If your college professor expects you’ll bring a brilliant essay for tomorrow morning class, and you don’t really know how to write a descriptive essay, then ask professional writer to complete this task for you in just a few hours. Otherwise, if you still have time and passion for trying yourself in this specific kind of writing, here are some clear guidelines on how to do it relatively quickly and easily. If you'll still lack the inspiration to produce any high-quality writing pieces, consider as an option to pay for college essay and benefit from qualified help.
Just follow the outlined steps and incorporate smart tips we shared for your convenience.
Why Is It Important?
Students write descriptive essays to describe something, a person, experience, place, or any other object or subject. People actually share numerous illustrations with each other during the day. For instance, you may tell your friend about the latest holiday family trip, describe some person you met, or even tell about getting to a particular place in the most convenient manner. But when it comes to writing a descriptive essay, producing descriptions of good quality takes more effort and skill. This is a rather creative process.
Whether students want to write about a place or person, they should incorporate vivid imagery as well as appeal to readers’ senses. Their major intention should be not telling about that person or place, but instead showing them, so that readers could gain their own impression about given subject from the text they read or hear.
What are descriptive essay elements?
Unlike daily descriptions people share without much effort, description essays are well-structured pieces of text that require students show their creativity and language mastery. Descriptions include many details, appeal to readers’ senses through imagery and dynamic speech.
Although this type of essay writing is rather challenging, it is worth trying. While participating in creative writing process, students develop their writing skills and become more attentive to details. Unlike other essay kinds, descriptive essays usually don’t require students search for evidence from credible sources, although this depends on student’s topic and academic level.
Illustrations make students reflect on their own experiences more closely. Such writing activities teach us share our own thoughts and feelings with others more effectively. Given that such essays make such a great contribution to students’ creativity and writing skills, here are some guidelines on how to write a descriptive essay.
Coming up with Ideas
In descriptive essay assignments, professors often provide students with freedom of choice: students decide on their own what to describe. Lists of possible topics are virtually unlimited, as students write about whatever they are interested in. As you have chosen your individual topic, it is time to think about text organization.
What are the four types of essays?
Descriptive essay is one of four major types of academic essays. Others include narrative essay, expository essay, and persuasive essay. These essays are differentiated into separate types because of particular purposes each of them pursues.
As any other college-level paper, description essay has introduction with thesis statement, body, and conclusion. If you wonder how to start a descriptive essay, start with comprehending its basic structure.
How do you write an introduction for a descriptive essay?
In the introductory paragraph, students should introduce their topic, clarifying their intent for the whole essay. Thesis statement here works as a guide, explaining contents that follow. In it, students directly state what they describe, revealing their own impressions and some reasons for holding such views.
As for body paragraphs, several approaches are possible. When considering how to write a descriptive paragraph, students provide list-like descriptions. They reveal details about the object, event, or person in a point-by-point manner. They can think of some simple plot that will keep readers interested in the topic.
In both cases, students should use lots of sensory details, keeping their illustrations interesting. In the concluding paragraph, students should reassert their impressions about described object or person, briefly reflecting on the content of essay.
What Can You Describe?
There are plenty of topics one may consider when professor assigns description writing. Here are the most common description topics:
- Human – talk about people, their characters, appearances, or abilities and capabilities; reflect on their own experiences related to particular people (for instance, how particular person influenced one’s choices or decisions)
- Place essay – in illustrations of places, tell about their own homes, restaurants, libraries, schools, or any other places that somehow impressed them. In these essays, appeal to senses by showing how places look, make one feel, or sound.
- Event – appeal to any relevant sense, while telling about events. The list of possible events is unlimited; it may include family vacations, rock concerts, or any other memorable (or not) activity.
- Animal – talk about pets or animals you feel passionate about. Acknowledge your own experiences, thoughts, feelings when presenting details.
- Memory essay – writers may reflect on their memories, describing something that happened long ago or someone they knew in the past. Unlike person or event illustrations, these essays primarily discuss one’s memories.
- Experience – in these illustrations, authors basically describe themselves by revealing their own experiences and showing some personal outcomes they produced. Cultural identity essay can take a form of experience description.
- Occupation essay – here, try revealing details that distinguish particular occupation from other occupations.
- Behavior – talk about behaviors of people, animals, species, or whole nations. There are truly dozens of options!
No matter which kind of description you are planning to complete, we’ve listed some simple steps and useful tips that makes the assignment completion much easier.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay Step-by-Step
When writing a descriptive essay, consider organizing your work in the following manner. If you organize your writing following these several steps, it will save your time and make writing easier:
- Step 1. Select your subject, create a topic.
