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Smarthinking Writer's Handbook

Writing a Descriptive Essay

Chapter 1: Section 2, Lesson 2

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Imagine you’re catching up with a friend who wants to know more about your new car. You tell him, “It’s a
great car—good on gas and quick to move.” “That’s nice,” says your friend, “but tell me more!” After you
describe the sapphire blue paint, the leather seats, and the sunroof, your friend begins to understand just
exactly why this new car is special. Descriptions help people share important parts of their lives with others.
In a writing class, the instructor may ask you to write a descriptive essay about one specific person, place, or
object. The goal is to describe the topic so vividly that readers can really imagine it. In some cases, the
instructor will assign a specific topic for you to describe, such as a landmark on campus. Other assignments
require you to choose a person, place, or thing that you know really well and to show your readers how or
why your topic is special or significant. For example, you might be asked to describe a unique person, a place
you recently visited, or an object that holds sentimental value. Occasionally, instructors will use the term
description for an essay about an event, which is also known as a narrative essay. For information about
these types of essays, see Writing a Narrative (https://services.smarthinking.com/static/document_library
/docs/writeman/1_02_01.cfm).

Essay Structure
Like most essays, descriptive essays include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Usually,
each body paragraph focuses on a different characteristic of the topic, so it’s a good idea to brainstorm the
characteristics you want to describe before your first draft. One way to begin working on a descriptive essay
is to ask yourself these questions:

What main idea do you want to illustrate about the person, place, or thing you’re describing?
What are the most noticeable or significant aspects of your topic?
Which aspects best prove your main idea?

You can use these types of questions to brainstorm possible body paragraph topics and to make a list of
those topics before writing. For example, before writing about a garden, you might plan this kind of outline:

I. Introduction
II. First aspect: the colorful flowers
III. Second aspect: the sculptures
IV. Third aspect: the bees and butterflies
V. Conclusion

In this outline, each Roman numeral represents one paragraph topic. This plan includes topics for three body
paragraphs, but the length can vary depending on the assignment and topic. Check the instructions for clues
about the number and types of characteristics you should describe.

Introduction Paragraph
Most descriptive essays begin with an introduction paragraph that familiarizes readers with the topic. The
introduction usually helps readers understand what you’ll describe and why the topic is relevant. It might
explain why the topic is important to you personally or how your topic is relevant to people in general.
Introductions to descriptive essays tend to answer the following types of questions:

Person Place Thing

Which person is special What place is Which object is

to you? significant and significant?
What is your important? What type of object is
connection to this What is the place it?
person? mostly used for? Where did the object
Where does the person Who tends to use it? come from?
live? Where is the place What is the object used
What is the person’s located? for?
main occupation or
role?

Thesis Statement

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You’ll usually need to include a thesis statement in your descriptive essay. Although each assignment varies,
the thesis usually gives your overall impression of the topic, perhaps listing the aspects or characteristics you
plan to discuss in the body paragraphs. Here are a few examples of thesis statements for descriptive essays.

Person: My best friend Rayna is especially fascinating because of her creative fashion sense, hilarious
sense of humor, and adorable mannerisms.
Place: The nature preserve is one of the most relaxing and peaceful places on campus because of
several characteristics.
Object: My favorite bracelet has a lot of value and meaning because of the design, colors, and
engravings.

Each thesis includes an overarching main idea about the topic. The first and third thesis statements include a
list of body paragraph topics as well.

Topic Sentences
The body paragraphs in a descriptive essay usually begin with clear topic sentences to help readers
understand how the ideas are structured. The topic sentence usually identifies the aspect you plan to discuss
in the paragraph, and the supporting details describe this characteristic with specific information. For
example, the following topic sentence would begin a body paragraph in an essay about a garden:

One of the most relaxing and enjoyable aspects of the garden are the flowers.

Because the topic sentence focuses on the garden’s flowers, you can only include details about flowers—their
appearance, smell, texture, and so on—until the next body paragraph.

Supporting Details
The supporting details in a descriptive essay do most of the describing. To successfully show readers what
the topic is like, each body paragraph usually needs several vivid and clear details. Many descriptive
assignments ask students to do more showing than telling, as seen here:

Telling: For Halloween last year, Rayna had the most outrageous “Oscar the Grouch” costume.
Showing: She spray painted her dreadlocks green and pinned them into a messy nest on top of her
head, and she used suspenders to attach a metal, bottomless trashcan to her shoulders. She made it
look as if the can was full of trash by taping banana peels, empty chip bags, and wadded paper towels
to the top edges.

As you can see, showing requires you to use sensory details about the five senses (sight, hearing, smell,
taste, and touch). For example, to describe flowers, you might consider

The color, shape, and appearance of the flowers

The smell of the flowers
The sound of the flowers moving in the breeze
The texture of the flowers and leaves on the fingers
The taste of the nectar from a honeysuckle blossom

It may not be possible to use all five senses in each body paragraph, but definitely try to use them while you
brainstorm. Depending on what you’re describing, some of the senses will be more appropriate than others.

Conclusion Paragraph
The conclusion paragraph is a chance to revisit the thesis statement, reminding readers of the overall
impression you wanted to make about your topic. Some writers take this opportunity to explain how their
topic is connected to a larger insight or meaning as well. Conclusions to descriptive essays can answer the
following types of questions:

Which characteristics are most prominent or significant?

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What overall impression or opinion do these characteristics leave you with?

How do people, places, or objects like your topic affect people overall?

Above all, the conclusion to a descriptive essay makes the topic more memorable and gives the reader
closure.

Think About It

What are the most noticeable characteristics of your topic?

What do you see when you look at your topic far away and up close?
What overall impression do you want your readers to have by the end of your essay?

Use these questions to brainstorm ideas before starting your first draft. As you work on your descriptive
essay, remember that your goal is to help readers imagine your topic as vividly as possible.

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