10/1/2020 Instructions - CODE 022- ENGL 1023 - ADVANCED TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION -

CODE 022- ENGL 1023 - ADVANCED TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION

WEEK 6 LEARNING RESOURCES

DESCRIPTION OF A PROCESS
Process description includes sequence, instructions and procedure. Process is a description of materials, equipment and procedures. It also uses graphic
materials to show detailed presentation of a process. Technical writers also use sequence markers such as first, second, then, next, subsequently, finally and
at last to link sentences and to follow the natural or mechanical system.

There are four Types of a Process, these are: 1) How it operates or how it works process, 2) How to do it process, 3) How it happens process, and 4) How it
is organized process. In the first type of process, this process description focuses on the way things function or operate. The second type of process gives
emphasis on how you do a thing or perform. This process type occurs in giving directions or instructions.

The third process type stresses the process itself. Some call this type as Process Analysis. Processes that you can subject to process analysis are food
digestion, earthquakes, water cycle communication process, among others. The fourth type of process also happens when you write or talk about the way an
organization or a schools assign its faculty to a certain rank or position.
In adapting the description, it is important to consider the needs of the readers. The writer should avoid many details and emphasize the broad outlines of the
process if the reader is interested only in acquiring a general knowledge of the principles involves and has no intention to perform the process. A process
description is organized as follows:

THE INTRODUCTION
The introduction of the description of a process is a comprehensive answer to the question, “What are you doing?” An answer to the question can be
given by answering still other questions, principally the following:

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DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT AND MATERIALS

With the possible exception of the discussion of equipment and materials, the introduction to a description is followed directly by a description of the
chief steps in the process. Two problems appear in organizing the description of the chief steps. One is how to organize the steps; the other is how to
organize the material within each individual step. The organization of the steps can be dismissed at once for it is chronological in order. The organization
within the description of the individual steps requires more discussion because each individual step constitutes a process in itself. The individual step should
be introduced properly and must be divided into sub-steps. Its description is essentially a miniature of the description of the process as a whole.

DESCRIPTION OF THE ACTION

In describing the action, the writer must say everything the readers need to know and understand or even to visualize the process. The omission of a
slight detail may be enough to spoil everything. Care should be taken not only in connection with the details of what is done but also of how it is done. The
content of the description of a process is governed by the reader’s need to comprehend every step in the action.

STYLE OF USING SENTENCES IN EXPLAINING A PROCESS

A discussion in style in the description of a mechanism however would focus on the problem of choice of the mood and voice of the predicate, and of
the noun or pronoun used as a subject. A good many possibilities exist, but three are of special importance: the active voice and indicative mood, the
passive voice and indicative mood, and the active voice and imperative mood. See examples below.

CONCLUSION

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The last part of the description of the process is naturally the conclusion. It is not always necessary to write a formal conclusion. Whether one is desirable
depends, of course, on whether it will help the reader. Sometimes the reader needs help in matters like the following:
1. Fixing the chief steps in mind (listing them again might help)
2. Recalling special points about equipment or materials
3. Analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of the process.
4. Noting how this process is related to the other processes, or other work that is being done, or reported on.

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