Descriptive Writing
Introduction
Image by Pezibear Links to an external site. from Pixabay Links to an external site.
Let's take a look at the key elements of Descriptive writing:
Goal: The goal of descriptive is for an audience to picture, or imagine, clearly what the author describes.
How: Descriptive writing uses vivid, sensory language and specific details to describe a person, object, place, or event.
Where: You can find descriptive writing almost everywhere. Descriptive writing might be located in a journal or diary entry, fiction and nonfiction writing, and advertising.
Watch
Video transcript
[Theme music]
there are five senses sight smell
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hearing taste touch in this lesson we
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are going to learn how to use the five
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senses in descriptive writing let's have
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a look at this picture try to imagine
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yourself physically being in this
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environment and try to use your five
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senses think about what you can see what
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you can smell what you can hear what you
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can taste and what you can touch or feel
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here is a simple way to describe the
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picture I can see the green grass and
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the tall trees I can smell the fresh
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scent of the blooming flowers I can hear
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the birds chirping I can taste the fresh
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air on my tongue I can feel the wind
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blowing this description is very basic
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therefore we want to improve it by using
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a range of language techniques
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interesting verbs adjectives adverbs and
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effective vocabulary this will help to
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engage the reader and will also help the
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reader to create a picture in their mind
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we can also see that each sentence
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starts with I this is very repetitive
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and can be quite boring for the reader
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here is the improved version as I walk
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through the enchanted forest
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I am greeted with the fresh smell of
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scented flowers their bright colors glow
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in the sunlight chirping birds happily
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dance around in the sky as the trees
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wave their arms in excitement the warm
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spring breeze softly brushes against my
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face as I walk along the freshly grown
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grass slowly the refreshing air lands on
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my tongue filling me with happiness now
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let's have a look at why this
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description is more effective there are
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various techniques used in this
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description so let's have a
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at a few examples the use of the
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adjective enchanted suggests the forest
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is magical and fascinating the use of
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the adjective scent it gives the reader
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an idea of how nice the flower smell the
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use of the verb chirping brings life to
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the picture helping to create a feeling
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of happiness and delight by giving the
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trees human quality such as trees waive
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further emphasizes how vibrant and full
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of life
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the atmosphere is this is an example of
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personification personification is used
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again by giving human quality to the
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breeze as it brushes against my face the
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fact that it brushes against my face
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softly suggests the weather is not harsh
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rather it's pleasantly warm with cool
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air finally the last example the use of
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the verb filling emphasizes the extent
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to which the narrator feels a sense of
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happiness and delight as opposed to just
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saying it makes me happy which doesn't
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allow the reader to imagine exactly how
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happy the narrator feels now let's have
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a look at another example again try to
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use your five senses to describe the
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image a simple way to describe the image
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would be to say I can see the bright
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blue water and the golden sand I can
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smell the fresh air I can hear people
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talking and children playing I can taste
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the salt water on my tongue I can feel
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my feet sinking into the soft sand here
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is the improved version slowly the
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bright blue sea
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crawls towards the golden sand the fresh
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air enters my nose as I make my way down
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the seashore with every step I can feel
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my feet sink into the smooth sand and
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the taste of the salty seawater lands on
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my tongue the sound of the violin
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echoes along the coast as I begin to
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dance around
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nice and elegantly this description is
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improved by using a range of language
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techniques interesting verbs adjectives
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adverbs and effective vocabulary now
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let's look closely at a few examples and
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I will explain why it is effective the
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use of alliteration in bright blue draws
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attention to the center's helping to
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emphasize how vibrant and beautiful the
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sea is the verb sink suggests the sand
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is so smooth that it almost absorbs
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anything that is placed in it the use of
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the verb echoes suggests the beach is
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huge as the sound travels along the
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coast
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lastly the use of the adverb elegantly
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creates a pleasant and graceful image
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which reflects the surroundings here is
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our last example again look at the
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picture and try to use your five senses
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to describe the image so what can you
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see what can you smell what can you hear
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what can you taste and what can you
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touch again I will go through a simple
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way to describe the image and an
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improved version of the description a
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simple way is I can see the dark gloomy
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sky I can smell the damp air I can hear
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the wind howling
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I can taste thick fog I can feel the fog
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as it brushes against my skin now let's
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have a look at the improved version in
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the bleak distance the huge tower stood
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tall in isolation standing broken and
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crippled in front of it is a forest of
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trees their bark decaying slowly a
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blanket of fog covers my skin filling my
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mouth with distaste cautiously I make my
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way through the desolate Street as the
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icy wind howls
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now let's look closely as to why this
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description is better the use of the
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adjective bleak is effective as it
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allows the reader to picture a harsh
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deserted place helping to create a sense
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of mystery the use of the noun isolation
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suggests that the place is abandoned
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therefore causing the reader to question
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why no one visits the place this
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ultimately intrigues the reader the use
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of the verb crippled is used to give the
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trees a human quality suggesting that
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the trees are lifeless and damaged
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furthermore the trees are described as
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decaying which further emphasizes how
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lifeless the trees are as they are
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slowly breaking down the metaphor a
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blanket of fog suggests that there is so
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much fog that it becomes difficult to
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see anything the use of the adjective
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desolate allows the reader to create an
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image of a miserable gloomy and deserted
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place which is suggested by the picture
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lastly personification is used when the
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wind howls this creates a terrifying
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image as the wind is brought to life in
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this abandoned place therefore creating
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tension and mystery okay now it's your
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turn look at this picture and think
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about your five senses what can you see
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what can you smell what can you hear
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what can you taste and what can you
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touch make sure you use synonyms to
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replace boring words in order to make
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the writing descriptive and interesting
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for the reader you can find synonyms in
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a thesaurus or even just online
Key Ideas
Key Features:
- It is used in both nonfiction (true, supported by facts) and fiction (untrue, developed with imagination) writing.
- It is organized. It may use a time structure (first, second, next, and so on) or a spatial structure (from top to bottom, left to right, or clockwise), or another structure meant to help readers picture what is described.
- It is full of sensory language. An author will use sight, sound, taste, smell, and touch to help make details seem real to readers.
- It is imaginative. This type of writing is full of engaging descriptions that make the writing lively.
Apply
Directions: Look at the picture of Mizzou that accompanies the example. Match the sense with the description you might use in writing about this picture.