Describing a Person

Painting a Portrait in Words

Where ¶ Fits in Imaginative Essay• Description of present time and place (sneak in hint of problem)• Transport to the past (intended or unintended)• Description of another time and place• Face-to-face encounter with famous person you admire• Description of the person woven into the story• Interaction between you and person• Dialogue (observe conventions of presenting dialogue)• Skillful introduction of the problem into story or conversation• Person’s reaction to the problem• Your request for advice on how to reduce the problem• Wisdom–from person, things that can be done• Mission accomplished–time to get back to the future• Separation• Return to the time and place you started from• Realization of what you learned from your adventure

Look at Picture of Famous Person

Robert Frost

Make Notes

Imagine Meeting the Person

• Where is the meeting taking place?• What time of day or night is it? • What is the person doing? • What does the person look like?• What are you doing there?

Descriptive Paragraph on FrostFrost was standing next to a barn. Apparently, he had

been shoveling manure. His boots and pant cuffs were stained with cow dung. His white messy hair looked like dried grass sticking out of a hay feeder. As I walked toward him, he smiled. His smile lit up his face. His bushy eyebrows arched in anticipation of chatting with a stranger. His pale blue eyes twinkled next to the crow’s feet that competed for attention with the many wrinkles on his face. After wiping his hands on his work shirt, he put out a large, tanned, still soiled hand to greet me. His palms were hard and callused. When he spoke, his voice was deep, sociable, but a bit rusty, as if he hadn’t used it for a while. I could tell that he prided himself on his New England accent.

Picture of Epictetus

Notes for Description

Description of Epictetus

As I walked about the Roman marketplace, I noticed a group of men listening to a speaker who was leaning against a fluted column. Above his long grey beard, his long nose protruded with a bump in the middle. His grey hair was cropped short in the front but flowed down the sides covering his ears. His dark eyes were serene, complementing the unhurried pace of his speech, which articulated his views on proper conduct. His cloak, unlike most of the togas about him, had been mended often with patches of mismatched colors, making him look like a destitute circus clown. Since he wore no shoes, his bare feet were covered with thick calluses and the dust of the road. When he spotted me, he shifted his weight from the column, grabbed a gnarled cane, and limped toward me with a curious look in his eyes.

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One or more seriesHemingway was wearing his baggy Bermuda shorts, his steel rimmed sunglasses, and his big-billed fishing cap.

Milt Machlin

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One or more tagged-on elementsHemingway looked out to the sea, breathing in the salt spray and smiling into the challenge of the sea.

Milt Machlin

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One complex sentenceAs he squatted beside a small camp table, Hemingway wrote down the last sentence of “The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber.”

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Only one compound sentence.His smile was less frequent now, and he seldom smiled with the rest of his face.

Milt Machlin

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One or more figurative comparisons.Hemingway worked intently on sentences as if he were inscribing them directly on the heart and minds of readers he would never meet.

Mother Teresa

Paragraph Written by a Student

Mother Teresa looked weak, but her voice had the strength of a hurricane. She was short. Her small dark eyes complemented her light brown skin. Her clothing was simple—a long white robe, a pair of brown sandals, and a large rosary. As she stood there, I noticed that she was praying, as still as a statue of St. Theresa of the Little Flower. She enunciated her prayers in a European accent combined with the lilt of Indian English. Her face, full of wrinkles, had a tender look. When she looked up to me after her prayers, she welcomed me with a big hug, holding me with the tiny, crooked hands that had comforted so many children. She was tranquil, kind, and peaceful like a angel in a painting by Raphael.

Homework

• Make notes on famous person.• Write paragraph, as if you were on the scene.• Revise the paragraph to include the sentence

patterns with the Hemingway samples.• Include sensory details• WORD PROCESS, Arial 12-point, double spaced, 130-140 words