Descriptive structure

1. Descriptive Structure: Writing a Description Karen Silvestri , Instructional Specialist The Learning Center at Robeson Community College

2. Descriptive Writing Describes a person Describes a place Describes a thing How would you describe this scene?

3. 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

4. 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!

5. Sensory Details Use your senses to help you write description.

6. Sensory Details Example Crossroads, Integrated Reading and Writing, Pam Dusenberry and Julie O’Donnell Moore, Prentice Hall, 2011

7. 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 room A place A person Or some other thing…. The island was a disaster after the hurricane. The dominant impression is that it was a DISASTER.

8. 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.

9. 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 refrigeration Feel of hot sun and humidity in the air

10. 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.

11. Finishing Up Form all your ideas into complete sentences. Add transitions. Check to be sure you described everything. Proofread! Happy Writing!