A process essay is a description of how something is done, and choosing a topic involves considering several factors. In the election of appropriate process essay topics, several factors need to be kept in mind, including the degree of difficulty of the topic's explanation, the writer's familiarity with the topic, and the appropriateness of the topic for the audience. The relevance of the process and who or what it affects may influence the selection as well as if there are several ways of completing the chosen task. Effective process essays are usually written in the second person, but not always.
Essays can be very simple or very complicated depending on the information which needs to be presented. For this reason, careful consideration needs to be given when choosing process essay topics. The presentation of facts and data requires a more objective style of writing and the process description needs to be precise and clear. Care should be taken in choosing a subject, as too simple a topic may not lend itself to a long enough description. A topic that is too complicated may more easily be presented in a book.
When choosing a topic to write about, consider the reader first of all. Note down the exact steps they need to know in order to accomplish the goal being described. There may be more than one way of doing something and this could complicate the essay. Some processes require many steps, some of which may be more important or complicated than others and require a lengthy explanation.
Readers of process essays are not as interested in the prose of the essay as in how to achieve their goal quickly and effectively. Before choosing a topic to write on, therefore, consideration needs to given as to whether the subject lends itself to clear instructions. Sometimes a process can seem simple but there are so many explanations or warnings that need to be given that the end result can become confusing. Any mistake in the instructions can lead to an entirely different result than that which was intended.
As to whether process essay topics are easy or difficult depends on the knowledge and enthusiasm of the writer but most would probably agree that an essay on how to succeed at a job interview requires fewer details than one on how an iPod® works. There is an adage which is used in writing to the effect of “write what you know; or if you don’t know it, write what interests you.” This can also be applied here. What the best process essay topics are for one person are not necessarily the best for another.
