DEVELOPMENT BY PROCESS.

 
     When you are developing a paragraph by process, you are (usually) describing how something is done–for example, how to make noodles, or how to squeeze a lemon, or how to
write a “thank you” letter.  The most important thing you need to consider here is clarity, for if you do not explain the process clearly, the reader will not understand you. 
 
     Some processes have more than five stages.  For the purposes of this (paragraph writing) exercise, it is better to choose simple processes, or to cut out some of the lesser processes. 
 
Your first priority here is to write unified, easy-to-understand, and simple paragraphs of seven sentences.  Here, we will look at the process of making Chinese dumplings (jiao zi).
 
Development by:    Process. 
Written by:    SVW. 
Topic:    Making dumplings. 
Title:    “How to make dumplings.” 
Brainstorming:    Flour–water–oil–vegetables–lamb–onions–to chop–to roll–to cut–to knead–spices–to mix–to pinch–to stuff–to boil–water–10 minutes–add cold water–to shake / move about–“skins”–filling–chopsticks–salt–vinegar–red pepper–soy sauce. 
 
     What “patterns” do you see in this list of verbs and nouns?  Look for key words.  You can see the following: “skins”–filling–stuffing–boiling–serving.         
 
Plan outline:   
     [TS]   
     [S1]    “Skins” (of the dumplings–jiao zi pi). 
     [S2]    Filling (of the dumplings). 
     [S3]    Stuffing. 
     [S4]    Boiling. 
     [S5]    Serving. 
     [CS]                    
 
     Now you need to fill in the topic sentence and the concluding sentence.  Choose an idea that catches the reader’s attention, and which says what the paragraph is about. 
 
Plan outline:   
     [TS]    Easy–take time. 
     [S1]    “Skins” (of the dumplings–jiao zi pi). 
     [S2]    Filling (of the dumplings). 
     [S3]    Stuffing. 
     [S4]    Boiling. 
     [S5]    Serving. 
     [CS]   Delicious–“social” food. 
 
 
     This plan can now be developed into seven sentences.  Please remember, for each “sentence type”, you must start the act of creating a sentence from the beginning!  Just adding another clause does not make it into a different “sentence type”.  If you analyze the
following six examples (one for each “sentence type”), you will see that the essential sentence structure of each paragraph is different. 
 
According to Type One: 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    Dumplings are easy but time-consuming to make. 
     [S1]    You must first make the “skins” of the dumplings from flour. 
     [S2]    The filling is made from meat or various vegetables. 
     [S3]    Spoon the filling into the “skins”. 
     [S4]    Boil the dumplings in water. 
     [S5]    Serve them to your friends. 
     [CS]    The dumplings make delicious “social” food. 
 
According to Type Two: 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    It is very easy to make dumplings, but the process is long and tedious. 
     [S1]    The “skins” are made from flour and water, which has been kneaded and rolled into flat and circular disks. 
     [S2]    The filling is made from meat or vegetables, which have been finely chopped. 
     [S3]    Place a small amount of stuffing onto each “skin”, taking care to fold over and pinch closed the edges. 
     [S4]    Put the uncooked dumplings into boiling water, and boil for ten minutes. 
     [S5]    When the dumplings are ready, serve them to your friends. 
     [CS]    Since they take so much time to prepare with one’s friends, dumplings are a good “social” food. 
 
According to Type Three: 
Paragraph Text:  
 
     [TS]    Even though dumplings are easy to make, they take a long time to prepare, so they are a good food to make with one’s friends. 
     [S1]    Mix flour and water together, knead the dough thoroughly, and then roll small “plugs” of dough into flat and circular “dumpling skins”. 
     [S2]    To make the filling for the dumplings, finely chop meat or vegetables, and mix in spices and herbs to taste. 
     [S3]    Place a small spoonful of filling onto each dumpling skin, carefully fold over the skin, and “pinch” shut the edges of the moon-shaped dumplings. 
     [S4]    Boil up some water, put the dumplings into the water , and boil for ten minutes. 
     [S5]    After three additions of cold water, the boiled dumplings will be ready, and can be served to the dinner guests. 
     [CS]    Dumplings take a long time to prepare, so they are best made with one’s friends, making them the perfect “social” food for Spring Festival. 
 
