A descriptive essay is an essential component of fictional writing. Such writings encourage students to write about their particular experiences regarding person, place, situation, etc. The University of Nevada, Reno, describes the importance of descriptive writing.
- Descriptive writing is like a powerful tool that adds depth to your meaning.
- It directs the reader to the actual meaning of your ideas.
Most of the tutors ask students to write a descriptive essay as it helps to clarify the understanding of the subject matter. This way, they can better remember what they have learnt.
In the below guide, we will discuss how to compose your descriptive essay effectively. Continue reading to learn the details. However, also know some of the important aspects of descriptive essays.
What Is Descriptive Writing?
In descriptive writing, the writer is supposed to create a picture in the mind of the reader of what he/she describes. It is made possible by using specific techniques and vivid language to create the overall image of the scenario. Ultimately, the reader feels like being in the picture where a particular event is happening.
How To Write a Descriptive Essay in 3 Easy Steps
You may ask by the tutor to write descriptive essays as a class assignment. However, you can also write it as a fun writing challenge. So, always take a start by brainstorming relevant descriptive essay ideas. Outline and provide vivid sensory details. However, you also need to proofread it to provide a polished appearance to the reader.
Writing a descriptive essay is not a difficult job. It seems that you don’t have an organised framework to follow in this write-up. That’s why the mentioned key steps can make it quite easier for you. However, if you intend to stand out among all your classmates, then seeking online essay help can provide you with a benchmark. Doing it on your own may produce a generic write-up. But a specificity can be availed with this professional assistance.
1. Brainstorm Ideas for Essay Writing
As we have discussed above, the descriptive essay is meant to describe a person, place, situation, conflict, etc. So, before you start writing, you need to brainstorm ideas for what you are about to write. For this purpose, you need to choose,
Think About a Person To Describe:
One option is to choose a person to describe who you know very well. It may be someone from your family, your dear friend or a passenger you meet on the way. It may be even a fictional TV character known for its majesty and efficient quality among the viewers.
Consider A Place or Object to Describe:
Choose a place with whom you have strong emotional attachment. It may be your high school, your workplace, university, hometown, etc. Other than that, you can write a descriptive essay about a special gift that you received from your friend. Because of your emotional connection with this object, you can describe to the reader why it is important to you.
Choose An Emotion to Express:
You may choose to describe an emotion with whom you relate. It may be anger, happiness, enthusiasm, loss, desire, etc. Choose the one with whom you have your experience. You may tell the reader an interesting story to deliver your true intent and intensity of the matter.
2. Write Your Essay
After brainstorming various ideas and choosing the best one out of it, here comes the writing process. To write your descriptive essay, you need to go through the following crucial steps.
Make An Outline:
To organise your ideas, you need to brief an outline. Generally speaking, the whole essay will be broken down into an introduction, body paragraph, and conclusion. You need to make subheadings of these sessions to give the reader a quick idea about the main idea of the essay.
Write Thesis Statement:
A descriptive essay thesis statement may be defined as the main idea of the whole essay. It acts as a guide for the rest of the write-up. You need to include it in the introduction session and restate it in the conclusion. For instance, if you are writing an essay on your mother, then its thesis statement can be written like,
“My mother is a queen of the house, own authority that no one can question”.
Write A Compelling Introduction
This chapter is meant to set the scene and introduce the reader to the subject. Just like any other essay introduction, start it with an attention grabber. After that, end it with the thesis statement. For instance, if you are writing about a harsh event of your life which is disturbing to you whenever you remember, then the thesis statement can be given as,
“Life is not a bed of roses. Here, you will encounter a sudden jerk that will drag you behind from where you just started to progress”.
Discuss Your Thoughts and Emotions in Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs in a descriptive essay are meant to elaborate on the main stance of your argument. So, you are not supposed to be afraid of expressing your thoughts and emotions. It is mostly forbidden to be personal in academic writing.
However, choosing a descriptive essay to write is specifically the expression of our emotions. Express these thoughts as they happened to you. This way, you can describe the intensity of the matter to the reader. The reader may feel the pain and imagine himself in the scenario.
Summarise The essay with A Thought-Provoking Conclusion
Here, you will tie all the information provided above. Also, restate your thesis statement to inform the reader how the discussion circulated the main point. There are several ways to conclude your essay. The below-mentioned key tips can be considered in this regard.
- Restate the key points discussed.
- Create a vivid picture in the mind of the reader
- Discuss the significance of the topic discussed above
- Provide a call to action
- Give a personal reflection about the viewpoint
- Make a prediction or give a solution
The ResearchGate provides a descriptive essay writing model to sketch ideas in such write-ups.
