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what is descriptive essay and example

by Lexie Monahan Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago
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Descriptive essays, like narrative essays, tend to allow the writer a great deal of artistic freedom than most academic writings. Good descriptive essays examples include newspaper articles, research papers, travelogues, memoirs of a personal experience, book reports, among others.

What is a descriptive essay? The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe something—object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. This genre encourages the student's ability to create a written account of a particular experience.

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How to make a good descriptive essay?

  • Does the essay unfold in a way that helps the reader fully appreciate the subject? ...
  • Does the word choice and figurative language involve the five senses and convey emotion and meaning?
  • Are there enough details to give the reader a complete picture?
  • Has a connection been made between the description and its meaning to the writer? ...

How to write good descriptive essays?

How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph?

  1. Begin with your topic sentence or interesting idea. In writing each paragraph it is important to keep it interesting, especially if it is the introduction or the lead of ...
  2. Support with interesting details. As mentioned earlier, a topic sentence is supported with relevant details. ...
  3. Include sensory details. ...

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What are the qualities of a descriptive essay?

Descriptive Essays are categorized as:

  • Personal Essay: A description of a personal experience that affected your life.
  • Formal Description: An impersonal, precise report of the subject’s characteristics – you are like a camera.
  • Impressionistic Description: An attempt to create an emotional response in the reader through the use of descriptive language.

What are some good topics for a descriptive essay?

40 Topic Suggestions

  • a waiting room
  • a basketball, baseball glove, or tennis racket
  • a smartphone
  • a treasured belonging
  • a laptop computer
  • a favorite restaurant
  • your dream house
  • your ideal roommate
  • a closet
  • your memory of a place that you visited as a child

More items...

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How do you write a descriptive essay example?

The writing tips below can provide a step-by-step template for writing descriptive essays.Choose a specific topic. ... Compile information. ... Make an outline. ... Write the introductory paragraph. ... Write body paragraphs. ... Summarize the essay in the concluding paragraph. ... Look for ways to enliven your language.

What is an example of descriptive?

Example Sentences She gave a descriptive account of the journey. a talent for descriptive writing a poem full of descriptive detail The black cat was given the descriptive name “Midnight.” The book is a descriptive grammar.

How do I start a descriptive essay?

The introduction to the descriptive essay should set the scene and introduce the reader to the subject. Use the list of sensory details to describe the subject. Have a strong opening line that grabs the reader's attention. Then, end the introduction with your thesis statement.

What are the 5 parts of a descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay outline is composed of the following:An introduction.Hook sentence.Context/Background information.Thesis statement.Body paragraphs.Topic sentence.Sensory details.Actual details.More items...•

What are 10 describing words?

Types of Describing Words in EnglishThe boy is tall.She is very smart.Our car is red in colour.He is an American citizen.It is a luxurious hotel.He is an intelligent boy.The dish was very spicy.She wore a beautiful dress.More items...

How do you write a descriptive sentence?

Writing descriptive sentences: 6 simple rules1: Choose precise imagery (avoid overusing abstract nouns) ... 2: Remember subtle differences between describing words. ... 3: Deepen descriptive sentences using comparison. ... 4: Minimize '-ly' adverbs. ... 5: Combine descriptive elements in the sentence.More items...•

What is the format of descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay should have three parts: beginning (introduction), middle (body), and end (conclusion). The total number of paragraphs may vary. Introduction: Get the reader's attention through the use of an attention getter or hook sentence.

What are the features of a descriptive essay?

What effective descriptive writing looks likeVivid details. Specific details paint a picture in the reader's mind and appeal to the reader's senses. ... Figurative language. Tools of the writer's craft such as analogy, simile, and metaphor add depth to authors' descriptions.Precise language. ... Thoughtful organization.

How do you write a good descriptive paragraph?

7 Tips for Writing Descriptive SentencesCut out obvious descriptions. ... Use surprising words. ... Remember sensory details. ... Make use of figurative language. ... Think about who is doing the describing. ... Be wary of over-description. ... Read good examples of descriptive writing.

How do I write a descriptive essay about my school?

My School has large sturdy and confident building that looks welcoming every new student here. It has a large and friendly playground. The air enters into our school with lush sweet fragrance, making all of school airy and excellent. Every morning when I enter into our school, I am greeted by all alike.

What are the 7 steps to writing an essay?

How Do You Begin an Essay?Decide on your essay type and topic. ... Brainstorm and research the topic you've chosen. ... Develop your thesis statement. ... Write your outline. ... Start writing. ... Pay attention to how you cite references. ... Edit your work.

