Descriptive Writing

Descriptive Writing
What is a Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay describes and gives sensory details about a person, place, thing, process, or event in an in-
depth and detailed manner. The descriptive essay writer‘s goal is to create a realistic and actual picture in front
of the reader to make them feel and see a certain thing, place, or person from your perspective. Your readers
may have different points of view about the topic, your job is to make them see what you feel and believe. This
is the power of a Descriptive Writing.
Sensory Details
Sensory details refer to the features of the five senses — sight, touch, taste, sound, and smell. These are the
secret ingredient that makes your descriptive essay come alive. When you use sensory details appropriately to
describe your subject, you‘ll create a vivid and immersive (deep involving) experience for the reader that goes
beyond mere description. As a result, they become emotionally invested and eager to read more. For example,
rather than saying “She drank the lemonade,” say: “She felt her tongue tingle as she sipped the frosty
glass of tart, sugary lemonade.”
By incorporating sensory details, you‘ll transport your reader into the world you‘ve created.
Showing versus Telling
Using figurative language to communicate the subject of your essay to the reader can create more interest than
simply explaining the idea.
Examples of figurative language include:
Metaphor: substituting one thing for another to draw an association (e.g., "love is a battlefield").
Simile: compares two things using "like" or "as" (e.g., "as happy as a clam").
Personification: gives an object human-like characteristics (e.g., "the wind whispered in the trees").
Hyperbole: an exaggerated description (e.g., "he was hungry enough to eat a horse").
Symbolism: an object that represents something else (e.g., using a red rose to represent love).
1. Personal Essay
A few examples of personal essay topics might be:
* Describing the experience of swimming in the blue sea in summer

* Explaining your favorite movie and its impact on you
* Reflecting on your birthday and all the things that have shaped you in the past
2. Formal Description
According to a clear structure, you need to use specific categories of information to provide the fullest possible
picture of what you are describing.
Topics for formal descriptions can include:
* A descriptive essay about climate change, politics, or historical events.

* A news story that provides a summary of an event or information about the place where it occurred.
Descriptive Essay Outline

When thinking about descriptive essay writing, remember that a structured paper outline is your golden ticket.
A descriptive essay outline should look something like this:
The introduction serves to introduce your subject to the reader and give them enough contexts to fully
understand your work—but keep it brief and interesting for the reader(s). Remember – the first paragraph of
your paper is the part that can make your descriptive essay stand out from the others.
An introduction
Hook sentence (e.g., a statistic or quote): Grab the reader's attention with an interesting statement, question, or
anecdote.
Context/Background information (Connection between the topic and hook): Provide background information
to help set the scene.
Thesis statement: Clearly state what you will be describing and why it is important. A thesis statement is
written at the end of the introduction, it is mainly a single sentence that describes the essay objective.
Body paragraph 1: (Physical Description)
Topic sentence / Main point of the paragraph: Describe the first feature or aspect of the subject in detail. Give
an in-depth physical description of the subject.
Sensory details / Description of the main point: Use sensory details, such as sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and
feelings, to bring the description to life.
Actual details / Transition to the next paragraph: Provide evidence to support the description, such as facts,
examples etc.
Body paragraph 2: (Contextual Description)

Topic sentence / Main point of the paragraph: Describe the second feature or aspect of the subject in detail.
Describe your subject within its given context, like its physical surroundings or temporal environment.
examples, or anecdotes.
Body paragraph 3: (Emotional Description)

Topic sentence / Main point of the paragraph: Describe the third feature or aspect of the subject in detail.
Describe how the subject emotionally or mentally affected those who interacted or experienced it.
examples, or anecdotes.
A conclusion:
Summary of all main points: Restate the thesis statement in a new and interesting way and summarize the key
points of the description.
Final Statement / impression: Provide a final thought or observation about the subject.
It is important to spend enough time considering the victim of description because all of your illustrations will
be based around it.
Proofreading:
Proofread your essay to do a review. You can identify the mistakes and correct your tone. Go through your
essay 2 or 3 times so that you can identify all the mistakes and correct them before final submission.
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………
A thesis statement: If you were to write about Buckingham Palace: ―Even though the monarchy/kingdom is
long gone, Buckingham Palace serves to remind us of the aesthetic beauty which that era had built.‖
Descriptive Essay Topics & Ideas
A person. In this writing, you can talk about a person like parents, especially siblings, best friends, and teachers
etc. It can range from simply writing about their appearance to more complex descriptions like actions,
behaviors, mood, and qualities of your chosen individual. It is better that you write about someone whom you
know.
Examples:
Why my father is my favorite person.

