How to write a descriptive essay

Many descriptive essays are poignant, funny or dramatic. A descriptive essay consists of a vivid story about a person, place, event or situation. The mood will depend on the details you want to include. The best descriptive essays often contain a mixture of elements, both humorous and dramatic, but you may want to emphasize one mood over another. So you should choose the details carefully, but do not be afraid to explore something that at first glance seems insignificant. Sometimes a small gesture, look, or event has a symbolic weight, and will make the essay more meaningful.

Steps to follow:

one

Choose a theme that focuses on a person, place or event. All of them invite to the description.

two

Start with a meaningful anecdote, instead of a statement of intent or a thesis. In a descriptive essay, you can leave the implied thesis. An implicit thesis is not flatly affirmative, but everything in the essay leads the reader to see the idea or understand the feeling to which you point.

3

Develop the body of the essay with the steps that include action, dialogue and images. You do not have to include everything possible, but rather discuss the highlights. If you are describing a person, use anecdotes, events, some physical description and perhaps a favorite quote to bring the person to life. Mention the defects of character, as well as admirable traits. If you want to describe a place, include people and objects in it, as well as colors and smells. To describe an event, it also includes physical details of its location, and mentions the people, objects, sounds and smells. Be especially careful when describing the action of an event.

4

Follow the adage of ancient writing: show, not say. To do this, he uses a lot of sensory impressions and describes the action with strong verbs. "She got sad, " she tells the reader how a person felt. Compare this with "her face shattered like glass, and she burst into tears in broad daylight, " which shows the reader something that resembles sadness.

5

Close the essay with a final image and some thoughtful comments. Ideally, the final image will work in a symbolic way. The comments do not need to explain the essay, although they could. In any case, your final observations and description should evoke the importance of the essay, leaving the reader with a lasting impression.

Tips
  • The details of an essay about a person, place or event are woven very well together. You do not need to limit your description, omitting the details of any kind.