teaching how to write a descriptive essay

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How to write a captivating descriptive essay that paints a vivid picture in the reader’s mind.

Have you ever wanted to transport your readers to another world with your writing? To paint vivid images in their minds, evoke powerful emotions, and create a lasting impact? If so, mastering the art of descriptive writing is an essential skill that you simply cannot afford to overlook. Crafting a captivating descriptive essay requires more than just a basic understanding of language – it demands the ability to engage all five senses, to create a sensory symphony that envelops the reader.

Join us on a journey of exploration and discovery as we delve into the nuances of descriptive writing. In this comprehensive guide, we will walk you through the step-by-step process of composing a descriptive essay that will leave your audience spellbound. From selecting a compelling topic to employing effective literary devices, we will equip you with the tools and techniques necessary to bring your writing to life.

Along the way, we will share invaluable tips and tricks gathered from seasoned writers who have mastered the art of description. You will learn how to harness the power of strong verbs and sensory details, infuse your writing with emotion, and create a narrative that lingers in the minds of your readers. So, whether you aspire to become a novelist, a poet, or simply want to enhance your overall writing skills, this guide is your passport to unlocking the secrets of captivating descriptions.

Choose the Perfect Topic for Your Descriptive Essay

When it comes to crafting a descriptive essay, the topic you choose plays a vital role in the overall success of your writing. A well-chosen, engaging topic allows you to capture the attention of your readers and transport them into the world you are describing. In this section, we will explore the various factors to consider when selecting the perfect topic for your descriptive essay.

First and foremost, it’s important to choose a topic that you have a genuine interest in. When you are personally invested in the subject matter, it will naturally shine through in your writing. Whether it’s a place you love, a person you admire, or an experience that left a lasting impression on you, selecting a topic that resonates with you will give your descriptive essay an authentic and enthusiastic voice.

In addition to personal interest, it’s crucial to consider the audience you are writing for. Think about who will be reading your essay and what they might be interested in. Are you writing for nature enthusiasts? Foodies? Travel enthusiasts? Tailoring your topic to suit the preferences of your target audience will help to ensure that your descriptive essay is relatable and engaging to them.

Another important factor to consider when choosing a topic is the availability of descriptive elements. A good descriptive essay is characterized by vivid and sensory details that bring the subject to life. Consider whether your chosen topic has plenty of descriptive elements that you can explore and describe in your writing. For example, if you choose to write about a specific place, consider whether it has interesting sights, sounds, smells, and textures that you can vividly portray in your essay.

Lastly, it’s essential to select a topic that allows for a unique and fresh perspective. Avoid choosing overused or cliché topics that have been covered extensively. Instead, find a unique angle or approach to a common subject that will make your essay stand out. This could involve focusing on a specific aspect or moment within a broader topic, or showcasing a lesser-known aspect of a well-known subject.

By considering your personal interest, the preferences of your audience, the availability of descriptive elements, and a unique perspective, you can choose the perfect topic for your descriptive essay that will captivate your readers and make your writing truly memorable.

Create an Outline for Your Essay

Developing a clear and organized outline is an essential step in the process of crafting a well-written descriptive essay. By creating an outline, you can effectively structure your thoughts and ensure that your essay follows a logical progression. It serves as a roadmap for your writing, allowing you to focus on the main ideas and supporting details that you want to include.

Before beginning your outline, take some time to brainstorm and generate ideas. Consider the main aspects or features of the subject you are describing and think about the specific details that you want to highlight. This brainstorming process will help you establish a strong foundation for your outline and guide your writing throughout the essay.

When creating your outline, start by identifying the main sections or paragraphs of your essay. Each section should focus on a different aspect or feature of the subject. Within each section, include the specific details, examples, or evidence that you want to incorporate to support your description.

Remember to maintain a logical progression throughout your outline and essay. Start with an engaging introduction that provides some background information and sets the tone for your essay. Then, move on to the body paragraphs, which should present the main ideas or features of the subject in a clear and organized manner. Finally, conclude your essay with a thoughtful and concise summary that reinforces the main points and leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

Additionally, consider the order in which you present your ideas within each section. You may choose to present them in a chronological or spatial order, depending on the nature of the subject. Experiment with different arrangements and see which one flows best for your essay.

An outline acts as a roadmap for your essay, allowing you to navigate through the writing process with clarity and organization. By investing time in creating a solid outline, you can ensure that your descriptive essay is well-structured, coherent, and engaging.

Use Sensory Details to Bring Your Writing to Life

Engaging all five senses in your writing is essential to creating vivid and immersive descriptions. By incorporating sensory details, you can transport your readers into the world you are portraying, evoking emotions and allowing them to experience what you are describing.

Instead of simply stating that something is loud, show how the sound reverberates through the air, making your reader’s eardrums vibrate. Instead of writing that a room is cozy, describe the soft texture of the cushions, the warm glow of the fireplace, and the aroma of freshly baked cookies hanging in the air.

When you focus on sensory details, your writing comes alive. Paint a picture with words, allowing your readers to see, hear, smell, taste, and touch the world you have created. Use colorful and descriptive language to appeal to the senses, creating a more immersive and engaging experience for your audience.

Don’t be afraid to get creative and experiment with different sensory details. Think about the atmosphere, the different elements present, and how they affect the senses. How does the rain feel on the skin? How does the scent of flowers linger in the air? These small details can make a significant impact on the reader’s experience.

By incorporating sensory details into your writing, you can elevate your descriptive essay from a mere collection of words to a vibrant and captivating piece of art. So next time you sit down to write, remember to engage all five senses to bring your writing to life.

Organize Your Essay with Clear and Cohesive Paragraphs

When it comes to writing a descriptive essay, it is important to organize your thoughts and ideas in a clear and coherent manner. A well-structured essay not only helps the reader understand your message, but it also showcases your ability to convey information effectively.

One way to achieve this is by using clear and cohesive paragraphs. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect or idea related to your topic, providing detailed descriptions and supporting evidence. By dividing your essay into paragraphs, you create a logical flow that guides the reader through your thoughts.

To ensure the clarity and cohesiveness of your paragraphs, it is important to start each one with a clear topic sentence. This sentence should introduce the main idea of the paragraph and serve as a guide for the reader. From there, you can provide supporting details, examples, or evidence that further develop the main idea.

In addition to topic sentences, it is important to use transitional words and phrases to create a smooth transition between paragraphs. These words and phrases help the reader understand the connection between your ideas and how they relate to each other. Some examples of transitional words and phrases include “however,” “in contrast,” “similarly,” and “on the other hand.”

Furthermore, organizing your paragraphs in a logical order can greatly enhance the clarity and cohesiveness of your essay. Consider the most effective way to present your ideas, whether it be in a chronological order, a spatial order, or by importance. This will help the reader follow along easily and understand the progression of your thoughts.

Finally, it is important to conclude each paragraph in a way that summarizes the main points and leads into the next paragraph. This helps to maintain a strong flow throughout your essay and ensures that your ideas are well-developed and connected.

In conclusion, organizing your essay with clear and cohesive paragraphs is essential for conveying your ideas effectively. By using topic sentences, transitional words and phrases, logical order, and effective conclusions, you can create a well-structured essay that engages the reader and showcases your descriptive writing skills.

Show, Don’t Tell: Use Vivid Language and Examples

When it comes to writing a descriptive essay, it’s important to remember the old adage: “show, don’t tell.” This means that instead of simply stating facts or describing something in a straightforward manner, you should use vivid language and examples to bring your writing to life. By using descriptive language, you can create a more engaging and immersive experience for your readers.

One way to bring your writing to life is by using vivid language that appeals to the senses. Instead of simply saying that something is “big,” you can use more descriptive words like “enormous” or “massive.” Similarly, instead of saying that something is “beautiful,” you can use words like “stunning” or “breathtaking.” By choosing words that evoke strong emotions and sensory experiences, you can paint a more vivid picture in the minds of your readers.

In addition to using vivid language, it’s important to provide specific examples to support your descriptions. Instead of making broad statements about a person, place, or thing, try to include specific details that help to illustrate your point. For example, instead of saying that a beach is “peaceful,” you could describe the sound of the waves crashing against the shore and the feel of the warm sand between your toes. By providing specific examples, you can help your readers to better visualize and understand what you are describing.

To further enhance your descriptive writing, you can also incorporate figurative language, such as metaphors and similes. These literary devices can add depth and richness to your descriptions by comparing one thing to another in a creative and imaginative way. For example, instead of simply saying that a sunset is “beautiful,” you could compare it to a painting that is “a fiery masterpiece, with colors that dance across the sky.”