How Kim Kardashian changed my life.
A place or an Object. The main thing you should do when describing a place in your work is to describe it
interestingly and originally. When describing your favorite place in an essay, use vivid language. You can
describe the details like the weather of the place, the main place that you visited, the kind of feeling you had.
Besides, you should also describe why you like the place. The memorable events should be presented in proper
order.
Examples:
My native city – Paris

My trip to London
An event. Here you need to describe the story of what happened and how the writer felt about it, the kind of
event, the level of excitement along the surrounding details. It can be your last vacation, concert, wedding,
anniversary, summer music festival, graduation day, or so on.
Just like we say, a descriptive essay ‗describes‘ the topic. In the case of descriptive essay examples about an
event, the details will include of the writer, the surroundings, and an overall feeling.
An animal. In this type, you need to describe the animal. It may be its appearance, behavior, or biology.
Emotions. Describing emotions and feelings is difficult. Memories, emotions, and feelings are abstract and,
therefore, explaining them is not easy. They cannot be explained independently, as you can explain a place or
event. A descriptive essay about emotions includes an event and the feelings associated with it. These could be
feelings of sadness, anxiousness, confusion, surprise, and happiness.
Examples:
How love changed me

Hatred and love – how they are similar
Take time to brainstorm

If your instructor asks you to describe your favorite food, make sure that you jot down some ideas before you
begin describing it. For instance, if you choose pizza, you might start by writing down a few words: sauce,
cheese, crust, pepperoni, sausage, spices, hot, melted, etc. Once you have written down some words, you can
begin by compiling descriptive lists for each one.
Sensory Examples:
Sight
The streets glistened like shiny ornaments after the rain

The slivered moon sat in the sky like an old fingernail clipping
The flashing blue lights from the police cruiser lit up our dark house
Sound
The walls shook and vibrated like the tail of a rattle snake
Ice crackled and pinged against the family room window like a baseball striking a bat
Wind swirled around our beach house whistling loudly to a terrible tune
The sounds of emergency sirens awakened the still roads wailing like a newborn baby
Smell
The baking cake filled the kitchen with aroma of vanilla

The beach air smelled of seaweed and salt
The warm summer air smelled of freshly cut grass
Touch
The heavy quilt felt like an x-ray vest draped across our legs
The puppy‘s nose was dry like sandpaper
The sand was hot and grainy like my morning grits.
Taste
Sweet, juicy strawberries

Sour lemonade
Salty chips
Juicy tartness of orange
Rancid butter
Descriptive Essay Topics
Select the topic of your choice from the list below and write a tempting essay:
The street I love to walk around in
Exploring the beauty of nature
The pleasing sounds of rain
The most meaningful experience I had in college
My favorite book character
A day spent in my dream destination
Memories of various festivals I have celebrated
My favorite food that always brings back memories
The beauty of the rising sun in winter
Descriptive Essay Topics about a Person

Describe your favorite person
Describe your best friend/ enemy
Describe your favorite family member
Describe someone whom you love the most
Describe your mother/ father/ family
Describe a person whom you idealize
Descriptive Essay Topics about an Event

Describe your friend‘s wedding
Describe the last Christmas party
Describe your brother‘s bachelor party
Describe your own wedding
Describe the memorable concert you have attended
Describe your last convocation
Describe the best dinner party you have ever attended
Describe the event you have attended where you were not invited
Describe your last day at the office
Descriptive Essay Topics about a Place

Describe your favorite place
Describe the place you have visited in the summer
Describe your farmhouse/ dream house
Describe your hometown
Describe your favorite vacation destination
Describe your favorite tourist spot
Describe your favorite museum

Descriptive Writing

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Descriptive Writing

What is a Descriptive Essay?

Showing versus Telling

Examples of figurative language include:

A few examples of personal essay topics might be:

* Describing the experience of swimming in the blue sea in summer

Topics for formal descriptions can include:

* A descriptive essay about climate change, politics, or historical events.

Descriptive Essay Outline

A descriptive essay outline should look something like this:

Body paragraph 2: (Contextual Description)

Body paragraph 3: (Emotional Description)

Why my father is my favorite person.

My native city – Paris

How love changed me

Take time to brainstorm

The streets glistened like shiny ornaments after the rain

The baking cake filled the kitchen with aroma of vanilla

Sweet, juicy strawberries

Descriptive Essay Topics about a Person

Descriptive Essay Topics about an Event

Descriptive Essay Topics about a Place

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