3. Polish Your Essay
Have you done with writing your descriptive essay? Are you going to submit it? Wait! It’s not done yet. The most crucial part of the whole process is proofreading. There are several ways to give a polished final touch to your essay. It may include,
Read Your Essay Loud
Reading your essay laud is one of the best ways to highlight the errors in it. When you read it, you can spot some sentences that seem ambiguous. You can circle these phrases and rectify them later. However, you can also ask others to read it aloud for you.
Ask For Feedback
Asking for constructive feedback from your tutor will help you in several ways. It allows you room to make improvements in your descriptive essay write-up. It creates an open communication between student and tutor. In the end, it’s your teacher who has to grade your essay. So, asking him directly about his expectations from you will be helpful to get good grades.
Make Revisions for Clarity and Word Count
Go through your descriptive essay and skip sentences that seem unnecessary. In other words, avoid wordiness in your write-up. A reader is not supposed to read long paragraphs just to get a single point. The explanation is important, but it needs to be placed where it is needed.
Also, remember that this wordiness will only increase your word count. If the total length exceeds the required word count, it will create a bad impact. So, be focused on your viewpoint and only provide the relevant information.
What Are The 5 Parts of A Descriptive Essay?
A descriptive essay is meant to give a robust understanding of the event by using figurative language. Whether you have to describe something personal or talk about your favourite movie, cultural importance, etc., descriptive writing is the way to go.
A good essay is well-organised, full of details and focused on a particular point. Following are the five important parts of any descriptive write-up.
- Choose specific topic
- Write your thesis statement
- Write introductory paragraphs
- Write body paragraphs
- Summarise your essay in concluding paragraphs
What Are 5 Techniques to Writing a Descriptive Essay?
Although different techniques can be used to deliver intent in descriptive writing, the below-mentioned 5 techniques must be considered by a descriptive essay writer.
1. Personification
It is an act of giving human qualities to living things by using figurative language.
Example:
“The wind whispered through the trees to give a refreshing feel to the passenger.”
Here, the wind is personified by giving it a whispering meaning.
2. Oxymoron
The use of oxymorons in a descriptive essay combines two contradictory terms. It creates a sense of conflict.
Example:
Some of the most popularly used oxymorons include loyal opposition, open secret, same difference, etc.
3. Metaphors
A metaphor is used to compare two unlike things. It usually conveys complex concepts of descriptive essays to the reader in a way that is easy to comprehend.
Example:
- The party was a bomb.
- She is a night owl.
4. Similes
The similies are used to compare two objects by using “Like”, and “As”. It is a visual description that allows the reader to connect to the descriptive essay writing emotionally.
Example:
“Her face was as bright as moonlight”. Here, the glowing and brighter skin of the girl is compared with the moonlight to present the visual representation.
5. Alliterations
It is a repetition of the same sound that can create a literary rhythm to emphasise certain phrases or words.
Example:
Some of the most popularly used examples of alliteration include
- Cream of the crop
- Out of order
- A good cook can cook as many cookies as possible.
Descriptive Essay Topics For 2024
Are you going to write a descriptive essay and don’t find the appropriate idea? Here find the top-notch list. Hope you will find the one that interests you and sparks your creative thoughts.
- My scariest dream ever.
- A challenging decision that changed my life afterwards.
- An adventurous journey that always mesmerises me.
- A Canadian night festival
- The traumatising events of my childhood
Remember that the writing style of a descriptive essay is very difficult. So, if the topic is not aligned with your interest and you do not have enough knowledge regarding it, the writing process can be more challenging later.
Descriptive Essay Data Research Questions
The descriptive research question describes the variable that is under study. It is the most popular way to quantify your research. Find below the most interesting ideas of such questions.
- How many university students visit the library during their semester exams?
- How many individuals are likely to buy life insurance in the age group of 20-30?
- How many smartphone users make use of curated apps for their daily life activities?
Descriptive Essay Examples
Do you find descriptive writing challenging? No need to worry when you have various samples of crafting it as given by Hodder Education. Fond below is one such example in which there is a visual description of the “High Wind in Jamaica”.
Conclusion
A descriptive essay is written to express your thoughts, emotions, or a certain prominent happening in your life. Most of the academic writing is objective. So, students avoid using personal language here as it makes ideas subjective. However, choosing a descriptive essay to write is meant to paint a subjective picture in words. In this regard, the above guide is enough to sketch a detailed picture of how to craft this essay.
Start by brainstorming the ideas and know your writing objectives. Follow the essay writing structure. Remember that the whole discussion must be centric on the thesis statement. Also, don’t miss the crucial step of proofreading. Furthermore, if the guidelines are not enough to write your essay, then avail of top essay writing services for ultimate results. They have years of expertise in writing these essay papers. A work done by the professional will impact the reader differently.
Iskra Banović is our seasoned Editor-in-Chief at Blufashion. She has been steering the website’s content and editorial direction since 2018. With a rich background in fashion design, Iskra’s expertise spans across fashion, interior design, beauty, lifestyle, travel, and culture.
