ESSAY: HOW-TO Magazines, newspapers, and books offer abundant examples of "how-to" articles. To be effective, these articles should incorporate most, if not all, of the eight points characteristic of instruction sheets. Those points create clarity and give precise information to the reader. Writing must be instructive and logical if the reader is to learn. The article will not be credible if the directions are not given clearly.

Here is your goal for this assignment:

Write an original prose instructional composition

To write a "how-to" article, first select a subject that can be written about with authority. Be sure that you clearly understand the task so that you can give correct instructions. Be objective in writing "how-to" articles.

Give facts; do not inject personality into the material. List the steps in chronological order. What is the first thing to do? The second? The third? Be sure to explain precisely by using examples, comparisons, and contrasts.

In writing an article, pretend that the article is written for someone who is new to the process you are describing. To say, "First you put the blanket on the horse," is not sufficient. If the reader has never ridden a horse, the instructions must begin even further back in the process. The horse must first be caught. A lead must be placed around its neck and tied to a post. Don't assume that the reader knows the steps that you are tempted to leave out.

SHOW TRANSCRIPT
Remember that "how-to" articles are telegraphic in style. Avoid descriptive adjectives and give clear directions.
Here's a review of the eight points you will need to use.

1. Title: The title, usually in larger or darker print, tells the purpose of the instruction sheet.
2. Subtitles: The subtitles are usually capitalized and list the different parts of the instructions.
3. Numbered steps: The steps of the process are numbered to guide the reader in following the proper order.
4. Explanation of how: Exact information on how to do a specific thing enables the reader to successfully complete tasks never before attempted.
5. Explanation of why: The reader is told why he is doing a particular action to aid his understanding and thus provide for better results.
6. Use of examples: The use of examples help to clarify the how's and why's of the process being described.
7. Use of contrast, or antithesis: This device helps make directions clear by creating a mental picture of something that is unlike something else.
8. Use of comparison, or analogy: This device also gives a mental picture so that an instruction is more readily understood. For example, the directions may say, "The clearance should be 1/32" (half the width of a penny)." You may not know how wide 1/32 of an inch is, but you can imagine the thickness of a penny.
Write a "how to" article. Use only necessary words, but do not omit important facts. In writing the article, apply what you have learned about sentences, paragraph development, connectives and transitions. You may select a subject from the following list or choose your own.

How to

take a picture with a camera catch a fish
program a computer clean a fish
set a table for dinner load the dishwasher
saddle and bridle a horse develop film
decorate a Christmas tree record from a CD
carve a jack-o'-lantern play backgammon (chess, checkers, Monopoly, etc.)
paint with acrylics take care of a three-year old