{"id":254,"date":"2025-04-17T16:35:25","date_gmt":"2025-04-17T16:35:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/process-analysis\/"},"modified":"2025-06-26T21:47:05","modified_gmt":"2025-06-26T21:47:05","slug":"process-analysis","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/content.one.lumenlearning.com\/englishcomp1\/chapter\/process-analysis\/","title":{"raw":"Types of Analysis: Learn It 2","rendered":"Types of Analysis: Learn It 2"},"content":{"raw":"

Process Analysis<\/h2>\r\nProcess analysis is one of the most common types of analysis writing that you will encounter in business and in technical fields. Process analysis can directly result in changes to the process. If you were to analyze the process of order distribution at an underperforming fast-food restaurant, you could, for example, use the analysis to develop changes to improve the restaurant's performance.\r\n

Writing About Processes<\/h3>\r\nIn order to effectively analyze a particular process, you first have to understand how to write about processes more generally.\r\n\r\n
\r\n

process essays<\/h3>\r\nProcess<\/strong> is a rhetorical style that provides step-by-step directions or explanatory guidance. You may encounter quite a few process essays of various types in academic writing\u2014everything from a traditional process essay in which you choose a topic and describe the process, to a lab report in which you describe the process of conducting a lab experiment.\r\n\r\nA process essay<\/strong> is structured around the goal of providing the reader with directions or guidance. Most of the time, students write process essays that discuss how to do something. Process essays are the recipes or technical manuals of essay writing. The key to a strong process essay is clarity\u2014each step should be logical, detailed, and easy to follow.\r\n\r\n<\/section>Processes can be classified a few ways, but for our purposes, they can be broken down into processes by people<\/strong>, processes by machines<\/strong>, and processes by nature.<\/strong>\r\n\r\n
\r\n

Types of Processes<\/h3>\r\nHere are some examples for each category:\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
People<\/strong><\/td>\r\nMachines<\/strong><\/td>\r\nNature<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Explanation of how to change a tire<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Description of how students collaboratively write a report<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Description of how people embark and disembark from an airplane<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Explanation of how a photocopier works<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Description of how highway designs facilitate traffic flow<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Description of how a car detects that fuel is low<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n
\r\n
    \r\n \t
  • Explanation of the changing of the seasons<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Description of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly<\/li>\r\n \t
  • Description of how a river changes its flow path<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<\/section>\r\n

    Analyzing a Process<\/h3>\r\n

    The first step in analyzing a process is understanding what the process is. In fact, part of writing the analysis is usually describing the process itself. Process analysis<\/strong> relies heavily on exposition but, depending upon the purpose of your analysis, may be more or less comprehensive. Process analysis can be classified as descriptive<\/strong> and prescriptive<\/strong>.<\/p>\r\n\r\n

    \r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n
    Descriptive<\/strong><\/td>\r\nPrescriptive<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n
    Explain, speculate, or argue about \u201cHow is this done?\u201d\r\n\r\nAudiences: Students, researchers, curious people\r\n\r\nMedia: Essays, magazines, websites, video<\/td>\r\nExplain \u201cHow should this be done?\u201d\r\n\r\nAudiences: technicians, users, decision-makers\r\n\r\nMedia: User manuals, policy guides, tutorials<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n<\/div>\r\n
    [ohm2_question]34409[\/ohm2_question]<\/section>What does this mean for you as a college student, given an assignment to write a \u201cprocess analysis\u201d? Well, it means you should pay very close attention to the assignment description to find out what kind of analysis you should do. Let\u2019s look at the following sample assignment:\r\n\r\n
    Imagine that you are taking a class and receive the following assignment prompt:\r\n

    Engineers are generally great problem solvers. But first, they need to thoroughly understand and analyze the problem before they can suggest a solution.<\/p>\r\n

    Your assignment is to analyze a problem or issue that you routinely encounter on your campus or in your community. You will identify the problem or issue, investigate it to understand how or why it exists, collect and analyze data through field observations, and finally present the results of your analysis in the form of a 3\u20134 page report. Your report will conclude with recommendations for resolving the issue.<\/p>\r\n

    Purpose<\/strong>: To recommend a resolution to a problem or issue on the basis of an analysis you conduct using field observations.<\/p>\r\n

    Audience<\/strong>: Members of your college or local community who would be interested in the resolution of the issue.<\/p>\r\n

    Format:<\/strong> 3\u20134-page report format with at least one graphic. Raw data should be collected on the Field Observation template and attached to the final report.<\/p>\r\nAnswer the following questions to help you develop a plan for writing this process analysis assignment.\r\n\r\n[ohm2_question]34410[\/ohm2_question]\r\n\r\n<\/section>","rendered":"

    Process Analysis<\/h2>\n

    Process analysis is one of the most common types of analysis writing that you will encounter in business and in technical fields. Process analysis can directly result in changes to the process. If you were to analyze the process of order distribution at an underperforming fast-food restaurant, you could, for example, use the analysis to develop changes to improve the restaurant’s performance.<\/p>\n

    Writing About Processes<\/h3>\n

    In order to effectively analyze a particular process, you first have to understand how to write about processes more generally.<\/p>\n

    \n

    process essays<\/h3>\n

    Process<\/strong> is a rhetorical style that provides step-by-step directions or explanatory guidance. You may encounter quite a few process essays of various types in academic writing\u2014everything from a traditional process essay in which you choose a topic and describe the process, to a lab report in which you describe the process of conducting a lab experiment.<\/p>\n

    A process essay<\/strong> is structured around the goal of providing the reader with directions or guidance. Most of the time, students write process essays that discuss how to do something. Process essays are the recipes or technical manuals of essay writing. The key to a strong process essay is clarity\u2014each step should be logical, detailed, and easy to follow.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

    Processes can be classified a few ways, but for our purposes, they can be broken down into processes by people<\/strong>, processes by machines<\/strong>, and processes by nature.<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n

    Types of Processes<\/h3>\n

    Here are some examples for each category:<\/p>\n

    \n\n\n\n\n
    People<\/strong><\/td>\nMachines<\/strong><\/td>\nNature<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    \n
      \n
    • Explanation of how to change a tire<\/li>\n
    • Description of how students collaboratively write a report<\/li>\n
    • Description of how people embark and disembark from an airplane<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
    		\n
      \n
    • Explanation of how a photocopier works<\/li>\n
    • Description of how highway designs facilitate traffic flow<\/li>\n
    • Description of how a car detects that fuel is low<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n
    		\n
      \n
    • Explanation of the changing of the seasons<\/li>\n
    • Description of how a caterpillar becomes a butterfly<\/li>\n
    • Description of how a river changes its flow path<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n

      Analyzing a Process<\/h3>\n

      The first step in analyzing a process is understanding what the process is. In fact, part of writing the analysis is usually describing the process itself. Process analysis<\/strong> relies heavily on exposition but, depending upon the purpose of your analysis, may be more or less comprehensive. Process analysis can be classified as descriptive<\/strong> and prescriptive<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

      \n\n\n\n\n
      Descriptive<\/strong><\/td>\nPrescriptive<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
      Explain, speculate, or argue about \u201cHow is this done?\u201d<\/p>\n

      Audiences: Students, researchers, curious people<\/p>\n

      Media: Essays, magazines, websites, video<\/td>\n

      		Explain \u201cHow should this be done?\u201d<\/p>\n

      Audiences: technicians, users, decision-makers<\/p>\n

      Media: User manuals, policy guides, tutorials<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n