Descriptive Essays
The key to writing a winning descriptive essay is to engage the reader's senses to help them visualize the scene in their mind. Descriptive essays can be challenging assignments for some students who do not know what goes into writing them. This article highlights the components of a descriptive essay and presents a step-by-step writing guide.
Follow this guide to learn how to improve your writing and create an engaging, descriptive essay that will capture your readers' imagination. Whether you want to write a description of a given subject or a personal, subjective account, this article will guide you to success.
What is a Descriptive Essay?
To describe is to illustrate something with words. You can use words to describe a sound, feeling, experience, or emotion. Descriptive essays use illustrative language to bring written words to life with the goal of helping the reader understand the subject of the essay. The reader should be able to form a clear impression of what you are describing in your essay.
Descriptive writing provides an account of a topic by focusing on the scene. It uses tools such as connotative language, denotative language, figurative language, simile, and metaphor to provide a dominant impression. When writing a descriptive essay, you should consider several rhetorical choices, including determining the purpose, creating a dominant impression, considering the audience, organizing the description, and using descriptive language.
How to Write a Descriptive essay
There are two approaches to writing descriptive essays.
1. Personal essay
The personal essay approach has a lot in common with writing narrative essays. It involves relating an experience in terms of your feelings and responses. This approach can either evoke empathy from readers or produce vague and disorganized work. In a personal essay, you should focus on relaying only the aspects that express your experience fully. Vivid, evocative language is recommended.
Examples of personal essay topics include:
- Describing your experience during the covid-19 lockdown
- Reflecting on your favorite activities growing up
- Explaining what you enjoy most about sports
2. Formal description
This approach to descriptive essay writing is similar to writing argumentative essays. However, instead of conveying an argument, the formal description communicates a set of key points according to a clear structure. The focus is not on personal experience but on providing a full portrait of what you describe using specific categories of information.
This approach is particularly engaging to a reader interested in the subject of the essay than in the writer's response. It can be dull and boring if made to be too formal.
Examples of formal description topics include:
- A chronological account of a historical event focused on the event and its consequences.
- A summary of an event providing information about the place and context about the people involved
Guidelines for writing a descriptive essay
The following guidelines can help you overcome common obstacles as you write essays on various descriptive essay topics:
1. Consider a creative point of view.
Before writing a descriptive essay, you should be aware of what your readers want. Descriptive essays allow plenty of artistic leeways. Instead of presenting a straightforward perspective on a topic, consider giving your audience a creative point of view. Describing the topic in a new light can be very effective.
2. Use your senses
When writing a descriptive essay, you need to appeal to the senses of the reader. Use sensory details to appeal to the sense of smell, touch, taste, sound, or sight when describing a scene.
3. Choose vivid language
The vivid language will serve a better purpose than plain words. Use colorful and dramatic language to offer nuanced meanings and create firmer images in the minds of readers.
4. Avoid slipping into a narrative.
There is a thin line between describing and narrating. Avoid including dialogues or a chain of events or characters in your descriptive essay. Instead, keep it focused on a single image.
5. Use figurative language
Similes and metaphors can enrich your descriptive essay. Use figurative language to create vivid images and arrive at a dominant impression.
6. Be organized
Avoid falling into a rambling of senses and emotions when writing your descriptive essay. To get your reader to understand what you are attempting to describe, you must present a logical and organized description.
7. Tap into emotions
Many of your readers have felt ecstatic joy or crushing loss in their lives. To connect with them on a deeper level, tap into this emotional reservoir by using feelings to describe your topic.
8. Make a clear impression.
The purpose of a descriptive essay is to evoke a sense of appreciation and familiarity in the reader. A successful essay engages the sensibilities of the reader and leaves a clear impression.
Descriptive Essay Structure
Unlike a description, a descriptive essay is organized in a clear and complete structure with several academic layers. It comprises five or more paragraphs, which include an introduction with a coherent thesis statement, three or more body paragraphs, and a conclusion.
A structured outline gives your essay an organized flow. The outline of a descriptive essay is made up of:
1. Introduction
- Hook sentence
- Background information
- Thesis statement
2. Body paragraphs
- Topic sentence
- Sensory details
- Actual details
3. Conclusion
- Summary of main points
- Clincher statement
Final Thoughts
Descriptive essays allow for considerable artistic freedom. They break away from the more formal and structured approach seen in conventional academic writing by allowing them to give accounts from personal experience. What defines a good descriptive essay is striking a balance between overdramatic and boring.
Descriptive essays help students develop the ability to create written accounts of their experiences. Use the guidelines provided and descriptive essay examples to improve your writing skills.
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