Descriptive Structure:Writing a Description

Karen Silvestri, Instructional Specialist

The Learning Center at Robeson Community College

Descriptive Writing

• Describes a person• Describes a place• Describes a thing

How would you describe this scene?

Structure

Paragraph (each bullet point equals 1-3 sentences)• Topic Sentence• Supporting Detail• Supporting Detail• Supporting Detail• Conclusion

Essay (each bullet point equals one paragraph)• Introduction that

includes thesis statement

• Supporting Details• Conclusion

Show, Don’t Tell

• Description writing tries to SHOW you, not TELL you about something or someone.

• Use specific details that paint a picture.Consider this

You are a car salesman. A customer comes in and says, “I want to buy a car.” What would you say to the customer?

What kind of car?

Does the customer want an old car, a new car, a sports car, a truck, etc? He needs to be SPECIFIC!

Sensory Details

Sensory Details

Use your senses to help you

write description.

Sensory Details Example

Sensory Details: The Writing

Center

Crossroads, Integrated Reading and Writing, Pam Dusenberry and Julie O’Donnell Moore, Prentice Hall, 2011

Dominant Impression

• You are describing one thing.• That one thing is your main point.• This becomes your topic (or thesis) statement.

You might describe

A roomA placeA personOr some other thing….

The island was a disaster after the

hurricane.The dominant impression is

that it was a DISASTER.

Supporting Details

• Use your senses.• Add specific details to support your topic

(thesis) statement.What do you…

See?Hear?Smell?Feel?Taste?

The island was a disaster after the

hurricane.

Supporting Details

See?Hear?Smell?Feel?Taste?

The island was a disaster after the hurricane.

Smell of dead fish Broken trees

Sound of silence

Taste of warm water because there is no refrigerationFeel of hot sun and

humidity in the air

Spatial Order

Descriptive writing

organizes the details by moving

through space.

The island was a disaster after the hurricane.

What is the first thing you would notice?

Would you smell the dead fish first?

Or maybe the heat and humidity would hit you first.

Or maybe you are stunned by how quiet it is with no cars moving and the power out.

Imagine you just stepped off a plane onto the disaster site of the island.

Finishing Up

• Form all your ideas into complete sentences.• Add transitions.• Check to be sure you described everything.• Proofread!

Happy Writing!