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Characteristics of Descriptive Essays

Learn how to enhance your descriptive essays by using sensory details, active verbs, and comparison techniques to create a dominant impression. Understand the impact of vantage point and connotative language in developing a striking and lasting understanding for the reader.

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Characteristics of Descriptive Essays

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  1. Characteristics of Descriptive Essays from Seeing the Pattern 146-150

  2. Uses Sensory Details • Sight • Sound • Smell • Taste • Touch Try to use a variety of senses in your writing.

  3. Sentences Come Alive Active Verbs Examples The team captain proudly accepted the award. The team captain marched to the podium, grasped the trophy, and gestured toward his teammates. Use active verbs rather than adverbs to create “striking and lasting impressions” (148). What is the effect of the revision on the reader’s understanding of the event?

  4. Dominant Impression • Overall attitude, mood, or feeling about the subject • Implied thesis of the descriptive essay • This is your point—define it clearly

  5. Connotative Language • Words have subtle variations in meaning • Select words that strengthen your dominant impression.

  6. Uses Comparison Simile Metaphor Eating chili peppers is a descent into a fiery hell. Biting into a tabasco pepper is like aiming a flame-thrower at your parted lips

  7. Uses Comparison Personification The television screen stared back at me.

  8. “Eating Chili Peppers” pp. 144-146 Read the sample carefully. • What is the dominant impression? • What method of organization does the author use? Look at the sentence from the essay that you received. • Is the author using sensory details, comparison, or both? • BONUS: Is it a special type of comparison? • How does this specific sentence help to develop the dominant impression? • Consider the connotative meanings of words and images as you think of this question.

  9. Methods of Organization Spatial Chronological

  10. Methods of Organization Least to Most Most to Least

  11. Vantage Point • The vantage point is like your perspective in the piece. Think of it as a camera for the reader. • Fixed: Stays in one place. • Moving: Moves from place to place. • Choose a vantage point that feels appropriate to your purpose. • What vantage point(s) will give your reader the most useful information? • From which vantage point(s) can you provide the most revealing or striking details?

  12. p. 151

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