definition a descriptive essay

“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.”

Example #2: And the Orchestra Played On (by Joanne Lipman)

“The hinges creaked when I opened the decrepit case. I was greeted by a cascade of loose horsehair — my bow a victim of mites, the repairman later explained. It was pure agony to twist my fingers into position. But to my astonishment and that of my teenage children — who had never heard me play — I could still manage a sound. “It turned out, a few days later, that there were 100 people just like me. When I showed up at a local school for rehearsal, there they were: five decades worth of former students. There were doctors and accountants, engineers and college professors. There were people who hadn’t played in decades, sitting alongside professionals like Mr. K.’s daughter Melanie, now a violinist with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. There were generations of music teachers.”

In the first paragraph of this descriptive excerpt, the author clearly describes the decrepit nature of the violin case, as well as the damage time has done to the bow. The second paragraph is a description of the characters , and their similarities. Both use sensory information for effective descriptions.

Example #3: Yarn (by Koyoko Mori)

“The yellow mittens I made in seventh-grade home economics proved that I dreamed in color. For the unit on knitting, we were 1 supposed to turn in a pair of mittens. The two hands had to be precisely the same size so that when we held them together, palm to palm, no extra stitches would stick out from the thumb, the tip of the fingers, or the cuff. Somewhere between making the fourth and the fifth mitten to fulfill this requirement, I dreamed that the ball of yellow yarn in my bag had turned green. Chartreuse, leaf, Granny Smith, lime, neon, acid green. The brightness was electric. I woke up knowing that I was, once again, doomed for a D in home ec.”

Example #4: The Taj Mahal (by Salman Rushdie)

“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.”

Function of Descriptive Essay

What Is a Descriptive Essay? Examples and Guide

definition of "descriptive essay" from the article

Have you ever had a really delicious cookie? Just the most perfectly balanced sweetness with chunks of melty chocolate and a little salt to bring it all together? And have you described it to a friend, family member, or curious stranger? If you’re nodding your head, you have already partaken in the writing tradition known as the descriptive essay (at least a little bit). With some polishing and tightening up, you can turn that description of a baked good into an award-winning piece of writing.

What Is a Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay is sort of what it says on the tin. It’s a type of essay that involves describing a person or object, though it can really extend to any sort of noun , like a place, event, experience, or emotion. If you think that seems pretty broad, you’re right. You’re technically describing something in every essay.

What makes the descriptive essay notable is that focus on description — the details, colors, feelings, sights, and sounds. Some descriptive essays might have a slight argument in their theses, but it’s not really a requirement. Your thesis statement could be as simple as “I had a cookie that changed my entire life.”

You can think of “descriptive essay” as more of an umbrella category. It can encompass other essay types , particularly analytical essays , expository essays , and personal narrative essays .

Ideas for Descriptive Essay Topics

Truly, the hardest part of descriptive essays is coming up with a topic. You really do have your entire world to potentially write about, which is understandably daunting for anyone.

Just remember that you can quite literally describe anything as long as you yourself find it interesting enough to write about. That might include:

General Format and Structure of a Descriptive Essay

There isn’t a set format for descriptive essays. A lot of it really comes down to the subject that you’re describing and your own approach to how you experience things, and it turns out that we all experience and see things differently.

A good outline structure that you can start with might look like this.

Obviously, if you have a different angle, go with that. For example, if you’re going more for a personal essay, the structure might have more of a narrative (beginning, middle, end) format.

Descriptive Essay Examples

With a better understanding of how to approach a descriptive essay, you’re ready to prosper and write an essay of your own. We can’t write your essay for you because we don’t know your subject, but you will absolutely have more interesting and insightful descriptions than us. However, if you need some tips for writing descriptive essays , we can give you a descriptive essay example to guide your way.

labeled descriptive essay example from the article

Example of a Descriptive Essay Introduction

Your introduction exists to provide a little background context for your essay. What’s difficult with a descriptive essay is that you want your introduction to intrigue without giving away too much of your description (that’s what the body of your essay is for).

Home is where the heart is, but not everyone has the same heart. For some, a home is four walls, some furniture, and a fireplace. For others, home is a cactus, sand dunes, and a nearby oasis. Comfort is subjective, and the only comfort I have known is from the mud and gunk of my humble swamp.

Sample Body Paragraph for a Descriptive Essay

Unlike with other essay forms, you do not have to worry about providing evidence. You obviously can if you think it’ll help you with your description, but it’s largely about you and your experience of the subject. Outside evidence is purely secondary at that point.

A swamp, a bog, a quagmire, whatever you might call it, my swamp is the only place I would ever consider home. The climate ranges with the season, and the mud pits offer a surprising level of insulation from the weather, never too hot or too cold. Nights are filled with the sounds of crickets, toads, and the wayward donkey, the soft sounds of the angry village in the distance.

