Example of Process Essay 1: Making a Perfect Paper Airplane

            Most people know how to make a paper airplane. Generally, these paper airplanes end up looking like a sleek delta-winged fighter, but there are other types. What you are about to read is a set of directions for making an unusual paper airplane that most people would claim, some adamantly, to be unflyable.

            At the outset, you must gather the necessary materials. A standard piece of notebook paper, preferably one with squared corners and no holes for binder rings, is the most essential item. If you are a novice paper airplane maker, use a pen or pencil and a ruler at least as long as the diagonal corner-to-corner length of the paper.

            Now the construction can begin. First set the piece of paper flat on a desk or table in front of you with the long dimension of the paper’s rectangular shape facing side to side. Using a pencil and ruler, draw a line diagonally across the paper from the lower left-hand corner to the upper right-hand corner, as you face it. Grab the upper left-hand corner and pull it up and toward your lower right, creating a fold along the line you have drawn.

            After you have made the fold, take the paper and slightly rotate the paper clockwise so that the long flat edge is on top and the sawtooth edge is facing you. Next, using the ruler and pencil, draw a line parallel to the top long flat edge, about one-third to one-half inch below the top edge. Fold the paper along this line, bringing the top edge up, over and toward you. Where this now former top edge is now located is your next fold line; fold again as described in the preceding sentence. Once again, repeat this fold sequence for a third and last time. What you now have should look like a sawtooth pattern facing you with a laterally extended flat leading edge at the top. Take the left and right ends of this leading edge and bend them up toward the ceiling. Continue bending these ends until they start coming together, forming a circle. Push these two ends together into one another, connecting them and creating an object that looks like a crown. If necessary, work with this crownlike object so that the leading edge is as perfectly round as you can get it.

            What you now have is an aerodynamically viable object. With the leading edge facing forward and away from you, and the leading edge connection facing up toward the ceiling, place your index and middle fingers in the middle and on top of the sawtooth trailing edge. Lifting your hand so that the forward circular part of this paper airplane is facing well above the horizon, flick your wrist from up to forward, letting it go with a firm shove. A forceful throw is not necessary. If it does not fly straight (a gentle curve is permissible), check to see if either the circular leading edge or the trailing sawtooth shaped wing is warped. If they aren’t circular when looking at it in a fore-aft direction, bend it or play around with it until it is. Happy flying.

(528 words)

Reference:

Tillman, J. L. (2001). Making a Perfect Paper Airplane. In L. Brandon, Paragraphs and Essays : A worktext with readings (pp. 192-193). Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.