Teaching Descriptive writing for Beginners:

One of the very popular games played by children is ‘name, place, and a thing.
Children have to write down a name of a person, place, or a country beginning
with any alphabet. This has proved to be very helpful with my students while
teaching them to think through their imaginative eye. However, this can be
modified by asking the students why they came up with a particular name or a
place. This would stir their critical imagination and would also help them think
about their personal association with a certain person or a place that they had never
consciously thought of.
Alphabet ‘O’ Why did you think of it and are there any personal
associations?
Name
Place
Country
Thing
  Another very interesting game of imagination is where you can ask your
student to come up with any emotion such as anger, love, betrayal etc. that
instantly comes to their mind.
 Later, ask them to associate this particular emotion with anything that
instantly pops in their minds, for instance if they think of anger, what is the next
thing that anger reminds them of.;s a pot full of boiling water or a bursting
volcano?
 Now ask them ‘WHY’ they thought of a boiling water or else. ‘I remember
once a student said that anger brought an image of a gray colour in his mind.
When inquired ‘WHY’ he couldn’t answer. Later he confessed that he had never
realized that a grey pant reminded him of his childhood when he was forced to
wear an unimpressive grey pant to school which until he participated in this
activity he had never actually realized, why the colour grey popped in his mind
whenever he was angry’.
 Later, make them associate their emotion with an unusual metaphor
 What instantly Metaphor/Simil Sound Touch Hearing Visual
comes to your mind? e Image
What makes you
think of it?
Emotion
Colour
Monday
Weather
Food
 Activity 3-whet your senses

Close your eyes and jot down all the words you hear in this class room Remember
to think of all the metaphors you can think to be associated with these sounds.

Now write a paragraph using these words.

Activity 4-Practice

Write S or M against the sentences which are metaphors and similes.

1. It was it was autumn and the leaves were reddish- brown

It was autumn and the trees were aflame.

2. The old man’s face was wrinkled.

The old man’s face was like a withered apple

3. Her laugh was high pitched.

Her laugh tinkled like ice in a glass.

4. The waiting passengers pushed onto the train.

The waiting passengers stormed the train

5. The rain beat loudly on the roof.

The rain drummed on the roof

Activity 5:

Change the following sentences inserting metaphors and similes.

1. Life is but a walking shadow.

2. The hail fell on the windows.
3. It started to rain.
4. The child was crying
 5. The woman got angry.
6. The football stadium was crowded.
QUIZ TIME!

1. Can descriptive writing be a narrative?

2.  Can a narrative be descriptive?

3 Can Descriptive Essays have dialogues?

4. Can discursive essays be argumentative?

5.’ if I exceed the word count will my grade be affected?’

6.  How long should a Descriptive essay be?

7.   ‘My teacher said to get a good grade O-level students should use good
vocabulary.

8. ‘Every time I use difficult words i do not get a good grade’. Why?

9. How will I know that I am not overusing difficult words?

10.  Is there a difference between writing a descriptive essay in section 2,

paper 1 and describing an account of an accident in section 1 (Directed
Writing)

11. ‘My teacher says that the candidate can get more marks in descriptive
essays and they are the easiest to attempt.’

12. Are descriptive essays based on real incidents only?

13. Should we only use the sense of sight when we describe something?

14. Do we have a thesis statement in descriptive essay writing?

15. We don’t need a topic sentence/thesis statement in descriptive and

narrative essays as we need in discursive and argumentative essays.

 
Descriptive Writings – A
reinforcement!
Descriptive compositions

• It is difficult to write interesting descriptions, so this type of composition should

not be attempted unless you have had practice and success at this type of writing.
Argument has the interest of other people’s views, and narrative has curiosity as a
driving force, but description must rely on range of vocabulary and use of imagery
to engage reader interest. Unless the reader can see the picture they will not be able
to relate to the experience.

• Use exotic and unusual vocabulary, and a variety of sentence structures. All
forms of repetition should be avoided.

• Use all five senses to create an environment and atmosphere, as well as details of
size, shape and colour. Make colour precise, e.g. ‘scarlet’, ‘azure’, ‘off-white’,
‘bluish-grey’.

• Avoid common, overused, vague, short and childish vocabulary, such as ‘nice’,
‘big’, ‘little’, ‘a lot of’, ‘good’, and ‘bad’.