Descriptive Essay Conclusion Example

The crux of your descriptive essay will feel mostly concrete as it focuses on the subject at hand and your experience of it through the five senses. The conclusion is where you can go outside of that, and expand outward to include larger ideas and themes. In fact, if you really wanted, you could use the conclusion to essentially create an opinion or argument that could become the thesis for an entirely different essay.

To many, the swamp might seem like a scary and unwelcoming space, but for me, that is part of its charm. It is a place of warmth and love if you look close enough, and much like an onion, it is a place of layers. The humble bog may be the most ideal environment to live, and yet part of its appeal is that it is not for everyone. That is the ideal home; a place that perfectly fits you.

Descriptive Essay: Definition, Examples & Tips for Writing a Descriptive Essay

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When you are asked to write an essay , there are many different types to choose from. One such type is the descriptive essay which is favoured by a lot of authors. In this article, we are going to be looking at the descriptive essay in a little more detail such as what they are used for and how you can write a good descriptive essay yourself. We are also going to take a look at an example of a well written descriptive essay and a selection of topics about which you could write.

Table of Contents

What Is A Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay is one which is used in order to describe something. These essays can describe anything from a person or place to an item or idea. The idea of the descriptive essay is to give the author a chance to hone their writing skills by way of description. On top of this, the descriptive essay is a great chance for the author to use their creative skills – the more vivid the description, the more the reader can picture clearly what is being talked about. This means that the writer should employ all their skills to paint an image for the audience.

How To Write A Good Descriptive Essay

Now that we have a good understanding of what a descriptive essay is, we are going to take a look at some handy tips for how to write one and the process that should be followed in order to create a convincing descriptive essay.

Choose A Topic

Any essay requires an engaging topic and the descriptive essay is no exception to this rule. When choosing a topic, you should choose something which you have an interest in as this will make you more passionate about your writing. There are a whole host of things you could write about so let’s take a look at some ideas to get your creative juices flowing.

Create An Thesis Statement

A thesis statement is used to lay out the purpose of the essay and should be referred back to at varying points throughout your writing. It should be included in the introduction so that your readers are clear on what the essay is about.

Speak To The Senses

When planning your essay it is important to remember that a descriptive essay should appeal to the senses. When describing your subject you should include how it looks, smells, how things taste, what can be heard and how something feels. It is important to lay out these senses in your essay outline as using these will create a much clearer picture for the reader.

Create Your Essay Outline

An essay outline is used to order your ideas and make rough notes of anything that is to be included in the work. Every essay should be written with the assistance of an essay outline, and it should look something like this:

Further Tips For Writing A Descriptive Essay

In order to write a clear, concise and easy to read descriptive essay, there are some more points that you should consider whilst writing. These tips will help you to construct an essay which will be well received and credited.

Example Of A Descriptive Essay

In order to gain a greater understanding of what a well written descriptive essay looks like, we are now going to take a look at an extract from a descriptive essay called ‘Yarn’ written by Kyoko Mori .

Those yellow mittens which I had made in 7th grade home ec had proven that I dreamt in colour. For the section about knitting, we were 1) meant to create a pair of mittens and 2) the hands must be the same size, so when they were held together, none of the stitches would stick out of the thumb, the fingers or from the cuff. Somewhere, in between the making of the 4th and the 5th mitten to meet this requirement, I dreamt that the yellow ball of yarn which was in my bag turned green. It was so bright, it was eclectic, I awoke in the knowledge that, once again, I was doomed for a D in that class.

Descriptive Essay Infographic

Descriptive Essay: Useful Tips for Writing a Great Descriptive Essay

Very interesting

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D D Dd Dd Dd D Dd. D. Dd. D. D. Dd . Dd. D. D.. S..

This is so clearly explained, especially for young readers. Well done.

Thank you for this, really helpful

hard for me but okay and because I am a kid

How to Write a Descriptive Essay

In this article, we examine the descriptive essay and present a step-by-step writing guide. Stick around for helpful writing tips near the end! Also, check out custom writers at EssayPro — political science essay service, if you need private tutoring or essay editing.

What is a Descriptive Essay?

The definition of a descriptive essay is a type of composition or paper which describes an object, person, process, or event. The writer’s goal is to create a vivid reading experience, or to show instead of tell (metaphorically).

Descriptive writing usually appeals to the five senses: taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight. (Ex: Jack’s coffee mug exploded into tiny shards of glass, catching the attention of everyone at the office.) Always appealing to the senses is key to writing a good descriptive essay.

When writing a descriptive essay, your goal will be to paint a comprehensive picture for the reader by appealing to the five senses. Last but not least, your work should have a purpose. It could be anything from a lesson you learned from an experience, to a story of how an object impacted your life. It’s all about making your bright ideas come to life.

Difference Between a Description and a Descriptive Essay

When writing this type of paper, you should know the difference between a description and a descriptive essay. A description can be just a simple paragraph, or several ones with no specific structure, meanwhile, a descriptive essay has five or more paragraphs and a clear and complete structure. A descriptive essay is usually written coherently, has a good thesis statement at the end of the introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. A description however, does not necessarily have a structure. Its main purpose is to just describe an object, or something else, without having any extra academic layers.

