Descriptive essay writing
An essay is a written composition of moderate length exploring a particular issue or subject. Descriptive essays, derived from the word describe, is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe something—object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc. Writers use the descriptive essay to create a vivid picture of a person, place, or thing. Unlike a narrative essay, which reveals meaning through a personal story, the purpose of a descriptive essay is to reveal the meaning of a subject through detailed, sensory observation. If readers also feel an emotional connection and deep appreciation for the subject’s significance, the writer has done a great job.
The descriptive essay employs the power of language and all the human senses to bring a subject to life for the reader. When you write a descriptive essay, you want to involve the reader’s senses and emotions. For example, you could say, “I got sleepy” or describe it like this, "As I was waiting for Santa, my eyelids began to get heavy, the lights on the tree began to blur with the green branches, and my head started to drop." The second sentence gives vivid details to make the reader feel like he is there. Also one should employ the use of concrete language which would the description seem clearer and more real to the reader instead of the use of abstract language which would make the description difficult to visualize. Example, abstract language: It was a nice day. Concrete language: The sun was shining and a slight breeze blew across my face. In writing a descriptive essay, one should not rely on adjectives that attempt to characterize a thing’s attributes; good, nice, bad, or beautiful rather one should be, more specific and use sensory, descriptive words.
steps in writing a descriptive essay
References: http://homeworktips.about.com http://www.time4writing.com http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition.