descriptive essay

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Aroominyourgrandparentshouse

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strip

Ananimalshelter Astormshelter Adisasterzone Abeautyshop Acoffeeshop Alaundromat Afoodcourt Arestaurant Abeach Thelobbyofadorm Anartgallery Amuseum Afarm Anantiquestoreor

secondhandshop

Photos by Sharon Gerald

DESCRIPTIVEESSAY

DescriptiveEssayAssignment

Writeadescriptiveessayaboutaplacethatismeaningfultoyou.Theessayshouldbeatleast5paragraphsandatleast600words.

SampleTopics

Dr.SharonGerald,EnglishCompositionI

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Appealtothesenses.Whatarethesights,smells,sounds,tastes,textures,shapes,andcolorsinthesettingyouaredescribing?Peopleexperiencelifethroughthesenses,andtheywillgetamuchclearerandmuchmorememorablepicturefromyourwritingifitispackedfullofsensoryinformation.Dontjustsay,MymotheralwaysservedchocolatecakeonSundays.Instead,say,MymothersstandardSundaycakesweresorichlychocolateandsomoistthatIfeltlikeIwasdrinkingpureHersheyssyrupwitheverybite.

Payattentiontodetail.Themorespeci6icyoumakeyourdescriptions,thebetter.Dontjustsay,Thechurchchoirsang.Instead,say,ThechurchchoirswayedbackandforthintheirdarkgreenrobesandraisedtheirhandsabovetheirheadsastheynearlyblewtheroofoffthesanctuarywiththeirthunderousrenditionofISingBecauseImHappy.Dontjustsay,IateanM&Mcookie.Instead,say,ThecookieIateforanafternoonsnackwasthesizeofthepalmofmyhandandthecolorofmyskininmidsummer.Icounted6iveM&Msinit,twobrown,onegreen,onered,andoneyellow.

Emphasizetheunique.Whatsdifferentaboutthesceneyouaredescribing?Whatmakesthisplacedifferentfromanyother?Aretherestillmarksonthebricksaroundthe6ireplacewhere

youwroteonthemwithaSharpieasachild?Doesyourgrandmotherstillgettheplacematsoutthatyoumadeforherwhenyouwereinkindergarten?HowabouttheSantaClausthatyoumadeoutofatoiletpaperrollandredconstructionpaper?Doesanyofthisembarrassyou?Ifso,itisexactlywhatyouneedtodescribeinyouressay.Uniqueismemorable,andyouwantpeopletorememberwhatyouhavetosay.

Usesimileandmetaphor.Simileandmetaphoraretypesof6igurativelanguageinwhichonethingiscomparedtoanotherand/oronethingisusedtorepresentanother.Thiscanbecrucialtodescribingthingsthatmightnotbefamiliartoyouraudience.Forexample,ifyouwanttodescribeacampusbelltowertosomeonewhohasntseenit,youmightsay,Thebelltowershootsintotheskylikethetallesttreeinaforestofonlytheonelonelytree.Thebelltowermightnotliterallylooklikeatree,butthesimilehelpsthereadertoimaginetheheightofthetower.Thisisntanexactmeasurement,ofcourse,anddifferentreadersmightimaginedifferentheights,butitstillcreatesapictureandmakesanimpression.Being6igurativeratherthanliteralisoftencalledforindescriptivewriting.

TipsforDescriptiveWriting

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Usehyperbole.Hyperboleisanothertypeof6igurativelanguageinwhichthesizeorsigni6icanceofsomethingisblownoutofproportion.Forexample,IjustateahamburgerthesizeofTexasishyperbole.Weallknownooneliterallyateahamburgerthesizeofanystate,butthehyperboleprovidesamoreimagisticandthereforemorememorablewayofsayingitwasbig.NeversimplysayitwasbigwhenitcouldbethesizeoftheEmpireStateBuildingordeepenoughtomaketheGrandCanyonlookshallow.

Usepersoni@ication.Istheskysad?Isthekitchenlonely?Isthecarhopeful?Istheroadrestless?Theseareallexamplesofpersoni6ication,orgivinghumancharacteristics,motivations,orfeelingstoinanimateobjects.Personi6icationisanother6igurativewaytohelpthereaderpicturethesceneyouaredescribing.

Avoidclichs.Douse6igurativelanguage,buttrytomakeityourown.Avoidusingthestandard6iguresofspeech,likeoldasthehillsorlikea6ishtowateroradiamondintherough.Playwiththelanguageandcomeupwithyourowncomparisons.