Overall, when writing a descriptive essay, it’s important to use vivid language and examples to bring your writing to life. By creating a sensory and emotional experience for your readers, you can make your writing more engaging and memorable. So, instead of telling your readers what something is like, show them through your use of descriptive language and specific examples.

Revise and Edit Your Essay for Clarity and Conciseness

After completing the initial draft of your detailed composition, it is imperative to carefully review and modify it for clear and precise language. By revising and editing your essay, you can enhance the overall quality of your writing and effectively convey your ideas to the reader.

Begin by carefully reading through your essay, identifying any areas where your language may be unclear or confusing. Look for opportunities to rephrase sentences or clarify ideas, making sure that your message is easily understandable. By using precise vocabulary and avoiding unnecessary jargon or ambiguous terms, you can improve the clarity of your essay.

It is equally important to ensure that your writing is concise and to the point. Review each sentence and paragraph, considering whether any redundant or repetitive information can be eliminated. Aim for brevity, expressing your thoughts in a concise and straightforward manner. Remove any unnecessary qualifiers or excessive adjectives that may detract from the clarity of your essay.

Pay attention to the organization and flow of your essay as well. Check that your ideas are presented in a logical order and that your paragraphs transition smoothly from one to the next. Consider whether any information can be rearranged or added to improve the overall coherence and comprehension of your essay.

After revising for clarity and conciseness, it is crucial to proofread your essay for grammatical errors, spelling mistakes, and punctuation errors. Read through your essay multiple times, checking for any typos or inconsistencies. Consider using online tools or asking a peer to provide feedback to catch any errors you may have overlooked.

By revising and editing your essay for clarity and conciseness, you can enhance the impact of your writing. Ensure that your ideas are effectively communicated and easily understood by making precise language choices and eliminating any unnecessary or confusing information. Take the time to carefully review your essay, and you will be rewarded with a polished and well-crafted piece of writing.

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• How to write a descriptive essay | Example & tips

How to Write a Descriptive Essay | Example & Tips

Published on July 30, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on August 14, 2023.

A descriptive essay gives a vivid, detailed description of something—generally a place or object, but possibly something more abstract like an emotion. This type of essay , like the narrative essay , is more creative than most academic writing .

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Table of contents

Descriptive essay topics, tips for writing descriptively, descriptive essay example, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about descriptive essays.

When you are assigned a descriptive essay, you’ll normally be given a specific prompt or choice of prompts. They will often ask you to describe something from your own experience.

• Describe a place you love to spend time in.
• Describe an object that has sentimental value for you.

You might also be asked to describe something outside your own experience, in which case you’ll have to use your imagination.

• Describe the experience of a soldier in the trenches of World War I.
• Describe what it might be like to live on another planet.

Sometimes you’ll be asked to describe something more abstract, like an emotion.

If you’re not given a specific prompt, try to think of something you feel confident describing in detail. Think of objects and places you know well, that provoke specific feelings or sensations, and that you can describe in an interesting way.

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The key to writing an effective descriptive essay is to find ways of bringing your subject to life for the reader. You’re not limited to providing a literal description as you would be in more formal essay types.

Make use of figurative language, sensory details, and strong word choices to create a memorable description.

Use figurative language

Figurative language consists of devices like metaphor and simile that use words in non-literal ways to create a memorable effect. This is essential in a descriptive essay; it’s what gives your writing its creative edge and makes your description unique.

Take the following description of a park.

This tells us something about the place, but it’s a bit too literal and not likely to be memorable.

If we want to make the description more likely to stick in the reader’s mind, we can use some figurative language.

Here we have used a simile to compare the park to a face and the trees to facial hair. This is memorable because it’s not what the reader expects; it makes them look at the park from a different angle.

You don’t have to fill every sentence with figurative language, but using these devices in an original way at various points throughout your essay will keep the reader engaged and convey your unique perspective on your subject.

Use your senses

Another key aspect of descriptive writing is the use of sensory details. This means referring not only to what something looks like, but also to smell, sound, touch, and taste.

Obviously not all senses will apply to every subject, but it’s always a good idea to explore what’s interesting about your subject beyond just what it looks like.

Even when your subject is more abstract, you might find a way to incorporate the senses more metaphorically, as in this descriptive essay about fear.

Choose the right words

Writing descriptively involves choosing your words carefully. The use of effective adjectives is important, but so is your choice of adverbs , verbs , and even nouns.

It’s easy to end up using clichéd phrases—“cold as ice,” “free as a bird”—but try to reflect further and make more precise, original word choices. Clichés provide conventional ways of describing things, but they don’t tell the reader anything about your unique perspective on what you’re describing.

Try looking over your sentences to find places where a different word would convey your impression more precisely or vividly. Using a thesaurus can help you find alternative word choices.

• My cat runs across the garden quickly and jumps onto the fence to watch it from above.
• My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above.

However, exercise care in your choices; don’t just look for the most impressive-looking synonym you can find for every word. Overuse of a thesaurus can result in ridiculous sentences like this one:

• My feline perambulates the allotment proficiently and capers atop the palisade to regard it from aloft.

An example of a short descriptive essay, written in response to the prompt “Describe a place you love to spend time in,” is shown below.

Hover over different parts of the text to see how a descriptive essay works.

On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green extending from the back of the house, and I sit on a lawn chair at the far end to read and relax. I am in my small peaceful paradise: the shade of the tree, the feel of the grass on my feet, the gentle activity of the fish in the pond beside me.

My cat crosses the garden nimbly and leaps onto the fence to survey it from above. From his perch he can watch over his little kingdom and keep an eye on the neighbours. He does this until the barking of next door’s dog scares him from his post and he bolts for the cat flap to govern from the safety of the kitchen.

With that, I am left alone with the fish, whose whole world is the pond by my feet. The fish explore the pond every day as if for the first time, prodding and inspecting every stone. I sometimes feel the same about sitting here in the garden; I know the place better than anyone, but whenever I return I still feel compelled to pay attention to all its details and novelties—a new bird perched in the tree, the growth of the grass, and the movement of the insects it shelters…

Sitting out in the garden, I feel serene. I feel at home. And yet I always feel there is more to discover. The bounds of my garden may be small, but there is a whole world contained within it, and it is one I will never get tired of inhabiting.

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The key difference is that a narrative essay is designed to tell a complete story, while a descriptive essay is meant to convey an intense description of a particular place, object, or concept.

Narrative and descriptive essays both allow you to write more personally and creatively than other kinds of essays , and similar writing skills can apply to both.

If you’re not given a specific prompt for your descriptive essay , think about places and objects you know well, that you can think of interesting ways to describe, or that have strong personal significance for you.

The best kind of object for a descriptive essay is one specific enough that you can describe its particular features in detail—don’t choose something too vague or general.

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Descriptive Writing: How to Teach Students to Add More Exciting Details

You would think descriptive writing would be simple to teach, but it’s much more complex. Students often think that just adding extra words presents more detail in their work. Let’s take a look at some helpful tips for how to teach descriptive writing practices that will help your students become better writers and create a concrete image for their readers.

Differentiating Between Narratives and Descriptive Writing

Narrative Writing and Descriptive Writing can get confused because teachers often tell their students to add plenty of detail to their narratives. Of course, they want all the details of the road trip they took or the fictional story they are writing. The reader wants to be present in the story.

A descriptive text, however, is not always a narrative. Descriptive writing can apply to all forms of writing. Students should be adding descriptors to their text to draw the reader in.

Try explaining it to your students like this:

• A book is a narration that tells a story.
• The packaging on a box of crackers described the contents, but doesn’t tell a story.

A venn diagram is an effective way to show students the similarities and differences between narrative and descriptive writing. Breaking it down helped me learn how to teach descriptive writing better and help my students more.

Model Finding and Using Descriptive Texts

There are tons of different descriptive texts that you can use to show students how to add description to their writing. Not sure where to find them? Head to ANY store and you will find product after product with descriptive text.

Go to the grocery store and pick up a box of cereal. The back of the box will explain how delicious and nutritious the cereal tastes. It will describe the crunch and the flavor, as well as the appearance.

Head into your local sporting goods store and pick up a rain jacket. The tag will explain how durable the jacket is as well as how water repellent it is for any type of downpour.

As a fun activity, have your students bring in a product that still has the packaging or tag. Let them gather in groups as they discuss the descriptive words they find on their items. Do this for a few days with different items to let them get an idea of how to describe different things. They will be able to apply this to their writer and really get into the reader’s mind as the put ideas to paper.

Once they begin writing, encourage them to use descriptive words that appeal to the senses. When talking about clothing, tell them to use words like breathable, warm, soft, and cozy. If they are describing food, remind them to use words that will appeal to the reader. These words might be crunchy, flavorful, cheesy, or savory.

