SCHOOL OF ARCHITECTURE, BUILDING AND DESIGN

THE DESIGN SCHOOL

FOUNDATION IN NATURAL BUILD ENVIRONMENT

NAME: KIMBERLEY EE SZE ANN

STUDENT ID NO: 0315319

TOOL SELECTED: PENCIL

WORD COUNT: 1057

ENGLISH 2 (ENGL 0205)

WRITTEN ASSIGNMENT 1: DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

LECTURER: CASSANDRA WIJESURIA

SUBMISSION DATE: 14TH

NOVEMBER 2013

Prewriting

The pencil

touch

texture

smooth paint

rough wood

smooth lead

etched words

made by the maufacturer

each letter etched in the

same way

teeth marks

personal mark

reveal a bad habit

sight

colour

painted green

pale brown wood

exposed

shiny black lead

shape

cylindrical

tapers to a point

pencil's ID gold letters

and numbers

sound

cry cries when

dropped

whisper whispers when

writing

shout shouts in pain when broken

The Pencil

The pencil lying on my desk, I realise, is not just a pencil at all. I find it impossible to

remember if there was a day since I started my course in architecture that I haven’t had a pencil

at hand. Do not get me wrong though, the pencil in question is certainly not the high-tech

mechanical pencil with plastic body and steel springs that had been steady companion

throughout most of my school life. No, the pencil I am addressing is none other than the old

fashioned wood cased pencil complete with graphite core. Strange isn’t it that this pencil would

become such a dominant feature in my life. I remember it as if only yesterday; I was halfway

through my first year in kindergarten, when I spotted one of my classmates using a mechanical

pencil which was at that time a breakthrough in stationary technology. As you can imagine, I

was eager to possess this wondrous item and only too eager to banish the mundane wood cased

pencil from my life. Now however, I have reconstructed old bridges between my little friend and

me. Subsequently, I will continue to fondly describe my wood cased pencil in the following

paragraphs through touch, sight and sound.

Firstly, I will explore my pencil through touch. Although, it must have taken me quite a while

to write my first paragraph my pencil still lays silently on my desk, still and unmoving as pencils

often are. Possibly this is one of the most interesting characteristics of a pencil: they are capable

of so much yet require the human touch to unleash their potential. Guided by the human hand a

pencil may write, draw, sketch or even shade. Even now, as I lift my pencil my fingers

automatically take shape around it as if I were to start writing, the familiar act drilled into me

since childhood. However, that is not my intention and I merely run my fingers across the

familiar surface. As I do so, I realise a subtle change in texture, the body is painted and smooth

to the touch, nearer to the end the texture becomes rough where the paint has been shaven away

to reveal the underlying wood. Finally, at the very end of the pencil, the texture is smooth once

more as the lead has been exposed and sharpened to a point. Still, that is not all I feel as I

examine the familiar object. Near the middle of the pencil, words have been etched by the

manufacturer into the fine wood. Each letter is engraved in the same way such that they only

penetrate a millimetre into the surface. At, the end opposite the lead point my fingers flit across

small craters where my teeth have dented and marred the once perfect paint surface, a signature

of my own that reveals a none too pleasant habit.

Next, I bring my pencil closer to my face, turning it in my hands as I begin to observe it

through sight. The pencil is painted dark green in colour, though my vast knowledge of

stationary can testify that pencils come in many different colours and varieties. Another

noticeable feature is that it is cylindrical in shape and tapers to a point at one end. At this end, the

paint has been shaven off to reveal the pale brown wood underneath and later the shiny black

lead point at the very end. Furthermore, the pencil is covered in shiny gold lettering that has been

engraved then painted onto the wood. These letters are the pencils ID. Printed entirely in capital

letters and numbers, they tell the story of the pencils birth. That is, the company that

manufactured it, the barcode and finally at the very top of the pencil is the letter ‘B’. This letter

indicates the grade of the pencil. There are many different grades such as B, HB and H. The B

stands for brittle and the H for hard. The more brittle the pencil, the more graphite it contains and

the harder the pencil, the more clay it contains. This can affect the line weights produced by a

pencil and are especially important to architects and engineers.

Moving on, it is time I describe my pencil through sound. This may seem strange to some but

for this part of my description it is important that you adopt an open mind. Let me begin to

demonstrate to you how my pencil speaks to me through sound. Right now, my pencil still

remains held in my hand. However, as I slowly release my fingers, the pencil clatters onto the

hard marble tiles. This sound is the sound that my pencil makes when it is in pain; it is the cry of

an inanimate object. Furthermore, my pencil not only cries but whispers when I write or draw on

a sheet of paper. I reach across my desk and produce a sheet of art paper. The texture is slightly

rough and when I move my pencil across the paper it produces scratching sounds similar to

whispers. Lastly, I take my pencil in both hands and grip it tightly at both ends. For a minute, I

regret what I am about to do but the next second the sound of wood breaking and splintering fills

the room. This sound is the sound a pencil makes when it shouts out in pain. Yes, to some this

may seem like simple personification but these sounds are unique to the pencil in many ways as

the sounds the pencil produces are due to the different materials it is made of.

In conclusion, although it was difficult at first for me to analyse my chosen object through

touch, sight and sound, I found that it was good experience for me as it pushed me to translate

what I felt, saw and heard into words. Sometimes, it can be difficult to begin writing and for me

writing this essay was no exception. However, when I placed the object on my desk and began to

explore it through all five senses, it was not long before the words began to flow through me.

Although in the end I chose only to describe three senses in this essay, I feel that I have been

able to successfully convey my understanding of the humble wood cased pencil.

Drawing of my pencil