DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY WRITING

1)What Is Descriptive Writing?   Descriptive writing creates a

picture of a person, place, thing, or event. Description tells what something looks, sounds, smells,

tastes, or feels like .

2 )Elements of Descriptive Writing

Good descriptive writing is comprised of five elements; Sensory Details, Figurative Language, dominant impression, precise language, and

Careful Organization.

1 )Sensory Details  

  Good descriptive writing includes many vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeals to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste when appropriate. Descriptive writing may also paint a pictures of the feelings the person,

place or thing invokes the writer.

2 )Figurative Language 

 Good descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language to help paint the picture in the reader's mind. There are many ways to use figurative language, and it is a talent that should be practiced

until perfected  .-A simile uses like or as to compare two unlike things.

Example: Her smile was like sunshine.-A metaphor compares two unlike things without

using like or as :Example: Her smile was a light that lit up the room.-Personification suggests comparison between a

nonliving thing and a person by giving the nonliving thing human traits.

3 )A DOMINANT IMPRESSION

 When you plan a descriptive essay, your focus on selecting details that help your readers see what you see, feel what you feel, and experience what you experience. Your goal is to create a single dominant impression, a central theme or idea to which all the details relate-for example, the liveliness of a street scene or the quiet of a summer night. This dominant impression unifies the description and gives readers an overall sense of what the person, place, object, or scene looks like(and perhaps what it sounds, smells, tastes, or feels like). Sometimes_but not always_ your details will support a thesis making a point about the

subject you are describing.

4 )PRECISE LANGUAGE

 Good descriptive writing uses precise language. Using specific words and phrases will help the reader “see” what you are describing. If a word or phrase is specific, it is exact and precise. The opposite of specific language is language that is vague, general,

or fuzzy.

5 )CAREFUL ORGANIZATION Good descriptive writing is organized. Some

ways to organize descriptive writing include: chronological (time), spatial (location), and order

of importance .

3)TRANSITION WORDS AND PHRASES THAT SIGNAL DESCRIPTION.

.

Transitions used in descriptive writing vary depending on whether you are describing a person, a place, or a thing. Here are some examples of transitions that might be used in descriptive

contexts:

TO SHOW SPATIAL ORDER OR DIRECTION

TO SHOW ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

TO SHOW TIME ORDER

4)THE STRUCTURE OF A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY