The Descriptive Essay
Tuesday, 28 April 2009
A description sketches a picture in words.In a descriptive essay, you describe a thing, person, place, feeling, or an event.To do so, you need to use expressive language and concrete examples.
A description is often personal, since you would describe something as you view it.However, if you were to describe a cat or any other animal, you would combine the physical description of a cat together with your own perception of a cat.So, you could say a cat is a feline, four legged creature, and also add your own ideas about the cat, such as it is disloyal, or that it is cunning, or that it is greedy, depending on how you view the animal.
I.Introduction:
This will follow the general-to-specific format –
general ideas regarding to the subject and then move on to specific points.
Example:
In order to describe your classmate, you could begin with ideas about classmates in general and what they mean to you.
Then, move on to the importance of having classmates, and various types classmates. This will lead you directly to the specific classmate you want to describe. End the introduction with a thesis statement.
II: Thesis statement:This reflects your composition focus and determines its content and structure.It usually refers to the subject + the writer’s opinion about it + and reasons for the statement.
Example: “My favourite classmate is an interesting person of contrasts. (statement) She is friendly, but can be scary at times. (writer’s opinion) She is usually pleasant but can flare into a terrible temper if angered. (reasons) This thesis lays out all the main points about the person/thing that you are describing.
III Body Paragraphs:
Each paragraph will address specific pointers in the thesis statement and support it with examples.
For example, when you write that your classmate is can fly into a terrible temper, you will not only explain the idea but also give an example of one incident when she suddenly lost her temper when angered.
IV. Conclusion:This is essentially a summary of the main points. In this section, you will also need to emphasize the thesis. In addition, you could give the reader something to think about:
How that classmate affect your life, what he/she means to you, and other such relevant details.
The descriptive essay is thus a well laid out compilation of various qualities and features of a subject and creates a word-picture for readers.
The words used to describe the person or thing are extremely important.Words used are mainly adjectives, since they help describe qualities, features, and characteristics.It is important to use appropriate and specific words that highlight the quality you want to focus on.
Example:To describe a house, you would need to use words like spacious, colorful, comfortable,and other such words that refer to its specific characteristics.