descriptive essay

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ACADEMIC WRITING
BA IN ENGLISH AS A FOREING LANGUAGE
UNIT III: ESSAYS
DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
TUTOR:
HENRY CARVAJAL
GROUP: 551016_2
STUDENT:
NATHALIA MEDINA VELA
ID: 1016081014
OPEN AND DISTANCE NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
BOGOTA, COLOMBIA
NOVEMBER OF 2016

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DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
A descriptive essay is a paper that describes a thing, event, process or person. An effective
descriptive essay creates an evocative portrait of its topic in the reader's mind. Writing in
this style gives the author ample creative autonomy with regard to content and format.
The goal is to stimulate the reader's imagination and all five senses.
The main goal of a descriptive essay is to create a Vivid Experience for the reader!
Normally, most readers receive the most effective representation of something through
the use of their senses! Taste, touch, smell, hearing, and sight are the 5 ways that the
human brain receives information. When it comes to giving the best possible description
of something, it is incredibly important to appeal towards all 5 senses.
Descriptive essays are not intended to persuade or argue with the reader or to present a
list of facts and figures. These essays are word paintings. Descriptive essays are often
assigned to students of creative writing, but they also appear in literary journals,
magazines, blogs and essay compilations. Skilled authors of descriptive essays use rich,
colorful, specific and vivid language to engage all of the reader's senses. By the
conclusion, the reader has a multifaceted visualization and understanding of the topic.
When a writer is asked to create a descriptive essay, the options that they have to choose
from are descriptions of a:
Person
o Describe the traits that make for a perfect role model.
o Describe what separates your best friend from the regular acquaintances.
o Describe the average human to an alien who has never before seen a
person.

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 Place
o Describe a place you have dreamed about that doesn’t exist in real life.
o What would be the ideal place to plan an event of your choice.
o Paint a picture with words of the most beautiful sight you have ever seen!
 Memory
o Which event brought about your favorite memory, and how did the
setting impact it?
o What is one of the most common memories that you think about it, and
what made it so iconic?
o What particular aspects separate regular events from unique memories in
your life?
 Experience
o Describe that moment in your life where you zoned out of a certain social
setting and took a moment to appreciate life.
o Describe a moment in your life where you either led a crowd or did
something completely out of your comfort zone!
o Describe a day in your life that took a complete 180-degree turn, and
explain how you dealt with it.
 Object
o Talk about an item that holds sentimental value to you, and how that
came about.
o Describe something that you would bury in a time capsule to tell people
about what life is like today.
o The commoners are accusing you of witchcraft, so you must describe
technology to people from the dark ages to save your life.
Although descriptive essays are free-form compositions, they need logical organization
that progressively reveals the topic to the reader. The most important element of this
organized framework is the topic itself. If the reader does not understand what the essay
is about, it is a jumbled, random and confusing mess.

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Components of a descriptive essay
Descriptive essays are depictions of real life that are intended to help the reader fully
imagine and experience what the writer is portraying. The subject can be anything - an
object, a person, an event, a feeling, a moment, a situation, a place, a scene, and so on.
This form of essay can be used as a way to make a point or simply as an account of what
is being described.
 Creating a Feeling
One of the most important elements of the descriptive essay is that it not only
describes the simple facts, but also gives the reader a particular feeling, impression
or effect of the subject of the essay. This is accomplished by using detailed and
vivid descriptions using concrete language. At the end of reading the essay, the
reader should feel that he has been drawn into the world that the author has
created.
 Using All the Senses
Attention to detail is of paramount importance in a descriptive essay. It is not
enough just to describe what the scene looks like; the author must utilize the other
senses as well. Good essays in this genre will often show us a scene and tell us how
it smelled, how it felt (both emotionally and physically), what it sounded like, and
perhaps, depending on the subject, what it tasted like. All of these elements
together draw the reader in and flesh out a more tangible picture of the scene.
 Personal Experience
Descriptive essays will often go beyond just describing the scene as it is in reality,
and the author will describe how he himself experienced it. This may include
telling us what the most vivid parts of the scene were, what he was focused on,
and sometimes, what the experience reminded the author of from his past. He
will relate how he felt at the time and where he fit into the scene.
 Concrete Language
Quality descriptive essays use concrete language instead of more abstract
language. For instance, instead of writing that "It was a pleasant night," the
author may describe the coolness of the breeze and the calming sounds of the
rustling of the trees and the lapping of the ocean, and so on. Small details, such as
the specific type of rain that was falling, also help the reader have a clearer
picture of the scene.

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An example: “Hard Rock Casino in Tampa”
The first thing that can be noticed while entering the casino is the
second 50-foot Hard Rock guitar. This guitar is located at the very
entrance of the hotel. The casino has many entertainment options. In
general, the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino provides ample
ways for people who are looking for ways to spend their money.
I went to the casino with mine ex-girlfriend before he broke up with me.
I was really impressed since never before had I seen something that that.
The casino proved to be a real bummer, mainly because the Seminole
Hard Rock Hotel and Casino provides ample ways for the people to
entertain themselves.
Hard Rock Casino in Tampa is the place where you can discover your
Rock 'n Roll Dreams. The dream may be different ranging depending
on the individual taste of a person. Pushing my extreme bitterness aside
for a moment or two, I must admit that I really liked that place. For all
those people who are going to visit this place I recommend getting a
suite. The suites are really wonderful since they have really fun jacuzzi
tubs and big, fluffy beds.
The suite also has huge bay windows. The window goes from floor to
ceiling in each room. That fact enables all the visitors of Hard Rock
Casino in Tampa to enjoy a nice look at the sunset over Tampa. The
suite has the pool and patio area. This area is really nice. I would
recommend this place for a visiting in the future.
The place is very noisy. One must remember that there are many kids
with drunk parents and a lot of parents acting like drunk kids at night.
So, my advice is: enjoy yourself but be careful.
INTRODUCTION: That is
where the author briefly
introduces the subject or the
object of the essay.
Introduction has to be written
in an engaging manner to
draw readers’ attention and
convince them read further
rather than switch to
something else.
MAIN BODY: The subject or
object of descriptive essay is
further explored and
explained in detail in the body
of the essay. Usually, writers
use a great variety of
adjectives and adverbs to
make the paper colorful,
lively, and interesting to read.
This part of the essay provides
readers with the insight into
what the authors thinks about
the particular topic.
CONCLUSION: In this part,
the author provides his own
thoughts and conclusion of the
subject or object of the essay,
which depends greatly on
author’s writing style,
imagination, and analytical
skills.

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OUTLINE FOR DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
Introduction
Paragraph I
a. Opening topic sentence
b. The place I am writing about
c. Brief feeling about the place
d. Sensory detail
Paragraph II
a. Description of another specific location within the same place
b. Factual details
c. Sensory detail with vivid language
Paragraph III
a. Description of another specific location within the same place
b. Factual details
c. Sensory detail with vivid language
Paragraph IV
a. Restatement of feeling about place with further expansion
b. Additional details
c. Clincher statement
Conclusion

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References
 Purdue Online Writing Lab: The Descriptive Essay. Taken from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/03/
 Roane State Community College Online Writing Lab: Types of Papers:
Narrative/Descriptive. Taken from: http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Describe.html
 Literacy Education Online: Descriptive Essays. Taken from :
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/descriptive.html
 Mage Oten (2016-10-18) descriptive essay example outline. Taken from:
http://amotid.com/ZGVzY3JpcHRpdmUtZXNzYXktZXhhbXBsZS1vdXRsaW5l/