Use Figurative Language to Teach Descriptive Writing

One great way to get students to write with descriptive writing elements is to use figurative language. Explain to them what similes, metaphors, and personification are. Let them use these descriptive writing elements to create a clear picture when they take pen to paper. If you have forgotten, here’s a review:

• Metaphor: Comparing two unrelated things. You could say “Her fur is a soft blanket”.
• Simile: Comparing two things using “like” or “as”. An example would be “The car lit up like the fourth of July”.
• Hyperbole: Using exaggerated verbiage to describe something. “The suitcase weighed a million pounds”.
• Personification: The use of human traits to describe something that isn’t alive. “The hail scratched at my windows, trying to get in”.

The use of figurative language is a fun way to add a detailed description to descriptive essay topics.

Using Mentor Texts as Descriptive Writing How To Models

Using a mentor text as a descriptive writing tool on how to model is a great way to introduce and practice this skill. I do suggest that if you use mentor texts for different types of writing simultaneously, you separate the narrative writing texts from the descriptive writing texts. This will just avoid any confusion among your students.

The product labels and tags also serve as amazing mentor texts that students can provide. Both of these options make the writing process fun!

Practice Makes Perfect: A Quick Descriptive Writing How To

Use no verbs.

As a practice activity, have students write a descriptive paragraph using NO verbs. They have to use other descriptive details to explain what is happening in their sentences. This is a creative way to get them thinking outside the box while writing their sentences. They have to pay close attention to what they are writing and it forces them to reframe specific details in a fun way.

Disgust Me!

Another great activity to use as a descriptive writing how to model is to ask students to write a short paragraph that grosses them out. They have to use vivid details to construct sentences that will make the reader feel disgusted. If possible, give out a prize for the most disgusting descriptive essay!

Oh, I forgot to mention, this activity works better if you tell them they have to write about a real-life gross event. They can’t write about zombies or the boogeyman. Tell them to think of something they have experienced or heard about and describe it in as much detail as possible.

Help Me Visualize

Creating a mental picture is the perfect way to model how to write a descriptive essay. The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to use interesting words to grab your reader’s attention. The use of adjectives isn’t the only way to do this. Remind students to use their senses so they can create a vivid picture for the reader. Tell them to take their reader to wherever it is they are writing about. Write about the smell of the building or park, detail the sounds they might hear, write down anything they touch, taste, or smell.

Use Weekly Descriptive Writing Prompts

My Weekly Descriptive Writing Prompts are a great way to practice using effective descriptive writing. Students use descriptive language to take their writing to a deeper level. The activities help students with their word choice as their write about their own experience as well as fictional topics.

These activities are also available in Digital Form ! Have students use them during independent center time, writing block, or as an assignment at home.

Learn more about descriptive writing by reading 3 Ways to Improve Paragraph Writing Using Descriptive Writing .

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Descriptive Writing: Tips, Checklist, and Cheat Sheet

What is descriptive writing? The real question is this: How do student writers use descriptive writing effectively in real writing? When teachers can answer this question, they know how to use their time wisely to teach descriptive writing.

I mention this because the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) uses three text types: 1) Argument/Opinion, 2) Informational/Explanatory, and 3) Narrative. And another thing to consider is this: When is the last time you wrote or read an entire descriptive essay?

While the CCSS does not include description as a main text type, it does mention description throughout the standards using these terms:

!   description, descriptive details, descriptions of actions, narrative descriptions, and write precise enough descriptions of the step-by-step procedures.

In short, the CCSS emphasizes two types of descriptive writing:

1.   Descriptive writing as a tool in narrative, expository, and argument writing.

2.   Expository Descriptive Writing: This kind of description is really expository writing. Sometimes it’s called General Description or Scientific Description.

The following list focuses on the first type of descriptive writing.

========================================================

Descriptive Writing Tips, Checklist, and Cheat Sheet

1.   The writer creates vivid pictures of people, places, things, and events in the mind of the reader using description and sensory details.

2.   The writer vividly describes experiences and events bringing them to life.

3.   The writer effectively describes processes in detail.

4.   The writer’s description follows a logical pattern of organization: e.g., general outline or impression to specific details.

5.   The writer creates powerful descriptions using sensory details and imagery. The writer’s language appeals to the five senses: sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.

6.   The writer’s description contains an effective use of figurative language: simile, metaphor, alliteration, personification, etc.

7.   The writer skillfully uses description with purpose. The writer describes things that help the reader visualize and understand. The writer describes things that the reader needs to visualize in order to understand.

8.   The writer skillfully chooses things that need description:

a.   The writer chooses nouns (people, places, things, ideas) that need description. b.   The writer chooses events (things that happen) that need description. c.   The writer chooses processes (actions and steps that outline how things happen) that need description.

9.   The writer describes things that are noticeable, memorable, important, or interesting. The writer avoids describing things that are trivial or unimportant.

10.   The writer avoids purple-prose descriptive writing. The writer avoids descriptive writing that distracts from and breaks the flow of the composition’s main purpose and main message. The descriptive writing is not too elaborate, too extravagant, or too flowery. Furthermore, the writer does not provide too much description.

11.   Without the writer’s descriptions, the piece of writing would be bland and lacking. The word pictures that the writer paints are necessary and fascinating.

12.   The writer skillfully and appropriately navigates between using descriptive details, descriptive passages, and descriptive paragraphs. If the piece of writing is a descriptive whole composition (i.e., a descriptive essay), the writer’s purpose is clear.

13.   The writer skillfully uses adjectives, adverbs, and figurative language (similes, metaphors, etc.) to bring the description to life. The writer does not underuse them or overuse them.

14.   The writer finds interesting and novel ways to include description:

a.   The writer combines description with action. b.   The writer uses dialogue as a tool for description. c.   The writer uses quotes to describe.

15.   The writer uses description as an effective tool that is appropriate for the genre:

a.   Main Genre: 1) argument, 2) expository, 3) narrative, 4) descriptive. b.   Narrative-Story Genre: mystery, personal narrative, action-adventure story, tale (folktale, fairy tale, tall tale, etc.), historical fiction, etc. c.   Format Genre: essay, story, report, article, letter, advertisement, daily school work, etc.

16.   The writer uses description to “Show, Don’t Tell.” As Anton Chekhov (1860–1904) famously said, “Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

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Descriptive writing lesson plan for differentiated learning

by Divya Pandanda | 11 Jan 2016

This detailed lesson plan provides teachers with an introductory lesson to the unit on developing descriptive writing skills. it takes into account the fact that different learners learn differently, thus incorporating Howard Gardner's theory of Multiple Intelligences. It also includes the resources that one could use the classroom, at the same time allowing teachers the flexibility to tweak it to cater to the needs of their students.

Resource Type: Lesson Plan

Audience: Secondary

Audience Language Proficiency: Intermediate

Duration: 2 x 40 mins

• iTunes audio of sea waves
• Extract from Roald Dahl's, "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory"
• Pictures of a haunted house, market scene, garden, zoo.
• Projector, A4 sheets and coloured pens
• Descriptive writing toolkit

By the end of the lesson/s the students will be able to:

• Identify 2-3 types of imagery as used to describe some scene/person/object
• Comment on the imagery/word choice in terms of the effect created
• Focus on and analyze the effect of the word choice made by an author in a given passage
• Use language acquired or by referring to the toolkit to create a short piece.

By the end of the lesson, students will be able to realize the importance of appropriate word choice to create a certain effect- one of the key tenets to creating effective descriptive pieces. They will recognize how a simple word change can create a different effect. Through discussions with one another, they will also see that a certain word or image may have different connotations for different people depending on their experience and learning style. The idea is to make them feel empowered about the word choices they make individually.

https://www.teachingchannel.org/videos/descriptive-writing-experience

http://everydaylife.globalpost.com/directions-writing-descriptive-essay-middle-school-9294.html

http://www.nwp.org/cs/public/print/resource/922   30 ideas to teach writing

http://www.ehow.com/how_2197270_descriptive-writing-middle-school-students.html

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How to Write a Descriptive Essay: Creating a Vivid Picture with Words

June 18, 2024 //  by  Lindsay Ann //   Leave a Comment

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This blog is not a descriptive essay .  

There will be parts here and there that discuss descriptive essay format, address descriptive essay questions, and descriptive essay examples–but, again, this blog is not a descriptive essay.  No, it is instead an informative piece meant to intrigue and inspire –not an example for you to use in your classes.

Apropos, this is not a descriptive essay introduction ; it’s just a plain ol’ introduction to orient you, kind readers, to the purpose of this blog: to help you understand the role and goals of descriptive writing in the classroom and how to write a descriptive essay by creating a vivid picture with words–which this introduction definitely did not do.