For writing a really appealing paper, you should have a clear picture in mind. Try relating to your personal experiences, clearly imagining that restaurant you liked most, or a good friend of yours, or any other subject as task guidelines demand. Mind that the best topic is the one that is interesting for you. If you have difficulties coming up with a topic, use some descriptive essay topics EduBirdie has already prepared for your convenience.
- Step 2. Develop a thesis statement.
Consider your notes and develop a thesis statement for descriptive essay. Make sure your thesis statement has two components: statement about the described subject and reasons supporting it. In the statement part, provide your own evaluation of place, person, or another described subject and then briefly explain what exactly makes you arrive at such conclusions. For instance, instead of just saying that Sarah is a really good friend, briefly explain why.
- Step 3. Select specific details.
Whether you are describing a person, place, experience, or any other subject, think of major impressions this subject often produces on you. What do you particularly like or appreciate about it? Which features of this subject do you find especially interesting? For instance, if you think about describing a restaurant; in the first place, decide whether you believe it is a good or bad place. Then think of particular reasons that make you hold such an assumption. Make notes of both your major impressions and corresponding features of described subject.
- Step 4. Create an outline.
When you came up with an idea, for instance, descriptive essay about a place, and listed some features you’d like to discuss in the essay, create detailed outline.
How do you write descriptive essay outline?
It is particularly convenient when students create detailed outlines. Such outlines should list all the information they plan including in their essays: their thesis statement, topic sentences, several supporting details, and concluding sentences for each of the body paragraphs, and a thesis restatement for a concluding paragraph.
- Step 5. Write a draft, following your outline.
Using outlines, students will easily complete their first drafts: it is enough presenting all the information from an outline in an essay format. At this stage, pay attention to details you’d like to describe rather than to your writing style. Remember that this draft is not an essay yet. It is more like a skeleton of your future paper.
- Step 6. Polish your essay, adding more imagery.
Re-read your draft and now concentrate on your writing style. Mind that descriptive essays are not about telling, but rather about showing. Rather than just stating that the restaurant is good, try showing it to readers by appealing to their senses. It is not necessary to appeal to all six senses, instead employ your own experience and choose senses that are most relevant to your topic.
You wouldn’t appreciate a cat description, in which authors appeal to taste, would you? Students achieve significant effect by adding imagery and dynamic language to their drafts.
- Step 7. Proofread and format your final paper.
After adding all the imagery and making sure that writing style and speech are appropriate, proofread your text and format it in accordance with professor’s requirements. Usually, MLA formatting works well for this kind of essays, especially if you are a student at one of the US colleges. If you have doubts regarding formatting or need help with proofreading, writers on the platform will gladly provide affordable editing services.
To further enhance your skills and gain inspiration, it's beneficial to explore a descriptive essay example, which can serve as a valuable reference and provide insights into effective descriptive writing techniques.
Tips for a Great Description
Here are some descriptive writing tips you may use to ensure the best outcomes. Worthy descriptive essays are virtually impossible without the following:
- Appeal to different senses
Rather than simply listing characteristics or features of the described person or object, include vivid sensory details. By appealing to senses, show details that produce impressions rather than tell about them.
- Pay attention to word choice, use dynamic speech
It is important to use descriptive language in the text. This small example illustrates that word choice matters a lot in such essays. Consider two sentences: Teacher entered the classroom. and Teacher stormed into the classroom. In the first sentence, neutral word is used (entered), and it is impossible to make any assumptions about teacher.
In the second sentence, word choice (stormed) definitely adds some emotional value, because one can conclude that teacher has some particular mood. Try to substitute neutral verbs with more dynamic alternatives in your text.
- Refer to your own experiences
The most appealing descriptions are those in which writers share their emotions. Thus, when describing, try to show how described subject makes you feel.
- Add moment by moment descriptions
They are very appealing, especially when students add some humorous or horror details. Depending on the purpose of your writing, you can talk about your own experience in such a manner (for instance, your last dentist visit).
- Use similes and metaphors, among other imagery
Add imagery to your story and use such figures of speech like similes and metaphors. It is very effective to describe things, objects, and people by comparing them with other things, objects, or people.
- But avoid overused similes (which are also known as clichés)
However, avoid overusing clichés like as cold as ice, straight as an arrow, or run like the wind among others. When used too often, such similes simply lose their effect. So while writing a descriptive essay, look for more creative options.
- Gather enough information
Depending on the topic, it may be necessary to do the research. Sometimes, students just don’t have enough personal experience for composing truly appealing illustrations. Good research though provides the lacking insight.
- Cite all sources
Students should cite all the information they borrow from sources. If they won’t do so, plagiarism accusations follow.
Make Your Studying Easier – Order Online
Writing a descriptive essay is both interesting and entertaining, but it takes time and requires lots of creativity. Follow the simple steps we outlined and consider our useful tips for making your writing easier and more appealing. Mind though, even when you are short of time, you can still have papers that will bring you As.