Paintapicturewithyourwords.Regardlessofwhattechniquesyouuseindescription,theultimategoalistohelppeoplepicturewhatyouwantthemtopictureusingonlywords.Usethewordsthatputothersrightthereatthescene,

seeingwhatyouareseeing,smellingwhatyouaresmelling,andfeelingwhatyouarefeeling.

Followalogicalorder.Narrativeessaysoftenfollowachronologicalorder,butunlessdescriptiveessaysareaboutevents,theywillmostlikelybeorganizedspatially.Theymightmovefromlefttorightacrossthescene.Theymightmovefrombigtolittleorviceversa.Theymightmovefromobvioustosubtle.Anothertechniquemightbetodescribesomethingsensebysensethesightsandthenthesoundsandthenthesmells,andsoon.Regardlessofwhichoptionyouchoose,pickaplanfororderingyourdescriptions.Understandwhyyouhavepickedthatplan.Thensticktoit.Dontjumparoundorjustramble.Helpthereaderunderstandwhyyouaredrawingattentionto6irstonedetailandthenanother.

Attachemotionalsigni@icancetothedescriptions.Yourdescriptionsneedtobemeaningful,andonegoodwaytomakethemmeaningfulistousethemtoevokeemotions.Thatcoffeecanthatwasalwaysfullofbacongreaseonyourgrandmotherskitchencounterisjustacoffeecanuntilweunderstandthatitremindsyouofsimplerandhappiertimesandpeopleyouwishyouhadappreciatedmorewhileyouhadtheminyourlife.Dontjusttellustherewasacoffeecan.Telluswhythecoffeecanmatters.

Makeyourpurposeclear.Ifyouwantpeopleto6indyourdescriptionsuseful,youneedtoknowwhyyouarewritingthem.Whatsthepointoftellingothersaboutthesandbaratthecreekwhereyourdogcaughtasnake,andyougotsunburnsobaditwasonthetopofyourfeetandthetopofyourscalptoo?Maybeitisaprecautionarytaleaboutsunblock,ormaybeitismakingapointthatwearentaspreparedasweshouldbeforforaysintotheforestbecauseourdaytodaylivesaretoodisconnectedfromnature.Whateverthepointis,makeitclear.Whoareyourdescriptionsfor?Whydoesthisaudienceneedtoreadthem?

Havefun!Yourreaderisalotmorelikelytoenjoyyourwritingifyouenjoyittoo.Playaround.Amuseyourself.Impressyourself.Writewhatyouwanttoread.

TipsforDescriptiveWriting(continuedfrompreviouspage)

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Whenisdescriptivewritingusedinreallife?

Descriptivewritingisusedinmanyreallifeandonthejobcontextsaswellasmanyacademiccontexts.Herearejustafewexamples:

Aspartofnarrativewritingandstorytelling

Forreportingonevents Forreportingonand

promotingproducts Forpreserving

memories Forpreservinghistory Forrecordingscienti6ic

observations

OrganizingtheEssay

Adescriptiveessayshouldbeorganizedjustlikeanyessay,withanintroduction,abody,andaconclusion.Forthisassignment,youwillberequiredtohaveatleastthreebodyparagraphs.

Followtheseguidelinesforeachparagraph:

Introduction(Paragraph1):Theintroductionshouldstartwithahookoranattentiongrabber.Itshouldestablishasenseofaudienceandpurpose,anditshouldhaveathesisstatementthatsetsupamainpoint.

Startbytellingalittlebitofbackstoryordescribingaveryparticularitemthatdrawsusintothescene.Letusknowwhyweshouldbeinterested.Tellusthemainideathatyouwanttogetacross.

Body(Paragraphs24):Thebodyparagraphswillcontainthebulkofyourdescriptions.Makesureeachbodyparagraph

isfocusedongettingacrossaparticularideainadditiontoparticulardescriptions,butgoeasyontheexplanationsandsavemostofyourwordsforthedescriptions.Giveussensorydetail.Makeusfeellikewearethere.

Youcanmoveinaspatialorderinthebodyparagraphs,oryoucandividethemupsensebysenseorideabyidea.Justmake

surethatyoudohaveaplanforgroupinglikedescriptionstogetherinyourbodyparagraphs.

Conclusion(Paragraph5):Theconclusionshouldreiteratethethesisinnewwords.Itshouldremindusofthepurposeoftheessay.Itshouldalsoleaveuswithsomethingtothinkaboutandwithonelastimagetoremember.