An Introduction to Descriptive Writing

Okay, with that information out of the way, let’s do this properly.  Here’s your descriptive essay introduction via an example, courtesy of Nora Roberts and her book Whiskey Beach :

He didn’t see the gun. As with the footsteps, the fog muffled the shots so they sounded low, thick, odd. They puzzled him in that instant of shocking pain. He never reached for his own gun; it never occurred to him. He fell, eyes wide, mouth working. But the words were only gurgles. He heard, as if from a great distance, his killer’s voice. “I’m sorry. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” He didn’t feel his hands searching, taking his phone, his recorder, his keys, his weapon. But he felt cold – biting, numbing cold. And unspeakable pain through it as his body was dragged to the edge over rocky ground. For an instant he thought he was flying, wind rushing cool over his face. Then the thundering water swallowed him as he hit the rocks below.

The excerpt above is a good description about a person example . 

Notice the figurative language of the vignette fueling engagement and understanding. 

See the descriptive writing 5 senses coursing through the text’s veins. 

Appreciate the vivid picture with words that’s created for us, the readers, who feel the wind whip past us as the character falls and splats. 

While not a complete essay, the excerpt indeed does lay the groundwork for how to write a descriptive essay and what elements we, as writers, want to consider.

Elements of a Descriptive Essay

Whether it’s an essay about a place or a descriptive essay about a person or a descriptive essay about nature, there are some common elements in a descriptive essay format to consider :

Detailed Description .  I mentioned descriptive writing 5 senses above, and that’s key here.  The essay should include thorough descriptions that appeal to the reader’s senses—sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell.

The goal is to create a vivid image in the reader’s mind.  Think of it like creating a movie with words.  This can be executed with adjectives, adverbs, vivid verbs, and figurative language.

Figurative Language and Imagery .  Similes, metaphors, and personification–moving between the literal and the figurative–strengthen the imagery and effects of descriptive essays. 

Compare, for instance, noting a man is tall to developing a simile in which a man is as tall as a tree, his arms reaching like branches toward the heavens each time he stretched to full height.  I bet you saw a clearer (though exaggerated) image of the man with the latter vs. the former.

Characterization .  Character can be found and built everywhere: that old park bench, withering in the sun, dripping with bird droppings?  That’s character. 

The spunky puppy nipping at the bottom of his owner’s jeans, snagging threads of cotton like floss between its teeth?  That’s character. 

That old boxer whose knuckles creak like a door on a rusty hinge as he flexes his hands instinctively?  Yup, that’s character. 

Indeed, regardless of the subject of a descriptive essay, building character is a necessary element, so a writer needs to consider elements of characterization and the impression the person, place, or thing makes on the audience as a result of it.

Tone and Mood .  If our goal in an essay description is to create a vivid picture with words, we have to think about the effects of that picture on our audience. 

Is the picture meant to cause despair and hopelessness as the sea engulfs a small child afloat an even smaller raft, its seams being eaten away by the hungry ocean’s salt?  Is the picture meant to evoke pride and patriotism as the flag waves unfailingly in the wind, braving the lashing rain and the roiling unrest of its country’s citizens? 

Indeed, the tone and mood we want to develop determine the images we create and the descriptions we build.

Connotation .  Would you rather be called skinny or thin ?  Decrepit or old ?  Words can mean the same or similar things–but their connotations are different. 

Writers can use different shades of meaning in their writing to help create an image for their readers. 

For example, my reader will think about a character differently if I call her a genius or if I call her smart .  A single word can change so much in the reader’s mind.  (Just ask your students if they’d rather be called stupid or dumb ; you can expect a lively discussion.)

Theme and Main Idea .  Like with all the elements above, a writer should have intentions in mind when writing.  While a descriptive essay isn’t an argumentative essay, it still does have a descriptive essay thesis.  (It just might be more covert than overt, more implied than explicit.) 

A thesis drives the point of the description.  It gives purpose to the vivid pictures.  Imagine taking a bunch of random photographs and splaying them across a table.  There’s no reason, no rhyme–just chaos. 

But have an idea in mind and begin to sort and scrape away the images, and all of a sudden one might find a line of reasoning among the images, a main idea and story developing.  This is what we want to do in our descriptions.

While those elements above are often seen in descriptive essays, that doesn’t mean there’s an exact formula for how to incorporate them, for the fun of descriptive writing is that it’s not a prescriptive essay . Students looking for a descriptive essay graphic organizer ( Give me boxes to fill out!  Tell me how many similes to use! ) might come up short.  That doesn’t mean, however, that we can’t give our young writers guidance.  

One strategy we can use in the classroom is looking at descriptive narrative essay examples (like George Orwell’s “ A Hanging ” or Jo Ann Beard’s “ The Fourth State of Matter ”) and see how those writers develop their descriptive essay thesis.  

In a descriptive essay, we can see how the introduction begins sets the table for what’s to come; how the body of the essay unfolds the characters, conflicts, settings, and everything in-between; and how the conclusion ties together the threads of the essay .  

The fun, then, is to see how writers create effects in their descriptive essays that affect their audience and create a vivid picture with words, and in a society where visuals bombard us through cell phone screens and Netflix streams, what a pleasure to use our imagination and enjoy a movie-made-from-words!

About Lindsay Ann

Lindsay has been teaching high school English in the burbs of Chicago for 19 years. She is passionate about helping English teachers find balance in their lives and teaching practice through practical feedback strategies and student-led learning strategies. She also geeks out about literary analysis, inquiry-based learning, and classroom technology integration. When Lindsay is not teaching, she enjoys playing with her two kids, running, and getting lost in a good book.

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How to Write a Strong Descriptive Essay

Last Updated: June 24, 2024 Fact Checked

Brainstorming Ideas for the Essay

Writing the essay, polishing the essay, outline for a descriptive essay, expert q&a.

This article was co-authored by Jake Adams . Jake Adams is an academic tutor and the owner of Simplifi EDU, a Santa Monica, California based online tutoring business offering learning resources and online tutors for academic subjects K-College, SAT & ACT prep, and college admissions applications. With over 14 years of professional tutoring experience, Jake is dedicated to providing his clients the very best online tutoring experience and access to a network of excellent undergraduate and graduate-level tutors from top colleges all over the nation. Jake holds a BS in International Business and Marketing from Pepperdine University. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 1,526,732 times.

A good descriptive essay creates a vivid picture of the topic in the reader’s mind. You may need to write a descriptive essay as a class assignment or you may decide to write one as a fun writing challenge. Start by brainstorming ideas for the essay. Then, outline and write the essay using vivid sensory details and strong descriptions. Always polish your essay and proofread it so it is at its best.

Best Tips for Writing a Descriptive Essay

Outline the essay in sections and create a thesis statement to base the essay on. Then, write a strong introduction and describe the subject matter using creative and vivid adjectives. Use similes, metaphors, and your own emotions to help you bring the topic to life.

• You could also choose a fictional person to write about, such as a character in a book, a story, or a play. You could write about a character on your favorite TV show or video game.

• Another take on this option is to write about a made-up place or object, such as the fantastical school in your favorite book or the magic wand from your favorite TV show.

• You could also choose a more specific emotion, such as brotherly love or self-hatred. These emotions can make for powerful descriptive essays.

• For example, if you were writing about a person like your mother, you may write down under “sound” : “soft voice at night, clack of her shoes on the floor tiles, bang of the spoon when she cooks.”

• If you are writing the essay for a class, your instructor should specify if they want a five paragraph essay or if you have the freedom to use sections instead.

• For example, if you were writing a descriptive essay about your mother, you may have a thesis statement like: “In many ways, my mother is the reigning queen of our house, full of contradictions that we are too afraid to question.”

• For example, if you were writing the essay about your mom, you may start with: “My mother is not like other mothers. She is a fierce protector and a mysterious woman to my sisters and I.”
• If you were writing an essay about an object, you may start with: "Try as I might, I had a hard time keeping my pet rock alive."

• You can also use adjectives that connect to the senses, such “rotting,” “bright,” “hefty,” “rough,” and “pungent.”
• For example, you may describe your mother as "bright," "tough," and "scented with jasmine."

• You can also use similes, where you use “like” or “as” to compare one thing to another. For example, you may write, “My mother is like a fierce warrior in battle, if the battlefield were PTA meetings and the checkout line at the grocery store.”

• For example, you may write about your complicated feelings about your mother. You may note that you feel sadness about your mother’s sacrifices for the family and joy for the privileges you have in your life because of her.

• For example, you may end a descriptive essay about your mother by noting, “In all that she has sacrificed for us, I see her strength, courage, and fierce love for her family, traits I hope to emulate in my own life.”

