How to Write a How to Guide

How to guides are everywhere, we use them to learn new software, to find out the nifty functions of our home electronics, to cook, and to even keep us safe when we are ill. For documents that surround almost every aspect of our lives most people rarely if at all write one...or do they? If you have ever written down an old family recipe for a friend, written directions on how to get somewhere, or even directions for feeding and watering your pets while you are away then you have written a "how to" essay. You don't have to have a degree in technical writing or English, in fact a lot of the people that write manuals for dvd players could probably use a lesson on putting their thoughts on the product in plain simple English. In this article I'm hoping to show you the basics for conveying your thoughts into a clean easy to understand How-To-Guide.

The first step is to create an introduction, which is a paragraph that tells your reader a small amount about the topic and what you hope to accomplish with the essay. The first sentence of your essay should be something interesting that grabs the attention of your reader. A fact or maybe a little bit of history on the topic can often pull your audience in and make them feel as if they are watching a presentation rather than reading a manual.