What You Should Know about Process Analysis Essay Topics

Process essays are common and frequent assignments in college, but choosing great process analysis essay topics could be challenging. In short, the process essay provides a “how-to” for its reader. It describes process for completing something, constructing something, accomplishing something, etc. Rather than dry, boring instructional content, such as product assembly instructions, the process essay should be lively and make readers act upon what they have read. The key is choosing topics that appeals to readers.

Coming Up with Process Essay Ideas – A Few Tips

All essays have a purpose – informing, entertaining, persuading, and such. And topics for these types of essays must match both the essay type and the purpose.

In the case of topics for a process essay, any of the above purposes can be possible. The topics for them could be related to the purpose. For example, if students write an essay that is humorous, they look for topics that are a fit for that purpose, perhaps how-to guide for new father who must shop at an all-night grocery store at 2:00 a.m.

Picking up topics for process essays is perhaps the most important task. The topic choices determines the tone and style that you will be using. The best tip? Choose topic that interests you. So, let’s take a look at all possible examples of topics for writing a process essay.

Process Essay Topics by Category

When elementary school teachers assign process paragraphs topics to their students, they usually provide the topic – how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, perhaps. As students move through their schooling, they are given more freedom of choice regarding essay topic choices. Instructors and professors may provide category within which the student is free to choose. In some cases, not even a category is provided.

When process papers topics are up to students, it may be tough to choose one that will be enjoyable to write and interesting for the reader as well. For this reason, we are providing a huge list of potential topics, separated by categories. If you need to produce process essay, you could choose a topic among these.

Funny Process Essay Topics

These topics usually come from funny experiences you have had or from information you have gathered over time. The purpose is entertaining your reading audience, so be certain you understand their sense of humor before you choose a topic. Here are some possibilities:
How to ...

• lie like a politician
• talk yourself out of a speeding ticket
• live on Ramen for 10 days – recipes
• lure an escaped hamster back into his cage
• avoid running into your “ex” on campus
• get over your hangover in 5 easy steps
• clean out your fridge after 30 days of neglect
• apply makeup with no mirror
• do a week’s worth of grocery shopping in 20 minutes
• avoid doing laundry for 30 days
• clean your apartment for a surprise visit from your parents
• plan a “lease-breaking” party
• close out a date that is going badly
• clean an oven after a year of mis-use
• clean out your car when it looks like you’ve lived in it

Hopefully, these funny how-to essay topics will trigger some ideas of your own.

Complex Process Analysis Topics

These may be the most difficult process essays to write, because the procedural steps may be complicated and lengthy. One key to success here lies in several re-writes, eliminating what is unnecessary each time. Another key is to divide the steps themselves into smaller categories with appropriate headings. Readers can only absorb so much at a time, so give them some breathing space in between chunks of steps. Here are some typical complex processes topics:

How to...

• change the oil in your car
• develop the skills to write papers for money online
• write research paper
• build a deck
• write the best CV
• write business plan for startup
• set up a personal financial plan
• install vinyl flooring
• write dissertation
• develop a game app
• wallpaper a room
• develop marketing plan for your product
• develop a personal diet and fitness program
• write a novel
• weatherize a home

It’s obvious from this list that complex process essay topics present quite a challenge to the writer. Keeping readers interested in such essays requires some creativity of style and the division of the essay into smaller sections.

Creative Process Analysis Essay Ideas

If you have talent for creative writing, then you’ll probably enjoy coming up with topics that allow you to let those creative juices flow. And your creativity will probably allow you to come up with some unique process essay topics. To stimulate that creative thought, here are 15 potential topics:

How to...

• give a cat a bath
• win an argument with toddler
• kill a fly that won’t leave you alone
• Six ways to end relationship
• hide a bad haircut
• get rid of bad roommate
• impress your teacher or professor
• start an underground newspaper
• survive finals week
• keep your cool when really angry
• write college essays for sale to fellow students
• backpack through Europe on $7 a day
• become a worm farmer
• bait fishing hook with various types of live bait
• catch crawdads in the river

Process Analysis Ideas for College Life

College life presents its own challenges and plenty of possible topics for process essays that are assigned in English comp classes. Here are some prompts for such essays:

How to...

• find the right roommates for your apartment
• stretch a budget for food and clothing
• survive finals week
• stay healthy
• deal with stress and test anxiety
• find balance between study and fun
• set up study schedule to meet deadlines
• establish your personal budget
• prepare a speech
• begin your career search
• find the perfect internship
• search for study abroad opportunities
• survive relationship breakup
• find money-making opportunities
• Steps for editing and proofreading your essay

This list of topics for process essay options goes on and on. To select the right topic for yourself, ask what kinds of problems you have faced and what solutions you have found for them. Other students could benefit from those solutions.

Good Process Analysis Essay Topics

What constitutes a good process essay topic? Probably the first criterion is that it is informative and interesting to the audience you have. Second, it must be one that interests you. So here is a variety of topics all of which might result in good process essay:

How to...

• choose the best essay writer online
• drive defensively
• use leftovers to make entirely new meals
• potty train toddler
• avoid oppressive credit card debt
• pay off student loans faster
• raise your credit score quickly
• avoid the distractions of social media
• become a great blogger
• disagree without offending others
• de-clutter your residence
• quit smoking
• lower cholesterol naturally
• create effective to-do lists
• lower your environmental footprint

These process essay topics ideas are just a few good ones that will kick-start your brain – you can come up with many more.

Interesting Ideas for Process Essays

One of the most important keys to writing an effective process analysis essay is that it is interesting to both your audience and to you. If you are college student, your audience is your instructor. And you may be writing process essay in various content field courses. Obviously, if you are writing a process essay for a science course, it might be in the form of how you would go about answering the research question or setting up an experiment. Such an essay would be of interest to that instructor.

By the same token, in an English class, you may have far more latitude in coming up with process essay topics ideas, and even selecting a fictional audience. Now the array of topics expands.

How to...

• plan your wedding
• become a day trader
• start side business while in school
• begin investing while in college
• overcome the fear of flying
• restore broken friendship
• build a treehouse
• perform random acts of kindness
• pass gas secretly
• get pet stains out of carpet
• fold fitted sheet
• trim rose bushes
• fact-check social media posts
• find a good dating site
• pack clothing to avoid wrinkles

Ideas for Process Essays that are Informative

“To inform” is to impart information to another person or group. And most any topic for process essay writing is informative in some way. In short, such an essay is a description of how to do something that will answer the question or solve the problem. Here are examples of typical how to essay topics.

How to...

• get grease stains out of clothing and carpets
• set up GPS tracking on your child’s phone
• clean leather upholstery
• get pine sap off of your car
• power wash a house
• stain a deck
• look up codes when “service engine soon” light appears
• 4 Ways to cook bacon without the mess
• trade cryptocurrencies
• find volunteer opportunities that are of interest to you
• set up a subscription service for an e-commerce product
• register new business with the IRS and your state
• select the best financial software for your small business
• apply for a small business loan from the government
• find the best daycare for your preschooler

Process Paper Topics

College papers will require research. And for many courses, this is what separates them from basic essays, along with the fact that they are much longer than essays. If you are looking for a process paper topic, remember that you research to answer the “how-to” question or the steps for solving a problem – perhaps cleaning up waterways, as an example. Check out the topics above and see if any could be expanded to a longer, more detailed approach with proper research.

The Wrap...

Process essays can be drudgery or fun to write. The key is to decide on a topic that interests you, gets your creative juices flowing, and about which you have some solid knowledge. Read through these lists for helpful ideas to inform, entertain, or inspire.