Modes of Discourse Description

To describe is to create a verbal picture. A person, a place, a thing—even an idea or a state of mind—can be made vividly concrete through description. Writing any description requires, first of all, that the writer gather many details about a subject, relying not only on what the eyes see but on the other sense impressions—touch, taste, smell, hearing—as well. From this list of details, the writer selects those that will most effectively create a dominant impression—the single quality, mood, or atmosphere the writer wishes to emphasize. Writers must also carefully plan the order in which to present their descriptive details. The pattern of organization must fit the subject of the description logically and naturally and must be easy to follow. For example, visual details can be arranged spatially — from left to right, top to bottom, near to far — or in any other pattern: smallest to largest, softest to loudest, least significant to most significant, most unusual to least unusual.

Description Continued How much detail is enough? There is no fixed answer. A good description includes enough vivid details to create a dominant impression and to bring a scene to life but not so many that readers are distracted, confused, or bored. Writers use description to: –create the setting for a story –to illustrate ideas –to help clarify a definition or a comparison –to make the complexities of a process more understandable Such descriptions should be kept short and should include just enough detail to make them clear and helpful.

Description Example Consider, for example, the details Mary McCarthy uses to evoke the dominant impression in the following passage: “Whenever we children came to stay at my grandmother’s house, we were put to sleep in the sewing room, a bleak, shabby, utilitarian rectangle, more office than bedroom, more attic than office, that played to the hierarchy of chambers the role of poor relation. It was a room without pride: the old sewing machine, some cast-off chairs, a shadeless lamp, rolls of wrapping paper, piles of cardboard boxes that might someday come in handy, papers of pins, and remnants of a material united with the iron folding cots put out for our use and the bare floor boards to give an impression of intense and ruthless temporality. Thin white spreads, of the kind used in hospitals and charity institutions, and naked blinds at the windows reminded us of our orphaned condition and of the ephemeral character of our visit; there was nothing here to encourage us to consider this our home.”–Mary McCarthy

Description Example Now contrast the details with those in the subsequent example by student Dan Bubany: “For this particular Thursday game against Stanford, Fleming wears white gloves, a maroon sport coat with brass buttons, and gray slacks. Shiny silver-framed bifocals match the whistle pressed between the lips on his slightly wrinkled face, and he wears freshly polished black shoes so glossy that they reflect the grass he stands on. He is not fat, but his coat neatly conceals a small, round pot belly.”–Dan Bubany, student The dominant impression that McCarthy creates is one of clutter, bleakness, and shabbiness. There is nothing in the sewing room that suggests permanence or warmth. Bubany, on the other hand, creates a dominant impression of a neat, polished, kindly man.

Description Model Essay Read the model essay entitled, “The Corner Store” and take notice of how she creates a dominant impression In your notes, answer the following question: What dominant impression does Welty create in her description of the corner store? How does she create this dominant impression?

Classroom Activity Using Description Make a long list of the objects and people in the classroom as well as the physical features of the room—desks, windows, chalkboard, students, teacher, dirty walls, burned-out lightbulb, a clock that is always ten minutes fast, and so on. Determine a dominant impression that you would like to create in describing the classroom. Now choose from your list those items that would best illustrate the dominant impression you have chosen and write out your description, making sure to use sensory detail to describe.