• You can also read the essay aloud to others to get their feedback. Ask them to let you know if there are any unclear or vague sentences in the essay.

• Be open to constructive criticism and feedback from others. This will only make your essay stronger.

• If you have a word count requirement for the essay, make sure you meet it. Add more detail to the paper or take unnecessary content out to reach the word count.

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• ↑ https://www.writeexpress.com/descriptive-essay.html
• ↑ Jake Adams. Academic Tutor & Test Prep Specialist. Expert Interview. 24 July 2020.
• ↑ https://www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/organization-and-structure/descriptive-writing.html
• ↑ https://spcollege.libguides.com/ld.php?content_id=10168248
• ↑ https://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/style_purpose_strategy/descriptive_essay.html
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/essay_writing/descriptive_essays.html

About This Article

To write a descriptive essay, start by choosing a topic, like a person, place, or specific emotion. Next, write down a list of sensory details about the topic, like how it sounds, smells, and feels. After this brainstorming session, outline the essay, dividing it into an introduction, 3 body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Open with a vivid introduction that uses sensory details, then introduce your thesis statement, which the rest of your essay should support. Strengthen your essay further by using metaphors and similes to describe your topic, and the emotions it evokes. To learn how to put the finishing touches on your essay, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How To Write A Descriptive Essay?

Table of contents, introduction, what is a descriptive essay, why do we write descriptive essays, what is the structure of a descriptive essay.

This dual consideration ensures a coherent and engaging presentation of the subject, capturing the reader’s attention through both the essay’s overarching organization and the detailed arrangement of descriptive elements.

Descriptive Essay Structure

Paragraph organization, descriptive essays topics, writing a descriptive essay.

Here’s a step-by-step process to guide you in writing a descriptive essay:

Preparation

Revising and editing, tips and ideas for writing a good descriptive essay, descriptive essay example.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay

More than many other types of essays, descriptive essays strive to create a deeply involved and vivid experience for the reader. Great descriptive essays achieve this affect not through facts and statistics but by using detailed observations and descriptions.

What do you want to describe?

As you get started on your descriptive essay, it's important for you to identify exactly what you want to describe. Often, a descriptive essay will focus on portraying one of the following:

• an experience

Ultimately, whatever you can perceive or experience can be the focus of your descriptive writing.

Why are you writing your descriptive essay?

It's a great creative exercise to sit down and simply describe what you observe. However, when writing a descriptive essay, you often have a particular reason for writing your description. Getting in touch with this reason can help you focus your description and imbue your language with a particular perspective or emotion.

Example: Imagine that you want to write a descriptive essay about your grandfather. You've chosen to write about your grandfather's physical appearance and the way that he interacts with people. However, rather than providing a general description of these aspects, you want to convey your admiration for his strength and kindness. This is your reason for writing the descriptive essay. To achieve this, you might focus one of your paragraphs on describing the roughness of his hands, roughness resulting from the labor of his work throughout his life, but you might also describe how he would hold your hands so gently with his rough hands when having a conversation with you or when taking a walk.

How should you write your description?

If there's one thing you should remember as you write your descriptive essay, it's the famous saying: show don't tell. But what's the difference between showing and telling?

Consider these two simple examples:

I grew tired after dinner. As I leaned back and rested my head against the top of the chair, my eyelids began to feel heavy, and the edges of the empty plate in front of me blurred with the white tablecloth.

The first sentence tells readers that you grew tired after dinner. The second sentence shows readers that you grew tired. The most effective descriptive essays are loaded with such showing because they enable readers to imagine or experience something for themselves.

As you write your descriptive essay, the best way to create a vivid experience for your readers is to focus on the five senses.

When you focus your descriptions on the senses, you provide vivid and specific details that show your readers rather than tell your readers what you are describing.

Quick Tips for Writing Your Descriptive Essay

Writing a descriptive essay can be a rich and rewarding experience, but it can also feel a bit complicated. It's helpful, therefore, to keep a quick checklist of the essential questions to keep in mind as you plan, draft, and revise your essay.

Planning your descriptive essay:

• What or who do you want to describe?
• What is your reason for writing your description?
• What are the particular qualities that you want to focus on?

Drafting your descriptive essay:

• What sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures are important for developing your description?
• Which details can you include to ensure that your readers gain a vivid impression imbued with your emotion or perspective?

Revising your descriptive essay:

• Have you provided enough details and descriptions to enable your readers to gain a complete and vivid perception?
• Have you left out any minor but important details?
• Have you used words that convey your emotion or perspective?
• Are there any unnecessary details in your description?
• Does each paragraph of your essay focus on one aspect of your description?
• Are you paragraphs ordered in the most effective way?

Related Essay-Writing Articles

• How to Write the College Admissions Essay
• Narrative Essays
• Persuasive Essays
• Writing a Conclusion for an Essay

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4 Ways to Teach Descriptive Writing to Your Students

Writing descriptively doesn’t just happen… it is a writing behavior that has to be learned and taught. I love descriptive writing and often post about it on Instagram and this topic of discussion ends up being one of my most popular posts! In a moment, we will take a deep dive into descriptive writing and I will be giving you 4 ways to include this within your school day and interactions with students. This will be helpful in giving them the necessary exposure which will transfer over into their writing!

Writing descriptively is hard enough so this is something that has to be practiced. An easy way to get this daily practice in is to use it. Try adding it to your everyday language and follow it up by asking students what your words meant. To do this, you can:

• be intentional with the words you use; try to use figurative language and give opportunities for kids to experience those phrases with you
• encourage students to use it as well; if they say something that can lend itself to being said in a more descriptive way, help them with that – replace their sentence with the new language
• utilize class videos; listen for when people are using the expressions and pause the video to talk about it – take any moment where someone is speaking and using descriptive words and language to show kids they can use it, too

Let me give you some examples of what encouraging students to use it could sound like:

“I heard you say you were tired ; did it feel like you haven’t slept in a month ?”

“I heard you say you were hungry ; does it feel like you could eat an entire elephant right now ?”

“I heard you say you were happy ; does it feel like your smile is stretching a mile wide ?”

This is actually a very engaging way to teach language. The easiest way to incorporate this into your class is to give students an emotion and let them play charades; you can draw attention to their facial expressions and body movements putting words to those actions. Like all things, you will want to model this at first and then you can allow them to have a try.

• Simply write an emotion or feeling on a piece of paper, sticky note, or index card and allow them to begin acting out. This does not need to be fancy. For example, you would hand out the word “embarrassed” and have a child act it out. When someone guesses, they will share how they came to that conclusion… was it the hand gestures being made, the eyes looking down, being bashful, legs moving inward… get your students using the language to explain!
• You can have all kids act out the word you say and call out what you see kids doing. This will help to plant the language that could turn into descriptors when they are writing. This is also great to help them generate any words and phrases to support the 5 senses: what are you seeing, hearing, feeling, smelling, tasting?
• You, yourself, can act it out. Don’t use any words and act out how you are feeling. Have kids explain what they saw. Write it down on chart paper. Ask them, “How is Miss Polk feeling? “How do you know?” This is a powerful modeled approach.

Be intentional with your read aloud and mentor texts that you are using in your teaching instruction. You will want to focus on highlighting the descriptive words seen or adding the phrase to a classroom poster that kids can refer back to. The practice and action of finding where this language exists in text is key!

I want to be upfront and admit – this requires planning. If you want to be intentional, you will have to scan your texts ahead of time to find these examples within the words you are reading. Look for those opportunities where kids can see what authors have written and discuss why it was written that way.

Another common place to find this language is in your guided reading texts. Use texts that children are already going to be exploring and add on the descriptive language component.

You may find that going on a hunt will be exciting for your students. A figurative language hunt is a great idea because figurative language IS descriptive writing! Have kids add what they find to a sticky note and keep a chart somewhere. This exposure is purposeful and also helps in assisting with reading comprehension, too!

Give your students anchor charts or resources that can scaffold their practice with descriptive writing skills. This is going to help tremendously when you are wanting students to produce descriptive writing on their own – they need to be shown scaffolds and examples that they can borrow or draw from. Try:

• Adding charts to a descriptive writing wall; you can print charts mini and add a binder ring to allow them to move portably around the room
• Adding a descriptive language binder to your writing center resources – fill it with actual student examples in writing, examples found in mentor texts, read alouds, and guided reading texts, or heard from people or videos
• Giving students their own mini version of these supports to keep in their notebooks; kids can reference them at any time and kids can be held accountable versus asking you

The 4 ways you can teach descriptive writing to your students are to use it in your everyday language and encourage them to use it; show it with your actions and let kids act it out as well, find it in texts that you read and places where kids will interact with words and language, and the final way is to give it to your students by way of reference charts for quick access – this can be anchor charts – printing mini so students have access at their fingertips.

