Descriptive Essay Writing Tips

In writing a descriptive essay the writer needs to paint a picture that will demonstrate all the features of person, place or something he has chosen to represent. This is, however, a little tricky comparing to other forms of academic writing. Not everyone can achieve good results from the first attempt.

With descriptive writing the writer employs all his senses of observation to bring out an essay that makes you feel that you really know the target subject. Here we have prepared tips that will help you with descriptive essay writing.

Start by pre-writing for the essay

Before you start writing any descriptive essay, you should carefully choose the subject or person you want to write about. It should be a topic you can relate to not just on a personal point of view, but something or someone you hope to captivate your audience. Once you have settled on a topic, think about what you points of the object you really to describe.

At this point, your brain should be at war thinking about details to put out on the topic. You shouldn’t also forget to pint a mental picture of the surroundings, location and place, but try to use memories to create a feeling that you really know the subject you are describing. Once you have put all the ideas into perspective, it’s time to create an outline that will represent every step.

Draft the descriptive essay

With your outline in place it’s time to focus on the draft. Yet, you should keep your audience in mind at every step, if you want to give them the experience they need. Remember that in describing you are trying to show the audience something and this should become the center of your essay, stick to this. Apply all your naturally acquired senses to draw a vivid picture your audience can identify and relate it to you. Your language should be more of figurative and descriptive, but don’t be scared of using similes and metaphors in passing your message to the audience.

Revise your descriptive essay

This phase in the descriptive writing is more of confirming what you have really come up with. You need to be sure that your essay is showing and telling what you have intended to pass to your audience. This pointers may be of help:

• Is the essay really making the audience get the picture of what you are trying to show them or are the used words confusing them?
• Has the essay utilized all your senses fully as well as use the right words to paint the picture you intended?
• Have you used enough details to paint a clear picture of the subject to the reader?
• Can the writer connect the dots and understand what you are really describing?

Remember to use words that are precise and direct. This helps in capturing the readers mind and helping him understand what you are really trying to tell him.

Edit your essay

This is simply the proofreading stage, where all grammar issues are sorted. You also have to make a point of re-reading through and making sure that the essay is what you really wanted to write. Friends come in handy at this stage.

Publish the essay

This is the last phase in your writing and it is the point you present to people what you really came up with. This may be a little sensitive, but it offers you an opportunity to learn from readers feedback that can propel you into becoming an accomplished descriptive essay writer.