7 Tips on Writing Your First Descriptive Essay

So, you’ve been assigned to write your first-ever descriptive essay. Seems like a serious challenge, doesn’t it? A challenge it is! But don’t worry much – this essay type is in fact one of the easiest.

Of course, it has its peculiarities. But in terms of form, descriptive essays are rather primitive. They also don’t require extensive research on the subject: all you need are your imagination, memory, and great writing skills.

In the following paragraphs, we’ll share some great tips on writing a winning descriptive essay. But first, we have to define the term clearly.

So, What Is a Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay is a form of writing used to describe something. The variety of subjects for such descriptions is extremely wide. Your assignment might be to describe a certain:

  • event
  • experience
  • emotion
  • idea
  • place
  • person
  • picture/painting/sculpture, etc.

Though this essay type allows students to show creativity and gives a lot of freedom in terms of form and vocabulary choice, it still remains an academic paper. Therefore, it needs to have a proper structure.

Descriptive Essay Outline

Descriptive essays, especially in high school, are usually written in the form of a five-paragraph essay. Certainly, the structure here is more subtle than in less creative papers like argumentative essays. Still, an outline is necessary in order for your writing to have some shape.

So, this is the typical outline:

  • Introduction (here is where you introduce your topic and formulate your thesis statement);
  • Body paragraphs (there are usually three of them);
  • Conclusion.

It may not be easy to apply this structure to descriptions, so you might need to read some examples to fully embrace the idea. If you need even more explanations, it’s probably better to use top essay service.

Still feel confident enough? Then, let’s proceed with some useful tips for beginners.

7 Tips on Writing Your First Descriptive Essay

Make Your Topic Specific

Narrowing the topic of your descriptive essay to the maximum is key to success. The more concrete the subject is, the easier it is to create a vivid image of it in your memory and find the right words to describe it. So, don’t just write about a river or a tree or some food in general – choose the exact ones that really stand out in your memory.

However, narrowing the topic doesn’t necessarily mean you need to change the title of your paper. You might be asked to write about your favorite food, or the most beautiful place you’ve ever seen, or how you spent your holidays, etc., and your topic will be formulated in exactly this way. In such cases, you’ll just need to narrow it to a specific subject in your introduction.

Determine What Type of Subject You Need to Describe

Another important thing that you need to do before you start writing is to determine what type of subject you need to describe. All of the subjects fall into one of the two categories: concrete or abstract, and the method of your description will depend on which category your subject belongs to.

Concrete subjects are:

  • places
  • items
  • events
  • people, etc.

Abstract subjects are:

  • ideas
  • emotions
  • qualities
  • phenomena, etc.

Concrete subjects are usually described through sensations, and abstract ideas – through context.

Write a Catchy Introductory Paragraph

After you’ve done the preparatory work, you can start adding some flesh to the structure.

We recommend that you begin right from the introductory paragraph. The writers from ca.essaywritingservice.com suggest to remember that your introduction has to be catchy and concise in order to get your readers interested, so try to come up with a really interesting opening sentence here.

In this section, you’ll always need to formulate your thesis statement that will be crucial for everything that you’ll write in the following paragraphs.

Remember as Many Details as You Can

Now, it’s time to proceed with the body paragraphs. The best thing you can do here is to remember as many details as possible, so you can do some preparatory work here, too.

For concrete subjects, a good idea is to take a piece of paper, divide it into five columns and name them after all the five senses. Then, when you recall the sensations, you can write them down in the respective column. After a while, you’ll have a lot of material to use in your body paragraphs.

For abstract topics, recall as many examples of context as you can. Write them down, and then choose the most appropriate and impressive ones.

Use Literary Words

Most essay types should be written using a formal writing style which means not being able to use vivid language. With a descriptive essay, it’s just the opposite: it’s not only possible but very desirable to use literary words in it.

So, feel free to substitute simple, common words with fancy synonyms. But don’t you try too hard and scatter these words through your text just for the sake of it! Keep it in mind that the idea should always come first.

Make a Memorable Conclusion

Your conclusion is almost as important as an introduction, so take your time and sum up all the ideas introduced in your essay accurately.

Don’t add any new ideas here that you haven’t mentioned before throughout your paper. Just restate your thesis and include the main ideas from your body paragraphs.

Revise and Edit Your Essay

Finally, don’t forget to revise and edit your essay to make all the necessary changes. If possible, try not to do it immediately after you’ve written it – distract for a while, let your mind wander off the topic, and then read your essay again.

Does it seem cohesive? Is your description detailed and vivid enough to create a clear image in the minds of your readers? If yes, then, your work is well done!

Final Words

That’s all! Now you have all the basic knowledge for writing your first descriptive essay.

Use it to your benefit and don’t get disappointed if you won’t be able to nail it perfectly from the first attempt. Practice makes perfect, they say – so just keep trying!