• Each noun needs one or more adjectives in front of it to give sufficient detail.

• A temporal or spatial framework will give structure and progression to your

description e.g. moving towards or through something, such as a street market, or
going through a period of time, an hour or a day for instance, and recording the
changes.

• Descriptive compositions must not become a narrative, which means character

and event should not be dominant.
FAQs about Descriptive Writing
Questions asked about Descriptive Writing

1.  Can descriptive writing be a narrative?

Descriptive writing may have narrative element to it, yet it must not lose its
identity as a piece of descriptive writing. It must not “rely too much on narrative.”
Someone who does that will be placed in Band 4 and awarded marks between 15-
18 according to CIE marking scheme.

2. `How long should a Descriptive essay be?’

It should be roughly between 500- 600 words. That makes 5 to 6 paragraphs. Long.

 3.’ if I exceed the word count will my grade be affected?’

It depends if your written expression is weak, there are no good sentences and no
desirable descriptive images presented, then exceeding the word limit would
definitely affect in lowering your grade. However, the examiner will always mark
your written essay as a whole. If you fulfil the demands of a BAND 1 or 2 he/she
will overlook the word limit. Hence,your marks will not be deducted.

4.  Can Descriptive Essays have dialogues?

No dialogues are expected in descriptive essays, so focus must be on descriptions

and not on development of a story. Using all the techniques as imagery,
personification, concrete nouns, adjectives, metaphors, verbs e.t.c for descriptions
are the prime importance here. But it is not wrong if the writer intends to write
some dialogues only if they are to arouse feelings. In that case minimum of
dialogues could be written.

5.   ‘My teacher said to get a good grade O-level students should use good
vocabulary. Every time i use difficult words i do not get a good grade’. Why?

Students often misunderstand with what is meant by the use of good vocabulary
and an unnecessary use of difficult words. It is a fact that those students who use
good words will put a positive impression however, it should not be overdone. No
matter what, the words used should help to clarify the meaning of the text rather
than obscure it. Avoid the overuse of difficult words.
(See essays on Descriptive Essays in the student resources section) Such essays
may fall between BAND 4 and 5- between 11 to 18 marks.

6.  How will I know that I am not overusing difficult words?

PRACTISE, PRACTISE AND PRACTISE! A self-check is to see that a paragraph

should not have more than 3 to 4 difficult words (this is just a rough idea). The best
way is to get it checked by your teacher or ask your friend to go through it to know
whether the meaning is clearly conveyed.

Secondly, try to read it yourself thinking it to be written by someone else.

Remember you are not only assessed on the use of good vocabulary but also using
it accurately.

7.  Is there a difference between writing a descriptive essay in section 2, paper 1

and describing an account of an accident in section 1 (Directed Writing)

If you are asked to describe an incident e.g. car accident, bank robbery…
your description should be very direct and unemotional. Describing an account in
directed writing is actually reporting to some one of what happened and how it
happened. It is not a descriptive essay. There you can list down events and things
as they are witnessed without using descriptive tools.

8. ‘My teacher says that the candidate can get more marks in descriptive essays and
they are the easiest to attempt.’

Wrong. Like all other types of essays, descriptive essays also need considerable
practice. The candidate needs a technical awareness..

9. Are descriptive essays are based on real incidents only?

No. Descriptive essays can be imaginative and also be based on real incidents.

10. Should we only use the sense of sight when we describe something?

NO. Try to use variety of senses (hear, touch and smell) to make your writing
interesting. 

Questions structured by Zakia Shahzeb

Source: IGCSE,First Language English,Second and Third Edition Marian

Cox,Endorsed by University of Cambridge, International Examinations.
Descriptive Writing Specimen

