Skip to Main Content

Writing Academic Essays

A guide to writing five types of essays: argumentative, cause and effect, classification, process, and compare and contrast.

Get in Touch

Ask a Librarian

Available Mon - Thurs
10am - 6pm
Friday 
10am - 2pm



Try Our FAQs

Learning Commons Quick Links


Tutoring - Writing, math and more

Learning Guides - Quick learning

Hours - Find out when we're open

Library Search - Find materials

Databases - Articles and more!

InterLibrary Loan - Request books

Books - Recommended books

eBooks - Thousands of free eBooks

Streaming Video - Learn by watching


Use the Library Search to find books, eBooks, articles, and more! 

 

Follow Us!

You can find Learning Commons information, book recommendations and so much more on JCTC's social media. 

facebook icon Twitter Icon instagram icon

What is a process essay?

A process essay is a step-by-step guide on how to do or make something. It is important to include every step of the process, even if something appears self-explanatory. Your audience might not be as familiar on the topic as you are.

What may be equally important, and is often overlooked, is what not to do. For example, the process of making caramel is deceptively simple. The sugar mixture needs to be swirled to prevent burning. However, stirring the mixture will cause the molecules to agitate, making the syrup crystalize into a solid unusable lump. So, when writing a process essay on caramel it is equally important to define swirling and to caution against stirring.

Process Paragraph and Process Essay (3:39)
 

Transitions

Since a process essay is a series of instructions, transition words are an important component. Transitions establish connections between ideas. They can be a single word that imparts a logical order or sequence to your writing, or it could be an entire sentence that connects one paragraph to the next.

Transition Words

Time or Order Addition Generalization Cause and Effect
Next And In general Therefore
During In addition to Generally So
While In the same manner Overall Thus
Following Furthermore On the whole Because
After Moreover In short Owing to
Firstly Equally important   Accordingly
Lastly Also   Consequently
Secondly Likewise   Hence
Later At the same time   Subsequently
Then In fact   For this reason
To begin with      
Contrast Illustration Emphasis/Persuasion Conclusion
On the other hand For example Clearly In conclusion
But As an example Obviously To conclude
Nevertheless Such as Importantly To sum up
Despite For instance Chiefly Finally
However To demonstrate In particular  
Except Specifically Especially  
Otherwise   Actually  
Yet      
Whereas      
Alternatively      
In spite of this      

Topic Selection

If you have not been given a topic, choose one that you feel confident in explaining to your audience. Refer again to the introduction section of this guide to find information on progression and organization. Brainstorming and creating an outline will help you avoid missing any steps or directions. Here are a few topic suggestions for a process essay:

  • Recipes
  • Car Mechanic
  • Cellular Structure
  • Gardening
  • Applying for a Green Card