Description

Description is sometimes called "a picture painted with words." We don't often write purely descriptive paragraphs, but description is frequently called for in other types of writing.

Objective description describes an object as it is, without any of the feelings of the writer coming into the description. This type of description is used especially in scientific writing.

Example:

Gorilla -- "Massive, sway-backed frame; pot belly; long thick arms; short legs; wide hands and feet, with thick fingers and toes. Head proportionally large, crowned in male with conical mass of muscle. Powerful jaws and large teeth; adult male has formidable canines. Eyes deep-set under prominent brow ridge; ears small. Coat short and sparse in lowland populations, long and silky in mountain race. Face, chest, and other bare skin areas black; fur blue-black to brownish grey; mature male "silverback" has conspicuous silvery-grey saddle." from National Audubon Society Field Guide to African Wildlife, pp. 601-2.

Subjective description emphasizes how the object appeared to the writer and how he/she felt about it. This type of description is used more in fiction.

Example:

"Twenty feet away, wreathed by a thicket of wild celery, a female gorilla cradles an infant on her lap. The baby, dependent on its mother for its first three or four years, is the size of a human toddler. Both pause, and regard us with shining umber eyes that seem ageless, depthless. I'm not sure what people see in those liquid irises -- recognition? lost innocence?" from "Gentle Gorillas Turbulent Times," National Geographic, vol. 188, No.4 October 1995, p. 83

Prewriting:

1. Choose one of the following to describe:
2. Your own physical appearance.
3. Your living room or kitchen at home.
4. The layout of your home or apartment
5. The main shopping area of your hometown
6. A scene of great natural beauty in Shizuoka Prefecture.
7. A typical meal at your house.

Experiment with describing your subject using some of these techniques:

List words and phrases that describe the sights, sound, smells, tastes you associate with your subject. What sense is dominant? What sense do you want to dominate the scene?If you were a painter, what part of your scene would you choose to highlight? How can you highlight this with words?

Use analogies or comparisons. For example, before I got married, I used to say my apartment looked like an explosion at a flea market.

From what point of view are you looking at the scene?

• In the middle?
• Above it?
• Below it?
• Are you scanning through it like a TV camera?
• Are you looking at it through binoculars?

How would you describe it to a friend from Canada coming for a visit?

Topic: What are you writing about?

Audience: Who will read it?

Purpose: Why are you writing?

Format: Is it a letter, report?

Drafting:

1. Dominant Impression

• What is the most important impression you want to give to your reader?
• What reaction do you want from your reader? Dislike? Like? Amusement? Fright? Appreciation?
• Don't include every detail in your description. Select the details that give the impression you want.

2. Organization

If you are describing a scene, choose a starting point and proceed in an orderly way:

a. top to bottom or bottom to top;
b. near to far or far to near;
c. left to right or right to left;
d. clockwise or counterclockwise;
e. from the dominant impression to details.

3. Use words that appeal to your reader's senses -- sight, sound, smell, touch.

4. Use a metaphor if you can think of one that fits. Screeching loudly to each other, the flock of uniformed high school girls mobbed the ice cream stand.

Examples of Descriptive Writing: Click here to see some other examples of descriptive writing.

Using Figurative Writing in Description.

Figurative writing is an important part of description. Click here to access an exercise in figurative writing.