It is often said that Charles Dickens was the most loved author in terms of the indulgence of the readers in his writings. There is a popular opinion about Dickens that he was the most descriptive author in the history of English literature. Ever wondered what his speciality is? It was his ability to describe things.
The ability to describe things can work wonders – if you can describe a particular thing well enough, you might get the reader obsessed with that thing. That is what a descriptive essay does.
What is a Descriptive Essay?
As it looks pretty apparent from the nomenclature, a descriptive essay is used to write about any person, place, thing, animal, experience, or any random entity that needs to have a proper portrayal.
Too many difficult words, right? Let me break that down for you – a descriptive essay is simply the description of any random thing. A good descriptive essay should be able to tell the reader everything that they might need to know about the thing that is being described.
There is only one technical specification that separates a descriptive essay from the rest of the categories of essay – a descriptive essay is dedicated to one particular entity. There are no arguments, evidences, or any other aspect needed. There are just plain facts that cover everything that is to be known about that entity.
How to describe in a batter way?
Describing something in a good way is an art. And like every other art, it needs a certain amount of skill and time to master. There are different techniques to describe different class of entities. To learn them all, and to be able to write a perfect descriptive essay, is going to take some time. So why not start now?
Allow me to explain some of the fail-safe methods to successfully describe things:
- Cover all the senses: While you are describing something, you need to mention the observation from all the sensory organs. This is because, it will help the reader to form a virtual reality in their minds that will actually help them to imagine and relate to the description that you were trying to put forth. For an example, if you are describing some dish that you cooked, you need to describe:
- What the ingredients, the various stages of cooking, and the final dish looked like?
- What was the texture of the ingredients that told you they are fresh and good enough to be used?
- The aroma of the stages of cooking and the final dish. You can mention an aroma that they can easily relate to.
- Was there any sound that was particularly important or significant in the cooking process? For example, the sizzling sound when the onions go into the frying pan.
- Last but the most important one (if it wasn’t clear earlier) how did the dish taste?
- Use Literary Tools: You should use a few literary tools to spice up your description. In addition to spicing up, literary tools also help the reader to relate to the explanation in a better way, since it is on a lighter note.
- Use appropriate adjectives: This might sound like an obvious thing, but you must be absolutely sure about the adjective that is required at that particular point. Even the synonyms can have a little displaced meaning sometimes.
The Structure of a Descriptive Essay Writing
A descriptive essay, like every other essay category, does not have a defined structure for framing. But nonetheless, there are a few points that need to be included in the framework to make the descriptive essay serve the purpose that it was supposed to.
I finalized this structure for future references when I had to write my essay and I got a really good grade in it. Let’s have a look at what an ideal descriptive essay should look like:
- Introduction: Not unlike other essays, you have to make sure that your descriptive essay has a very interesting and catchy opening paragraph. So what all can you do to make it so? Let us see:
- Similar to the other categories of essays, descriptive essays can also be started with the ‘hook’ sentence. Rather, you should actually do it as a priority instead of an option. Use a catchy line from the description.
- Set the platform for the further detailed description. This setting up should be like a transition from the opening statement to the main body. You can use clever word play in this section.
- The Body: This part of your descriptive essay writing should contain the main description about the whole thing. Now obviously, there are no such ground rules as to how things should be put, but it would be beneficial for you if you follow the guidelines below:
- Each paragraph should be dedicated to describing one single aspect of the details of the thing that you’re describing.
- Always set an exciting plot for each paragraph. Preferably start with a question that will get the readers even more interested in the description.
- Always remember the five senses. Mention the experiences that you need the readers to have in the most lucrative way possible, whenever and wherever you deem necessary.
- The Conclusion: After you’ve mentioned everything that was to be mentioned, you need to wind up the essay. In the conclusion of a descriptive essay, there are a certain things that you should include:
- Write about how the description is important. Mention good reasons for this essay being written.
- Always end the essay with the last line that provides food for thought. Leave the readers pondering over the things that you told them. This will make them want even more.
On the final note
Like every other kind of essay, a descriptive essay is also not very easy to pull off. You need to have extremely polished descriptive abilities to mesmerize your readers and leave them wanting more.
But if you feel the need to get your descriptive essay done by someone else, you can always look up to the essay writing services that will help you with any and every kind of essay
writing.
Here are some more essay guides that might help you!
