Descriptive essay tips

If you have got a task to write a descriptive essay at school or university, it is hardly worth immediately taking a pen and putting thoughts on paper. Experts advise to prepare for writing any academic assignment by taking four steps, following which you can make a work informative and well-structured:

Although it may be only in school that you are asked to write a specifically descriptive essay, description is an important element in many kinds of writing. Description embedded in an argument paper, for example, may be intended to make a position more persuasive. However, in this TIP Sheet we will discuss the descriptive essay as it is commonly assigned by instructors as an exercise in organizing sensory information and choosing vivid details.

Writing A Descriptive Essay - TIP Sheet - Butte College

If you choose "showing" words, those that supply vivid sensory details appropriate to your subject and purpose, you will succeed in showing rather than telling. The following first example mostly makes statements about what is lacking in the room, whereas the second example describes the sights, textures, smells, and sounds of the empty room: The empty room smelled stale and was devoid of furniture or floor covering; the single window lacked curtains or blinds of any kind.

The apartment smelled of old cooking odors, cabbage, and mildew; our sneakers squeaked sharply against the scuffed wood floors, which reflected a haze of dusty sunlight from the one cobwebbed, gritty window.

Though the writer of the second example does not actually use the word "empty," she nevertheless suggests emptiness and disuse. The suggestion of emptiness in the second example is more vivid than the statement of emptiness in the first. If you don't think the first example is vague, look at another possible interpretation of that empty room: The sharp odor of fresh paint cut through the smell of newsprint.

Four stacked cartons of inkjet printer paper sat squarely in the middle of a concrete floor, illuminated by a shaft of morning light from a sparkling chrome-framed window on the opposite wall. Do not mistake explanation for description.

Explanation is a kind of telling that interjects background material that does not contain sensory details or contribute to the overall effect—a character's motives or history, for example: The tenants had moved out a week earlier because the house was being sold to a developer.

No one had bothered to dust or clean because they assumed the apartment was going to be knocked down and replaced with single-family homes like those built just a block away. When description devolves into explanation telling rather than showingit becomes boring.

Observing details Once you are ready to abandon the attempt to explain or to tell about, evaluate your subject in terms of visual, auditory, and other sensory details.

Think in concrete terms. The more you are interested in and connected to the subject, the easier it will be to interest your reader, so if you describe a person, choose a person whose characteristics stand out to you.

If you describe a place or a thing, choose one that is meaningful to you. You are painting a picture that must be as clear and real as possible, so observe carefully and, preferably, in person. Note what sets this subject apart from others like it.

Essay Writing Guide: Process Essay

If the subject is a person, include physical characteristics and mannerisms. Describe abstractions such as personality traits only insofar as you can observe them. For example, do not tell the reader your biology instructor is a neat, meticulous person; show your reader the instructor's "dust-free computer monitor and stacks of papers with corners precisely aligned, each stack sitting exactly three thumb-widths from the edge of the desk.

On the other hand, a subject's life history and world perspective may not be, unless you can infer them, for example, from the photos on his walls or the books on his bookshelf.

Similarly, if the subject of your description is an object or a place, you may include not only its physical appearance but also its geographic, historical, or emotional relevance-as long as you show or suggest it using sensory details, and avoid explaining. Deciding on a purpose Even description for description's sake should have a purpose.

Is there an important overall impression you wish to convey? A central theme or general point? This is your thesis; organize your essay around it. Or, you might describe your car as an immaculate, beautiful, pampered woman on whom you lavish attention and money.

Just don't describe your car in cold, clinical detail, front to back or bottom to top, or inside to outside without having in mind the purpose, the overall impression you want to create.

To achieve this impression, you should not necessarily include all details; use only those that suit your purpose. Avoid telling a story unless it is of central importance to the description or an understanding of it.

Keep background information to an absolute minimum or avoid it altogether.Writers use the descriptive essay to create a vivid picture of a person, place, or thing. Unlike a narrative essay, which reveals meaning through a personal story, the purpose of a descriptive essay is to reveal the meaning of a subject through detailed, sensory observation.

Expert Reviewed. How to Write a Descriptive Essay. Three Parts: Brainstorming Ideas for the Essay Writing the Essay Polishing the Essay Community Q&A A descriptive essay should create a vivid picture of the topic in the reader’s mind.

Writing a narrative essay is an essential talent for field research. Rather than summing things up for your reader, it presents your experience and allows them to . Feb 04,  · The best part about descriptive essays is that they can be about pretty much anything, from persons, to places, animals, or even events and much more.

What makes a good descriptive essay is not so much about what you write (even though that is Reviews: 8. Essay examples for college. Free sample essays. title page bibliography page proofreading revision. Sat writing up a history essay after last nights technical 'fault'.

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A descriptive essay requires a strong accent on the observation and the descriptions provided by the author. The facts in this type of essay can be just the background of the vivid experiences presented by the writer. It is crucial to focus strictly on the subject of . How to Write a Descriptive Essay: Expert Tips, Another thing every student must know to learn how to write a descriptive essay is the role of a purpose, which the paper should deliver to the target reader. It could be the author’s experience, example, influence, etc. Instead of talking, review a good descriptive essay example below. Jun 04,  · How to Write a Descriptive Essay. In this Article: Brainstorming Ideas for the Essay Writing the Essay Polishing the Essay Community Q&A A descriptive essay should create a vivid picture of the topic in the reader’s mind. You may need to write a descriptive essay for a class assignment or decide to write one as a fun writing challenge%().

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