What is example of descriptive text?

Some examples of descriptive text include: The sunset filled the entire sky with the deep color of rubies, setting the clouds ablaze. The waves crashed and danced along the shore, moving up and down in a graceful and gentle rhythm like they were dancing.

What is the best example of descriptive research?

Example: tracking changes in social attitudes among Gen-Zers from 2022 – 2032. Compares the results of a study against the existing norms. Example: comparing a verdict in a legal case against similar cases. Investigates the type of relationship and patterns between 2 variables.

What are some examples of descriptive research?

Some of the more common methods include surveys, interviews, observations, case studies, and portfolios. The data collected through these methods can be either quantitative or qualitative.

What are the 7 types of descriptive research?

We have explained these seven types in brief with examples to help you better understand them.Cross-sectional: A descriptive method of studying a particular section of people at a given point in time. ... Longitudinal: ... Normative: ... Relational/Correlational: ... Comparative: ... Classification: ... Archival:

How to set a mood in descriptive writing?

Another useful technique for setting a mood with your descriptive writing is to use similes and metaphors. A simile is a phrase comparing two unlikely things using 'like' or 'as' in order to make a description more vivid. You've probably heard the phrase, 'running like the wind' before. This is an example of a simile.

What does the author say about the waves as the tide came in?

Rather than saying, 'I heard the waves as the tide came in,' the author says, 'As the waves leisurely collided with the shore, I could hear the delicate lapping of the water as it met the sand.' The extra detail really helps us visualize the scene that the author is trying to create. He or she shows us what it's like to be out there on the beach when the tide comes in during the afternoon, rather than just giving us a play-by-play.

What is a simile in writing?

Similes and metaphors are figures of speech that can help you better describe your subject and make your writing more interesting by comparing your topic to fitting, yet unlikely descriptive terms.

How to write a descriptive essay?

If you were writing your descriptive essay on what you did during your day at the fair, this would be the way to go. Beginning with what you did first, you walk your reader through all the events you encountered during your day.

Why do we use metaphors in descriptions?

As you can see, similes and metaphors are another tool to help make your descriptions more vivid. They paint a more detailed picture for your reader, making it easier for them to understand what you're saying, not to mention more interesting, because you are showing them what you have in your mind's eye, rather than just telling them.

Why are descriptive essays important?

Descriptive essays are great because, in a sense (pun intended), they can help us see places we might not be able to go ourselves, hear new things, taste different flavors, smell foreign smells, or touch different textures.

How to describe Big Tex?

For example, if you were describing the new Big Tex at the State Fair of Texas, you might start out by describing the setting - the smell of the corn dogs frying, the crowds of people, the happy children dodging in and out of the midway games - then get into his grandiose size - after all, everything is bigger in Texas, right? After that, you describe the details: his new crisp, white, pearl snap shirt, his blue jeans tucked into cowboy boots, adorned up top with his signature belt buckle, and so on.

What Is a Descriptive Essay?

Put simply, a descriptive essay is a type of essay that describes something. Specifically, a descriptive essay should describe something the writer has experienced or knows about, with sufficient detail to communicate that subject to a reader. There are two classic approaches to the descriptive essay.

Why is a descriptive essay important?

Rather than focusing on the writer's experience, the formal descriptive essay relates specific categories of information in order to provide the fullest possible portrait. This approach can also be engaging, especially when the reader is more curious about the subject of the essay than the writer's response to it.

What does a praying mantis look like?

Its four front legs, head and thorax are covered in delicate structures resembling colorful flower petals. In appearance, it looks like nothing so much as a praying mantis covered in beautiful painted fans. As for its behavior, like any good mantis, it is an ambush predator.

What is the second approach to descriptive essay?

The second approach to descriptive essays is the formal description. This more closely resembles an argumentative essay; your goal is to communicate a set of key points. Rather than conveying an argument, however, the purpose of the formal description is to describe something in detail, according to a clear structure.

What is a formal description?

The following is a formal description. The writer describes a subject of which they have extensive knowledge.

What is a classic personal essay?

It relates a subjective experience the writer had in vivid language, allowing the reader to experience it vicariously.

Why is it important to write a personal essay?

To write a successful personal essay, it's important to focus and relay only the aspects that most fully express your experience. Personal essays also benefit from vivid, evocative language.

What is a Descriptive Essay?

The job of such an essay is to appeal to our senses in a way that it creates an image in our minds. Hence a de scriptive essay plays with at least one of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight).

What should the main body of a descriptive essay be?

