What is a Descriptive Essay?
A descriptive essay describes and gives sensory details about a person, place, event, or thing in an in-depth and detailed manner. It is different from writing a narrative essay.
The aim of descriptive essay writing is to make the reader feel and see a certain thing, place, or person from your perspective. Your readers may have different points of view about the topic, your job is to make them see what you feel and believe.
These types of descriptions are often found in the literature; novels and dramas, where the writer constricts the whole scene through his or her words.
Ever noticed how you feel like actually seeing the character from a novel in your mind? Or a place? This is the power of a descriptive narrative.
What is the Aim of Descriptive Writing?
The sole aim of a descriptive essay writer is to draw a realistic and actual picture in front of the reader. These essays are a part of high school and college level and students.
Teachers give this type of descriptive writing task to students for developing the students’ skills of describing and explaining something in a detailed manner.
This skill is quite helpful in professional life as the students will know how to analyze something in detail and by considering its different angles.
While writing a descriptive essay can be a fun and enriching experience. Describing your emotions and feelings and dealing with a sensitive topic can be a challenging and daunting task. However, with practice, you can do it successfully.
Good Descriptive Essay Examples
It is not an easy task to write a descriptive essay at first attempt. This is why many students turn to the examples of a descriptive essay to understand its structure and content.
Samples and examples are great to help the students understand how to write certain types of essays. Every essay and assignment is different and, therefore, to score well, you need to be mindful of the content that you add to them.
Effective descriptive essay writing is more about describing different aspects and traits of the chosen subject and the type of feelings they inspire. Commonly, these types of essays describe a particular person, an event, a place, or an emotion with the aim to make the reader feel your way.
Below we have given some good descriptive examples free for students
Don’t give up! Continue reading to explore more amazing examples
Descriptive Essay Example about a Person
Writing about a person is probably the first choice of many students. They like to describe their parents, especially siblings, best friends, and teachers in their essays. However, when you choose to write about a person, it is better that you write about someone who you know.
This will add the needed depth into the description. Below is an example of a descriptive essay on ‘My Mother’.
Descriptive Essay Example about an Event
As humans, we come across a number of events and happenings. From casual friends get together to very formal weddings and parties, each one of us has something to talk about.
The descriptive essays about events describe the event, how the writer felt about it along the surrounding details.
Just like we say, a descriptive essay ‘describes’ the topic. In the case of descriptive essay examples about an event, the details will include the kind of event, the level of excitement of the writer, the surroundings, and an overall feeling.
Check out the sample essay below.
Descriptive Essay Example About a Place
Describing a place that you visited in your summer holidays is quite an enjoyable experience. It is like you are visiting the same place again and having the same feelings.
When describing your favorite place in an essay, use vivid language. You can describe the details like the weather of the place, the main place that you visited, the kind of feeling you had.
Besides, you should also describe why you like the place. The memorable events should be presented in proper order. To have a better idea of how to write a descriptive essay about a place, read the following sample.
Descriptive Essay Example about Emotions
Describing emotions and feelings is difficult.
Memories, emotions, and feelings are abstract and, therefore, explaining them is not easy. They cannot be explained independently, as you can explain a place or event.
A descriptive essay about emotions includes an event and the feelings associated with it. These could be feelings of sadness, anxiousness, confusion, surprise, and happiness.
Whatever emotions you describe, you can use related adjectives and adverbs to describe them.
To know how to write a good descriptive essay based on emotions, check the following sample.
Descriptive Essay Example About a Visit
A visit to a doctor, a visit to a zoo, and your first visit to a museum, all make excellent descriptive essay topics.
If you go somewhere for the first time, it is natural to have a plethora of feelings and emotions. These could be feelings of joy and even fear.
For a better understanding of writing about a visit, check the sample below
Descriptive Essay Outline
Like every essay sample, a descriptive essay has an outline and format. The essay follows the traditional essay structure and includes:
1. An Introductory Paragraph
The first paragraph of an essay is the introduction and it usually sets the mood for the entire essay.