In Shahjehanabad the town houses were so planned that a plain facade, decorated
only with an elaborate gatehouse, would pass into a courtyard; off this courtyard
would lead small pleasure gardens, the zenanas (harems), a guardhouse or a
miniature mosque, the haveli library and the customary shish mahal  or glass
palace. The haveli was a world within a world, self-contained and totally hidden
from the view of the casual passer-by. Now, however, while many of the great
gatehouses survive, they are hollow fanfares announcing nothing. You pass
through a gate arch and find yourself in a rubble-filled car-park where once
irrigation runnels bubbled. The shish mahals are unrecognizable, partitioned up
into small factories and workshops; metal shutters turn zenana screens into locked
store rooms; the gardens have disappeared under concrete. Only the odd arcade of
pillars or a half-burried fragment of finely carved late Mughal ornament indicates
what once existed here.
Check-list for Descriptive Essay
-Section 2
 Students should use this grid to assess how far the writer has fulfilled
the demand of acquiring an ‘A” Grade in Paper 1, Descriptive Essay
(section 2)
 There are some points given in the table to give you an idea what
examiners really look for while checking a descriptive essay.
Note: Now go through the MARKING SCHEME FOR PAPER 1-SECTION
2. (See the Teacher Resources Section)

Check list
    Yes No To some extent

1 Good use of vocabulary      

2 Varied sentence structures used      

e.g. complex, simple, compound,
long and short 
3 Words are appropriately and      
accurately used
4 No spelling mistakes      

5 Essay is coherent and well      

structured
6 Meaningful images used to create      
effective atmosphere.
7 Descriptive Tools appropriately      
used
8 Word Limit obeyed      

9 No overdone of vocabulary      
Developing a descriptive sentence in
a paragraph.
STEP 2 

This is the second step towards expanding your 10 words’ sentence into a long
paragraph of about 80 to 100 words. Students often encounter this problem
thinking of WHAT more to write on. Likewise teachers do feel at bay as to how to
make students stretch their single sentence into a paragraph-descriptive paragraph.

1. Focus on one basic point, explore it and conclude it to minimum of 80 words

Let’s take the previous example used in the Golden Tips for Descriptive Writing..
(see the previous topic)

Sara skipped through the sun-slapped woods. Birds sang sweetly from

the trees and the ground felt soft beneath her feet.

If you have started your sentence with ‘Sara’ then it is pretty obvious that the main
subject in this sentence is Sara. Furthermore, the sentence also verifies her
experience in a forest. Previously we analyzed that a harmonious mood is created
through the use of words like skipped, sweetly, lush, green and soft. Now think
what else did she see, smell, touch or feel in the forest that could render to the
happy mood. 

Ask yourself all those questions that could engage the main subject’s five senses in
the forest. For instance amidst the lush green trees Sara could be distracted by a
sight of a rabbit (Alice in the Wonderland) or there was an unusual hut
….something that you could spend some time on to describe. You could even
stretch your description through capturing what surrounded her. For example, the
damp sweetness of the air, the sprinkled dew drops on the grass tips, the clear
sky……..

Once you have brainstormed yourself of the things you would want to write about
the surroundings, then try gather all such words (metaphors, similes, verbs,
adjectives, adverbs) that could SHOW the reader what Sara felt or saw.

Let’s have look at the following:

Sara skipped through the sun-slapped woods. Birds sang sweetly from

the lush, green trees and the ground felt soft beneath her feet. Her body was
soothed by the damp sweetness of the air, outside. As she pranced through,
the twinkling glow that rested on the carpeted floor captured her attention.
She bent over to cherish the sprinkled diamonds, not intending to disturb
their brief stay on the grass blades, but to snap their beauty in the camera of
her sight. Something shot across the trees as she sat on the wild dampness.
Sara was instantly perturbed by this intrusion. She was in no mood to be
disturbed by any one amidst her amiable visit to mother-nature. She tried to
spot what distracted her attention. Alas! Her face was ashen. The beauty of
nature was crying out for help.

1. This is a paragraph of approximately 138 words.

2. You would see that it started from where Sara entered the
forest. e.g. carpeted floor, miraculous diamonds, camera, brief
stay are metaphors
3. We have adjectives, verbs and nouns like, amiable, shot, pranced,
twinkling glow, perturbed, intrusion.….. to SHOW the reader WHAT the
main subject saw or did
4. The paragraph has some simple, short and complex sentences e.g.
 She bent over to cherish the sprinkled diamonds, not intending to
disturb their brief stay on the grass blades, but to capture the view in
the camera of her sight. As she sat on the wild dampness something shot
across the trees. 
 Her body was soothed by the damp sweetness of the air, outside.
 Sara was instantly perturbed by this intrusion.                                           
Thus, the entire paragraph describes and focuses around WHAT and
HOW Sara saw and felt.
Nevertheless, there is a twist in the end that would give you a chance to shift your
description about something opposite to what Sara so far being witnessing has.
This technique will help you to create a mood of tension/fear/uncertainty; opposite
to a happy or harmonious atmosphere she had felt before.

