Descriptive Writing

Adjectives and Adverbs• There are two parts of speech

that are particularly important when you are writing description.

• Adjectives are words that describe or modify a noun.

• Adverbs are words that describe an action (or a verb).

Examples?• Adjectives: Blue, beautiful, horrific,

understated, serendipitous, esoteric, extraterrestrial

• Adverbs: Unusually, surprisingly, wonderfully, expectedly, impatiently

• You can often identify an adverb by its ly ending

Figurative Language• Description also often uses figurative language like

simile, metaphor and personification.• Metaphor is a comparison of two things: “My love

is a rose.”• Simile is a type of metaphor using like or as: “The

line of traffic was like a snake, slithering towards the exit.”

• Personification is describing something non-human, using human characteristics: “The clock’s smiling face.”

5 Things to Watch Out For in Descriptive Writing

(Adapted from a worksheet created by Miriam Gershow )• Remember, when you write description,

you are trying to bring an object or scene to life for your reader. You want to make your description unique, not tired. For instance, if you describe a tree as leafy and green, you aren’t exactly breaking new ground. Here are some ways to avoid boring, uninventive description.

#1: Purple Prose• “Have you ever been given a

Hallmark card that was so mushy and sentimental, it was embarrassing to read? That was probably a result of purple prose.When language is melodramatic, overwrought, or gushy, that is called purple and it should be toned down” (Gershow)

For Example:Before you, Bella, my life was like a moonless

night. Very dark, but there were stars—points of light and reason… And then you shot across my sky like a meteor. Suddenly everything was on fire; there was brilliancy, there was beauty. When you were gone, when the meteor had fallen over the horizon, everything went black. Nothing had changed, but my eyes were blinded by the light. I couldn’t see the stars anymore. And there was no more reason for anything.

• -Stephanie Meyer, New Moon

• “Purple is a problem because it’s not taken seriously. It’s not realistic: people don’t normally talk this way. When writing is purple, you can usually find simpler or more specific language to describe the same thing more realistically.” (Gershow).

#2: Adverbs• “Adverbs are concepts. As we

learned in elementary school, they dress up verbs. But they aren’t specific. They don’t lend detail. Every adverb is an opportunity for specific detail. And specific detail is what makes your writing unique and memorable” (Gershow).

Try It!• Picture a person doing each of these

actions. Instead of using a phrase containing an adverb to describe them, use specific details to describe that imaginary person who is…

• Waiting impatiently…• Watching anxiously…• Speaking confidently…

#3: Clichés• “There’s nothing wrong with the words

themselves […] But they’re very familiar. They’ve been used so many times before they no longer have any power […]For example: “The sound was as clear as a bell” (Gershow). These once powerful comparisons have become tired expressions.

• Many of these expressions are metaphors, using like or as to compare two things. For example, strong as an ox, sly as a fox, or dumb as a doornail.

#4: Formal Language• “Often, when you’re writing for a class assignment, you might have the

idea that the more sophisticated your language sounds, the better. Big words will impress your teacher and show how smart you are. Maybe you sit with a thesaurus next to you; maybe you think if a two syllable word is good, a five syllable one is even better. You might write “we ascertained” instead of “we figured out,” or “our prodigious clan” instead of “our big family.”

• “However, formal language can often be a distraction. If focuses readers on the words, themselves, rather than the meaning you are trying to convey. When you use simple, straightforward language, (“I stopped to smell the flowers” versus “I ceased motion in order to perceive through olfactory means the seed-bearing plants”) readers do not have to work as hard to understand your meaning. A reader shouldn’t have to wade through the language to get to the meat of your description” (Gershow).

Thesaurus Tip• Don’t use the thesaurus for every

word in your essay. If you find yourself using the same word over and over again, make you sure to choose a word from the list that you know. Be sure you are confident that you can give a definition of the word yourself.

#5: Easy Outs• Easy outs are generalizations. Many

familiar adjectives are easy outs. You might say, “The tree was beautiful”, or “the river looked dangerous.” The problem with easy outs is they are subjective. What is beautiful to me, may not be beautiful to you. What is dangerous to a preschooler, probably does not look so dangerous to a white water rafter (Gershow).

InterestingInteresting is the worst of all easy

outs in my estimation. It is important to practice avoiding it.

Practice: Instead of saying, “The book I read was interesting,” write a few sentences that “show, don’t tell” why that is the case.

Let’s Practice

Finally, the five senses• Smell• Taste• Touch• Hearing• Seeing

Sight• Describe the color red • without saying “red”

Sight is the most commonly evoked sense in descriptive writing.

Smell• Most people have a “personal scent.”

Think of someone you know whose home has a distinct scent. Try to describe it.

• Smell evokes powerful emotions and is often linked to memory. Use it in your description to make your reader feel nostalgia.

Touch• Try to describe the way that each

of these things feels to the touch:• Sandpaper• Fish scales• Velvet• Jello

Hearing• What is your favorite sound? Try

to describe it without naming it.

Taste• Take a moment to visualize

yourself at the beach. Try to describe it using taste as your primary sense.

• Taste is also very powerful. Most people can relate immediately to writing about food.