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Do you want to know how to write a descriptive essay? It’s a common question of many students as sooner or later, they all have to work on this task. College is a difficult time since homework is almost never-ending. Descriptive papers are a blessing and a curse because, on the one hand, they are pretty easy to write, but on the other, not everyone feels this way. Such an essay type requires you to pick a subject and present it to the audience, focusing on every bit of it and adding meaningful descriptive details.
Basically, you should describe a person, a place, some event, or literally anything else, making sure that your readers end up with a clear image of this topic in their minds. Professors love assigning descriptive essays because writing them helps train students’ imagination, observation, and memory skills. You can learn how to focus on something, analyze it, and present everything coherently, recreating the picture you saw for other people’s benefit. But let’s explore this kind of writing more thoroughly.
Steps For Writing a Descriptive Essay
Lacking a sense of direction is always a frustrating problem for young writers. They would like to start working and doing their research, but the trouble is, they have no idea where to start and what they should be doing. Confusion is natural in these cases, so the steps we outlined below serve the purpose of dispersing it. They could become helpful guidelines showing how to write a description properly.
- Choose a good paper topic. At least 50% of students’ success depends on a topic they choose for their descriptive high school essay. Find a theme that could actually inspire you. It should be something you like and wouldn’t mind describing, so go through things that interest you. Favorite country, best friend, a concert, historical event — your choice for a story could be anything.
- Create thesis claim. If students know how to write a descriptive paragraph, that’s great, but how about thesis? This is an essential claim that reflects the essence of a paper, the last sentence of an introduction that discloses the whole point of your work. So, before you start creating composition itself, write your thesis. Brainstorm until you define core point of your essay and start trying out different theses until you settle on the most effective one.
- Develop an outline and follow it. The third step of typical descriptive essay format concerns an outline. Don’t ignore it simply because doing extra writing seems like an annoying perspective. Plan info for each separate paragraph; see the layout of an essay before it comes into existence — this could help you preserve direction sense and remain coherent in your writing. For example, in case you plan on dividing an essay into 5 parts, label and describe them in one sentence. Later, remembering what you had to discuss will be much easier.
- Polish your essay. Another important step students should never skip entails re-reading what they wrote and playing role of an editor. Hasty job won’t fit here: you need to be slow and thorough. Read entire text from the beginning. Look at writing style, tone, structure, and overall coherency. How does everything sound? Is the portrait you focused on vivid enough? How readable is the text — are paragraphs neither short nor overly long? Do details emerge one by one, is this process gradual enough? Finally, catch grammar and proofreading issues. This is going to boost your grade for sure.
Four Tips That Will Help You Write a Great Description
Descriptive writing tips hold the power to make any work more successful than it would have been otherwise. If you’d like some advice on descriptive format, it’s not a problem. Just take a look at suggestions below.
- Get to know your topic personally. Let’s imagine a student has decided on describing her favorite café. No matter how well she remembers it, it would be better to visit it again if possible for getting the whole experience. She could also look for pics or even videos online — these days, you can find almost everything on the Internet. Do the same for your analysis. Impression should be fresh, meaning that you need to re-capture it, so check out as much info about it as you can before you start on description essay.
- Use rich vocabulary. Descriptions require rich as well as diverse word choices. If students’ vocabulary is limited, it’s preferable to look into different dictionaries. Find good synonyms or alluring adjectives there. For instance, don’t repeat phrase, “I was worried/this made me worried/I found it worrisome.” Apply other words, such as “anxious, concerning, jittery, wary,” etc. Use figurative language if it fits an essay you’re planning to write: things like metaphors, similes, alliterations, and comparisons could always make a descriptive text sound more succinct. Usual academic dryness is a bad choice here: be poetic and detailed, and your grade could be raised.
- Show, don’t tell. This is the golden rule of good writing, particularly when it comes to descriptive paper. Students should rely on their senses, not on mechanical descriptions. Emotions make readers more likely to empathize with an author, so include them in this writing task. For example, don’t merely state, “I really hoped I could find her.” Say, “My heart kept skipping nervous beats, with my mind screaming at me to go on, to turn this place upside down, to find her and make sure she’ll never be hurt again.” The second example is more powerful than the first, so take this into account during writing process. Think about what a subject you’re describing makes people feel and react, not only about its physical characteristics.
- Build appropriate structure. How to start a descriptive essay? How should body be crafted and how should this essay end? Find answers to all these questions before proceeding with writing. Every solid essay must follow certain technical rules. Introduction should outline a central theme; body paragraphs are for exploring thesis: they shouldn’t exceed the size of 2/3 from one page, and each needs strong opening and closing sentences. Conclusion restates major points: it cannot have any new stuff. Remember this at all times.
Strategies for Choosing Essay Topics
For writing great descriptive essays, students must pick a good topic, but it’s easier said than done. Where could they find it if nothing specific comes into their minds? Our site offers a solution. Check out essay topics we’ve collected: there are many of them, so you’ll definitely find at least some interesting ones. They are divided by essay types, so if you need descriptive category, look through that list; if an assignment is about an argumentative essay, go through the related group. Task complexity differs, too, so there are options for high school, college, as well as university levels.
Examples of What Is a Descriptive Essay
Seeing something with one’s own eyes is often better than learning it in theory. That’s why looking through examples is so helpful: after checking what other people wrote, students get a more defined idea of what they should be doing. Like with topics, we’ve created a collection of great samples with descriptive writing. You could access them for free — just find an option that seems interesting and read it. These essays were assessed highly by professors or other people specializing in academic writing, so you could perfect your skills by learning essential aspects from them. In the end, it could also make your grade higher.
Come Up With Great Descriptions and Start Loving Your Writing
If you learned descriptive essay definition, cataloged all tips, and looked through samples, it is time for trying your hand at being a writer. Follow each step — this could make writing a much smoother process. Most importantly, select a topic that speaks to you on a personal level, and it’ll direct you better than anything else. Still, at some point, you might feel like needing help, and if so, don’t let it embarrass you.
Students lead complex lives. They are extremely busy since they have to find a balance between their studies, work, homework, and personal life. Fights with close friends, too much pressure from professors, extra shifts at work or physical illness, even trivial laziness, and a desperate need for rest — there are many factors that could interfere with your writing. Contact us in case this happens. Tell us you require descriptive essay help, upload files with guidelines, and we’ll follow them to a T. Your essay will be submitted by the date you’ve pointed out, so you’ll save your time while still earning a good grade.