Descriptive Writing

Descriptive writing gives readers a vivid image and enables them to imagine a scene clearly.

Example: Non-descriptive

sentence: There were grapes in the bowl.

Descriptive sentence: The plump purple grapes in the bowl looked tantalizing.

Does your writing look like this example?

Brain Pop-Show Don't Tell

This is showing!

Descriptive Writing & Adjectives In order to show and not just tell,

you need to use plenty of adjectives.

An adjective is a word that modifies, or describes, a noun or a pronoun. A heavy rainstorm soaked the

campsite. In this sentence, the adjective heavy modifies (or describes) the noun, rainstorm.

Descriptive Writing & Adjectives Adjectives help you see, feel,

taste, hear, and smell all the experiences you read about.

Notice how adjectives make the second sentence in this pair more descriptive. Coyotes startled the campers. Noisy coyotes startled the sleepy

campers.

Descriptive Writing & Adjectives Adjectives answer the questions

what kind, which one, how many and how much. What kind?

red backpack, sturdy tent, spicy stew Which one or ones?

last hamburger, third hike, every lantern

How many or how much?two flashlights, many insects, little

moonlight.

What’s an Adjective Pair?

It is common to use more than one adjective before a noun. For example, we can write "He's a funny young

boy," or "She's a smart, energetic woman." When you use more than one

adjective, you have to put them in the right order, according to type. It is correct to write, "I have a small red car," but it is not correct to write, "I have a red small car."

What’s an Adjective Pair?

When you use two adjectives together, you sometimes use "and" between them and sometimes you don't.

When you use two adjectives together (also called paired adjectives), you sometimes use a comma between them and sometimes you don't.

Types of Adjectives (OSASCOMP)

Opinion Examples: funny, beautiful, fabulous, difficult

Size (A size adjective tells you how big or small something is) Examples: large, tiny, enormous, little

Age Examples: ancient, new, young, old

Shape Examples: square, round, flat, rectangular

Color Examples: blue, pink, reddish, gray

Origin Examples: Mexican, Chinese, eastern, northern, lunar, solar

Material Examples: wooden, metal, cotton, paper, stone

Purpose (These adjectives often end with "-ing“) Examples: sleeping (as in "sleeping bag"), roasting (as in "roasting

pan")

Adjectives v. Proper Adjectives Many adjectives

are formed from common nouns.

Nouns and Adjectives: noun- rain; adjective-

rainy noun- scene;

adjective- scenic noun-beauty;

adjective- beautiful

A proper adjective is formed from a proper noun. Proper adjectives are always capitalized.

Proper Nouns and Adjectives: p.noun- China; adj.-

Chinese p.noun- Ireland; adj.-

Irish p.noun- Mars; adj.-

Martian

Practice

Directions: Highlight the adjective(s). Underline the noun that is being described. There will be more than one in most of the sentences.

Drew's awesome, purple skateboard was on the porch. Tim cannot survive in the extreme cold. Kellan can spot wild animals easily against the cold,

white snow. Sammie took her cute, fluffy dog to the peaceful park. Colin has a big brown house in the quiet woods. Peggy's Vera Bradley bag was on the blue floral couch. Connor wore a plain black shirt to the splendid Poetry

Slam!

Practice

Rewrite these sentences using descriptive language.

Add at least 3 adjectives to each sentence.

Try to change the verb (action word) to make it more active and engaging.

Practice

Jane went to the store on her bike.____________________________________________

Mark played in the basketball game.____________________________________________

Susan ran outside.____________________________________________

Improving Writing

Brain Pop Video What can you do

to improve your writing?

Adjective Pair and Active Voice Practice

Improve your sentences with adjectives! Circle each common noun. Add 2 adjectives to each common

noun. The boy ran along the sidewalk. The tall, stocky boy ran along the

hot, rough sidewalk.

Then describe the pictures—on the back of this sheet—using adjective pairs and active voice.

Descriptive Paragraph Assignment It is a quiz grade. You are

responsible for checking your work against the rubric.

You are NOT writing a story or trying to persuade me to do something. You are describing your topic with adjectives and action verbs.

You will have a writing conference after you complete the graphic organizers.

Example Paragraph

Cherished GuitarMy most valuable possession stands proudly

in the corner of my small, purple bedroom.  The old, slightly warped guitar sounds like rain drops drumming the window and the copper strings stretch down a long, slim neck.  The strings’ hum reminds me of a raspy blues musician, but now the pear-shaped guitar drowns in tiny dents and accidental damage caused by years of fingers pressing chords and picking notes.  The once rich, brown wood faded into a dull, lifeless gray.  However, I still see its timeless beauty through the lop-sided chips and treasure its delightful music.

The Writing Process

Finish the graphic organizers. Sign up for a writing conference only

when you are ready Then begin your rough draft. The next

step is revising and editing. A peer may conference with you quietly—if he/she is also finished with his/her rough draft.

Check your work against the rubric. Highlight all 15(A)/20(H) adjectives in one color. Highlight all 3 (A)/4(H) figurative language examples in another color.