Discussion Questions. 1. At what points has the writer provided reasons for doing things?

1. At what points has the writer provided reasons for doing things?

2. Where has he included a warning?

Some processes can unfold in only one order. When you shoot a free throw in basketball, for example, you step up to the line and receive the ball before lining up the shot, and you line up the shot before releasing the ball. Other processes can be carried out in an order of choice. When you grill hamburgers, you can make the patties either before or after you light the charcoal. If you have an option, use the order that has worked best for you.

End your paper with a few brief remarks that provide some perspective on the process. A summary of the steps often works best for longer, multistep processes. Other popular choices include evaluating the results of the process or discussing its importance. The paper on hamburger grilling notes the results.

Once the patties are cooked the way you like them, remove them from the grill and place them on buns. Now you are ready to enjoy a mouthwatering treat that you will long remember.

E. M. Pryzblyo

Processes for Readers Who Won't Perform Them. Like how-to-do-it processes, those intended for nondoers require you to determine the steps, or for natural processes the stages, that are involved and the function of each before you start to write. In addition, since this type of essay will not enable readers to perform the process, think carefully about why you're presenting the informa­tion and let that purpose guide your writing. If, for instance, you're trying to persuade readers that the use of- rabbits in tests of the effects of cosmetics should be discontinued, the choices you make in developing your steps should reflect that purpose.

To arouse your reader's interest, you might, among other possible options, begin with a historical overview or a brief summary of the whole process, or you could note its importance. The following introduction to an essay on the aging of stars provides a brief historical perspective:

Peering through their still-crude telescopes, eighteenth-century astronomers discovered a new kind of object in the night sky that appeared neither as the pinprick of light from a distant star nor as the clearly defined disk of a planet but rather as a mottled, cloudy disk. They christened these objects planetary nebulas, or planetary clouds Modern astronomers recognize planetary nebulas as the fossil wreckage of dying stars ripped apart by powerful winds....

Because the reader will not perform the process, supply only enough details in the body of the paper to provide an intelligent idea of what the procedure entails. Make sure the reader knows the function of each step or stage and how it fits into the overall process. Present each in one or more paragraphs with clear transitions between the steps or stages. The following excerpt points out the changes that occur as a young star, a red giant, begins the aging process:

As the bloated star ages, this extended outer atmosphere cools and contracts, then soaks up more energy from the star and again puffs out: with each successive cycle of expansion and contraction the atmosphere puffs out a little farther. Like a massive piston, these pulsations drive the red giant's atmosphere into space in a dense wind that blows with speeds up to 15 miles per second. In as little as 10,000 years some red giants lose an entire sun's worth of matter this way. Eventually this slow wind strips the star down close to its fusion core.

As with processes aimed at performers, end your paper with a few remarks that offer some perspective. You might, for example, evaluate the results of the process, assess its importance, or point out future consequences. The ending of the essay on star aging illustrates the last option:

The cloud of unanswered questions surrounding planetaries should not obscure the real insight astronomers have recently gained into the extraordi­nary death of ordinary stars. In a particularly happy marriage of theory and observation, astronomers have discovered our own sun's fate. With the interact­ing stellar winds model, they can confidently predict the weather about 5 billion years from now: very hot, with really strong gusts from the east.

Adam Frank, "Winds of Change";

Suggestions for writing. Write a process analysis on one of the topics below or one approved by your teacher. The paper may provide instructions for the reader to follow, tell how a process is performed, or describe how a process develops. Prepare a complete list of steps, arrange them in an appropriate order, and follow them as you write the body of your essay.

1. The stages of a developing relationship

2. The stages in a technical process such as paper production

3. The stages in a student’s adjustment to university

4. Dealing with a bite of a poisonous snake

5. Training a dog or other pet

6. Using a particular computer program

7. Preparing your favorite meal

8. Studying for an examination

9. Achieving some important goal

10. Throwing a successful party