How to Write a Descriptive Essay: Overview 

Struggling with writing a descriptive essay? Have no idea how to choose a topic and  start writing? You found the right article! Check out our guide and useful tips. 

Writing a Descriptive Essay: It Is Easier Than You Can Imagine

A descriptive essay can be of several varieties: a description of a picture, of a person’s appearance or character, of the environment (interior), and of the area.

All descriptions aim to recreate a certain picture in the reader’s imagination. At the same time, the writer who creates a descriptive text has their point of view on the depicted and may be free in their evaluations and ways of presenting the material. To describe means to specify, reveal some important features, characteristic features, and peculiarities by which we can recognize or imagine the subject of description. Particular attention in the descriptive essay is given to bright and interesting details and features. Still, it would be best to strive to ensure that these details do not look disjointed and form an integral picture where everything is interconnected. 

Examples of Descriptive Essay Structure

A descriptive essay, as a rule, has three parts: introduction, main part, and conclusion.

Many articles have been reported on how to write an introduction and what it should look like. However, errors are frequently made in this section of the essay description. Why? Maybe it’s because people aren’t paying attention or think this section of the essay isn’t important. However, since it is essentially a synopsis of the major body, the introduction always plays a significant part in every literary work.

In the introduction, identify the object of description: who or what it is and why it will be described. If it is a single object, state its basic function or role in its environment. If the thing is a phenomenon or situation, you can write what it is associated with or is primarily interesting in the introduction. Consider what draws attention to the object that makes it recognizable. It could be qualitative.

While writing the main part or, in other words, the body of your descriptive essay, use evaluative adjectives, adverbs, figurative expressions, and timeless verbs in the main body of the paper to describe the object that characterizes the states of the thing in different periods. Also, use adjectives and verbs above in comparative constructions and compound sentences.

First, describe the essential features and characteristics of the object so that it becomes recognizable and then proceed to the details and minutiae that complete the image, using original definitions and comparisons. Do not give trivial characteristics. Instead, try to show what a careful and subtle observer you are. Use verbs with a neutral meaning in your descriptive essay.

As you conclude your description, describe the object in a short, succinct phrase ― indicate what result the features you named create and what it means. Any conclusion should explain in two or three short sentences the relevance of specific elements in a representation.

Descriptive Essays Examples of Style and Functionality

So, how do you begin to work on your descriptive essay? First of all, as with any work, you must think about the following characteristics:

• Purpose 
• Theme
• Main idea
• Style.

Thus, to describe means to list the characteristics of an object, nature, person, animal, phenomenon, or process, i.e., to give an aspect of a character. Therefore, essays of the description type must have many words denoting quality: adjectives, nouns, and adverbs.

Surprisingly, descriptive essays can have no or very few verbs at all. This is the difference between descriptions and narrative texts. Why? There’s no movement in the descriptions. There is no development of action, no events. A description is a verbal picture, and it gives a picture of an object, a person, a phenomenon, etc. The description is created so the reader “sees” what the author saw.

Depending on the purpose of the text, the audience, and what the text is intended for, descriptions can be written in different styles. For example, the author may set a goal to influence readers’ imagination. To do this, the writer may use not just several adjectives but epithets and metaphors or another means of artistic expression called a comparison.

Description can also be in scientific, formal, and business style and be found in publicist texts. Scientific descriptions are usually technical characteristics of a subject, process, or phenomenon. Texts of this type must necessarily have special terms and specific information. Both in scientific and formal/business descriptions, the use of graphic and expressive means of language is inappropriate, just like in literary texts.

FAQ

How do I write a descriptive essay?

To write a descriptive essay, you should pay attention to these steps:

• Select a specific topic. Strong descriptive essays maintain their focus at all times. 
• Gather information.
• Create an outline. 
• Create an introductory paragraph. 
• Create body paragraphs. 
• In the final section, summarize the essay. 
• Look for ways to make your language more interesting.

That’s how you can make your essay interesting.

How do I start a descriptive essay?

You know how to write a descriptive essay. But where do you start?

• Begin with a topic sentence. 
• Add details to provoke the imagination. When describing the orange, appeal to relatable senses.
• Include actual details.
• Finish the paragraph with summarizing sentences.

These are the steps that can help you with starting writing from a blank page.

What are the elements of descriptive writing?

First, you need to think of knocking details. Specific details create a mental picture for the reader and appeal to their senses. The second thing to recall is that you should use figurative language. Analogy, simile, and metaphor are writing tools that add depth to authors’ descriptions. But also, don’t forget about the precise wording. It can enhance the beauty of the essay. And last but not least is a well-thought-out organization. Without it, even the most creative mind can be lost.