The Issues that Could be Described in Your Paper

Two Classic Approaches to the Descriptive Essay

1. Personal Essay

Here you need to describe an experience using your feelings and responses. This work can awake empathy in readers. It can also be vague and disorganized. If you want to write a good personal essay, you should try to focus only on those aspects that most fully express your experience. Do not shy away from vivid, evocative language in this type of assignment.

A few examples of personal essay topics might be:

2. Formal Description

This type of descriptive writing resembles an argumentative essay. Your main goal should be communicating a set of key points or describing something in detail—according to a clear structure. Rather than focusing on your own experience, you need to use specific categories of information to provide the fullest possible portrait of what you are describing. This approach can also be engaging, especially when the reader is more curious about the subject of the paper than the writer's response to it. Still, try not to make it dull with too formal language.

Topics for formal descriptions can include:

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Descriptive Essay Topics & Ideas

Finding descriptive essay topics isn’t hard. You can describe pretty much anything—from your favourite car to today’s weather. We’ve gathered some ideas to help you get started. Hopefully, you’ll find good descriptive essay topics to spark your imagination.

Describe a Person

Pick a person who you know well—doing so gives you a lot to write about. Choose from family members, friends, teachers, etc. You can even write about a celebrity who exposes most of their private life to the media: The Kardashians, Kanye West, or Taylor Swift for instance. A famous superhero like Spider-Man is also interesting. Such fictional figures have undergone many character studies from both academic and non-academic perspectives.

Examples: Why my father is my favourite person. How Kim Kardashian changed my life.

Describe an Object or a Place

You may also describe an object or a place with which you have a special connection. This could be your high school, a playground, or a toy which used to scare you as a kid. Fictional places also count!

Examples: My native city – Paris My trip to London

Describe an Emotion

Remember the most sincere emotion you’ve experienced and turn it into a descriptive essay writing. You may choose a strong feeling like anger, happiness, loss, desire, or rage. It doesn’t have to be a personal emotion, it could be an observed one.

Examples: How love changed me Hatred and love – how they are similar

You can also write a descriptive essay about anything you can describe according to human senses: touch, sight, taste, smell, or hearing.

Creating a Descriptive Essay Outline

When thinking about descriptive essay writing, remember that a structured paper outline is your golden ticket. Not only does it help you organize thoughts, but it will also help your essays flow better.

A descriptive essay outline is composed of the following:

It is important to spend enough time considering the victim of description because all of your illustrations will be based around it.

Introduction

The introduction serves to introduce your subject to the reader and give them enough context to fully understand your work—but keep it brief and interesting for the reader(s). When learning how to write a descriptive essay introduction, remember – the first paragraph of your paper is the part that can make your descriptive essay stand out from the others.

As with any college paper, a descriptive essay introduction must contain the following points:

For further information on how to write a thesis for a descriptive essay, check out the examples below.

Place. If you were to write about Buckingham Palace: “Even though the monarchy is long gone, Buckingham Palace serves to remind us of the aesthetic beauty which that era had built.” Person. For describing Spider-Man: “The defining characteristics of Spider-Man are his youthfulness, New York City, and the fact that he talks to himself more than Hamlet.” Emotion. A piece about a personal experience of fear: “For many reasons, the dark forest is my greatest fear, though not a fear which I would necessarily like to venture into.”

Body Paragraph(s)

There are usually three body paragraphs in a paper. They cover three different points or arguments. How many body paragraphs to include in your descriptive essay is entirely up to you—or your professor. Sometimes it only takes a paragraph to tell a story, while other times it takes books.

How to write a body paragraph:

The descriptive essay is one type of 5 paragraph essay , which is the most common type of essay a student may encounter.

According to the descriptive essay format, your conclusion should be a summary of all of the main points in the body text. It is a good idea to write a final sentence that relates to the main point of your paper. Once this is done, the paper is now complete. We advise that you proofread your descriptive essay to correct any grammatical errors.

Try to incorporate the following into your conclusion:

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Writing and Reviewing Your Descriptive Paper Writing

Writing the paper consists of the following stages:

Let’s talk in detail about the final step here: reviewing your paper. After you finish writing, take a break. It’s always best to clear your mind before editing your paper.

When you come back to your descriptive essay, here are some questions to ask yourself:

Sometimes web applications like Grammarly or the Hemingway app can help you sort your grammar. However, it’s always best to master the rules of grammar yourself and become the best writer you can be. Once you’re convinced you have the final draft, read it out loud or give it to a friend to read. Sometimes you need some constructive criticism to tie up loose ends in your writing. You can also trust the professionals and buy cheap essay on EssayPro service.

Descriptive Essay: Video Guide

‍ descriptive essay good examples.