Next, the main body of a descriptive essay should appeal to the reader’s senses. This includes unfolding the information by creating images in the reader’s mind. A trick to achieving this is to explain how the subject about which you’re writing in your descriptive essay, appeals to your senses.

What are the five senses in an essay?

Hence a descriptive essay plays with at least one of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, hearing, sight ). In other words, the description of the person, place or thing in an essay should be really vivid.

What is the basic structure of a descriptive essay?

As it is with most of the written forms of English literature, the basic structure of a descriptive essay also comprises of an introduction, a body, and the conclusion. The introduction of a descriptive essay should be interesting enough to catch a reader’s attention.

Should you talk about the color of the house?

Instead of simply stating that the house was beautiful, you should talk about the color of the house, the garden in front of it i.e. all the details about the house. In that way, the readers would be able to imagine the house because of a nicely written essay.

What is descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay gives a vivid, detailed description of something—generally a place or object, but possibly something more abstract like an emotion. This type of essay, like the narrative essay, is more creative than most academic writing. Descriptive essays test your ability to use language in an original ...

What are the key aspects of descriptive writing?

Use your senses. Another key aspect of descriptive writing is the use of sensory details. This means referring not only to what something looks like, but also to smell, sound, touch, and taste. Sensory details. I feel the bonfire’s heat on my face, and smell the rich smoke filling the air.

What is the difference between a descriptive and narrative essay?

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

What to write in a descriptive essay if you are not given a prompt?

If you’re not given a specific prompt for your descriptive essay, think about places and objects you know well, that you can think of interesting ways to describe, or that have strong personal significance for you.

What is the best object for a descriptive essay?

The best kind of object for a descriptive essay is one specific enough that you can describe its particular features in detail—don’t choose something too vague or general.

Does Scribbr correct grammar?

Scribbr editors not only correct grammar and spelling mistakes, but also strengthen your writing by making sure your paper is free of vague language, redundant words and awkward phrasing.

Do you have to use figurative language in an essay?

You don’t have to fill every sentence with figurative language, but using these devices in an original way at various points throughout your essay will keep the reader engaged and convey your unique perspective on your subject.

What are the 4 types of essays?

An essay is an extended piece or composition that shows and supports a thesis or proposition. Essays help the expression of an author’s ideas in various ways. Before composing your own essay, it is important to identify its purpose first, and in doing that, distinguishing its type would be a great beginning. Correspondingly, here are the four different types of essays:

What is the purpose of a persuasive essay?

The main purpose of a persuasive essay is to win over the trust of the reader to accept your viewpoint, opinion or proposition as the author.

What are some good descriptive essays?

Descriptive Essay Ideas About People 1 Description of your favorite music genre 2 Treating a popular villain as a good protagonist 3 The right words that would compliment your singing idol 4 Why your squad is the best? 5 What qualities should your future spouse possess? 6 Why your aunt is the best?

What to do if there is no topic?

If there is no given topic, it would be great to select one that you are knowledgeable and familiar with. Considering that your whole descriptive essay would revolve on this specific subject, choosing a topic that you recognize would keep everything simpler for you. By doing such, you can freely decide what words are the most appropriate to use; as a result, it will be easier for you to describe your topic. Furthermore, your reader could be meticulous and educated on your subject, so being knowledgeable about your own topic is wise prevention against bad impression.

Why is it important to write a conclusion for a descriptive essay?

This is why it’s important for a writer to pay close attention to detail. A descriptive essay conclusion should provide the reader with a mental picture of a given matter.

What is an expository essay?

Expository Essays: to uncover and clarify. From its name itself, an expository essay is used to expose something on matters that are known to others. This type of essay is a genre of composition that aims to explain, illustrate, clarify or explicate a certain subject for the readers.

How to write a descriptive essay?

In writing your own descriptive essay, let your brain do its job. Do not rush, give yourself an adequate amount of time to ponder on the necessary details that you should include and what approach you should apply. Provide yourself a clear plan of your descriptive essay writing.

How many paragraphs should a descriptive essay have?

Like any other essay, a descriptive essay also must have at least five paragraphs. The number of paragraphs could increase, based on the scope and need of the topic.

What are the emotions in an essay?

A descriptive essay about emotions includes an event and the feelings associated with it. These could be feelings of sadness, anxiousness, confusion, surprise, and happiness. Whatever emotions you describe, you can use related adjectives and adverbs to describe them.

How to choose a descriptive topic?

Some quick tips to help you choose a great descriptive essay topic include: Choose a topic that interests you. Choose a topic with a good scope. Choose something that inspires you emotionally. Choose a topic that appeals to all five or at least one to two senses. Choose the topic according to your audience.

