1
Pick a topic. Descriptive
essays generally focus on a person, a place, an event, or a thing. Writers
convey an idea about their topic by describing the topic for the reader in a
‘show, not tell’ manner.<
·
Showing
and not telling means that you paint a picture for your reader. A better way to
understand it is to relate yourself with a life incident like a time where you
might have seen a tree next to a river. later you take down notes on the
sensory type feelings you had and use that in your final draft.
·
For
example, instead of saying, “There were trees near the lake” you could say,
“The lake stared through the trees, a wide grey eye trapped in a perpetual
state of weeping.”
2Draw five columns on a piece of paper
with each column labeled one of the five senses. These include
taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. This list will help you keep your
thoughts straight when describing your essay.[1]
·
Using
your five senses, write down sensations and feelings you associate with your
topic.
3Review your list and choose
the most dominant details to write about. These details
should be the items that best support your thesis and are the most interesting.
·
These
details will be made into your body paragraphs.
4Create an outline that lists
what each paragraph of your essay is going to discuss. Typically,
middle and high schoolers writing descriptive essays will be asked to write a 5
paragraph essay.College level students and above have more free-reign regarding
how long to make their essays.[2]
·
5
paragraph essays are structured to include an introductory paragraph , body paragraphs, and a concluding paragraph that summarizes
what you have said in the rest of your essay.
1.
5 Structure your essay in a way
that makes sense for your topic. If you are writing about an event,
give your paragraphs a chronological order. If you are writing about a place or
thing, try ordering your paragraphs so that they go from general to specific.
·
Example:
First paragraph: The things you notice when you look at a house from the
outside. Second paragraph: The sights, sounds, smells, tastes, feelings etc.
that you experience when you are inside the house. Third paragraph: A
description of your favorite section of the house.
6 Write your introductory
paragraph. The introductory paragraph
establishes the main ideas of the essay and sets the tone. This paragraph should
include an introduction to your topic followed by your thesis statement.
7Create a topic sentence at
the beginning of each body paragraph. This sentence
lets your reader know what the paragraph is going to be about. It should be
clear and concise..
8 Write your body paragraphs based on your topic
sentences. Body paragraphs are where you get to prove that your
thesis is true. Always keep in mind that everything you write in your body
paragraph should relate to your topic sentence and your thesis.[3]
·
Example:
The trees in my backyard are filled with the music of birds. Emeralds leaves
sway in sun-filled breeze. Etc.
9 Provide sensory details that
support your literary s like descriptive adjectives, similes,
metaphors and personification.[4]
·
Smells
(“The scent of the newly opened rose danced sweetly upon the wind.”)
·
Sounds
(“When she laughed, a wild array of exotic birds burst from within her; it was
pretty to look at but there was a lot of squawking involved.”)
·
Sights
(“The beach curved into a smile above a flowing blue beard that sometimes grew
too high and was then shaved away.”)
·
Taste
(“The sugar plum filled my mouth with memories of Christmas mornings long
past.”)
·
Touch
(“The ferns brushed like a whisper against my skin.”)
10Write your conclusion. Your conclusion
should summarize everything you have written in your essay.. It is important
to have a well-written conclusion because it is the last thing the reader will
read, and will stay in his or her mind the longest.
11.Read your essay with the
reader in mind. Ask yourself: Does the essay
unfold in a way that helps the reader understand the subject? Are any of the
paragraphs more confusing than descriptive?
·
Does
the word choice and figurative language convey what you are trying to express
about the topic?
·
Are
there enough details to give the reader a complete picture?
·
Do
the details in the essay help the reader understand what the topic means to the
writer?[5]
12 Proofread
check
your essay for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors.
You can use simile ,
metaphor , adjective , alliteration , personality ,... to make your essay
great.
…Can
you tell us abouthe senses in a descriptive essay.
·
Try
not to use the word "I" in your sentences.
·
Don't
use nondescript adjectives like "nice" , "bad ", or "
good " . Use a thesaurus and get some new and interesting words, like
"effervescent."
·
Never
repeat a point in the essay, unless it is very important.
More than many other
types of essays, descriptive essays strive to create a deeply involved and
vivid experience for the reader. Great descriptive essays achieve this affect
not through facts and statistics but by using detailed observations and
descriptions.
What
do you want to describe?
As you get started on
your descriptive essay, it's important for you to identify exactly what you
want to describe. Often, a descriptive essay will focus on portraying one of
the following:
- a person
- a place
- a memory
- an experience
- an object
Ultimately, whatever
you can perceive or experience can be the focus of
your descriptive writing.
How
should you write your description?
As you write your
descriptive essay, the best way to create a vivid experience for your readers
is to 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.
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?
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 effective way?
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