This document provides guidance on writing descriptive structures and paragraphs. It discusses describing a person, place, or thing and using a topic sentence, supporting details, and conclusion for paragraphs or an introduction with thesis, supporting paragraphs, and conclusion for essays. It emphasizes showing rather than telling details through specific sensory descriptions of sight, sound, smell, and feeling. Dominant impressions and spatial ordering of details are also covered.

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

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

3. Structure
Paragraph (each bullet Essay (each bullet
point equals 1-3 point equals one
sentences) paragraph)
• Topic Sentence • Introduction that
• Supporting Detail includes thesis
• Supporting Detail statement
• Supporting Detail • Supporting Details
• Conclusion • Conclusion

4. Show, Don’t Tell
• Description writing tries to SHOW you, not
TELL you about something or someone.
• Use specific details that paint a picture.
Consider this
You are a car salesman. A customer comes
in and says, “I want to buy a car.” What
would you say to the customer?
Does the customer want an old car, a
new car, a sports car, a truck, etc? He
What kind needs to be SPECIFIC!
of car?

5. Sensory Details
SIGHT
Use your senses
to help you
write SOUND
Sensory SMELL
description. Details
FEELING

6. Sensory Details Example
A well-lit and
cheery room
to write
Sensory
The sound of The smell of
others typing Details: coffee, stimula
papers on ting you to
computers The Writing write well
Center
The look of
excited faces
as the write
with
confidence
Crossroads, Integrated Reading and Writing, Pam Dusenberry and Julie O’Donnell Moore, Prentice Hall, 2011

7. Dominant Impression
• You are describing one thing.
• That one thing is your main point.
• This becomes your topic (or thesis) statement.
You might describe The island was a
A room disaster after the
A place hurricane.
A person
Or some other thing….

8. Supporting Details
• Use your senses.
• Add specific details to support your topic
(thesis) statement.
The island was a
What do you…
disaster after the
See? hurricane.
Hear?
Smell?
Feel?
Taste?

9. Supporting Details
The island was a disaster after the hurricane.
See?
Hear? Sound of silence
Smell?
Feel?
Taste?

10. Spatial Order
The island was a disaster after the hurricane.
Imagine you just stepped off a plane onto
Descriptive the disaster site of the island.
writing What is the first thing you would notice?
organizes
Would you smell the dead fish first?
the details
by moving
Or maybe the heat and humidity
through would hit you first.
space. Or maybe you are stunned by
how quiet it is with no cars
moving and the power out.

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