DESCRIPTIVE WRITING What You Need to Be Successful

What Does Description Do? Description plants images in the readers’ minds. It uses specific details. Ex: The old man looked hungry – Not enough detail. Ex: The ancient man, with deep lines carving his face, reached out a blueveined hand to ask for food.

Objective vs. Subjective Description Objective relies on factual detail. This could be used to describe an experiment or an operation. Measurements, color, and weight can all be used as objective description. Subjective description uses emotional impressions, and it make convey feelings, judgments, or opinion. This could include emotionally-charged words. Ex: He was a beast of a man, and it seemed as if he dominated everyone else in the room.

Dominant Impression Whether writing a paragraph or an essay, it is a great idea to focus on one feeling or response throughout the paper. According to Fang-Checkett, the dominant impression is the “overall feeling or emotional response you want the reader to take away from the description” (87). In other words, a writer should not choose details that convey two different moods. So if the dominant impression is that New Year’s Day is a time of celebration and joy, then the person should not include words as “anger” or “bitter. ” The topic sentence of a descriptive paragraph or thesis

Use Effective Words, Not Blah, Boring Words Try to use words that have stronger meanings than bland words. Ex: Do not use “nice. ” Instead use the words cheerful, generous, giving, outgoing, etc. Ex: Do not use “beautiful day. ” Instead use “bright, sunny day” or “mild, breezy day. ” Ex: Do not use “mean. ” Instead use “snobbish, ” “tense, ” “fierce, ” “aggressive, ” or “crabby. ”

Sensory Images Think about what something looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like, or tastes like. Instead of his soccer bag smell awful, tell that it smelled of dirty socks and sweaty shirts. Instead of discussing how a bagel seemed “old, ” tell how it was hard and stale and tasted like moldy cheese. Instead of how a dress was not comfortable, say that it was itchy like sandpaper. Images inspired by pg. 90 in Write Start

Figurative Language According to the Write Start book (pg. 90), this is a comparison tool that is used to describe a person or thing in a way that is usually associated with something different. The three types of figurative language are similes, metaphors, and personification

Metaphors Vs. Similes Both metaphors and similes are types of figurative language that use comparisons. A simile is a comparison using “like” or “as. ” This shows a similarity between two things – how they are alike. Ex: He is like a big teddy bear. She is as frightened as a mouse. A metaphor is also a comparison, but it does NOT use “like” or “as, ” instead implying one thing “is” the same as another thing. Ex: She is a bear in the morning.

Personification The third type of figurative language is personification, which gives human characteristics to animals, objects, or ideas. Ex: The wind howled. Ex: My computer is being crabby. It must need some attention. Sometimes personification can be humorous. However, try this site for more examples: http: //examples. yourdictionary. com/examplesof-personification. html

Examples of Descriptive Essays In your book, look at Ch. 6, page 78 and 79. The San Francisco essay is a great example because it has the structure of a fiveparagraph essay and it is wonderfully descriptive. Information and samples of this type of essay can be found at the following: http: //www. irsc. edu/uploaded. Files/Students/Ac ademic. Support. Center/Writing. Lab/E 7 Descriptive-Essay-Guidelines. pdf