When it comes to descriptive essay writing, all we are looking for is to give our readers a good understanding of a given topic by bringing it out in figurative language and with actual information.

So what is a descriptive essay? This is an essay genre that requires the writer to describe a particular subject like a place e.g. a beach or restaurant, person, object, condition, feeling, experience, situation, adventure and many more. It allows the writer to create a written account of a certain experience. It also gives freedom for the writer to give a clear image that moves in the mind of the reader.

To be a pro in this essay, you ought to be a good narrator. Description goes hand in hand with narration. All your descriptions should be non-biased and free from discrimination. Also, you must ensure you exhaust all your descriptions so that the reader is not left in suspense in a way. Bring out all your points clearly in your writing.

Descriptive essays can take the form of book reports, newspaper articles, travelogues, single events, and memories of one’s experience. In the end, the reader should walk away with a vivid picture of the subject, whether it is a piece of art, a geographical location or a historical occurrence.

Guidelines for Writing Descriptive Essays

Unlike other types of essays, descriptive essays are easy to write because they are made from what you have seen or encountered. Here are some tips on how to write a descriptive essay.

1. Choose a particular topic

A good descriptive essay will remain focused at all times. This will be less of your personal thoughts and more of information that dominates in the reader’s mind.

2. Gather information

An excellent descriptive essay has all the required information. That is the names, dates, physical appearances, and information concerning the background. This information is necessary to help the main points to stick in the minds of the readers.

3. Have an outline

Having an outline enables you to group main points into separate body paragraphs, each of them being a subcategory of the essay’s main topic.

4. Write the introductory paragraph

This is what carries the reader’s mind and attention. It determines whether he or she will choose to continue reading the essay or not. You can choose to start with a bold statement or a rhetorical question. Go ahead to outline the questions that the essay will tackle.

5. Write the body

The body is divided into several paragraphs that catch the attention of the reader and outline what they should expect in the entire paragraph. Be very specific and avoid giving the reader tons and tons of unnecessary information. Specific examples always give lots of impressions compared to general examples.

6. Conclude the essay in summary

The conclusion is simply a reiteration of what you have explained in the entire essay. Do not use this section to bring in more ideas that are not mentioned in the paragraphs above. If you realize you still have more new ideas, add them to the body paragraphs.

7. Use clear and concise language

Carefully choose the words to use in the essay and make sure they are relevant to what you intend to describe.

Additionally, you are advised to describe the topics using clear adjectives that show emotions. For instance, rather than saying “furious”, you can use specific adjectives like “tempestuous”.

Also, use similes and metaphors when doing a comparison of two things. Rather than saying “our parents have sacrificed a lot for us” you can say “our parents are toilers. They haven’t been on vacation for the last ten years.” Use similes when comparing one thing to another. These similes are “like” and “as”.

8. Use your senses extensively

You can easily engage the reader using the five senses, giving a clear picture of what you are describing. Give a testimony of the happenings, how you felt about the whole situation, and what you think about those happenings. To easily engage the reader here, use rhetorical questions.

9. Organize your work

Plan your work well and avoid mixing up emotions. You might leave the reader confused if you do not attach the right emotions to what you are describing.

In the end, you should be able to answer the following questions.

Do the choice of words and the language used to involve the five senses and convey emotions?

Does the essay unfold in a manner that helps the reader to appreciate the subject?

Are the details provided enough to give the reader a complete image?

Is there a connection between the description and the meaning to the writer?

Forms of Descriptive Essay

There are three major types of descriptive essays. These are:

1. Writing about a person

Here, you describe the person’s physical features and information that is appealing to the reader. These include but are not limited to height, size, hair, and skin tone. This can also be a description of their actions. Share a story about what the person did. An example is a rude boy who refused to go to school so he could sell drugs to make a fast living. This is a perfect straight-to-the-point to describe the boy further.

2. Writing about an object

Here, emotions work less so you can use metaphors to appeal to the readers physically. Objects have a history therefore it is easier to begin your essay with how you acquired that object. An example could be that ring that he put on your finger during that proposal or when you were exchanging vows on your wedding day. Talk about it while explaining the events.

3. Writing about a place

For the reader to easily picture the place, discuss, in detail, the place and everything in it and around its environs. Start by writing the very first impression of the place. For example, if you are describing a restaurant, you can talk about the aroma that hits you the moment you step at the door or that beautiful lady at the reception. No matter what you spotted there, at first sight, start your essay with that first impression.

Other types of descriptive writing include writing about oneself, others, nature, poems or memory or traveling experience.

4. Writing about oneself

This descriptive writing is about articles like my school, my country, my home, my hobbies etc. the writer talks about themselves in regards to the topic in question, how they are connected, what impact the topic has in detail. Remember to tell a story that is not boring.

5. Writing about others

This writing includes articles like my teacher, my parents, my best friend etc. The writer should create a picture of the person being described in the mind of the reader. Also, bear in mind that the reader and the person being described have never met. Therefore, the reader should be able to create in mind, an image of the person in question.

6. Writing about nature

In this type of writing, you have to discuss how beautiful nature is. Ideally, do a comparison of nature and women or something relative, to define their beauty. This leaves a better comprehension and adds an emotional feeling to that piece of writing.

7. Writing about poems

Use simple rhyming words that are appealing to the reader. You can also use complex words but make sure they make sense and leave an impact on the mind of the reader.

