5.4: Process for Writing a Description

Choosing a subject is the first step in writing a description essay. Once you have chosen the person, place, or object you want to describe, your challenge is to write an effective thesis statement to guide your essay. The remainder of your essay describes your subject in a way that best expresses your thesis. Remember, you should have a strong sense of how you will organize your essay. Choose a strategy and stick to it. Every part of your essay should use vivid sensory details. The more you can appeal to your readers’ senses, the more engaging they will find your essay

Example Thesis Statements: Notice how the subject of each is the same kitchen, but the papers resulting from each will emphasize different aspects of that kitchen: As we surveyed the kitchen of the century-old house, we knew we would have to make some tough choices about what could stay, what needed repainting, and what needed replacing. The previous owners of our century-old house seemed intent on making certain that the kitchen would end up being an eccentric survey of decorating styles. From floor to ceiling, the kitchen of our century-old house was wood—some of it better cared for than others.

While in most papers, it will be brainstorming that leads you to your thesis, in this particular instance you can see how the thesis will guide you to generating the lists of details you’ll want to include in your paper. A paper using the third thesis statement as its starting point, for example, would not have much to say about the kitchen’s appliances.

To make your writing vivid and appealing, avoid empty descriptors if possible. Empty descriptors are adjectives that can mean different things to different people. “Good,” “beautiful,” “terrific,” and “nice” are examples. The use of such words in descriptions can lead to misreads and confusion. “A good day,” for instance, can mean far different things depending on one’s age, personality, or tastes. Why describe an obstacle course as “insane” (which is a psychological description of a person’s mental state) when what you really mean is something like “elaborate” or “challenging” or “demanding”?

There are two critical techniques used in descriptive writing that are specific to this mode more than others. First, the thesis of a descriptive paper should adequately present the context of the situation. Whether the thesis is implied or stated directly, it should leave no doubt as to what is about to be or has been described. Second, description should show, not tell; instead of saying what the heat felt like, remember what it was like to be in the heat. Relive it and then create in the reader that same feeling or sensation, that essence of surviving the heat.

To this end, we may discover through the use of the descriptive mode that the world of metaphor and figurative language allows us to utilize language in both denotative and connotative ways. When we show our reader what something is as well as what it may also appear to be, it enlivens the image they see and strengthens the impression we are wanting to create. If in our writing we focus our attention on language and the power that words have to work for us in creating the specific, sensory images that leave powerful impressions on our readers, then we become more aware of the power that description has in our writing.

See this video for more help on descriptive writing from Ted-Ed.