This is a commonly assigned and most opted-for form of an essay. Why not have a look at our written descriptive essay examples. In this section, you can find some of the top examples and quotes followed by some critique.

The writer of this descriptive essay example explains how there was a lot of life before humans existed. The world was full of Blue Jays and North Cardinal birds that most probably ate pansy seeds as a stable diet. In this example, it is clear that the writer has put himself/herself in the perspective of someone in the far future. He/she describes how we were in the 21st century, and how we used the poles as communication portals.

In the eyes of the untrained, a rugby game is just a bunch of huge individuals senselessly fighting one another, struggling to move an oval ball inch by inch down a field full of mud towards the goal line of the opposing team. Players don’t put on pads or get a timeout in the event of injuries. Yet rugby is a different thing, a gentleman’s sport—to those who understand it. While rugby appears rough, its players maintain good respect toward both teammates and opponents.

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Descriptive Writing

What is descriptive writing?

Descriptive writing helps the reader visualize the person, place, thing, or situation being described. When a text conjures a vivid, sensory impression in the reader’s mind, not only does it make the writing more interesting to read; it helps the reader understand the text better and recognize the author’s intention more clearly.

Why teach descriptive writing?

How to teach descriptive writing

If only descriptive writing were as simple as “show, don’t tell”! Descriptive writing is a skill — and a craft — that takes instruction, practice, and time to learn. The good news is that it can be explicitly taught. An understanding of the characteristics of effective descriptive writing, combined with a toolkit of structures and strategies to scaffold learning and practice, can enhance students’ development as authors of vivid, evocative writing.

What effective descriptive writing looks like

Authors of descriptive writing use a variety of styles and techniques to connect with readers, but effective descriptive writing often shares these characteristics:

What effective instruction in descriptive writing looks like

There isn’t one right approach to teaching descriptive writing, but effective instruction often includes:

Watch a demonstration: show NOT tell using your 5 senses

In this virtual lesson, the teacher models generating written descriptions of a hot day using the five senses as a framework.

Watch a classroom lesson: five senses graphic organizer

Students use their five senses and a graphic organizer to brainstorm ideas for writing a report on a recent school event and to help them think about interesting words to include in their report. See the lesson plan .

Watch a classroom discussion: writer’s workshop

Writer's Workshop connects great children's literature with children’s own writing experiences. In this video clip from our Launching Young Readers PBS series , Lynn Reichle's second graders practice their use of descriptive writing.

Collect resources

Here are some routines and structures for teaching descriptive writing:

The RAFT strategy encourages descriptive writing and supports writing in general by encouraging students to think through the writer's Role, the Audience, the Format, and the Topic. ReadWriteThink offers this RAFT Writing Template .

This Sense Chart — organized into sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch categories — helps students capture sensory details related to a topic. The Describing Wheel offers a more open-ended format for capturing and organizing descriptive language.

The Show-Me Sentences lesson plan from ReadWriteThink was created for students in grades 6-12. However, elementary teachers can modify the Show-Me sentences to make them interesting for younger students.

This lesson plan from Utah Education Network guides students through the process of writing about a favorite place using descriptive language.

This lesson plan from the Philadelphia Museum of Art has students work collaboratively to generate descriptive writing about works of art. It is intended for upper elementary and middle grades but can be adapted for lower grades.

Teacher Laura Torres created a lesson plan that uses images to jumpstart vivid writing: Three Descriptive Writing Picture Prompts .

This resource from Greenville County Schools in South Carolina provides several ideas for writing in math class . Writing and mathematics are similar in that they both require gathering, organizing, and clarifying thoughts. Writing can assist math instruction by helping children make sense of mathematics and by helping teachers understand what children are learning.

Writing in science gives students an opportunity to describe observations and scientific phenomena, and can help them comprehend new material by having to explain it in their own words. Fazio and Gallagher propose two instructional strategies to assist teachers and student when writing in science: a mnemonic acronym (POWER) and an editing checklist.

Social Studies

In social studies, descriptive writing can help students describe an important historical figure or event more clearly. Writing rich in detail will create vivid depictions of people and places and help make history come alive.

Differentiate instruction

For English-learners, readers of different ability levels, or students needing extra support:

Extend the learning

This resource from Greenville County Schools in South Carolina provides several ideas for writing in math class . Writing and mathematics are similar in that they both require gathering, organizing, and clarifying thoughts. Writing can support math instruction by helping students make sense of important concepts and procedures.

Descriptive writing in science can help students capture observations and scientific phenomena with greater precision, and can help them comprehend new material by explaining it in their own words. Fazio and Gallagher propose two instructional strategies to assist teachers and student when writing in science: a mnemonic acronym (POWER) and an editing checklist.

Related strategies

Learn more about building writing skills in our self-paced module Reading 101: Writing .

See the research that supports this strategy

Akerson, V. L., & Young, T.A. (2005). Science the 'write' way. Science and Children , 43(3), 38-41.