8. Writing about traveling, memory or experience

Here, you can choose to write about a past event but write it in the present verb form as if you are actually present there, you are seeing what is happening there and you are part of it. This could be you recalling a visit to Santorini in Greece or a Champions League final match between Chelsea and Manchester City.

Describe where the thing happened, the atmosphere of that place, and the way you felt. Basically, think of the first part of the essay as the initial scene in a movie. You want the reader to feel exactly what you felt when the event happened.

Examples of Descriptive Essay Topics

Topics to describe a place

1. The next destination on my bucket list.
2. I love studying in my study room.
3. His favorite beach in Canada.
4. My dream house.
5. The biggest state of America.
6. The smallest state of America.
7. My favorite elementary school.
8. A visit to Disneyland.
9. A city I would love to visit.
10. My favorite game park.
11. The best tourist attraction Centre in the world.
12. The street I love the most.
13. My favorite coffee joint.
14. My favorite shopping store in town.
15. A room I love most in our house.
16. My dream 5-star hotel in Greece.

Topics to describe a person

1. My dad is the most hardworking person I know.
2. Our church pastor.
3. My mom is the most caring and loving mother alive.
4. My best friend is the greatest of all times.
5. My favorite footballer is Lionel Messi.
6. The most lethal athlete in the world.
7. My favorite rhumba artist.
8. My favorite dancer is Shakira.
9. My grandparents are still alive.
10. My grade six teacher.
11. The current president of the USA.
12. Her maternal uncle.
13. His paternal aunt.
14. My lecturer is a no-nonsense man.
15. The shortest person in the world.
16. Our school bus driver.
17.  I would love to meet Bill Gates.
18. My boyfriend/girlfriend is the shy type.
19. Their mathematics teacher.
20. The tallest person in the world.

Topics about memories and experience

1. The day I visited Stamford Bridge.
2. The first time I went for zip lining.
3. Our excursion experience at the beach.
4. My first skating lessons.
5. My first time to eat pizza.
6. My first day to board a plane.
7. My first visa interview.
8. My 2021 trip to Dubai.
9. The last day in college.
10. My best birthday party.
11. My wedding day.
12. My first day on a yacht cruise.
13. My first day at this place of work.
14. The first day I boarded a train.
15. The most interesting music concert I attended.
16. The day I met my girlfriend.
17. The best wedding reception.
18. My best memory with my best friend.
19. That night in Zanzibar.

Topics about objects or things

1. My favorite furniture set.
2. His favorite color.
3. My iPhone 13 pro max.
4. His wooden table.
5. My favorite jersey.
6. My dream car.
7. My laptop.
8. Her favorite clothes line.
9. My Samsung television.
10. Her Tecno phone.
11. My school backpack.
12. My baby’s car seat.
13. My phone charger.
14. My passport.
15. My brother’s visa.
16. My travel bag.
17. My childhood teddy bear.
18. My sports shoes.
19. My jewelry.

Topics to describe hobbies, occupations, and processes

1. My newest hobby.
2. How to create a zoom meeting on phone.
3. My best friend’s hobby.
4. How to become a professional essay writer.
5. How to do a tiktok challenge.
6. How to draw sketches.
7. How to get verified on Instagram.
8. How to ride a bicycle.
9. How to escape thugs.
10. How to create a YouTube channel.
11. The best way to start your morning.
12. How to do yoga.
13. How to blend juice using a blender.
14. What my parents love doing during their free time.
15. How to get ready for a dinner date.
16. How to play Fantasy Premier League.
17. How to cook pizza.

Topics to describe character and behavior

1. My worst feeling.
2. The notorious side of me.
3. The most sluggish teacher in our school.
4. The quiet side of my mom.
5. The most serious addiction I have.
6. A character that my friend and I have in common.
7. How to draw a stranger’s attention.
8. The most cunning student in our class.
9. When I am happy.
10. What makes me angry.
11. How I react when I’m annoyed.
12. My craziest moment.
13. My friend’s worst mood.

Starting a Descriptive Essay

In this section, I will outline steps that will guide you on how to start a descriptive essay. Before you start writing this essay, you ought to set a scene so as to introduce the reader to the subject in question.

Choose the person or object to describe. This should be a person or object you know well or a memory that you experienced at one point in your life. This person, object or memory should be very familiar to you so that you have enough to write.

Once you’ve chosen your topic, group the topic into five senses. i.e., sight, touch, sound, smell, and taste. Write down as many details as you can on the five senses in reference to your topic. An example of sound is “her soft voice during a phone conversation, his voice when he snores at night etc.”

For the introductory paragraph, have a strong opening line that will catch the reader’s attention and leave them wanting to know more about the topic. For instance, if you are describing a football match, you may say “The Champions League final match was a clash between the titanic blues, Chelsea versus Manchester City. Which blue team would carry the day? Royal blue or sky blue?” this introduction will definitely leave the reader eager to know about the whole match, the scores and the winner.

Descriptive essays are based on showing and not telling. For instance, if you say “the house was old” that means you are telling. However, if you want to show, you will say “the house was frowning and rickety. Each step you could make, it would creak.”

As much as these essays may rely on facts, the most important thing is that the writer should be capable of creating a mental image for the reader.

Conclusion

As a writing guru, you know that not all essays rely on persuasions and arguments. Descriptive essays rely on your five senses to create a unique viewpoint for the readers. The readers should feel that they have really met a person, visited a particular place or held a particular object. By this, you as a writer will have done an excellent job.

Always keep the reader in mind from the first paragraph to the conclusion. Be precise and move from general to specific.