1. DESCRIPTIVE WRITING What You Need to Be Successful

2. What Does Description Do?  Description plants images in the readers’ minds.  It uses specific details.  Ex: The old man looked hungry – Not enough detail.  Ex: The ancient man, with deep lines carving his face, reached out a blue- veined hand to ask for food.

3. Objective vs. Subjective Description  Objective relies on factual detail. This could be used to describe an experiment or an operation. Measurements, color, and weight can all be used as objective description.  Subjective description uses emotional impressions, and it make convey feelings, judgments, or opinion. This could include emotionally-charged words. Ex: He was a beast of a man, and it seemed as if he dominated everyone else in the room.

4. Dominant Impression  Whether writing a paragraph or an essay, it is a great idea to focus on one feeling or response throughout the paper. According to Fang-Checkett, the dominant impression is the “overall feeling or emotional response you want the reader to take away from the description” (87).  In other words, a writer should not choose details that convey two different moods. So if the dominant impression is that New Year’s Day is a time of celebration and joy, then the person should not include words as “anger” or “bitter.”  The topic sentence of a descriptive paragraph or the thesis

5. Use Effective Words, Not Blah, Boring Words  Try to use words that have stronger meanings than bland words.  Ex: Do not use “nice.” Instead use the words cheerful, generous, giving, outgoing, etc.  Ex: Do not use “beautiful day.” Instead use “bright, sunny day” or “mild, breezy day.”  Ex: Do not use “mean.” Instead use “snobbish,” “tense,” “fierce,” “aggressive,” or “crabby.”

6. Sensory Images  Think about what something looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like, or tastes like.  Instead of his soccer bag smell awful, tell that it smelled of dirty socks and sweaty shirts.  Instead of discussing how a bagel seemed “old,” tell how it was hard and stale and tasted like moldy cheese.  Instead of how a dress was not comfortable, say that it was itchy like sandpaper.  Images inspired by pg. 90 in Write Start

7. Figurative Language  According to the Write Start book (pg. 90), this is a comparison tool that is used to describe a person or thing in a way that is usually associated with something different.  The three types of figurative language are similes, metaphors, and personification

8. Metaphors Vs. Similes  Both metaphors and similes are types of figurative language that use comparisons.  A simile is a comparison using “like” or “as.” This shows a similarity between two things – how they are alike. Ex: He is like a big teddy bear. She is as frightened as a mouse.  A metaphor is also a comparison, but it does NOT use “like” or “as,” instead implying one thing “is” the same as another thing. Ex: She is a bear in the morning.

9. Personification  The third type of figurative language is personification, which gives human characteristics to animals, objects, or ideas.  Ex: The wind howled.  Ex: My computer is being crabby. It must need some attention.  Sometimes personification can be humorous. However, try this site for more examples: http://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of- personification.html

10. Examples of Descriptive Essays  In your book, look at Ch. 6, page 78 and 79. The San Francisco essay is a great example because it has the structure of a five-paragraph essay and it is wonderfully descriptive.  Information and samples of this type of essay can be found at the following: http://www.irsc.edu/uploadedFiles/Students/Acad emicSupportCenter/WritingLab/E7-Descriptive- Essay-Guidelines.pdf