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Writing Handout E-7:
Descriptive Essay
Structuring a Descriptive Essay
A descriptive essay simply describes something or someone by appealing to the reader’s senses:
sight, sound, touch, smell and taste
...
Select a subject
Observation is the key to writing a good description
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A descriptive essay paints a picture for the reader, using
descriptive devices and the senses
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Examples: “The wooden roller coaster in Coney Island is a work of art
...
”
2
...
3
...
Descriptive essays can also use other patterns of
organization such as narrative or exemplification
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Use descriptive words
Do not use vague words or generalities (such as good, nice, bad, or beautiful)
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For example:
I ate a good dinner
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Provide sensory details:
Smells that are in the air (the aroma of freshly brewed coffee)
Sounds (traffic, honking horns)
Sights (“The sun scattered tiny diamonds across dew-covered grass as it peeked out from beyond the
horizon
...
”)
Taste: sweet, sour, salty, bitter, tart (“Giant goose bumps formed on my tongue when I accidently
bit into a sliver of lemon
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Draw a logical conclusion
The conclusion may also use descriptive words; however, make certain the conclusion is logical and
relevant
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A figure of speech
may enliven a description by making the essay more visual or forceful
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Example: A ride to North Hutchinson Island is like a flight to a Caribbean
getaway
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Example: Stalking their prey, the deputies remained hidden in the bushes
and ready to spring on speeding motorists
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Example: The truck, covered with mud and love bugs, cried out for a wash
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Example: I’ll die if I don’t pass this exam
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Example: Yesterday was a little cool
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Sound words or
Onomatopoeia
Using words that imitate the sounds associated with the objects or actions to
which they refer
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” (slogan of Alka
Seltzer)
Symbol
A person, place, or thing that represents an abstract idea or concept
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Introductory paragraph:
First paragraph sets the stage:
where the action happened, when it
happened, and to whom it happened
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First body paragraph:
Note how writer provides details,
translating an experience into written
words that permit the reader to
visualize the situation
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Tense:
This essay is written in the present
tense; most narratives, however, will
be written in the past tense
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Second body paragraph:
Note use of details, especially
adjectives
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Third body paragraph:
Writer continues to appeal to
readers' senses with visually
descriptive words
...
"
Imagery:
Note how the writer creates images
for the reader (bold type) by
appealing to the senses
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Essay ends
with strong concluding sentence
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It is a tremendous relief to get out of
the heated hustle and bustle of summer living in Florida
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As we drive through state after state, it becomes apparent that
the world around us is changing
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The trees appear to be touchable,
offering soft, plush leaves which sway in the breeze, and the
grass actually invites us to share its place rather than scaring us
away with mounds of intruding fire ants
...
Leaving the flatlands and entering an area where we are
suddenly surrounded by hills of purple and blue are by far the
most awakening moments
...
As we descend through the curves and winds of the
northern region of the United States, home is now very close: we
are almost there
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Around every curve, orange and black tiger
lilies claim their place in the world as they push themselves
out toward the car, waving hello and flashing their
mysterious black spots toward us as we drive by
...
As we begin our final
descent through the state of Pennsylvania into upstate New
York, the surroundings become comfortably familiar
...
Through the last stretch
of Pennsylvania, the bursting foliage seems to envelop us and
carry us over the hills like a carriage created by nature
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Our
eldest son has joked for years that he can “smell” Grandma’s
apple pie already
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A couple of
turns later, we are there
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- Arin B