What is the introduction paragraph?

An Introductory Paragraph. The first paragraph of an essay is the introduction and it usually sets the mood for the entire essay. A good descriptive essay has a strong opening. It introduces the reader with the main topic and what the essay will be about.

How many paragraphs are in a body paragraph?

The body paragraphs take more than half of the entire essay and include all the main claims and arguments of the essay. Generally, it has three paragraphs but depends on the topic and its scope. Some topics may not have much to write about while others may have a wide scope and material.

What is the purpose of descriptive essay?

The aim of descriptive essay writing is to make the reader feel and see a certain thing, place, or person from your perspective. Your readers may have different points of view about the topic, your job is to make them see what you feel and believe.

Why are samples and examples important?

Samples and examples are great to help the students understand how to write certain types of essays. Every essay and assignment are different and, therefore, to score good, you need to be mindful of the content that you add in them. Descriptive writing is more about describing different aspects and traits of the chosen subject and the type ...

Choose a particular prompt

Descriptive essay assignments tend to provide writers with a particular prompt or choice of prompts. Such assignments will often ask the writer to describe something based on personal experience, describe something out of imagination, or describe something more abstract, like an emotion.

Write a descriptive essay introduction

An effective descriptive essay usually begins with an introduction. Here, the writer introduces the main topic of discussion and includes a strong opinion that creates the essay’s first impression. This is known as a hook, and it should be in the form of a rhetorical question or a bold statement.

Body paragraphs

In most cases, descriptive essays encompass three body paragraphs. Each body paragraph covers a different point or argument, and it should begin with a topic sentence that anchors the reader’s attention and informs them what to expect from the paragraph.

Concluding paragraph

According to the descriptive essay’s format, the concluding paragraph should be a summary of all the points discussed in the essay’s body. However, the writer can also use it to reiterate the main point of the essay discussed in the introductory paragraph.

Proofread to upgrade the essay

After writing the essay, the writer should proofread the entire document to find out and correct any grammatical and spelling errors. Proofreading will also enable the writer to find areas where sensory details and descriptive language can help enhance a description.

Brainstorm efficiently

This is a pre-writing consideration that writers should take into account to improve their descriptive writing skills. Taking a few minutes to brainstorm an essay’s topic helps writers generate ideas, develop order, and ease tension that often results in a loss of ideas or words amid writing.

Use of descriptive adjectives

Writing descriptively involves choosing the right words for an essay’s topic. The use of descriptive adjectives is important as they help add more information about the number, color, type, and other qualities of the nouns and pronouns used in the essay’s text.

What is descriptive essay?

Descriptive essays are very commonly assigned essays. This type of essay tends to enhance their writing skills and allow them to think critically. A descriptive essay is often referred to as parent essay type. Other essays like an argumentative essay, narrative essay, and expository essay fall into the category of descriptive essays.

Why are examples important in descriptive essays?

Examples make it easy for readers to understand things in a better way. Also, in a descriptive essay, different types of descriptions can be discussed.

How many paragraphs are there in an essay?

5 paragraphs essay writing format is the most common method of composing an essay. This format has 5 paragraphs in total. The sequence of the paragraphs is as follow: Following is an example of a descriptive essay written using the famous 5 paragraph method.

How to make a descriptive essay more vivid?

To make your descriptive essay more vivid, try to incorporate the human senses like touch, taste, sight, and smell. 4. Create an Outline. An outline is yet another necessary element of your college essay. By reading the outline, the reader feels a sense of logic and a guide for the essay.

What are the senses used in a descriptive essay?

It is assigned to students of high school and all other students at different academic levels. Students make use of the human senses like touch, smell, etc, to make the descriptive essay more engaging for the readers.

What is thesis statement?

A thesis statement is the essence of any academic writing. Once you have selected the topic from the list of descriptive essay topics, it's time that you create a strong thesis statement for your essay. A thesis statement is a sentence or two that explains the whole idea of your essay to the reader.

Is it common to write a descriptive essay?

You might be uncertain about writing a good enough descriptive essay and impress your teacher.However, it is very common so you do not need to stress out.

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1.Descriptive Essay: Definition, Topics, and Examples

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17 hours ago The job of such an essay is to appeal to our senses in a way that it creates an image in our minds. Hence a descriptive essay plays with at least one of our five senses (touch, smell, taste, …

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30 hours ago Descriptive essays, like narrative essays, tend to allow the writer a great deal of artistic freedom than most academic writings. Good descriptive essays examples include newspaper articles, …

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