As a college student, you probably incorporate at least some descriptive prose into most essays, yet when asked to write an essay that consists entirely of description, you slam headfirst into that wall called “writer’s block.” In fact, you probably don’t even know where to begin. You can, however, get past that wall and write effective descriptive essays by keeping certain important information and some helpful guidelines in mind.
The Purpose of Descriptive Writing in College
A good description paints a vivid picture, meaning one that conveys an effective impression or feeling about the subject (person, place, action, or object) and makes it come to life in the reader’s imagination.
When describing something, it’s important to remember that you are, on the one hand, presenting certain facts while, on the other hand, sharing your personal opinions, feeling, and impressions regarding the subject.
Communicating the bare facts is called objective description, and communicating personal feelings and impressions is called subjective description. Look at the two examples below, both of which describe the Great Victoria Dessert in Australia.
Example of an Objective Description
In an article written for Encyclopedia of the Earth (2010), Mark McFinley writes the following:
"A vast, sparsely populated region covered by dunefields and gibber plains, the Great Victoria Desert receives little rain and experiences extreme temperatures. A highly desert-adapted fauna lives here and the area is known for its lizard diversity. Climate and isolation render pastoralism and agriculture inviable [sic], so the region has suffered few direct effects of European settlement."
Example of a Subjective Description
In Desert Places, Robyn Davison writes this description:
"Soon after leaving Tempe, I crossed a wide riverbed, slapping my bare feet on hot river pebbles and soft sticks and delighting in the crunch of glittering sand between my toes. Then I saw my first sand-hills. This county had had brushfires through it the previous season, which had been followed by heavy rains, so the colors of the landscape were now brilliant orange, jet black and sickly bright lime Day-glo green. Whoever heard of such a desert? And above all that, everywhere, tracks and tracks I had not noticed before, patches of burnt bushes sticking up like old crow’s feathers from wind-rippled ridges, new bush foods to be searched for and picked. It was delicious new country, but it was tiring." (Barnwell & Dees, 1999, p. 119)
It’s important to remember, though, that the most effective descriptions are those they present not only an overall impression of a subject but also at least some credible facts about that subject. In other words, good descriptive writing skillfully blends objective and subjective description in order to create a dominant impression, which is the overall sense of, or feeling about, the subject that a writer wishes to convey to the reader. (Barnwell & Dees, 1999)
Guidelines for Writing an Effective Description
In Steps to Writing Well, Jean Wyrick makes four excellent suggestions regarding how students can write more effective descriptions:
Recognize the purpose of the essay: Is the intent to inform, clarify, or persuade? On the other hand, are you being asked to convey a particular mood (gloomy, carefree, sinister, etc) or to communicate an attitude toward the subject (dislike, repulsion, love, adoration, reverence, etc)? By recognizing the purpose, you’ll know whether to concentrate more upon objective or subjective descriptions.
Describe clearly, using specific details: You must include sufficient specific details and avoid those that are vague or fuzzy. For example, if you lost your cat, you wouldn’t call the animal shelter and say, “Do you have a gray cat with green eyes?” No, you would paint as vivid a picture as possible, for instance:
Do you have a gray female cat that weighs around 10 pound, with green eyes, four white stockings, a white nose, and wearing a red collar? Oh, and she also has small jagged scar on her right ear from a fight years ago.
Choose only appropriate details: In order to convey a dominant impression to the reader, you should include “only those details that communicate a particular mood or feeling to the reader” (Wyrick, 2002, p. 323). For example, if you were writing an essay about a place and your intent was to create a mood of foreboding or mystery, you might write the following:
The house looked forlorn sitting in the middle of the weed-infest lawn. It was weathered gray, with a sagging front porch, and its windows reminded me of the hollow eyes on a death’s head, eyes devoid of not only life but any semblance of compassion or humanity.
Make descriptions vivid: Use clear, precise language, and choose words that most effectively convey the impression you hope to make upon the reader. Incorporate sensory details (images that appeal to the five senses) and use figurative language (metaphors, similes, personification, or hyperbole, etc). For instance, you might write:
The lightning walked on jagged legs across the angry, pregnant night sky. (This is an example of personification, which is a technique writers us to give human characteristics to nonhuman things.)
In conclusion, writing a descriptive essay isn’t all that difficult, at least not if you determine the purpose, incorporate specific and appropriate details, and make your descriptions vivid. Just remember that your goal is to paint a picture with words, so choose the colors (words) prudently and then apply them to the canvas (page) with care.
Some additional articles that students might find helpful include the following:
“How to Analyze a Short Story for a College English Course"
“How to Analyze a Poem for a Paper in a College English Class”
“How to Write a Thesis Statement for a Paper in College”
Sources:
Barnwell, W. & Dees, R. The Resourceful Writer: Fourth Edition. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company. 1999, p. 119.
McFinley, M. World Wildlife Fund: “Great Victoria Desert.” 2008. Retrieved October 26, 2010 from Encyclopedia of the Earth at eoearth.org
Wyrick, J. Steps to Writing Well with Additional Readings: Fifth Edition Boston, MA: Thompson-Wadsworth, 2002.
Carol Rzadkiewicz - Carol Rzadkiewicz has taught college English for over 14 years and is the author of three published novels and numerous short stories.