REVIEW and TIPS:

1. Remember! Do not write an aimless description about anything or

continue to insert descriptive tools in your writing. It has to be associated
with someone, as if the description is witnessed either by the narrator or
a character. As in the above example we had ‘SARA’ as our main
character/subject/protagonist. It may even be a personal descriptive
direct through the writer’s eye (you). 
2. Think of the words and metaphors that could add life to these activities,
actions or physical qualities (if describing a character).
3. Your paragraph should describe one main aspect of a character’s
quality, activity or action. Or it may describe one place and its activities.
 4. You may develop a new paragraph by using a shift technique-where
there is a change of action/mood or situation. This would add a new
dimension to the essay and keep the interest of the reader intact. 
Otherwise to write continuously about the same situation and place at
length would make your essay boring and monotonous.
5. Develop each paragraph by following the same rule of choosing
descriptive tools.
6. You would never know when a line of 10 words would stretch up to 100
words.
 ACTIVITY:
Go on and write the next paragraph using the tips given above.
Useful Tips to begin Descriptive
Essay Writing
 

Mostly students are aware that descriptive writing is all about using descriptive
tools such as:

 Similes
 Metaphors
 Concrete nouns
 Adjectives
 Adverbs
 Verbs
 Personification

PROBLEM!!!!!

What they don t understand is how to put all these tools together to make their
writing worth reading.

Step one towards Descriptive Writing. Let us first begin with constructing a

descriptive sentence!

Look at the following:

Sara walked in the woods. It was sunny, the birds sang on the trees and the grass
was so nice to walk on.

1. Avoid listing. DON’T TELL THE READER, SHOW IT TO HIM. The

sentence should not be a series of eventful information.
Apparently the sentence is perfect. It is descriptive as it sketches an entire picture
of a scene in the woods. However, it is very bland and does not stir any emotions
in the reader. It looks more like the writer is reporting to someone.

Most students would rewrite it as follows

Sara trudged in the woods. The sun shone brightly, the birds chirped on the trees
and the grass was so fresh to walk on.
 Note: adding substitute words like trudged, chirped, and shone brightly …
does make their (students’) writing more descriptive but it seems as though they
feel lucky to have gotten a chance to make use of some vocabulary they had
learnt during their preparation. 
 Descriptive tools should not be merely inserted to impress the reader.
2.  If you are to describe a scene, begin with one particular feature of a place that
you would like to expand your description on. Beginning from 1 line to a whole
paragraph of 80 to approximately 100 words. 

Just analyze both these sentences and compare with the one given above.

 Sara skipped through the sun-slapped woods. Birds sang sweetly from

the lush, green trees and the ground felt soft beneath her feet.
 Sara crept through the storm-struck woods. Birds screeched
menacingly from the bare, overgrown trees and the ground felt brittle beneath
her feet.
In sentence 1 skipped shows Sara’s joyous mood, whereas the birds
sing sweetly as well. If the colors are analyzed one would see that trees are lush
green and the ground is soft enough to walk on. Thus, it shows the writer wants
to sketch a descriptive scene where the character is very happy, therefore he
picks verbs, adverbs and adjectives that would correspond to the mood of
happiness.

In sentence 2 the writer wants to develop a scene that would arouse FEAR. As
a result those verbs, adjectives and adverbs are picked that would help build
an atmosphere of uncertainty or fear. Hence words like crept, storm-
struck, screeched menacingly, and bare and overgrown and brittle, all are not
merely inserted in the sentence. These descriptive tools not merely define the
sense of sight, but also stir the senses of touch and hearing. 

3. Remember! Even if you aimlessly use metaphors or similes or other descriptive

tools, their use is meaningless because they have no emotional associations with
your own feelings. For example, once you have made up your mind to write about
a place, pick a one feature (sky, a house or anything that has grabbed your
attention) and sketch a whole scene of about 80 words on it. The mood, whether
happy or sad should also complement the sketched scene.