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ACADEMIC WRITING BA IN ENGLISH AS A FOREING LANGUAGE

UNIT III: ESSAYS

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

TUTOR:

HENRY CARVAJAL

GROUP: 551016_2

STUDENT:

NATHALIA MEDINA VELA

ID: 1016081014

OPEN AND DISTANCE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY

BOGOTA, COLOMBIA

NOVEMBER OF 2016

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DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

A descriptive essay is a paper that describes a thing, event, process or person. An effective descriptive essay creates an evocative portrait of its topic in the reader's mind. Writing in this style gives the author ample creative autonomy with regard to content and format. The goal is to stimulate the reader's imagination and all five senses. The main goal of a descriptive essay is to create a Vivid Experience for the reader! Normally, most readers receive the most effective representation of something through the use of their senses! Taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight are the 5 ways that the human brain receives information. When it comes to giving the best possible description of something, it is incredibly important to appeal towards all 5 senses. Descriptive essays are not intended to persuade or argue with the reader or to present a list of facts and figures. These essays are word paintings. Descriptive essays are often assigned to students of creative writing, but they also appear in literary journals, magazines, blogs and essay compilations. Skilled authors of descriptive essays use rich, colorful, specific and vivid language to engage all of the reader's senses. By the conclusion, the reader has a multifaceted visualization and understanding of the topic.

When a writer is asked to create a descriptive essay, the options that they have to choose from are descriptions of a:

Person o Describe the traits that make for a perfect role model. o Describe what separates your best friend from the regular acquaintances. o Describe the average human to an alien who has never before seen a

person.

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Place o Describe a place you have dreamed about that doesn’t exist in real life. o What would be the ideal place to plan an event of your choice. o Paint a picture with words of the most beautiful sight you have ever seen!

Memory

o Which event brought about your favorite memory, and how did the setting impact it?

o What is one of the most common memories that you think about it, and what made it so iconic?

o What particular aspects separate regular events from unique memories in your life?

Experience o Describe that moment in your life where you zoned out of a certain social

setting and took a moment to appreciate life. o Describe a moment in your life where you either led a crowd or did

something completely out of your comfort zone! o Describe a day in your life that took a complete 180-degree turn, and

explain how you dealt with it.

Object o Talk about an item that holds sentimental value to you, and how that

came about. o Describe something that you would bury in a time capsule to tell people

about what life is like today. o The commoners are accusing you of witchcraft, so you must describe

technology to people from the dark ages to save your life.

Although descriptive essays are free-form compositions, they need logical organization that progressively reveals the topic to the reader. The most important element of this organized framework is the topic itself. If the reader does not understand what the essay is about, it is a jumbled, random and confusing mess.

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Components of a descriptive essay

Descriptive essays are depictions of real life that are intended to help the reader fully imagine and experience what the writer is portraying. The subject can be anything - an object, a person, an event, a feeling, a moment, a situation, a place, a scene, and so on. This form of essay can be used as a way to make a point or simply as an account of what is being described.

Creating a Feeling One of the most important elements of the descriptive essay is that it not only describes the simple facts, but also gives the reader a particular feeling, impression or effect of the subject of the essay. This is accomplished by using detailed and vivid descriptions using concrete language. At the end of reading the essay, the reader should feel that he has been drawn into the world that the author has created.

Using All the Senses Attention to detail is of paramount importance in a descriptive essay. It is not enough just to describe what the scene looks like; the author must utilize the other senses as well. Good essays in this genre will often show us a scene and tell us how it smelled, how it felt (both emotionally and physically), what it sounded like, and perhaps, depending on the subject, what it tasted like. All of these elements together draw the reader in and flesh out a more tangible picture of the scene.

Personal Experience Descriptive essays will often go beyond just describing the scene as it is in reality, and the author will describe how he himself experienced it. This may include telling us what the most vivid parts of the scene were, what he was focused on, and sometimes, what the experience reminded the author of from his past. He will relate how he felt at the time and where he fit into the scene.

Concrete Language Quality descriptive essays use concrete language instead of more abstract language. For instance, instead of writing that "It was a pleasant night," the author may describe the coolness of the breeze and the calming sounds of the rustling of the trees and the lapping of the ocean, and so on. Small details, such as the specific type of rain that was falling, also help the reader have a clearer picture of the scene.

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An example: “Hard Rock Casino in Tampa”

The first thing that can be noticed while entering the casino is the second 50-foot Hard Rock guitar. This guitar is located at the very entrance of the hotel. The casino has many entertainment options. In general, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino provides ample ways for people who are looking for ways to spend their money.

I went to the casino with mine ex-girlfriend before he broke up with me. I was really impressed since never before had I seen something that that. The casino proved to be a real bummer, mainly because the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino provides ample ways for the people to entertain themselves.

Hard Rock Casino in Tampa is the place where you can discover your Rock 'n Roll Dreams. The dream may be different ranging depending on the individual taste of a person. Pushing my extreme bitterness aside for a moment or two, I must admit that I really liked that place. For all those people who are going to visit this place I recommend getting a suite. The suites are really wonderful since they have really fun jacuzzi tubs and big, fluffy beds.

The suite also has huge bay windows. The window goes from floor to ceiling in each room. That fact enables all the visitors of Hard Rock

Casino in Tampa to enjoy a nice look at the sunset over Tampa. The

suite has the pool and patio area. This area is really nice. I would recommend this place for a visiting in the future.

The place is very noisy. One must remember that there are many kids with drunk parents and a lot of parents acting like drunk kids at night. So, my advice is: enjoy yourself but be careful.

INTRODUCTION: That is

where the author briefly introduces the subject or the

object of the essay. Introduction has to be written

in an engaging manner to draw readers’ attention and convince them read further

rather than switch to something else.

MAIN BODY: The subject or

object of descriptive essay is further explored and explained in detail in the body of the essay. Usually, writers use a great variety of adjectives and adverbs to make the paper colorful, lively, and interesting to read. This part of the essay provides readers with the insight into what the authors thinks about the particular topic.

CONCLUSION: In this part,

the author provides his own thoughts and conclusion of the subject or object of the essay, which depends greatly on author’s writing style, imagination, and analytical skills.

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OUTLINE FOR DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

Introduction

Paragraph I

a. Opening topic sentence b. The place I am writing about c. Brief feeling about the place d. Sensory detail

Paragraph II

a. Description of another specific location within the same place b. Factual details c. Sensory detail with vivid language

Paragraph III

a. Description of another specific location within the same place b. Factual details c. Sensory detail with vivid language

Paragraph IV

a. Restatement of feeling about place with further expansion b. Additional details c. Clincher statement

Conclusion

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References

Purdue Online Writing Lab: The Descriptive Essay. Taken from https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/03/

Roane State Community College Online Writing Lab: Types of Papers: Narrative/Descriptive. Taken from: http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Describe.html

Literacy Education Online: Descriptive Essays. Taken from : http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/descriptive.html

Mage Oten (2016-10-18) descriptive essay example outline. Taken from: http://amotid.com/ZGVzY3JpcHRpdmUtZXNzYXktZXhhbXBsZS1vdXRsaW5l/