Creating a vivid description . . .

From Reading to Writing In Isaac Bashevis

Singer’s story “The Son from America,” the main

characters’ simple lives are shown through

singular details: a goat who lives in their one-

room hut, an oil dish that serves as their lamp.

Creating a vivid description . . .

Through focused description, authors like Singer can create vivid settings and help readers grasp some aspects of the characters’ inner lives.

B a s i c s i n a B o x

Focused Description at a Glance

RUBRIC Standards for Writing

A successful description should

• focus on a person, place, or object

• convey a clear sense of purpose

• use sensory details and precise words to create a vivid picture, establish a mood, or express emotion

• include figurative language or dialogue when appropriate

• use a consistent method of organization such as spatial order, order of importance, or order of impression

Writing Your Focused Description1 Prewriting

You can observe a lot by watching.

Yogi Berra, baseball player and manager

You can observe a lot by watching.

Yogi Berra, baseball player and manager

Find a subject for your description

Recall a time when you found something so interesting you couldn’t wait to describe it to your friends.

Writing Your Focused Description1 Prewriting

You can observe a lot by watching.

Yogi Berra, baseball player and manager

You can observe a lot by watching.

Yogi Berra, baseball player and manager

Find a subject for your description

Make a list of places—both strange and familiar—that you find fascinating.

Think of interesting or unusual people you know.

Planning Your Focused Description

1. Decide your purpose. Why are you describing this particular thing? Do you want to Show why something is important to you?

Make your subject vivid and memorable?

Create a particular mood?

Recreate a scary event?

Planning Your Focused Description

2. Gather information through your senses.

Careful observation is the key to powerful descriptive writing. Close your eyes. Imagine the smells, sounds, or textures you associate with the person, place, object or event. What colors or shapes help describe your subject?

Planning Your Focused Description

3. Identify your audience.

What do your readers know about the subject?

What background information might your readers need?

What details will best help them picture your subject?

Writing Your Focused Description2 Drafting

Begin writing even if you have not refined

your purpose or chosen a specific focus.

Keep going. Your focus will become

clearer as you develop and refine your

ideas.

Start by stating the most important aspect

of your subject. Then provide details that

contribute to the overall effect.

Writing Your Focused Description2 Drafting

Use sensory language to convey a mood clearly. For example, words like dilapidated, rusty, cracked, dirty, clatter, and searching furtively all contribute to a mood of loneliness and neglect.

Show what you are describing. For instance, if you describe people, let their actions and dialogue reveal their personalities.

Writing Your Focused Description2 Drafting

You may choose an organization before you begin your draft, or you may order and rearrange your details in a later draft. At some point, however, you must choose a method of organization in order to create a clear, well-ordered description.

Writing Your Focused Description2 Drafting

There are three common methods for organizing a description:

Spatial order. This order reflects how a person might actually look at a subject:

bottom to topleft to rightinside to outsidenear to far

Writing Your Focused Description2 Drafting

Order of importance

Present the most significant detail first. Follow with less important details.

Begin with the least important details and work up to the most important ones.

Or

Writing Your Focused Description2 Drafting

Order of impression

Arrange details according to what first catches your attention. Then describe details you notice later. This type of organization can give a “you are there” quality to your description.

Writing Your Focused Description3 Revising

Target Skill WORD CHOICE

Apt word choices add punch to your

descriptions. Vague or abstract words can

leave the image fuzzy for the reader. Try

adding concrete words to leave a stronger

impression.

Writing Your Focused Description4 Editing and Proofreading

Target Skill SUBJECT-VERB AGREEMENT

During revision, if you change the number

of your subject, make sure your verb

agrees.