According to Type Four: 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    Dumplings are easy to make; they also take much time to prepare. 
     [S1]    The “skins” are made from kneaded dough; each “skin” is flat and round. 
 
     [S2]    Some people like chopped meat for the filling; others like vegetables. 
     [S3]    Stuffing the dumplings takes time; they must be assembled with care.  
 
     [S4]    Boil the dumplings in water for ten minutes; add a ladle-full of cold water to the pot of boiling water three times. 
     [S5]    The dumplings are ready; serve them at once to the guests. 
     [CS]    Dumplings are the perfect “social” food; they keep talking friends together in a kitchen for a long time.  
 
According to Type Five: 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    Dumplings are easy to make, and do not require much skill; they do take a lot of time to prepare, so they are best made with friends. 
     [S1]    Make the “skins” by mixing together flour and water, then by kneading the dough; roll the dough into a “rope” and cut off small “plugs”, and then roll out these “plugs” into flat and round “skins”. 
     [S2]    In order to make the filling for the dumplings, finely chop up meat or vegetables; when the filling is the right consistency, mix in various spices. 
     [S3]    Take a small spoon and place some filling onto each “skin”, then fold the edges together; pinch the edges carefully, and make the dumpling to look like a small half-moon. 
     [S4]    Put the dumplings into a pot of boiling water, and boil for ten minutes; add cold water to the pot three times, to allow the dumplings to “come to the boil” for three times. 
     [S5]    Take the dumplings out of the boiling water, and put them onto a plate; make certain they are “shaken” a few times, in order to stop them from sticking together. 
     [CS]    Many people think that dumplings are delicious, even though they take a long time to prepare and cook; this is why they are so popular during Spring Festival, as they provide an excuse for friends to spend long times together in the kitchen. 
 
 
According to Type Six: 
Paragraph Text:  
     [TS]    Dumplings are easy to make, as they have few ingredients, and the stages of production are not complex; on the other hand, it takes a long time to prepare a batch, as each well-formed dumpling demands care and attention. 
     [S1]    In order to make the dumpling “skins”, mix together flour and water into dough, and then knead this dough for five minutes; roll the dough into a “tube”, cut the tube into “plugs”, and then roll out the plugs into circular dumpling skins. 
     [S2]    The “filling” for the dumpling is usually made of meat or vegetables, which are carefully washed, and then trimmed or peeled; it is then chopped into a pulp with one or two
big knives, seasoned to the eater’s taste preference with salt and spices, and mixed into an even consistency. 
     [S3]    The dumplings must be stuffed one by one, and this is done by placing a small spoonful of filling onto each open “skin”, not too much or too little; the dumpling skin is
folded over, forming a “half-moon” shape, and the edges of the dough “skin” are carefully pinched together. 
     [S4]    Place the newly-formed dumplings into a large pot of boiling water, and boil for about ten minutes, or until the dumplings are both swollen or floating on the surface of the water; add a cup of cold water to the pot two times, so as the “bring the water to a boil” more than once, as this improves the final quality of the dumplings.  
     [S5]    Remove the cooked dumplings from the boiling water, put them onto a large platter, and serve with vinegar and other spices; remember to shake the platter every few
minutes, as this “jostling” prevents the hot dumpling skins from sticking together, and makes them easier to eat. 
     [CS]    Dumplings are a delicious food, and many people like to eat them, even if they take a long time to prepare; this perhaps explains why they are a popular “social” food, as making them brings many friends together around the kitchen table, making the long afternoons and evenings of “Spring Festival” a happy time. 
 
     You do not have to write your paragraphs like this.  Rather, these are included to show you what the different “sentence types” look like in a paragraph.  When you write your paragraphs, use a “mix” of sentences, following your own inclinations.  Have fun....