24 Writing Process Essays

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Writing Process Essays

Start-Up Activity

Point out that the process essay is a very important form of real-world writing. Then share and discuss different texts that explain processes—chapters in this handbook, recipes, game tutorials, assembly instructions, and so on. Process writing helps us teach others how to do something important or how a key set of events works.

Think About It

“Don’t explain why it works; explain how to use it.”

—Steven Brust

Page 174 from Writers Express

Sample Process Essay

Have student volunteers read each paragraph of the essay. Then review the essay as a whole, pointing out the information in the side notes. Notice how the focus statement names the process the writer will explain, and each middle paragraph covers a step in the process.

If some of your students might find a full essay to be challenging, you can share this brief model: "How to Make Boiled Eggs."

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Page 175 from Writers Express

Sample Process Essay (Continued)

Point to some of the specific examples and details in the middle paragraphs of the essay. Also show your students how the ending invites readers to think further about the process.

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Page 176 from Writers Express

Writing a Process Essay

To help your students find topics for their process essays, have them list things that they know how to do well and that they could explain to someone else. If students struggle to come up with topic ideas, use the "Tip" in the middle of the page. You can also direct students toward other how-to writing topics.

Then help your students decide which of these ideas would work best for their process essays.

Provide time for students to do a little research into the process so that they have plenty of details.

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Page 177 from Writers Express

Prewriting: Organizing Your Details

Teach the two organizing strategies on this page: numbered lists and time lines. Both put events in time order. If students create a time line, to the left of the line, they can write times or possible time-order transitions to help them organize their thinking.

You can extend students' learning with the minilessons.

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Page 178 from Writers Express

Make an Outline

If a numbered list or time line isn't quite rigorous enough for your students, you could have them make an outline. Walk them through the example outline on this page.

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Page 179 from Writers Express

Developing the First Draft

Use this page to show your students what each part of their essays should do: beginning, middle, and ending. Also, equip them with the time-order transitions in the green box to help them connect their paragraphs and their sentences.

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Page 180 from Writers Express

Revising and Editing

Use this page to inspire your students to elaborate their ideas. Present the material at the top of the page and challenge students to find additional details of different kinds. Have your students add some details that improve the ideas in their writing.

To help your students improve their work, download and distribute the process essay revising and editing checklist.

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