If you need additional support for descriptive writing techniques like show dont tell , figurative language , better word choice synonyms for common words, or creative ways to begin and end your writing ( writing hooks and conclusions ), I have a bundle you may want to check out ! It will support you and your students when it comes to writing.

Writing Made Simple

If you are looking for engaging and creative writing opportunities to incorporate into your classroon, Writing Made Simple is for you! These writing routines can be done in 10 minutes or less and will have your students eagerly wanting to write and always wanting to know what’s coming next! You can learn more about Writing Made Simple HERE .

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How to Teach Descriptive Writing

Jan 7, 2022

How to teach descriptive writing when students don’t understand “show, don’t tell” is probably one of the hardest things for students to grasp, but these 3 small things can improve their “meh” writing in BIG ways. Also, it only takes a few minutes to practice!

Why descriptive writing is difficult to teach:

Kids know a good story when they read or hear or watch one, but they can’t necessarily pinpoint why. If the story has a lot of action or has awesome, relatable characters, then they like it.  They just know it happens, and that they are hooked by a good story told well. However, when they try to write their own stories, they often gloss over the details or don’t notice how an author uses description in a piece of literature. 

It takes a lot of practice over and over again. Of course, this takes time, and you have tons of standards to make sure your writers understand. So, the real reason descriptive writing is so difficult to teach is that it takes time. However, in just a few minutes a couple of times per week, you can practice these 3 ideas to get students writing with more specific detail. Additionally, they will notice those specific details more when they read as well. This will help them find the support they need for responses to literature and essays.

Trust me, it’s time well-spent!\\

Step 1: How to Teach Descriptive Writing: Mind Map

The first way to get students to improve description is to get them to mind map their description.

I always start off with a bell ringer for students to list down something to describe specifically, like favorite places or food. Then, the writer chooses ONE item from their list to describe. 

For this example, I’m going to use a favorite place. For students, I demonstrate how I would mind map a place.

Then, I give students a mind map to follow that includes questions, like where? When (day or night?) (how long ago the experience was), what the place looked like, sounded like, felt like?

These first mind maps will usually be pretty superficial, with details of objects in a place, but not any action or sensory details for the most part. Therefore, that brings me to the next step to teaching descriptive writing.

Step 2: How to Teach Descriptive Writing: Use Sensory Detail Word Lists

Another way I get students to improve description is by showing them how to use a sensory word list to add sensory details.

For example, I give students the sensory details list I’ve developed that breaks all the senses down and gives them hundreds of words to describe things using the 5 senses. 

First, I show students how the sensory word list is organized, and then I demonstrate how I use the list to add details to my mind map of a place.

Then, my writers add 2 sensory words to each object on their mind maps. 

From there, I show students how I would organize my mind map and where I would start my writing, numbering off each potential sentence. They do the same.

Finally, students write their descriptions and share them with each other.

Step 3: How to Teach Descriptive Writing: Action Verb Activities

The third way that writers improve description is by using action verbs. Now, this takes some practice because middle school students forget what verbs are and how they function in a sentence.

Simple sentences illustrate the power of action verbs. Subject-action verb constructions create movement in a reader’s mind. Show students how easy it is to create these power sentences by using these simple activities:

Subject- Action Verb lists. I do this activity with my students several times throughout the school year. I learned the original activity from one of my very dear friends, Victoria. 

The activity is a simple list of subjects and action verbs that use the senses. She used “Fall is here” as the topic. She had students create a list of fall nouns and then showed them how to use action verbs to make these objects move, smell, taste, and sound. 

Then, her writers created a poem out of their lists. They could add other words after their action verbs to add more to their descriptive poems. 

The power of this activity is that students begin to see that inanimate objects can seem to move, make sounds, or create a fragrance or flavor. For example, “turkeys roast” conjures multiple appeals to the senses – smell, taste, heat, flavor. All of this from two simple words.

Next steps for teaching description

I have students practice activities, similar to this one, multiple times throughout the school year. I usually start with describing a beach because it is the beginning of August when we go back to school, and we live in Florida. My writers listed 10 things they see on a beach. Then, they listed action verbs for each of these things. 

Next, they wrote a description of a day at the beach. 

I used a similar activity this past week when my writers described a favorite activity. This time they listed the verbs first, then the nouns. For example, I used cooking. I wrote a boring example of cooking pizza. Then, I wrote down 10 cooking verbs. I showed them my revised paragraph, and we discussed why this one was better. 

As a result, students wrote their own activity paragraphs based on their 10 action verbs for their favorite activity with vibrant descriptive words.

Working on descriptive writing can be fun and rewarding…

All writers, even our middle school writers, can create powerful descriptions through planning, sensory details, and action verbs. The more they practice this in their own writing, the better. Also, you won’t be as bored with reading their “meh” descriptions that all start to sound the same after a while.

Also, by teaching students how writers capture a reader’s attention, their comprehension improves as they notice writers using these descriptive techniques over and over again.

If you’d like to know more about how to help your students improve their writing skills, teach them the 5 tricks to breaking writer’s block. You can pick up my free teacher’s guide by clicking on this link: www.teach2write.com/5tricks .

This guide comes with printable and digital student worksheets, videos that show you how I teach each of the 5 tricks, and a free subscription to my newsletter that gives you more techniques, tips and tricks for teaching writing in middle school.

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Alyssa Teaches

an Upper Elementary Blog

Teaching Descriptive Writing in the Upper Elementary Grades

Descriptive writing is one of my favorite units to teach. I love that it gives students lots of room for creativity while also getting them to think critically about a topic or story event. And it reinforces the idea that when we write, we write for the reader – we want to paint a picture in the reader’s mind.

Learning how to “show, not tell” isn’t just important in writing workshop. It also helps students in science (when recording observations) and social studies (when explaining about important people, places, and events).

Teaching Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing won’t be new to your 3rd, 4th, or 5th graders, but it’s still something they need to practice. We don’t want them to write a list of adjective-heavy sentences. We want them to engage the reader while describing in detail a topic or moment in a story. Lots of modeling, practice, and student-made anchor charts are great to use in these lessons.

Some minilessons you might teach include sensory details , figurative language, using specific vocabulary (i.e., vivid verbs, choosing synonyms for overused words, etc.), and varying sentence length and structur e.

Revising is also important since we want students to make sure their writing is cohesive and on topic. Students often think more = better when it comes to descriptive writing, but that’s not always the case. Having opportunities to read their writing aloud and get partner feedback is really helpful.

Use Mentor Texts

Descriptive writing mentor texts are a great way to share concrete examples of “show, not tell”. Owl Moon is a classic go-to, but here are some of my favorite books that may be new to your students!

This post includes affiliate links; as an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases at no cost to you.

I love how Elisha Cooper takes a simple topic and describes it in such detail! Beach , Train , and Farm are great for modeling how to do a deep dive on a topic.

Ten Ways to Hear Snow is one of my new favorite picture books! You can use this charming story to model descriptive and narrative writing and, in particular, sensory language . It’d be great to have students write their own versions on other nature topics.

Another nice mentor text to use is The Night Box . It includes personification, onomatopoeia, similes, and metaphors that add detail to the story. And I love the tie-in to day and night if you want to fit in a quick science review!

Roller Coaster is one more tried-and-true read-aloud to model descriptive details. I like how it’s not just a description of how a coaster looks or how quickly it moves, but also what the people riding it experience.

Come On, Rain works well for teaching sensory language as well as how to write a small moment story. I love how Hesse uses vivid vocabulary to make the reader really feel the heat and the rain!

The Wild Robot is a must-have chapter book for upper elementary classrooms! You can read the whole book or an excerpt to model how sensory language and specific word choice help the reader to easily visualize the setting.

And don’t forget poetry! The Great Frog Race , The Best Part of Me , and collections of haikus and concrete poetry are awesome to use during this unit, too!

Revise Boring Sentences

This one’s so easy, but it works! Have students compare a short sentence with a much more descriptive one. Which one is more interesting/helpful, and why?

Then you can practice taking a short sentence and revising it to make it more descriptive and appealing to the reader. This is a great whole-class kick-off before students write on their own.

Use Picture Prompts

I love using pictures for writing prompts in this unit! Funny photos, landscape pics, photos of food and animals, and even famous paintings are fun to use. I like to use a mix of busy and simple images.

Bring in Media Messages

A descriptive writing unit is an easy place to tie in media messages . You can have students analyze radio commercials, print ads, real estate and catalog listings, etc., to see how the author used descriptive language. And then have them create their own media messages describing favorite products they want people to buy! They LOVE this activity!