MacArthur, C., Graham, S., & Fitzgerald, J. (2016). Handbook of research on writing (2nd Edition). NY: Guilford.

Miller, R.G., & Calfee, R.C. (2004). Making thinking visible: A method to encourage science writing in upper elementary grades. Science and Children , (42)3, 20-25.

Mitchell, D. (1996). Writing to learn across the curriculum and the English teacher. English Journal , 85, 93-97.

Children's books to use with this strategy

The Little Red Hen (Makes a Pizza)

In this spin-off off from the traditional tale, the indomitable bread-making Little Red Hen makes pizza. Describe why her friends wouldn't help her and in the order they refused her request. Make the pizza, its maker, and the ingredients irresistible in your description. Compare it to a time-honored version.

Read a Rhyme, Write a Rhyme

A prolific (and popular) poet, Prelutsky provides poem starters for slightly older children. Young poets can either finish the "poemstarts" suggested here or create their own original poem.

Glass Slipper, Gold Sandal: A Worldwide Cinderella

Cinderella stories are found around the world; here, they have been fused into one tale with special characteristics in text and illustrations that reflect the different origins. Expand parts of the story to echo the traditions of the culture and its history from which it comes. It may be possible to develop a map of tales (e.g., ancient vs. modern countries, or as a visual as to where it is/was told).

Each Orange Had 8 Slices: A Counting Book

Counting is fun especially in this sophisticated but accessible and handsomely illustrated book. Various situations are introduced in straightforward sentences followed by questions that are answered by counting. Describe each situation in the order presented.

A Drop of Water: A Book of Science and Wonder

Arresting photographs of water in various states not only introduces water but also weather, solids and liquids, and more. The sophisticated text further encourages experimentation and observation, although is not necessary to use the entire book with younger children.

26 Letters and 99 Cents

Sequencing, sets, counting, and money (coins) are introduced in crisp photographs in this wordless concept book. Upper and lower case letters from A to Z with attendant objects are half of the book; turn it over and numbers, counting, and more are presented.

I Face the Wind

Children are encouraged to observe as experiment as they learn about wind and air as well as practice science writing by describing their findings.

Benny's Pennies

A boy has five pennies and spends them one at a time as he meets people during a walk. Told in rhyme, this cumulative story is appealing and well supported by illustration.

Jack and the Beanstalk

The traditional tale of a boy who planted magic beans is reimagined as a city story of a spell broken. Illustrations are photographs that have been manipulated for good effect.

A mother and her child get the ingredients for soup on a snowy day and then add everything to the pot. The pair plays snug and warm while the soup simmers until Dad comes home when they enjoy soup together. Crisp collage and a simple text make for a cozy read.

No Easy Way: The Story of Ted Williams and the Last .400 Season

Ted Williams never flinched at hard work or a challenge. In his last season with the Boston Red Sox, Williams had to decide if he wanted to take the chance and lose his rare .400 average or go to bat. Williams' decision creates a riveting read in this handsome and thoughtful look at one man's ethics and the times in which he lived.

The Boy Who Invented TV: The Story of Philo Farnsworth

Two machines captivated young Philo Farnsworth: a telephone and a phonograph. Both had cranks and both connected people with others (one in real time, the other through music). These and other inspirations motivated young Philo to invent what was to become known as the television. His early story is fascinatingly told and well illustrated.

Moonshot: The Flight of Apollo 11

Relive the journey of the Apollo 11 where the first people stepped on the Moon's surface and saw Earth from a very different perspective. Eloquent language and illustrations combine to present this historical event in a unique, unforgettable way.

If America Were a Village: A Book About the People of the United States

If all of the 300 million people were simply one village of 100 people, its diversity is easier to understand. That's just what the author has done to make the complex make-up of the U.S. residents (in terms of languages spoken, ages, and more). Colorful illustrations accompany the understandable text. Additional resources complete the book. If the World Were a Village: A Book About the World’s People , also by Smith, looks at the inhabitants of the world as a village to allow its diversity to become more understandable for adults and children.

One World, One Day

Every day children around the world awake to begin their days having breakfast, going to school, coming home to families. A poetic text combines with photographs from myriad countries to visually highlight the richness of the world and its people.

10 Minutes Till Bedtime

At One Hoppin' Place, the countdown to bedtime is about to begin when a family of hamsters — a mother and father with nine kids and a baby all wearing numbered striped jerseys — arrives at the front door.

The Mysterious Tadpole

When Louis' uncle sends a tadpole from a certain lake in Scotland, the small tadpole grows to enormous proportions. With the help of a resourceful librarian, Louis figures out a way to feed his large and ever-hungry Alphonse as well as determine a permanent solution. Humor abounds in this contemporary classic.

Martin's Big Words: The Life of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Martin Luther King Jr. grew up fascinated by big words. He would later go on to use these words to inspire a nation and call people to action. In this award-winning book, powerful portraits of King show how he used words, not weapons, to fight injustice.

