Exam 26: Exploring Similarities and Differences Comparison and Contrast

A process paper can have one of two approaches. Either it can give a reader instructions on how to do something, or it can help a reader understand how something works or happens.

It is important to know who your audience is for a process paper so that you know how much or how little information to share.

If you explain the reason behind a process it will be easier to understand

When writing the body of a process paragraph, you should group major steps together and begin each of those groupings with a subtopic sentence.

To create a process paragraph that reads smoothly, you should vary both the sentence lengths and the sentence openings.

Using __________ throughout your paragraph can help the reader follow the steps in the process more easily.

Define any terms that need clarification

The number of steps and the amount of information you give depends on the complexity of the process, how much you know about it, and how much your audience is likely to know.

Explaining how to make sugar cookies is an example of a __________ process; explaining how frost forms on a car windshield is an example of a __________ process.

Anticipate your readers knowledge to ensure you explain enough but not too much

Which of the following is not an activity critical to a process paper?

Since instructional steps are basically self-explanatory, it is not necessary to give warnings or cautions in a process paper.

Whether you are writing about a to-do process or a to-understand process, it is essential to begin with a clear topic sentence and then to break the process down into a series of steps.

When writing a process paper, you must define all terms, even those that the reader is likely to be familiar with.

When you explain a process, you will do a better job if you know your audience. If you anticipate how much your reader knows about your topic, you will come closer to explaining just enough without explaining too much.

It is okay to skip steps if the audience is unfamiliar with the process you are describing

Process papers are typically arranged in __________.

When explaining the steps in more detail, you will sometimes need to explain the reason for a particular step so that the reader will be more likely to follow the step exactly.

Use a comma when explaining a process to indicate links

Arrange your process in reverse chronological order