How-to writing tells a reader how to do something, step by step, using time words. The test: could someone who has never done it follow your steps?
Key idea
Tell how to do something with every step, in order, so a reader could follow it.
Why it works
You know how to do it, so some steps seem too easy to write. But the reader only knows what you tell them. A skipped step leaves them stuck.
Worked example: Find the missing step
“1. Fill a cup with soil. 2. Water the soil. 3. Set the cup in a sunny window.”
- Pretend you have never planted a seed. Follow the steps.
- You have soil and water, but where is the seed?
- A step is missing between 1 and 2.
Answer: Add “Push a seed into the soil.” after step 1.
Common mistake
Skipping steps that seem obvious, like getting the bread out before spreading the jam. Act it out while someone reads your steps aloud: do only what the words say.
For the grown-up. A funny way to test how-to writing: follow your child’s steps exactly as written. If the bread never comes out of the bag, they will see the missing step for themselves.