DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

Techniques in Descriptive Writing

• Use details to make your descriptions come alive.
• Focus on evoking the senses. (sight, sound, smell, taste and touch)
• Nouns, adjectives and verbs help the reader see and feel things.
• A descriptive essay need not be boring and monotonous. Make use of a lively tone – show your own feelings, responses and reactions and let the reader feel them too.
• Describe different aspects. If you are describing a person, do not limit your description to the person’s physical appearance. Include a detailed description of the person’s character and personality and how other people react to him/her. Include a detailed paragraph of an incident which highlights one of these aspects.
Before you begin writing a descriptive essay, you need to identify what you want to describe.
Consider the following topic:
My favourite teacher
If you are going to write about a favourite teacher, you might want to include his/her physical appearance. When describing his/her physical appearance, you can provide a general description of him/her or focus on important certain aspects which define his/her character. An essay of this nature would not be complete without a description of his/her qualities and how he/she interacts with his/her students.
Look at the two extracts below.
Extract 1
Mr L was my English Literature lecturer. He was thin and of average height. He was boyish looking. He spoke with an unusual accent. He was also quite sarcastic and some of the students did not like this. He did not like students coming in late to class. Some of us loved him but others hated him.
Extract 1 is a simple description of the teacher. Although there are several adjectives, the description is somewhat dull as the structures used are simple and repetitive.
Extract 2
The first time I entered his class, I, like many of the other students, was charmed by his boyish looks. A quick calculation told us that he was in his twenties. His straight black hair fell across his forehead when it was slightly long and his clear complexion enhanced his looks. For a Chinese, he had unusually big eyes and quite a sharp nose. He was always welldressed in a rugged sort of way. He was not outrageously handsome but there was something in him which definitely made him attractive His unusual accent mesmerised some of us but his sarcasm did not

** Taken from : The Star Online