Description! …a mode

Description You use it to tell readers about the physical characteristics of a person, place or thing. Description relies on the five senses, so your descriptive elements should include sensory details.

When will I use it? Everywhere! Examples: in a compare/contrast essay, you may describe the appearance of two elements. In an argumentative essay about preventing eating disorders, you might describe the way a starving anorexic looks.

Objective and Subjective Description Objective: focuses on the object itself rather than on your personal reactions. Uses: A biologist describing what he sees through a microscope, a historian describing a Civil War battlefield, many newspaper reports describing events. “When James Burbage built the Theatre in 1576 he naturally designed it along the lines of inn-yards in which he had been accustomed to play. The building had two entrances—one in front for the audience; one in the rear for actors, musicians, and the personnel of the theatre. Inside the building a rectangular platform projected far out into what was called “the yard”—we know the stage of the Fortune ran halfway across the “yard,” some twenty-seven and a half feet.” -Thomas Marc Parrot, describing Shakespeare’s theater.

Objective and Subjective, cont’d… Subjective: Conveys your personal response to your subject, but your perspective is not often expressed explicitly. Example: If you were given an assignment to explain a place that is special to you, you might describe your bedroom, selecting and emphasizing details that show your feelings about the place. A subjective description should convey not just a literal record of sights and sounds, but also their significance.

Subjective Example “I still kept in mind a certain wonderful sunset which I witnessed when steamboating was new to me. A broad expanse of the river was turned to blood; in the middle distance the red hue brightened into gold, through which a solitary log came floating, black and conspicuous; in one place a long, slanting mark lay sparkling upon the water; in another the surface was broken by boiling, tumbling rings, that were as many-tinted as an opal.” -Mark Twain, describing a sunset on the Mississippi River

Using Objective and Subjective Language Relies on precise, factual language Does not convey the author’s attitude about the subject Relies on denotative diction

Using Objective and Subjective Language Uses richer language that suggests the author’s attitude. Relies on connotative diction Uses figures of speech and strategies, such as Similes Metaphors Personification Allusions

Selecting Details Show, don’t tell! Example: Weak: “He looked angry.” Strong: “His face flushed, and one corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to control his anger.”

Planning a Descriptive Essay Present your details in a way that supports your thesis, purpose, dominant impression you want to convey, and is appropriate for your audience. Examples: General to specific Specific to general Top to bottom Bottom to top Left to right ….you get the idea. Just be sure that you have a particular order and that you’re not just randomly presenting details. Use Transitions to indicate the spatial arrangement of details, like above, next to, below, beyond, under, within, etc.

Structuring a Descriptive Essay Begin with an introduction that presents a thesis or establishes a dominant impression that the rest of the essay will develop. Each body paragraph should include details that support the thesis or conveys the dominant impression. The conclusion should reinforce the thesis or dominant impression, perhaps echoing an idea stated in the introduction or using a particularly effective simile or metaphor.

Watch Out for Grammar Issues! Grammar issues common to descriptive essays: Misplaced Modifiers Misplaced: E.B. White’s son swam in the lake wearing an old bathing suit. (Was the lake wearing a bathing suit?) Correct: Wearing an old bathing suit, E.B. White’s son swam in the lake.

Watch Out for Grammar Issues! Dangling Modifiers: Dangling: Startled by a sound, their eyes locked. (Were their eyes startled?) Correct: Startled by a sound, Annie Dillard locked eyes with the weasel.