Descriptive Writing

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Study Skill 15 Descriptive Writing

 

Introduction

two young girls talking

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: Descriptive Writing Using the 5 Senses

Source: Learn Easy English via YouTube

 

 

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.

Example

 MU campus with fall colors 

Image source: University of Missouri-Columbia https://missouri.edu/about/spirit.php 

Mizzou's autumn months see crisp, sweet air settle across campus like a welcome mat, unfurling to guide students to their fall semester courses. In the early morning, brown boots, colorful scarves, and steaming cups of coffee in beige plastic cups make their way across campus to poetry, engineering, and medical courses. In the afternoon, the circular football stadium gives way to the roar of the crowd as the Tigers move ten more yards ahead to the goal. In the evening, soft discussions and hearty laughter drift across campus as students make their way to dorms and apartments, ready to heat up red-sauce and pasta to eat before sprawling on their oversized chairs with good books. Autumn at Mizzou means active days and cozy evenings as students walk, study, play, and eat, all to the rich, full tune of Memorial Union's clock tower bells. 

Reflection

After writing a descriptive piece, ask yourself these questions. 

  • Did you use sensory writing?  This includes writing about how something or someone looks, sounds, feels, smells, and tastes.  
  • Were your descriptions specific to the person, object, place, or event?  This means the reader will not be confused about what to picture in their minds.  Your descriptions are specific to the thing or person you are describing. 

  

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.