The difference between directional and informational process writing is that the directional process involves giving an audience specific directions on how to do or make something, while the informational process explains how something is made or done and the author does not expect the reader to perform the process.
In the Student writer textbook in chapter 9, page 263, the author is using a directional process to show how feng shui can help you sleep better and work more productively.
This is written so that a reader could actually do the process if they wanted to.
In Bryson’s essays, specifically in chapters 9 and 37, he is using the informational process to describe his experiences in decorating for Christmas and getting a haircut. In chapter 56 he is using both the informational and directional process in that he lists the steps to hook up your new computer how he perceives it, but the steps are so exaggerated and far-fetched that he really wouldn’t expect anyone to follow those directions. In chapter 43, he is using both as well. He is explaining how to understand a tax form but the confusion of the directions is so overwhelming that no one could actually complete a tax form using those directions.
His purpose is to entertain us. His audiences are people who can relate to his experiences and how we share some of the same feelings he gets from trying to fill out an actual tax form and setting up a new computer. Those processes can be exhausting and frustrating and he is exaggerating them in a very amusing manner.
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