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Aroominyourgrandparentshouse

Afavoritehangout A6ishingspot Ahuntingspot Acampingspot Aplayground Acasino Anightclub Achildsclubhouse Apark Atraindepot Anairport

A6leamarket Afair Astadium Afarmersmarket Afamilygarden Anaturepreserve Anaturetrail Alibraryorbookstore Aworkshop Achurch Aclassroom ALittleLeaguepark Aneighborhoodstreet Atownsquareormain

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.