Squids Will Be Squids

Scieszka and Smith set sights on creating fresh fables — short traditional tales intended to teach a moral lesson. With humorous twists and take-offs, new, different and wacky fables are presented for readers' edification and amusement.

Science Verse

This boy's curse begins when his teacher suggests that the "poetry of science" can be heard everywhere. From Moore to Frost, familiar poems are parodied and turned into science verse. Again art and illustration are inseparable as are the laughs in this offbeat look at science.

Easy to read and understand.

This was really helpful. Very detailed I feel like.

Really good examples and nice enjoyable videos. The videos make it easy to understand.

Fun, useful, precise and captures all the elements needed to build a descriptive essay.

Great, they are supported by video and some examples too.

amazing and helps me learn

clear information, brief, interesting examples and also provide nice video

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How to Write a Descriptive Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on November 28, 2022.

A descriptive essay gives a vivid, detailed description of something—generally a place or object, but possibly something more abstract like an emotion. This type of essay , like the narrative essay , is more creative than most academic writing .

Descriptive essay topics, tips for writing descriptively, descriptive essay example, frequently asked questions about descriptive essays.

When you are assigned a descriptive essay, you’ll normally be given a specific prompt or choice of prompts. They will often ask you to describe something from your own experience.

You might also be asked to describe something outside your own experience, in which case you’ll have to use your imagination.

Sometimes you’ll be asked to describe something more abstract, like an emotion.

If you’re not given a specific prompt, try to think of something you feel confident describing in detail. Think of objects and places you know well, that provoke specific feelings or sensations, and that you can describe in an interesting way.

The key to writing an effective descriptive essay is to find ways of bringing your subject to life for the reader. You’re not limited to providing a literal description as you would be in more formal essay types.

Make use of figurative language, sensory details, and strong word choices to create a memorable description.

Use figurative language

Figurative language consists of devices like metaphor and simile that use words in non-literal ways to create a memorable effect. This is essential in a descriptive essay; it’s what gives your writing its creative edge and makes your description unique.

Take the following description of a park.

This tells us something about the place, but it’s a bit too literal and not likely to be memorable.

If we want to make the description more likely to stick in the reader’s mind, we can use some figurative language.

Here we have used a simile to compare the park to a face and the trees to facial hair. This is memorable because it’s not what the reader expects; it makes them look at the park from a different angle.

You don’t have to fill every sentence with figurative language, but using these devices in an original way at various points throughout your essay will keep the reader engaged and convey your unique perspective on your subject.

Use your senses

Another key aspect of descriptive writing is the use of sensory details. This means referring not only to what something looks like, but also to smell, sound, touch, and taste.

Obviously not all senses will apply to every subject, but it’s always a good idea to explore what’s interesting about your subject beyond just what it looks like.

Even when your subject is more abstract, you might find a way to incorporate the senses more metaphorically, as in this descriptive essay about fear.

Choose the right words

Writing descriptively involves choosing your words carefully. The use of effective adjectives is important, but so is your choice of adverbs , verbs , and even nouns.

It’s easy to end up using clichéd phrases—“cold as ice,” “free as a bird”—but try to reflect further and make more precise, original word choices. Clichés provide conventional ways of describing things, but they don’t tell the reader anything about your unique perspective on what you’re describing.

Try looking over your sentences to find places where a different word would convey your impression more precisely or vividly. Using a thesaurus can help you find alternative word choices.

However, exercise care in your choices; don’t just look for the most impressive-looking synonym you can find for every word. Overuse of a thesaurus can result in ridiculous sentences like this one:

My feline perambulates the allotment proficiently and capers atop the palisade to regard it from aloft.

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An example of a short descriptive essay, written in response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how a descriptive essay works.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

If you’re not given a specific prompt for your descriptive essay , think about places and objects you know well, that you can think of interesting ways to describe, or that have strong personal significance for you.

The best kind of object for a descriptive essay is one specific enough that you can describe its particular features in detail—don’t choose something too vague or general.

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Descriptive Essay

Introduction

Personification

Lerne mit deinen Freunden und bleibe auf dem richtigen Kurs mit deinen persönlichen Lernstatistiken

Nie wieder prokastinieren mit unseren Lernerinnerungen.

"The fog comes / on little cat feet." 1 In his poem, "Fog," Carl Sandburg captures the essence of fog by describing it in a pretty unusual way. Yet, fog does move like a cat — silently, smoothly, and disappearing as suddenly as it arrives. Notice how much more interesting Sandburg's description is than simply stating that it's foggy?

In a descriptive essay assignment, use sensory and figurative language to help your reader form a picture in their mind. You can divide descriptive essays into three broad formats (a personal essay, formal description, or impressionistic description) and, from there, into a myriad of topics. After you've chosen your topic, brainstormed your ideas, and created your outline, you can follow the standard format to write your essay.

