Before beginning to write your essay it is important that you brainstorm all the ideas that you will describe in your essay.

There are many ways in which you can brainstorm or gather your ideas – mind maps, taking notes etc. The most important point is that you know what you want to share with the reader.

Below is an example of how to brainstorm ideas using a mind map.

Topic: Description of my favourite city

Below is an example of how to brainstorm ideas using a table.

Sensory details	How you feel when you eat? (before and after)	How you came across this meal?	Details of place?
Delicious tasting food (main course /dessert) – sweet, scrumptious, tasty	Emotions – happy, delightful, good memories	21st birthday	Five star hotel- Italian restaurant
Smells super good – flowery/fruity fragrant	Sad to leave – will visit again very soon	Celebration with friends	Expensive
Dessert – foamy Soup – smooth		Friend recommendation	High end
Visually very well presented			Chandelier Western décor

There are several organisational patterns you can follow to write a descriptive essay. You may choose to organise what you are planning to describe by time, location or another order of importance.

Refer to the table below for a general guideline of what you should include in your essay.

Chronological – organising the details of your essay in their order of occurrence in time. This organisation strategy is mostly used when describing an event or a series of events.

For example:

Topic: My hectic exam day

Introduction – introduce the topic to the reader (a hectic day)

Paragraph 1 – the morning of the exam (waking up early, last minute studying at home, breakfast, packing for exam

Paragraph 2 – arriving at the exam location (last minute preparations, emotions/feelings before exam

Paragraph 3 – after the exam (emotions or feelings after completion of exam, how to celebrate end of exams)

Conclusion – round up your essay

Spatial – organising details of your essay according to ‘space’. In other words, if you are describing your car you will organise it into front/back, inside/outside etc. This organisation strategy is mostly used when describing an object item or place.

For example:

Topic: My new apartment

Introduction – introduce the topic to the reader (new apartment)

Paragraph 1 – apartment building (location/area/what it looks like etc)

Paragraph 2 – inside apartment

Paragraph 3 – outside apartment

Conclusion – round up your essay

Descriptive words

As descriptive essays are written to describe someone, something or an event in great detail, it is important that you use a good amount of descriptive words so that the reader will be able to able to clearly ‘see the picture’.

You should avoid using vague words (such as good, nice, wonderful). Instead you should be specific and use sensory descriptive words. Refer to the list below of sensory descriptive words.

Sight	Sound	Taste	Smell	Touch
shiny	high	sour	strong	rough
colourful	low	sweet	fresh	smooth
bright	loud	bitter	musty	hot
dark	quiet	sweet	dishy	cold
round	squeaky	spicy	smoky	frosty
pointed	growl	tasteless	stale	elastic
glistening	gurgling	ripe	stinky	cuddly
distinct	hiss	juicy	fragrant	soft
murky	hoarse	delicious	burning	uneven
misty	crunching	sticky	putrid	sweat
unusual	mutter	creamy	rich	slimy
translucent	whisper	acidic	rotten	downy

Concrete vs. Abstract terms

Abstract terms refer to ideas or concepts that are intangible and not available to the senses meaning they are not things that you can see, hear, smell, taste or touch.

Examples of abstract language:

Take ‘love’ as an example – we cannot see it, hear it, smell it, taste it or touch it. Love is therefore intangible. It is a concept or feeling only.

Concrete terms refer to ideas, objects or things that are available to the senses. Concrete terms are things that you can see, smell, touch, feel or hear.

When writing descriptive essays it is important for you to use concrete language rather than abstract language to communicate your ideas. This is because by using concrete language you are essentially giving the reader information that is easily understandable and relatable. In doing so what you are describing will become clearer to the reader.

Therefore, be sure to avoid using abstract language as it will make it more difficult for the readers to connect and understand your writing.

Similes and Metaphors

The main purpose of a descriptive essay is to provide readers enough details to allow them to visualise or connect with what you are writing. Similes and metaphors are very often incorporated into descriptive writing because they can help to communicate specific messages or ideas more effectively.

Simile – A figure of speech involving the comparison between two things that are generally not alike by using the words ‘like’ or ‘as’.

Structure:

Examples of simile use in sentences:

Metaphor – A figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or to an action which is not literally applicable. A metaphor creates an image of feeling by making an interesting comparison between two things that at first appear unrelated.

Examples of metaphor use in sentences:

Tips: Questions to ask yourself after completing your descriptive essay

• Is your essay logical, well-structured and easy to follow?
• Have you used a fair amount of descriptive words to describe your ideas or themes?
• Have you provided enough details or description to allow the reader to be grossly absorbed into your account?
• Does the word choice or the language you have used help the reader understand your topic?
• Will the reader be engaged by your essay? Is it interesting?

1. Content
2. Language
3. Organisation

Select the most suitable word to complete the sentence.

Select the answer that it most likely being described by the given vocabulary.

Select the detail that would NOT support the main idea.

Indicate whether the given words are abstract terms.

Complete the simile by dragging the most suitable word.

Complete the simile by dragging the most suitable word.

Select the most appropriate meaning of each metaphor.