University of Cambodia

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Course: Effective Academic Writing 1

Room: 408
Instructor: Kit Reahul

“Descriptive Paragraph”

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 1. What Is a Descriptive Paragraph?

2. Structure of Descriptive Paragraph

Content

3. Things to Consider When Writing a

Descriptive Paragraph?

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I. What is a Descriptive Paragraph?
• A Descriptive Paragraph describes a person, place, or thing so that
the reader can picture it in his or her mind.

• Or, A Descriptive Paragraph makes the reader feel like they are
experiencing what you are writing about by using sensory language
(touch, smell, taste, seeing and hearing).

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II. Structure of Descriptive
Paragraph
There are three important parts of a Descriptive Paragraph:

1. Topic Sentence
2. Supporting Sentences
a. Reason 1
b. Reason 2
c. Reason 3
………………………….
3. Concluding Sentence

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II. Structure of Descriptive
Paragraph (Con’t)
1. Topic Sentence
• Topic Sentence of a Descriptive Paragraph:
- is the first sentence of the paragraph
- introduces the item that the writer will describe (Clear Topic
with a controlling idea).

Examples:
1. My favorite childhood dish was my mom’s chicken marbella.
2. My home library is a perfect place to relax.

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II. Structure of Descriptive
Paragraph (Con’t)
2. Supporting Sentences
• The Supporting Sentences give background information about the
item.
• How?
• Where?
• When?
• Why?
• What?

• The Supporting Sentences also give descriptive details about the

item. These details describe how the item looks, smells, feels, or
tastes.

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II. Structure of Descriptive
Paragraph (Con’t)
2. Supporting Sentences
Noted:

(Reason 1, 2, 3,…)

This is the “meat” of your paragraph. This is the part that describes
what you want the reader to experience by giving them specific details
that appeal to their senses: seeing, hearing, smell, taste, or touch. You
will write sentences that are filled with sensory language, descriptive
adjectives, and / or preposition of location.

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II. Structure of Descriptive
Paragraph (Con’t)
3. Concluding Sentence
• The Concluding Sentence of the last sentence of the paraph. It
restates or reiterates the topic sentence using different words.

Topic Sentence: My home library is the perfect place to relax.

Concluding Sentence: When it is time for some peace and quiet at

home, the library is the only room that I want to be in.

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 My home library is the perfect place to relax. When you first
enter the room, the dark blue walls draw you in and make you feel at
peace. A bookcase filled from the top to the bottom stands at the far
end of the room inviting anyone to come and grab a book. Next to the
majestic, red bookcase is the leather couch. It is well-worn so that it
feels comfortable the minute you sit in. It is perfect for resting or
reading or day dreaming. The cozy armchair is across from the couch
and by the window. This is another wonderful place to sit because
when the sunlight hits the chair, it warms your soul. In between the
couch and the armchair is round wooden coffee table with a beautiful
straw basket in the middle. And, on the floor is a faded Persian rug.
This gives the room the warmth that makes you want to stay for a
while. When it is time for some peace and quiet at home, the library is
the only room that I want to be in.
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III. Things to consider when writing a
Descriptive Paragraph
1. Sensory Language
2. Adjectives
3. Similes
4. Prepositions of Location
5. Using Specific Language

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1. Sensory Language
• Writing a good paragraph means that we need to appeal to some or
all of the five senses: seeing, hearing, taste, smell, touch.

• Let’s look at an example for each of the senses:

Seeing Lake Michigan royal blue, massive, turbulent
Hearing highway traffic roaring, droning, buzzing
Smell clean laundry fresh, pleasant, floral
Touch blue grass soft, dense, smooth
Taste banana bread sweet, buttery, delectable
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2. Adjectives
• Adjectives are words that describe nouns.
• Writers use adjectives to give the reader a more complete picture of
the people, places, and things they want to describe.
For example:
She used two pounds of chicken for the recipe.
=> She used two pounds fresh, organic chicken for the delicious recipe.

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2. Adjectives (Con’t)
There are two positions of adjectives in the sentence.
A. After Linking Verbs (be, seem, taste, smell, look,……..)
Ex: You are crazy.
Ex: He seems drunk.

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2. Adjectives (Con’t)
B. Before Nouns (If the noun is singular, use a / an or the before
adjective.
Ex: I own an antique violin.
Ex: My mother gave me a big hug.

Note:
When two adjectives come after be, separate them with and.
Ex: My father’s expansion is wise and serious.

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2. Adjectives (Con’t)
When we use more than one adjective before a noun in English, we
often put the adjectives in a specific order.

Ex: I love that really big old green antique car that always parked at the
end of the street.
Ex: My sister adopted a beautiful big white bulldog.

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2. Adjectives (Con’t)
• Orders of Adjectives (DVSAS.COM + Noun)
a. Determiner (a, an the, some, any, many,…..)
b. Value (pretty, lovely, beautiful,……) - opinion
c. Size (small, big, little, tiny,…….)
d. Age (old, young, new, antique,……)
e. Shape (round, square, triangle,……)
f. Color (black, red, yellow, white,…..)
g. Origin (Chinese, Vietnamese, Cambodian,……)
h. Material (woolen, wooden, silk, gold,……..)
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2. Adjectives (Con’t)
Examples:
I carried a very small black suitcase.
They have some old French paintings.
She was wearing a new red silk dress.
That is a really ugly wooden chair.
We bought a new round kitchen table.
There are some new Chinese students in the class.

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3. Similes
• A simile makes a comparison between two things by using the words
(like or as).
• We use similes to make our writing more descriptive and easier to
imagine.
Examples:
The juicy chicken meat melted in mouth like warm butter.
The lion was as loud as a freight train.

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4. Prepositions of Location
• Sometimes when we write Descriptive Paragraphs, we use
prepositions of location. These help the reader understand exactly
where a person or thing is in relation to someone or something else.

Some examples of prepositions of location:

on the right on the left on top of in back of

in front of next to beside between
behind by inside near
at above across from under 19
4. Prepositions of Location (Con’t)
Examples:
The cat is under the table.
A restaurant is between a bank and a hospital.

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5. Using Specific Language
• Using specific language in descriptive writing helps give the reader a
clear mental image of what something looks, feels, sounds, or smells
like.

General Sentences Sentences with Specific Language

He bought a vehicle. He bought a 1965 Cadillac.
We heard a noise. We heard the sound of breaking glass.
Suddenly, I smelled food. Suddenly, I smelled steak and onions.

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