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HOW TO WRITE A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DESCRIBE? A person A place A memory A experience A object WHY ARE YOU WRITING YOUR DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY? Find your particularly reason for writing descriptive essay. Getting in touch with this reason can help you focus your description and imbue your language with a particular perspective or emotion. Ex: If you want to describe your grandfather, You've chosen to write about your grandfather's physical appearance and the way that he interacts with people. HOW SHOULD YOU WRITE YOUR DESCRIPTION? It's the famous saying: show don't tell. Ex1: I grew tired after dinner. Ex2: As I leaned back and rested my head against the top of the chair, my eyelids began to feel heavy, and the edges of the empty plate in front of me blurred with the white tablecloth. The first sentence tells readers that you grew tired after dinner. The second sentence shows readers that you grew tired. The most effective descriptive essays are loaded with such showing because they enable readers to imagine or experience something for themselves. HOW TO “SHOW" 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Create images. Use active verbs. Use concrete nouns. Include figures of speech Add dialogue. FOCUS ON THE FIVE SENSES sight sound smell touch taste When you focus your descriptions on the senses, you provide vivid and specific details that show your readers rather than tell your readers what you are describing. EXAMPLE OF IMAGERY As we began to cross one of many cold, frozen-over bridges, we began to slide. A gust of wind slammed into our sailboat of a car. My dad quickly corrected the car into the intended path. Then disaster struck. Another gust sent us into a severe slide. As we were sliding sideways off the road, I looked into our van’s new intended path. We were heading right for a Jeep that had slid off the road earlier. Right as we were about to hit the Jeep, our van suddenly took flight. We went right over the hood of the Jeep (missing it by about a foot) and began to roll. Once, twice, three times before we came to a stop. QUICK TIPS FOR WRITING YOUR DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY Planning your descriptive essay: What or who do you want to describe? What is your reason for writing your description? What are the particular qualities that you want to focus on? Drafting your descriptive essay: What sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures are important for developing your description? Which details can you include to ensure that your readers gain a vivid impression imbued with your emotion or perspective? Revising your descriptive essay: Have you provided enough details and descriptions to enable your readers to gain a complete and vivid perception? Have you left out any minor but important details? Have you used words that convey your emotion or perspective? Are there any unnecessary details in your description? Does each paragraph of your essay focus on one aspect of your description? Are you paragraphs ordered in the most affective way? WHAT SENSE IS BEING USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES? The puppy was black with three white paws and one white ear. It had a long tail with a white tip. WHAT SENSE IS BEING USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES? As we walked into the room, the floor boards creaked. We knocked into a table and the glass vase hit the floor. Crash! WHAT SENSE IS BEING USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES? The chocolate cake was so delicious. It had peanut butter frosting which melted in your mouth. WHAT SENSE IS BEING USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCE? The cool rain was hitting us in the face as we ran to the bus. WHAT SENSE IS BEING USED IN THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES? As we pulled into the driveway, I could tell the hamburgers and hot dogs were on the grill. DESCRIPTIVE WRITING • use exact, vivid words to create a picture in the reader’s mind • include important details about what you are describing EXAMPLE OF IMAGERY Our brains were scrambled from the heat and our minds were going mad from the squeaking of the wheel from the golf caddie. Squuueeeeaaaak! Squeak! Squeak! “When will it shut up,” I shouted as I kicked the wheel. USE ACTION VERBS THAT CREATE MOVEMENT. Improve these verbs: 1. Mike was in his chair during math class. 2. The Ford Taurus went down Elm Street. 3. Tony left the room. 4. I said, “No.” 5. Thunder was heard. 6. The petulant child made noise. USE CONCRETE NOUNS Abstract nouns car man tree author noise animal pain emotion Concrete nouns Ford Taurus George W. Bush aspen Toni Morrison murmur raccoon migraine rage USE FIGURES OF SPEECH What are figures of speech? Similes Metaphors Personification Avoid clichés, though. CLICHÉS: THE DESCRIPTIVE KILLER 1 : a trite phrase or expression; Also : the idea expressed by it 2 : something (as a menu item) that has become overly familiar or commonplace FINDING CLICHÉS THROUGH EXPERIENCE • If you have seen it • Or heard it It’s probably a cliché EXAMPLE OF PERSONIFICATION AND METAPHOR “A passion so strong wanted to leap out, but the prison of being a man had no room for crying, just anger.” DESCRIPTIVE WRITING end in a way that wraps up the description