Analysis
 
One step beyond classification is analysis. Analysis not only recognizes the parts that make up the whole, but also shows the relationships of those parts to each other or to the whole. Paragraphs developed by analysis are found often in scientific writing and the social science. The following paragraph analyzes the major influences on education in the United States since the Second World War.
 

Listing eight events
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Grouping into two
Of the public events which have had the most profound influence upon American education since the end of the Second World War, a chronological ordering might begin with the GI Bill, the advent of the Television Era, and the 1954 Supreme Court decision which began desegregation of Southern schools, continue through Sputnik, then conclude with the movement for women's liberation and the use of busing to begin desegregation of Northern schools.These eight events, seen in a lengthening perspective,
                   kinds
Weighingthe impact
 
 
 
 
 
now seem to me tofall into two distinct categories. Standing by itself, enormous and uncomprehended in its implications, is the advent of the Television Era. Standing together, the remaining seven form a second group educationally less significant in its entirety than the single, pandemic fact of television.
     –Daniel Fader, “The New Hooked on Books”

 
Notice that Fader first lists the influences, then groups them, and then weighs their relative impact upon American Education. This kind of thinking takes skill; explaining it simply and clearly takes even greater skill. But good writing and good thinking are inseparable; thinking helps you to write, and writing helps you to think.
 
Process
 
A process is a sequence of actions of events that lead or are supposed to lead to a predictable result. The transformation of a caterpillar into a butterfly is a process; so is fixing a flat tire, removing an appendix, frying an egg, knitting a sweater, or writing an essay.
Explaining a process is very much like narrating a series of happenings. In both kinds of writing the events of a sequence are usually recorded in order of time. The main difference is that narration records a sequence of events occurring just once, and since that sequence is past, it is usually recorded in the past tense:
 
She got up early Sunday morning,jogged two miles, and then took a shower.
 
By contrast, a process is a sequence of events that happens again and again, with the same result each time. It is therefore explained in the present tense, as in the explanation of how to patch a punctured bicycle tube:
 
With the cap from your tire-repair kit, or with a pocketknife, make a rough spot around the hole — a spot bigger than the patch. Then put a small amount of special cement on the spot and spread it around evenly with your finger. Give the cement about thirty seconds to dry. When it feels tacky, remove the backing from the patch, but be careful not to touch the part newly exposed. Center the patch over the hole, and hold it in place for about thirty seconds, until the dent sets. Then sprinkle talcum powder on the patched area to keep it from being sticky.
 
The process development is designed as a directional explanation and an informative explanation. The two kinds of explanation differ in form as well as in purpose. The directional explanation shown in the above paragraph uses the imperative mood to give a series of commands:make, put, spread, and so on. The informative explanation uses the indicative mood to describe a series of actions. The consistent use of the imperative mood tells the reader that an explanation is designed to teach them how to do something; the consistent use of the indicative tells the reader that an explanation is meant to report how something works.
 
Directional explanation
 

Topic sentence
 

       Stage 1

 
       Stage 2
       Stage 3
 
 
       Stage 4
       Stage 5
 
 
Once you encounter a person who has stopped breathing, you should begin immediately to do mouth-to mouth breathing.First, place the victim on his back and remove any foreign matter from his mouth with your fingers. Then tilt his head backwards, so that his chin is pointing up. Next, pull his mouth open and his jaw forward, pinch his nostrils shut to prevent the air which you blow into his mouth from escaping through his nose. Then place your mouth tightly over the victim’s. Blow into his mouth until you see his chest rise. Then turn your h