Text: How to describe a process?

A process description is a formal or a semi-formal piece of writing often used in technical and business English classes (and communication). Even though it has a form of a narrative, it should also have an objective tone.

It should offer an overview and the function of the process, whereby focusing on its stages, the components (or the materials) involved in the process.

A process description usually goes along with a diagram or an illustration. Therefore, it is absolutely vital to analyse the diagram in order to determine how many steps there are in the process, as well as what is happening at each stage. Another important issue is to pinpoint the order of the steps so that the logical sequence is established.

Your description should be clear and coherent - include only what needs to be included, do not digress from the topic.

Vocabulary: try to use specific words and expressions, stay away from common words (e.g. stuff).

Tone & Grammar: As it was previoulsy mentioned, the tone should be objective (it should not be your recount of what is happening, your opinion should not be included). In order to achieve this objective tone, you should make use of the impersonal passive voice. This way the focus is not on the agent or the doer of the actions, but on the process itself.

Structure: In order to demonstrate the sequence of the steps, it is recommendable to use linking words (often refered to as discourse markers). This way the reader will be able to understand the order of stages, from the very first step till the final one.

Elements:

1. Introduction - should include a short description of what the text is about and how many stages there are in the process described. Optionally, you could also include the information on when and why the process is performed.

2. Body - describe each step/stage in a separate paragraph.