Help with writing - Part 2 Writing a descriptive essay
We have established, there are different types of writing that you will be expected to be able to complete. In order for you to write the correct type of essay, you need to know what each one entails.
Today we will look at a 'descriptive essay.'
In short, this is exactly what is tells you. You need to describe a person, animal, place or event. A good tip to remember is describe the object in such a way that even if the reader has never seen it or experienced it, they will be able to form a picture in their mind of what is looks like or what experience they can expect.
In order to do this successfully, you will use a lot of 'descriptive words that will 'color' the picture. For instance, instead of just saying, It was cold, you can say The winter wrapped itself like a blanket around me and I could feel the cold in my bones. Does that not put a better picture in your mind?
Some examples of techniques you can use to accomplish this:
- Use adjectives (words that describe nouns) and adverbs (words that describes verbs) that will help you in describing certain things and events.
- You can describe feelings and sounds that you hear and experience
- People have certain experiences that they connect to certain words, so you can use this to create a certain atmosphere
- You can give 'life' to non-living things. This is called 'personification'. An example is 'The sun kisses my cheek.' The sun cannot 'kiss', but you make it come alive through personification.
- In order to describe certain things, you can imitate the sound and write it in words, like The car crashed against the tree with a loud thud.' This is called 'onomatopoeia'.
- Use comparisons like a 'simile' or 'metaphor' where you compare two or more things to one another.
- Certain things are symbols that represents something. A white dove for instance is a symbol of peace, red is a symbol of danger etc. Using symbols can also create a picture and feeling in the readers mind.
- Have a look at the video on all the different types of 'Figures of speech' that can help you to write your descriptive essay.
- Make sure you understand each one and can compile your own examples for each.
It is always a good idea that before you start your own writing, to read a few examples that the 'professionals' wrote, to get the feeling and some extra ideas that you can use.
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 pictures of the feelings the person, place or thing invokes in the writer.
Remember to use a variety of sentences - some of them can be simple sentences, others complex or compound and also differ the lengths of each.
As always remember your paragraphs. (We have spoken about all of this before, if you cannot remember what this means, watch the video.)
If you describe a setting (the place where the story takes place) or an event or an object or person, it is important that you use all your senses, but also write in a way that the reader will use their senses.
Write about
- what you see
- hear
- feel or what something feels like
- smell or what the object smells like or makes you think of and what you can
- taste or what it tastes like
You will be given different topics, from something as easy as "Describe your dog', to 'Describe your favorite place'. No matter what the topic is that you need to write on, if you stick to these tips and make sure that you involve the reader with all your senses, it will be a successful writing piece.
Activity
Look at the picture below - Write an essay in which you will describe what it looks like and what feeling you have when you look at it or are there.
Use all your senses and describe it in such a way that a person who cannot see the picture, will create their own picture in their mind.
Remember you do not have to only describe it - you can write a story using descriptive words. (What is the story behind this house/building or what happens inside?)
Use your imagination and let the story begin...
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