Purpose

What is Description?

• tells readers about the physical characteristics of a person, place, or thing.

• relies on the five senses– hearing, taste, touch, smell, and sight.

• creates vivid impression for readers through language.

– Agee, “Knoxville: Summer 1915”

Uses of Description• Comparison-Contrast

– describe the design of two buildings/various side-effects of two treatments to show one is more desirable than the other.

• Argument– describe a typical study hall to show that

letting students use iPODS should be permitted.

• Problem-Solution– describe a fish kill in a local river to show

that a company’s dumping must be outlawed.

Thesis

Implied Thesis

• used to describe person, place, or thing• conveys essay’s point subtly • expressed - selection/arrangement of

details• readers form their own conclusions• requires strong grasp of argument &

structure– lack of focus/initial organizational

structure

• requires strong transitions

Explicitly Stated Thesis

• Used to support a particular point• Readers see immediately main point

“The sculptures that adorn the Philadelphia City Hall are a

catalog of nineteenth century artistic styles.”

Dominant Impression

• regardless of thesis type- essay must work together to create a SINGLE dominant impression.

• mood or quality emphasized in the piece of writing

• in many cases, thesis may be just a statement of the dominant impression

• in many other cases, thesis may go further and make a point about the dominant impression.

Objective Description

• NON-BIASED• focus on the object itself rather than

your personal reactions.• purpose: present a precise, literal

picture of your subject. • goal: construct an accurate/objective

picture for your audience. • almost impossible to achieve a

completely non-biased, objective response.

Subjective Description• Conveys personal response to your subject• perspective is not expressed in a single

statement– often revealed through word choice and

phrasing

Describe a place that has special meaning to you.

“My desk is a warm brown rectangle of wood whose surface reveals the

scratched impression of a thousand school assignments.”

Objective Vs. SubjectiveKeep In Mind:Neither objective nor subjective

description exists independently.

Objective Descriptions usually include some subjective elements to convey a sense of reality.

Must adjust the balance to suit topic, purpose, thesis, audience, as well as occasion for writing.

Objective Vs. Subjective Language

• both objective and subjective descriptions rely on language to appeal to readers’ senses.

• Obj. precise, factual language– presents a writer’s observations without conveying

his/her opinions on a matter

• Sub. richer and more suggestive language

– devotes attention to denotation/connotation of words– includes figurative language

Selecting Details for a Descriptive Essay

• avoid: nice, great, terrific, awful, or substituting personal reactions to an object for the qualities of the object.

• must do more than just say something is good

• must use details to evoke this response in your reader

my goal is not to tell my audience that something was good, but to

have my audience derive this response for themselves

Details• “He was angry.”

• “His face flushed, and one corner of his mouth twitched as he tried to control

his anger.”

• His wrinkled, tan face was flushed red with anger. He looked like a beet left

out in the sun too long. His anger could not be controlled, the steam shot from his too-small ears as beads of sweat glistened around this thinly combed,

brown hair line.

Determining Details

• level, background, and knowledge of audience

• a description of a DNA molecule written for first-year college students would contain more basic details than a description written for junior biology majors.– in addition, the more advanced description

might include details that might be inappropriate to the younger, less experienced audience.

Organizing a Descriptive Essay

• write down descriptive details in no particular order

• arrange details in a way that supports thesis and communicates dominant impression

• Keep in Mind: as organizing details, there are a few options you may employ

Options to Organize1.) move from specific description of an object to

general things around it2.) switch this: begin with the general and

proceed to the specific/the most important one3.) progress from least important to most

important4.) progress from smallest thing to largest one5.) progress from least unusual to most unusual

OR6.) combine approaches, using different

organizations in different parts of the essay.

Remember: the strategy you choose depends on the dominant impression you wish your audience to gain from your writing.

Use Transitions

• now, more than ever, are transitions key to your writing

• without transitions, your reader will have difficulty understanding the relationship between one detail and another

• in particular, use words or phrases that demonstrate the spatial or chronological arrangement of details– above, within, throughout, beyond, behind,

below, etc.

Structuring a Descriptive Essay

• Introduction: presents the dominant impression

• Body Paragraph: includes details that support the thesis or convey the dominant impression

• Conclusion: reinforces the thesis or dominant impression/echoes an idea stated in the introduction/leaves a lasting impression of the importance of this situation

Sample Assignment

Suppose your English teacher has asked you to write a short essay

describing a person, place, or thing.

You decide to write an objective description of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

Because the museum is so large and has many different exhibits, you know you

cannot describe them all.

You decide to concentrate on one, the heavier-than-air flight exhibit, and you

choose a topic you remember most vividly:

Lindenberg’s airplane, The Spirit of St. Louis

You begin by brainstorming to recall all the details you can.

When you read over your notes, you realize that the organizing scheme of your essay could reflect your actual

experience in the museum.

You decide to present the details in the order in which your eye took them in:

front to rear.

The dominant impression you wish to create is how small and fragile The

Spirit of St. Louis appears.

Thesis Statement: It is startling that a plane as small as The Spirit of St. Louis could fly across the Atlantic.

Single engine, tiny cockpit

Short wing span, extra gas tank

Limited cargo space filled with more gas tanks

Restatement of thesis or review of key points

Introduction:

Front of Plane

Middle of Plane

Read of Plane

Conclusion