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Definition of Descriptive Essay

The document describes the descriptive essay genre. A descriptive essay allows writers to vividly describe people, places, objects, or experiences using sensory details. Writers aim to paint a picture for readers using details about sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Good descriptive essays are clear, vivid, well-organized, and leave the reader with a clear impression of the topic through detailed senses and emotions. Examples are provided of descriptive passages from literature that use sensory details to describe settings.

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hanzala sheikh
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189 views

Definition of Descriptive Essay

The document describes the descriptive essay genre. A descriptive essay allows writers to vividly describe people, places, objects, or experiences using sensory details. Writers aim to paint a picture for readers using details about sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch. Good descriptive essays are clear, vivid, well-organized, and leave the reader with a clear impression of the topic through detailed senses and emotions. Examples are provided of descriptive passages from literature that use sensory details to describe settings.

Uploaded by

hanzala sheikh
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Types of essay writing

Descriptive Essay

Definition:

In descriptive essay the writer describe something to allow the


reader to experience the topic being described as vividly as possible.
Someone or something can be described.
Descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe
something—object person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. This
genre encourages the student’s ability to create a written account of a
particular experience.
The students use sensory information to enable readers to use their five
senses of touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight to understand the topic of
the essay
This genre allows for a great deal of artistic freedom (the goal of which is
to paint an image that is vivid and moving in the mind of the reader). One
might benefit from keeping in mind this simple maxim: If the reader is
unable to clearly form an impression of the thing that you are describing,
try, try again!
For example:
My best friend, teacher, scientist describe stormy night

Function of Descriptive Essay


A descriptive essay presents a person, place, or thing, in a way that
readers feel as if it is in front of their eyes, or that they are tasting it, or that
they can hear it, or that they can smell it. Writers use sensory information to
describe object. The object of the writer is to present a picture of something
as honestly as he can
Here are some guidelines for writing a descriptive essay.

 Take time to brainstorm

If your instructor asks you to describe your favorite food, make sure that
you jot down some ideas before you begin describing it. For instance, if you
choose pizza, you might start by writing down a few words: sauce, cheese,
crust, pepperoni, sausage, spices, hot, melted, etc. Once you have written
down some words, you can begin by compiling descriptive lists for each
one.
 Use clear and concise language.

This means that words are chosen carefully, particularly for their relevancy
in relation to that which you are intending to describe.

 Choose vivid language

Such choices form a firmer image in the mind of the reader and often times
offer nuanced meanings that serve better one’s purpose.

 Use your senses

Remember, if you are describing something, you need to be appealing to


the senses of the reader. Explain how the thing smelled, felt, sounded,
tasted, or looked. Embellish the moment with senses.

 What were you thinking?

If you can describe emotions or feelings related to your topic, you will
connect with the reader on a deeper level. Many have felt crushing loss in
their lives, or ecstatic joy, or mild complacency. Tap into this emotional
reservoir in order to achieve your full descriptive potential.

 Leave the reader with a clear impression

One of your goals is to evoke a strong sense of familiarity and appreciation


in the reader. If your reader can walk away from the essay craving the very
pizza you just described, you are on your way to writing effective
descriptive essays.

 Be organized!

It is easy to fall into an incoherent rambling of emotions and senses when


writing a descriptive essay. However, you must strive to present an
organized and logical description if the reader is to come away from the
essay with a cogent sense of what it is you are attempting to describe.
For example:
A description of a place
What do you feel when you go there? What do you feel on your skin? Is it
hot or cold? Is it wet or dry? What do you smell? Is there food? Are the
smells good or bad? What do the smells remind you? What do you hear?
Are there car moving? What about the sound of nature? Even a soft wind
make sound .taste is a difficult sense to describe, and the degree which
you pay this any attention depends on the subject matter. What Sight
comes last? Here you can describe color, size, depth, height, width etc.

Examples of Descriptive Essays in Literature


Example #1:  The Corner Store 

“Our Little Store rose right up from the sidewalk; standing in a street of
family houses, it alone hadn’t any yard in front, any tree or flower bed. It
was a plain frame building covered over with brick. Above the door, a little
railed porch ran across on an upstairs level and four windows with shades
were looking out. But I didn’t catch on to those. Running in out of the sun,
you met what seemed total obscurity inside. There were almost tangible
smells — licorice recently sucked in a child’s cheek, dill pickle brine1 that
had leaked through a paper sack in a fresh trail across the wooden floor,
ammonia-loaded ice that had been hoisted from wet croker sacks and
slammed into the icebox with its sweet butter at the door, and perhaps the
smell of still untrapped mice.”

This description of the “Little Store” is not only clear and concise, but also
has images and sensory information about the store building.
Example #2: The Taj Mahal 

“And this, finally, is why the Taj Mahal must be seen: to remind us that the
world is real, that the sound is truer than the echo, the original more
forceful than its image in a mirror. The beauty of beautiful things is still able,
in these image-saturated times, to transcend imitations. And the Taj Mahal
is, beyond the power of words to say it, a lovely thing, perhaps the loveliest
of things.”

Check this short description of the Taj Mahal by Salman Rushdie. This
description presents a different picture of the Taj Mahal.

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