Fun fact: myriad technically means the number ten thousand!

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Descriptive Essay Definition

As the name suggests, when writing a descriptive essay, you aim to describe something thoroughly from a personal, formal, or impressionistic perspective. Descriptive essays share some characteristics with narrative essays, but descriptive and narrative essays' end goals are different.

A narrative essay explores a theme using narrative techniques, while a descriptive essay illustrates an object, place, or concept thoroughly.

Descriptive Essay Formats

You can categorize a descriptive essay as a:

Sensory Details

Sensory details refer to the features of the five senses — taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. When you use sensory details appropriately to describe your subject, you create a moving experience for the audience. As a result, they become emotionally invested and eager to read more. There are a couple of points to keep in mind when using sensory details:

Descriptive Essay. Cubist face. StudySmarter.

Showing Versus Telling

Which is more engaging: Sandburg's creative description of fog or a lengthy, scientific explanation of fog? Where appropriate, using figurative language to communicate the subject of your essay to the reader can create more interest than simply explaining the idea.

Examples of figurative language include:

Do the figurative language examples seem really, really familiar to you? Yes? They are all clichés, meaning they are images that have been used too often. If you want your writing to sound unique, avoid clichés like the plague.

Descriptive Essay Topics

You will be describing the topic of your descriptive paper in minute detail, so it's crucial to pick one that excites you. Here are a few example descriptive essay categories and topics:

A Person/Animal

Learning to write a descriptive essay is important because it teaches you how to focus on your writing style and vocabulary. When you describe something in the level of detail a descriptive paper requires, it shows you a different way of engaging with the world around you.

Descriptive Essay Structure

Structure your descriptive essay into a traditional essay format with an introduction , body paragraphs , and a conclusion .

Open your essay with a hook to get the reader's attention by choosing a thought-provoking quote or statistic related to your topic or asking a question. Then, introduce the subject by relating it to the hook. Finally, include your thesis statement in the last sentence of the introduction.

Body Paragraphs

The number of body paragraphs you include will depend on the topic and breadth of your essay, but usually, you should include at least three . Focus each body paragraph on a specific feature of your thesis . At the end of each body paragraph, wind down with a transition sentence that carries the subject to the next element or the conclusion .

Wrap up the essay by rewording your subject's thesis and central points. Don't introduce new ideas . The conclusion is the final impression, so keep the energy level consistent .

Descriptive Essay Outline

Before you sketch your outline, give some thought to researching your essay topic. Sources are not usually required for descriptive essays, but pictures, letters, text messages, and conversations can provide vivid details. In addition, brainstorming helps you decide which features make the most sense to include in the essay and how to include them. Experiment with the description 's sequence when you write the outline.

Once you have everything figured out, your outline should look something like this:

I. Introduction

A. Hook (e.g., a statistic or quote)

B. Connection between the topic and hook

C. Thesis statement

II. Body paragraphs (number of paragraphs will vary)

A. Main point of the paragraph

B. Description of the main point

C. Transition to the next paragraph or conclusion

III. Conclusion

A. summary of the thesis

B. Summary of the main points

C. Final impression

Descriptive Essay Example

The following example of an abbreviated descriptive essay will give you an idea of what a completed descriptive essay assignment could look like:

Around 11% of Americans have a panic attack every year. 2 For years, I was rushed to the emergency room, sometimes weekly, sure that I was dying. It became more frustrating every time doctors said nothing was wrong with me and sometimes treated me like I was just trying to get drugs. Blood work and vitals were within normal limits, so I was a hysterical patient in their eyes. But, in my eyes, they were missing something. My heart was pounding, I was dizzy, and my chest hurt. A voice loop in my brain kept telling me this wasn't a panic attack, but a panic attack happens unexpectedly, leaving you feeling out of control and like you could die.

My first panic attack happened when I was walking with my kids. The world shifted to the left, and my son asked me a question, but all I could hear was a tinny buzz and a whirl of thoughts fighting with each other, some screaming, "I'm going to die!" and others ordering me to "act normal, don't scare the kids." There's a python wrapped around me, waiting for me to exhale so it can squeeze slightly tighter after every breath , and I freeze because the sidewalk is marshmallow under my feet. The trees stand their ground, brilliantly green leaves fingering the sunlight. I run my hand along a nearby trunk, and its cat tongue bark gives me a lick. The breeze pricks at my skin, giving me goosebumps while I create patterns in the tree's bark — dark lines merging into wizened faces, into pits and curves, taking a chance to smile at my son when the python's grip slips a bit. The image of pretending to be a willow tree while I was in ballet pops into my head. My roots grounded, arms branched and lazily waving. They undulate like a python . Finally, the python slithers away, and I ask my son what was he saying. I had never felt anything like that before.

In a list of many, one of the unnerving things about panic attacks is that they can happen at any time. In addition, their symptoms can mimic serious health emergencies such as a stroke or heart attack. Your brain says you are under attack, and it takes practice to believe otherwise — lots of practice.