I’ve also had students write travel brochures for places we’ve studied (like Virginia’s regions and bodies of water). That’s a perfect way to hit social studies during your writing workshop!

Play a Game

This activity is so simple and it’s always a hit! Have them write a short descriptive paragraph or poem about a food, toy, sport, instrument, place in your community, etc. Display them on desks or make a bulletin board, and then have students try to guess what each describes.

A modified version of “I Spy” is also good practice! You can have students zoom in on tiny details to make it more challenging.

Descriptive Writing Practice

Looking for a resource to use to teach this unit? My forms of writing digital activities walk students through descriptive writing with a sample text, guided practice, editable word lists, checklists, rubrics, and more.

I hope you and your students enjoy your descriptive writing lessons! What other favorite activities do you have to model and teach this form of writing?

Related posts

No-Prep Digital Editing Writing Activities for 4th Grade

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How to Write a Descriptive Essay

Subject: English

Age range: 7 - 14

Resource type: Unit of work

Last updated

22 February 2018

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21 Writing Strategies To Help Aspiring Writers Plan, Create, and Finalize Their Work

Including smart ways to break through writer’s block!

Writing well takes practice and patience, but it’s a skill that offers real benefits both in the classroom and the real world. For many, writing is incredibly challenging, leaving people asking “Where do I even start?” Even experienced authors use a variety of writing strategies to keep themselves on track. We’ve rounded up some of the best writing strategies, with explanations and examples to help aspiring writers plan, organize, get started, and polish their final drafts.

Planning and Prep Writing Strategies

Organization writing strategies, writing strategies to overcome writer’s block, writing strategies to polish your work.

Before you ever put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), writing takes a lot of preparation and planning. Use these strategies to get yourself ready to write.

Mentor Texts

The best writers are the ones who also read voraciously. Reading helps you develop your general language and composition skills by exposing you to correct grammar, syntax, and more. Even more importantly, reading gives you examples of great writing (and often, bad writing). It allows you to explore different writing styles so you can develop your own personal voice. Author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury recommended reading one short story before bed every single night.

Many writers, especially students, use mentor texts as examples of the type of writing they want to emulate. Reading a few of these in the style of the piece you’re working on can inspire and guide you along the way. These texts can be books, magazines, articles, poems, essays, and more. Here are some of our favorite mentor texts in various styles:

• Opinion Writing Mentor Texts
• Narrative Writing Mentor Texts
• Procedural Writing Mentor Texts

To write convincingly about a topic, you must know it well, whether you’re working in nonfiction or fiction. If you decide to set your short story in Greece in the 19th century, you’ll need to know what life was like then. Writing about a main character who loves skateboarding means knowing the terminology and language of the culture. Deep knowledge on a topic adds realism and authenticity to any form of writing.

Regardless of what you’re researching, it’s important to use reliable primary sources. The Internet makes researching easier than ever before, but it can be harder to know whether your sources are trustworthy. Dedicated writers take time to verify their sources, and it’s especially important to teach young writers how to do so .

Taking good notes is vital when you’re researching. For some people, this means bookmarks and annotated text. Others prefer outlines or mind maps. Learn about smart note-taking strategies and choose a few that work best for you.

Immerse Yourself

Take your research a step further by truly immersing yourself in the time and place you’re writing about. Visit places in person if you can, or try virtual online tours through sites like Google Earth. These virtual field trips are a good option if you can’t get there yourself.

Meet or talk with people who have personal experience with your topic. Eat the foods of a country or culture, and listen to its music. Explore lots of visual sources, like pictures and videos. You can even hang some of your favorite images around your workspace for inspiration. The more familiar you are with a topic, the more comfortable you’ll feel writing about it.

Know Your Audience

Imagine you’re writing about whales. You’ve done lots of research and have plenty of interesting information to share. But the way you share it will vary a lot depending on who you’re writing for. If your audience is your teacher, you’ll probably want to use technical terms and cite your sources. But if you’re writing a book for little kids, your writing will be more descriptive and the language much simpler.

Ask defining questions like these:

• Who will read what I’m writing?
• Why are they reading it?
• What kind of language will they understand?
• What might they already know about this topic?
• What will these readers really care about?
• How will their personal experiences affect them as they’re reading?
• What style and tone of writing are they likely to enjoy most?

Character Profiles

Fiction writers need to create believable characters, with fully developed personalities. Some writers envision entire backstories for their characters that never make it onto the page. But these backstories inform their writing, driving their characters’ actions and choices. Try some of these ideas to develop strong characters:

• Create a family tree or relationship map of your characters
• Draw the characters, or describe their physical looks in detail
• Write timelines of your characters’ lives
• List their personality or character traits
• Describe a character’s hopes, dreams, and ambitions
• Determine the character’s voice: how they talk (words and phrases, syntax, etc.) and any accents, dialects, or code-switching they use

Start at the End

It sounds a little strange, but consider writing the final sentence or paragraph of your work first. After all, when you plan a trip, you almost always have a final destination in mind. How you get there may vary, but you’re ultimately striving toward a particular goal.

If you’re working on a nonfiction essay or research paper, writing the end first allows you clarify exactly what ideas you want your reader to walk away with. Then, you can work backward to fill in the details that support those ideas. Write your first paragraph last, and you’ll find it much easier to sum up your ideas and prepare the reader for what’s to come.

Fiction writers can do this too. In fact, many mystery writers start at the end, determining the solution to their mystery first. This allows them to build up the story around that resolution, ensuring the narrative hangs together. Picture your characters at the end of the story, then decide how you’ll get them there.

One of the hardest parts of writing can be keeping everything in order, especially when you’re writing longer pieces. Writers also need to manage their time to ensure they hit any deadlines or due dates they might have. These writing techniques can help.

Establish a Routine

Every famous author has had their own particular writing routine or habits. Stephen King sat in the same place each day , with his papers arranged carefully around him. E.B. White never listened to music while he wrote (although other distractions didn’t bother him). Hemingway wrote first thing every morning , as early as possible. Simone de Beauvoir wrote a little in the morning and then again in the evening.

Each one is different, but one thing is the same: They almost always followed the same routine and habits. This kept them focused and ensured they could meet the goals they set. Set aside a specific time for writing each day, and figure out the setting and habits that suit you best. Think about when you’ve been most productive, and try to replicate that as much as possible.

Set Writing Goals

We often teach students to set S.M.A.R.T goals : specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. These are ideal for writing, especially when you have a longer or more complex piece to finish. They also work if you just want to get a little better at your craft.

If you have a deadline or due date, start with that in mind and work backward. Be sure to allow time in your schedule for items like research, planning, a first draft, revision/editing, second draft, feedback, and a final draft. When you’re writing your first draft, consider breaking it into even smaller sections that will help you meet your goal and keep you on target. (Stephen King writes six pages a day; John Steinbeck was happy with just one.)

Outline or Story Map

For longer pieces, writers turn to outlines and story maps, creating the overall structure of their composition before they start writing in sentences and paragraphs. Some do this using the traditional outline structure , starting with the main points and filling in key details. Others like the sticky note method, where they write one fact or plot point on each note and move them around as needed.

When you map things out in advance, it makes the writing process itself much simpler. For nonfiction pieces, it ensures you don’t leave out any important information. In fiction, a story map helps you plan a narrative arc that hangs together and drives the story along. When you have an outline or story map in place, you can focus on finding the words to share these ideas with your audience.

Writing Template

A template can be a real benefit, especially for beginners or young students. It lays out the various sections and guides the writer through the process of completing each one. Think of a template kind of like training wheels; they help inexperienced writers feel a little more comfortable and keep them from missing important steps while they write. Check out our huge collection of free printable writing templates for elementary students.

If you’re a visual person, try a storyboard instead. This method uses a blank comic-book-style template to sketch out the action scene-by-scene. You don’t necessarily need to be a strong artist to use a storyboard, as long as you can get your ideas across in your drawings. Find a free storyboard template for younger students here.

Once you have your sketches, go back and add some text underneath. This might be dialogue, descriptive terms, or facts you want to include in that section. This text provides a terrific jumping-off point to begin writing in earnest.

It happens to everyone: the horror of the blank page—and a blank mind. The deadline clock is tick-tick-ticking, so you know you’ve got to do something, and do it pretty quick. Take a deep breath, then see if one of these writing strategies can help you break through.

Free-Write (Brainstorm)

This is all about just putting something down on the page. It doesn’t need to be good, it doesn’t need to follow grammar or spelling rules, it doesn’t even necessarily need to make sense! Just start letting words flow from your brain through the pen or keyboard and onto paper. In the same way that the physical act of smiling can actually make us feel happier, the physical act of writing or typing can sometimes get the creative juices flowing at last.

