E X P L A I N I N G H O W S O M E T H I N G W O R K S O R
I S D O N E .

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Explains in step-by-step fashion how something works or how something is done or made.
Provide people with practical information
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Directions to do something
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Explanation of how something works
Audience either
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Wants or needs to perform the process
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Wants or needs to understand the process although they will not actually perform it

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Usually includes an Explicit Thesis Statement
 identifies the process to be discussed
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Suggests the writer’s attitude or approach
Why the thesis is important or useful to the reader
Examples
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Recently, many consumers have been using debit rather than credit cards, which is more costly for most customers in the end.
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By carefully reading the terms of a college loan, you can save thousands of dollars in interest and hundreds of hours of hassle.

 Organized in Chronological Order
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The order in which the steps happened or should happen
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Ex. How to apply for a credit card.
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How the housing crisis occurred.
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Why did the merger of Merill Lynch and Bank of America happen?
For essays with a lengthy processes, the steps may be grouped into categories to make the process easier to understand.

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Defines Technical Terms
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Assume the audience does not know terminology of the process
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Define these terms for the audience
Provides Background Info
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Scenarios which make the process important
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How interest rates affect people and businesses before a discussion of how the fed determines interest rates
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How much money college costs or how long it takes to pay off a loan before a discussion about choosing the best college loan for you.

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Describes Necessary Equipment
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Describing a loan calculator for taking out a loan
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Describing how the internet has changed the stock market before a discussion on how or when to buy stocks.
Appropriate Detail
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Consider your audience
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Keep details aligned with the intended audience
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Students at Pine Valley High
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Stock Broker
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Banker

 Anticipate Trouble and Offer Solutions
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What was difficult for you at first?
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How did you figure it out?
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In an essay explaining how to apply for a mortgage, anticipate the difficulty of finding a cosigner and give advice of how to resolve that problem.
Warn readers of difficult , complicated, or critical steps

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Introduction
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Background Info
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Thesis Statement
Body Paragraphs
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Transition,
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Topic sentence
Example- Quote
Explain
Example- Quote
Explain
Connect to thesis and bridge to next body paragraph

 Conclusion
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Transition,
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Draws back to the thesis and draws the essay to a close.
Often times, you will refer back to how this solves the problem set up in the background information.

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Choose the topic
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Use the possibilities sheet to help you or make one of your own that refers to banking/ finance.
Consider Your Purpose
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Informative: How to choose a credit card.
Persuasive: How bailout money was used to avert financial crisis in the U.S.

 Consider the Audience
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What background information do they need?
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What terms should I define?
What equipment should I describe?
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How much detail is necessary?
How can I illustrate trouble spots to prevent confusion or warn of danger?

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First Gather Information on the Topic
Then List the Steps on a Graphic Organizer
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What separate actions are involved?
What are obvious to you but may not be obvious to somebody else?
What steps, if omitted will lead to problems or failure?
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2 or 3 column notes work well for this
Find interesting facts and illustrations that will help the reader better understand what to do, or why it is important.

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When you have gathered all information, decided on organization, etc., go back to the thesis.
The thesis statement should encompass everything you discuss in the paper.
It should be a complex sentence with complex ideas.

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Write the paper
Use at least 2 quotes/ paraphrases for each step.
Never quote or paraphrase without explaining
Include reasons for the steps
Consider Headings
Use transitions to show relationships between ideas
Effective Introductions are imperative
Appropriate tone- 3 rd person point of view, no forbidden words, no contractions, be formal
Satisfying Conclusion

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Is this the best order for the process?
Is this the best example?
Can I find some statistics to show how important this is?
Did I appeal to the fact based reader? How?
Did I appeal to the emotional reader? How?
Could somebody go out and do this after reading the essay?

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Check for forbidden words and contractions
Is everything cited correctly?
Read entire paper aloud exactly as it is written
Check for comma splices (two independent clauses connected with only a comma)
Check for run-on sentences and sentence fragments
Check for spelling errors and typos not caught by spell check (form for from)