged your details, add an introduction and an ending.
(Holt Handbook, Chapter 6f).
7. Show a draft to fellow students in a formal or informal workshop, and see if your
strategies are having the effects you want them to have. Use the checklist [below] to
focus your discussion. (142-43)

REVISING

So What and the Seven Common Moves (from Moves Writers Make by James C.
Raymond)

The So-What Factor. What does the writer want you to know, understand, feel, or
believe after reading the essay? Does the writer's interpretation of the subject earn your
interest?
• Beginning. What moves does the writer make to create interest at the beginning?
• Ending. What moves does the writer make to give the essay a sense of an ending?
• Detail. Look for examples of the writer's eye and the writer's ear at work. Look for
examples of showing and telling. Look for generalizations that are not supported by
specific evidence. Would the essay be improved by adding details, stories, examples,
or explanations at those points?
• Organization/Plot. Are the various parts of the essay arranged in a sequence that
makes sense? Does the writer sustain a sense of unfinished business until the end?
• Style. Name or describe the writer's best moves.
• Voice/Attitude. How would you characterize the writer's attitude (angry, serious,
detached, playful)? What sort of person do you imagine the writer to be? Is the voice
too formal or not formal enough for the purposes of this particular essay?
• Economy. Test for economy by looking for words, phrases, or details that could be
omitted without being missed.