Have a look at some of the author's techniques:

The descriptive essay example is personal and impressionistic . It discusses an event that affected the author's life in a way that attempts to make the audience feel something. The long sentence structure mimics the feeling of racing thoughts. The words " buzz " and " pops " are examples of onomatopoeia . The metaphors and simile develop images in the reader's mind. Hyperbole expresses the physical sensation and irrational thoughts.

Onomatopoeia: when a word mimics the sound it describes.

Descriptive Essay, Blank pictures waiting for words to develop, StudySmarter

Descriptive Essay - Key takeaways

1 Sandburg, Carl. "Fog." Chicago Poems . 1916.

2 "Panic Disorder." Cleveland Clinic . 2020.

Frequently Asked Questions about Descriptive Essay

--> what is a descriptive essay.

A descriptive essay describes an object, place, or concept in deep detail.

--> What are some descriptive essay topics?

Some descriptive essay topics are:

--> Why is learning to write a descriptive essay important?

Learning to write a descriptive essay is important because it teaches you how to focus on your writing style and vocabulary. When you describe something in the level of detail a descriptive paper requires, it also teaches you a different way of engaging with the world around you.

--> How do you write a descriptive essay?

You write a descriptive essay using sensory images and figurative language to create a picture of the subject for the reader.

--> What are some examples of a descriptive essay?

Examples of descriptive essays include:

Final Descriptive Essay Quiz

Why is learning to write a descriptive essay important?

Show answer

All of the above

Show question

A _____ describes an object, place, or concept in deep detail.

Descriptive essay

What are some types of figurative language?

A _____ is an image or saying that has been overused.

Why should you follow a consistent pattern in your description?

You should follow a consistent pattern in your description because if you don't, it creates a disjointed image in the reader's mind.

Why should you research you descriptive essay topic?

Researching your descriptive essay topic helps you include concrete details in your writing.

What is a personal descriptive essay?

A personal descriptive essay describes an event that affected the author's life.

A(n) _____ essay creates an impersonal, photograph-quality image of a subject.

Formal description

A(n) _____ essay attempts to create an emotional reaction with its description.

Impressionistic

True or False: You can combine descriptive essay formats.

True: Descriptive essay formats can be combined depending on the subject.

A(n) _____ essay describes an experience that affected your life.

It is substituting one thing for another to draw an association.

It compares two things using "like" or "as."

It gives an object human-like characteristics.

It is an exaggerated description.

It is an object that represents something else.

It is a description of a personal experience that affected your life.

Personal essay

It is an impersonal, precise report of the subject's characteristics — you are like a camera.

It is using descriptive language to create an emotional response in the reader.

Impressionistic description

They are pictures, letters, text messages, and conversations that can provide vivid details.

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COMMENTS

What Is an Objective Description Essay?
An objective description essay describes an object, place or person with factual details. The writer avoids imparting his personal opinions or feelings into the essay. The goal is to use words to create a picture of the item being described...
What Is a “who Am I” Essay?
A “who am I” essay is a simple type of open-ended introductory essay. It is used in certain schools, workplaces and around the world to help members of a group introduce themselves through their writing. They are generally about a page long...
What Are Some Things to Include in a Descriptive Essay About a Place?
Smell, appearance, sounds, sights, tastes and texture are all things to include in a descriptive essay about a location. The idea of a descriptive essay is to recreate the item, event or, in this case, place in someone’s head.
Descriptive Essays
The descriptive essay is a genre of essay that asks the student to describe something—object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc.
Descriptive Essay: Definition, Topics, and Examples
A descriptive essay requires you to describe a person, place, object, or event. It gives a vivid description of the subject to communicate
Descriptive Essay
A descriptive essay is an essay that describes something – an object or person, an event or place, an experience or emotion, or an idea. The goal of this kind
Examples and Definition of Descriptive Essay
A descriptive essay, as the name implies, is a form of essay that describes something. In this genre, students are assigned the task of describing objects
Descriptive Essay Format & Examples
A descriptive essay describes an object, person, place, or event that the writer has experienced. Writers use illustrative language to "show"
What Is a Descriptive Essay? Examples and Guide
A descriptive essay is sort of what it says on the tin. It's a type of essay that involves describing a person or object, though it can really extend to any
Definition, Examples & Tips for Writing a Descriptive Essay
A descriptive essay is one which is used in order to describe something. These essays can describe anything from a person or place to an item or idea. The idea
How to Write a Descriptive Essay: Topics, Outline, Examples
The definition of a descriptive essay is a type of composition or paper which describes an object, person, process, or event.
Descriptive Writing
The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader's mind.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
A descriptive essay gives a vivid, detailed description of something—generally a place or object, but possibly something more abstract like an
Descriptive Essay: Definition & Examples
As the name suggests, when writing a descriptive essay, you aim to describe something thoroughly from a personal, formal, or impressionistic perspective.