A good descriptive essay has a strong opening. It introduces the reader to the main topic and what the essay will be about. However, these details are brief and introduce the main topic only.
Some students think that adding more details in this section will add value to their work. Wrong. It will only minimize their chances of expanding the topic in the main paragraphs and leave them with fewer details.
2. Thesis Statement
A thesis statement tells the reader about the thesis question, based on the topic, and the writer’s claim and main argument. It is written after the introduction and before the main paragraphs.
A thesis statement is written at the end of the introduction, it is mainly a single sentence that describes the essay objective.
3. Body Paragraphs
The body paragraphs take more than half of the entire essay and include all the main claims and arguments of the essay. Generally, it has three paragraphs but depends on the topic and its scope. Some topics may not have much to write about while others may have a wide scope and material.
However, if you feel that your topic does not have much room for expansion, do not try to drag it. It will only ruin its essence and overall feel.
4. Conclusion
A solid closing means a solid essay.
Some students think that because it is a closing paragraph, it requires less focus and is less important. But it is not the case. A clumsy conclusion will leave a bad impression and all your hard work may go to waste.
But, a conclusion is also not a place for new ideas. Stay brief and to the point.
To learn more about descriptive essay structure, you can watch this helpful video
Now that you know the basic outline, you can learn how to write a descriptive essay by visiting our blog and working with those tips and tricks.
Descriptive Essay Topics
Got inspired by the examples and looking to write your own essay? So select the topic of your choice from the list below and write a tempting essay…
- The street I love to walk around in
- Exploring the beauty of nature
- The pleasing sounds of rain
- The most meaningful experience I had in college
- Exploring a hidden gem in my hometown
- My favorite book character
- A day spent in my dream destination
- Memories of various festivals I have celebrated
- My favorite food that always brings back memories
- These are some
- The beauty of the rising sun in winter
Choosing a Topic for your Essay
Choosing a topic for your descriptive essay can be difficult and challenging. The reason is there are so many things to write about like
- Emotions
- Relationships
- Favorite place
- Experiences
- Theme
- Things
- Scenarios and many more.
All of these subjects make great descriptive essay topics. Some quick tips to help you choose a great descriptive essay topic include:
- Choose a topic that interests you
- Choose a topic with a good scope
- Choose something that inspires you emotionally
- Choose a topic that appeals to all five or at least one to two senses
- Choose the topic according to your audience
- Choose a topic that is interesting and will keep your readers glued and engaged
For interesting essay topics and ideas, visit our blog and get 100+ descriptive essay topics to choose from.
Elements of a Great Descriptive Essay
Great essays are based on elements relevant to the main topic and explain it in detail. Just like other types of essays, descriptive essays are specifically based on describing the main topic. You can do this by using figurative language and words that appeal to the five senses like touch, taste, sight, etc. of the readers.
Some core elements include:
- Choosing a specific subject:
Choosing the right and appealing subject is essential for a good descriptive essay. Research and make a list of the topics that interest you and see which one you could use for your essay. make sure that you know how to work on that topic before finalizing it.
- Select the Details:
You cannot write about everything. No matter how many details there are, you have to choose the most dominant ones and stick to them closely.
- Organize the Details:
Once you have chosen the details and organize them in chronological order. This step is especially important if you are talking about an event because then you have to add details related to the event.
- Use Descriptive Language:
Descriptive and figurative language is a must if you want to draw a clear picture in front of your readers. Adjectives and adverbs, similes and metaphors, and comparisons are some techniques that you could use to compose your descriptive essay.
- Use Appropriate Language:
Relevant language will help you in presenting the information in a coherent and simple manner. The topic of your essay will decide the kind of language that you will use in your essay.
- Do Not Drag the Essay:
Dragging the essay will do no good for your essay. Writing an engaging essay is essential for successful descriptive essay writing. Coherent, relevant, and engaging facts will add credibility and a natural flair to your essay.
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