ENGL1010 Composition IDescriptive essays are organized around a dominant impression, usually personal, about some subject. The essay develops through the accumulation of concrete and specific details revealing the subject as it is seen (felt, experienced) by the narrator. Descriptive essays often conclude by emphasizing the personal value and importance of the subject to the narrator. If the writer presents the subject with sufficient detail and emotional expression, readers are drawn into and empathize with the narrator's perception of the subject.
Method of Support
Like narration, the writer may use description as a tool to advance the focus of a paper by providing telling and vivid details, often to evoke an emotional response from the reader. A writer could describe for the reader a scene in an elder care situation to help persuade readers that vigilance is needed when caring for aging loved ones. Using description in this way, writers can make their topics real and pertinent to their readers.
ENGL1010 Composition I