Write about anything, even the fact that you don’t have anything to write about, in a stream-of-consciousness style. When you feel up to it, transition into writing a bit about your topic or plot. Even if you only manage to write one good sentence or phrase you can use, it’s still progress.

Writing Sprints

Set a timer and just WRITE. Keep your pen (or fingers on the keyboard) moving the entire time, no matter what. If you’re really stuck, just write or type the same word over and over again until something shakes loose. Or combine a writing sprint with a writing prompt (see below) and let your words run free.

Short sprints of 5 to 10 minutes are great for warming up before a longer writing session. But you can also try longer sprints (up to an hour or so), where you purposely block out all other distractions. Turn off or mute your phone, set your device to distraction-free mode, shut the door or put on noise-cancelling headphones, whatever it takes. For the duration of your sprint, your only job is to write.

Writing Prompts

Use prompts to spark creativity and overcome writer’s block. Whether they inspire you to write a lot or a little, they get you into a creative mood and strengthen your writing muscles. We’ve got lots of writing prompts and topics to tackle:

• Short Story Starters and Writing Prompts
• Inspiring Picture Writing Prompts
• Kindergarten Writing Prompts
• First Grade Writing Prompts
• Second Grade Writing Prompts
• Third Grade Writing Prompts
• Fourth Grade Writing Prompts
• Fifth Grade Writing Prompts
• Creative Writing Prompts for Grades 4-8
• The Big List of Essay Topics for High School

A vignette is a short, descriptive piece that tries to bring the reader fully into one single moment. It doesn’t need a plot; rather, it tries to capture the mood and atmosphere with lots of evocative detail. Vignettes are a great way to jump-start your writing, establishing the setting of your piece or a particular scene you want to describe. Learn more about using vignettes here.

Having trouble figuring out your characters’ motivations, voices, or relationships? Try dialogue. You can approach this several different ways. One is to imagine and write a conversation between two or more characters in your story on any topic. You may or may not use this dialogue in your finished work; the point is to help you hear each character and their personality more clearly.

Another option is to have an imaginary conversation with a specific character out loud. Pretend you’re talking to them, and when they “respond,” speak aloud their voice as you imagine it in your head. Then, try to put those words into writing to see how they translate to the page.

Rough Draft

Initial drafts can actually be pretty freeing, because you’re not working toward perfection. Instead, you’re trying to get all your ideas onto paper for the first time, in sentences and paragraphs. Don’t worry too much about word choice, spelling, or even grammar at this point. Instead, just keep on writing. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to go back to revise and edit.

A rough draft might wind up being much shorter or longer than your final version. Some people like to write down anything and everything they’ve researched or planned for. Then, they condense and trim their text in later drafts. Others like to lay out the overall structure, then return to add more details and depth. Both of these methods are valid, so use whichever works best for you.

With your initial draft finally on the page, it’s time to edit, revise, and make it the best it can possibly be! These techniques and strategies will help you get there.

Captivating Opening Sentence

A strong opening sentence draws the reader in from the beginning. Try writing multiple versions to see which you like best. To ensure your opening is truly meaningful, share it with someone on its own, without the rest of the text for context. Ask what they think your writing will be about based on that single sentence, and if it interests them enough to want to read the rest.

Even nonfiction writing deserves amazing opening sentences. Darwin began On the Origin of Species by saying, “When on board H.M.S. ‘Beagle,’ as naturalist …” The book itself has a lot of dry technical writing, but that opening sentence evokes a sense of time and place, of adventure in far-off places, and it draws the reader in.

Avoid starting your writing with conventional phrases like “In this paper I will prove that …” or “I’m going to tell you about …” Thesis statements are important, but they’re rarely interesting enough to really intrigue the reader. Take a cue from Virginia Woolf, who opened A Room of One’s Own with: “But, you may say, we asked you to speak about women and fiction—what has that got to do with a room of one’s own? I will try to explain.”

Very few writers write a first draft that’s ready to be turned in or published. Instead, they revisit and refine their drafts multiple times, a process known as revision. When you revise, you focus on the overall structure and clarity of your work. Ask yourself questions like these:

Nonfiction Revision

• Is/Are my main point/s clear?
• Have I completely proven all the points in my thesis statement?
• Did I use facts to back up my assertions or opinions?
• Have I included citations or quotations that support my writing?
• Are there any areas where my writing is vague or needs to be clarified?
• Have I addressed any counterarguments and acknowledged alternative views?
• Does the overall structure make sense?
• Do my paragraphs transition well from one to the next?
• Should I add headings or subdivisions to make the paper easier to follow?
• Is my language and tone appropriate?
• Have I varied my word choice, refraining from repeating words or phrases over and over?
• Does my conclusion effectively and clearly sum up my paper?
• How will the reader feel when they finish reading this work, and does it match how I want them to feel?

Fiction Revision

• Does the story have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
• Is there a strong narrative arc?
• Have I left any plot holes or unresolved conflicts that may feel unsatisfying?
• How is the pacing? Does the story move along well, or does it get bogged down in places?
• Do my characters speak with clear, individual voices?
• Have my characters grown and changed as the story progressed?
• Do the characters’ voices feel authentic?
• Have I added realistic details without relying too heavily on description to carry the story? (“Show, don’t tell.”)
• Does the setting feel real? Can I picture myself living in that place and time?
• Is the conflict interesting enough to draw in the reader and hold their attention?
• How do I want the reader to feel when they finish the story? Have I accomplished that?

Once you’re happy with the overall structure and writing itself, it’s time to get down to the technical nitty-gritty. That means details like grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling. In other words, the time has come to proofread your work.

Word-processing programs or apps like Grammarly can help you catch a lot of these errors, making this job easier. But the final edit is ultimately down to you, so proofread and correct, then proofread again. Do your best to make your writing as technically perfect as you can, so the reader isn’t distracted by spelling mistakes or other minor problems.

One fantastic way to revise and edit is to read your text aloud, to yourself or others. Maya Angelou often read her writing out loud to her husband in the evening. “Hearing it aloud is good,” she explained. “Sometimes I hear the dissonance; then I try to straighten it out in the morning.”

Reading aloud is also ideal for catching errors like missing words or confusing sentences. You likely read much faster in your head than you do out loud, so this method forces you to slow down and focus. This is one of our favorite writing strategies for those who have trouble with attention to detail.

Peer Review

Experienced writers welcome feedback from others. Read the acknowledgements in any book, and you’re likely to find the author thanking their peer writing group or editors for substantially improving their text.

Some people find it hard to take feedback on writing, since it can feel very personal. Remember this: If you’re writing something only you will ever see, then you don’t need to worry about others. But if your writing is intended for an audience, you have to let that audience see your work to find out if you’ve truly managed to convey your ideas.

You don’t need to incorporate every suggestion or change your peers, teacher, or editor suggests. But feedback ultimately makes writing stronger and better. Seek it actively and use it wisely, and you’ll find it’s one of the most valuable writing strategies of all.

What are your favorite writing strategies to share with students? Come exchange ideas in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, must-have anchor charts for teaching writing of all kinds ..

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ChatGPT as an automated essay scoring tool in the writing classrooms: how it compares with human scoring

• Published: 13 July 2024

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• Ngoc My Bui 1 &
• Jessie S. Barrot   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0001-8517-4058 1 , 2  

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With the generative artificial intelligence (AI) tool’s remarkable capabilities in understanding and generating meaningful content, intriguing questions have been raised about its potential as an automated essay scoring (AES) system. One such tool is ChatGPT, which is capable of scoring any written work based on predefined criteria. However, limited information is available about the reliability of this tool in scoring the different dimensions of writing quality. Thus, this study examines the relationship between the scores assigned by ChatGPT and a human rater and how consistent ChatGPT-assigned scores are when taken at multiple time points. This study employed a cross-sectional quantitative approach in analyzing 50 argumentative essays from each proficiency level (A2_0, B1_1, B1_2, and B2_0), totaling 200. These essays were rated by ChatGPT and an experienced human rater. Using correlational analysis, the results reveal that ChatGPT’s scoring did not align closely with an experienced human rater (i.e., weak to moderate relationships) and failed to establish consistency after two rounds of scoring (i.e., low intraclass correlation coefficient values). These results were primarily attributed to ChatGPT’s scoring algorithm, training data, model updates, and inherent randomness. Implications for writing assessment and future studies are discussed.

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Bui, N.M., Barrot, J.S. ChatGPT as an automated essay scoring tool in the writing classrooms: how it compares with human scoring. Educ Inf Technol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12891-w

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Received : 10 January 2024

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DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-024-12891-w

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