RHETORICAL DESCRIPTION Dr. Stephen Ogden LIBS 7001

LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing DESCRIPTION Sharply etches word pictures of objects, persons, scenes, events, situations Can be determinate in action: Description of a conflict setting can determine judgement five eyewitnesses to the same event describe five different events In business, professional, personal, or academic settings: describe patient’s condition for a chart vivify product in an advertisement detail site conditions in a report can create mood can stimulate understanding can lead to action

Two Types of Description LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing Two Types of Description Functional “just the facts”: denotative purpose: to explain, clarify allegedly objective, observed from a distance common in lab reports, formal reports logical order of ideas perspective: description of parts, materials, functions Emotional impressionistic: connotative purpose: to convey ideas, moods, impressions impressionistic, subjective common in everyday life, and in artistic writing highly variable order of ideas different perspectives possible

Overview of Description Rules Use clear and concise language. Chose words carefully, particularly for their relevancy in relation to that which you are intending to describe. Less is more. Choose vivid language. Why use horse when you can choose stallion? Why not use tempestuous instead of violent? Or why not miserly in place of cheap? Such choices form a firmer image in the mind of the reader and often times offer nuanced meanings that serve better one’s purpose.

Description Rules, Con’t 3. Use your senses Remember, if you are describing something, you need to be appealing to the senses of the reader. Explain how the thing smelled, felt, sounded, tasted, or looked. Embellish the moment with senses. 4. What were you thinking! If you can describe emotions or feelings related to your topic, you will connect with the reader on a deeper level. Many have felt crushing loss in their lives, or ecstatic joy, or mild complacency. Tap into this emotional reservoir in order to achieve your full descriptive potential.

Description Rules, Con’t 5. Leave the reader with a clear impression. Necessary to evoke a strong sense of familiarity and appreciation in the reader. If your reader can walk away from the essay craving the very pizza you just described, you are on your way to writing effective descriptive essays. 6. Be organised It is easy to fall into an incoherent rambling of emotions and senses when writing a descriptive essay. However, you must strive to present an organised and logical description if the reader is to come away from the essay with a cogent sense of what it is you are attempting to describe. Mode of arrangement question

Description Rules, Con’t 7. Be precise…unless the situation demands vagueness Not negative but….harmful, demeaning, abusive, weakening Not positive but…. Not different but…older, faster, varied, larger, foreign Not better but…superior, efficacious, more valuable, enduring, well- trained Not worse but… Not random but…unexpected, unpredictable, shocking, rare, uncharacteristic, clever,

Elements of Description LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing Elements of Description To help drive home your points vividly in an essay or speech, carefully use these five elements of description: Sensory Impression Dominant Impression Vantage Point Selection of Details Arrangement of Details

Sensory Impression, cont. LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing Sensory Impression, cont. Sight: bright, dull, fast, open, near, red, Sound: loud, faint, mellifluent Smell: overpowering, pungent, foul, appetising Taste: sweet, foul, bitter, acrid Touch: hot, hard, yielding, sharp, Invoke or combine sense impressions: familiar, nostalgic “Ah…fresh bread” (last frame of Pekar essay) Synæsthetic: Soft music; sharp taste; piercing smell, high sound

LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing 2. Dominant Impression Identify audience and purpose: situation & context mood or feeling: joy, anger, terror, distaste, etc May be identified or left unnamed Can be developed throughout the description “Yet, the overriding sensation I had was of always being out of place.” “Not long ago a former friend and soon-to-be acquaintance called me up to tell me how busy she was.” (Ehrenreich, 9) Influenced by vantage-point Heatherwick’s ‘olde London’

3. Vantage Point - two obvious types LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing 3. Vantage Point - two obvious types fixed: observer remains in one place “Boil water in a saucepan (bubbles mean it is boiling!)” (Nabokov, 38) moving: observer views things from different positions from a vehicle from a peripatetic state narrating over time [description & narration are closely related] your own state past present future from a watchman situation across people in various institutional positions [HBO Chernobyl] cinematic

LIBS 7001: Critical Reading and Writing 4. Selection of Details Identify audience & determine purpose [situation] Select details pointing toward the result—including mood or feeling--to be created. Exclusion is as important as inclusion. How does a writer suggest stillness or nothingness? What are the implications of leaving out certain details? Are there limits to a writer’s creative license? What’s a writer’s ethical responsibility when using description & narration?

5. Arrangement of Details to guide reader and fulfill purpose, use a clear pattern or organization - e.g., spatial sequential contrast can start with a striking central feature