he primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a
picture is formed in the reader's mind. Capturing an event through descriptive writing involves
paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses.
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In social studies, descriptive writing can help students describe an important historical figure or event
more clearly. Writing rich in detail will create vivid depictions of people and places and help make history
come alive.
For example, good descriptive writing includes many vivid sensory details that paint a picture and appeals
to all of the reader's senses of sight, hearing, touch, smell and taste when appropriate. Descriptive writing
may also paint pictures of the feelings the person, place or thing invokes in the writer. If there is one thing
you need to keep in mind when you undertake any kind of descriptive writing, it is the famous maxim –
"Show, don’t tell." But, how does one show and not tell? Well, take these two examples:
Showing vs. telling:
Telling 1: The empty room smelled stale and was devoid of furniture or floor covering; the single window
lacked curtains or blinds of any kind.
Showing 1: The apartment smelled of old cooking odors, cabbage, and mildew; our sneakers squeaked
sharply against the scuffed wood floors, which reflected a haze of dusty sunlight from the one cobwebbed,
gritty window.
Telling 2: I felt tired at work today.
Showing 2: As the day wore on at work, I felt a cramp beginning to form at the nape of my neck, my eyes
began to feel droopy, and the computer screen in front of me began blurring.
Telling – The Crusades: Richard I killed all 2,700 of his prisoners.
Showing – The Crusades: King Richard the Lionheart made arrangements to exchange prisoners with his
adversary, Salah al-Din. Growing tired of waiting for a grand bargain, the king of England’s soldiers flung
themselves upon the bound prisoners and massacred them with sword and lance in cold blood.
Good descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language such as analogies, similes and metaphors to
help paint the picture in the reader's mind.
Metaphore: "The [first thing] IS a [second thing]." He is a pig.
Similie: "The [first thing] IS LIKE a [second thing]." He eats like a pig.
Good descriptive writing uses precise language. General adjectives, nouns, and passive verbs do not have a
place in good descriptive writing. Use specific adjectives and nouns and strong action verbs to give life to
the picture you are painting in the reader's mind.
General vs. Specific
The word “dog,” for example is a noun but is not descriptive of any particular breed or type of dog; while a
word like “spaniel” or “poodle” indicates a specific concept.
Rather than say “big dog”, show the reader by writing “great Dane.” The writer shows the size to the reader
rather than telling the reader that it is big.