Descriptive
writing
Descriptive writing is painting a picture with words. Descriptive
writing allows the reader to envision exactly what the author saw, felt, heard,
tasted and smelled. Many teachers struggle with teaching students how to write descriptive
pieces. The first thing a teacher should focus on when teaching descriptive writing
is sensory details. These are words that create a sensory image or a clear
impression on the readers mind. It is described so vividly that the writer
feels he/she can reach out and touch whatever is being described. The reader
gets a more accurate description of exactly what the writer wants to share. The
purpose of the piece should always be evident. After reading it should be clear
as to what the writer trying to describe. Redundancy and cliches should be avoided.
For example, instead of “the green
grass” the writer could say, “the bright green blades of grass stand erect like
a soldier on a battlefield.” Personifying the grass painted a more vivid
picture of the grass rather than just mentioning its color. Vivid
vocabulary is used including colorful adjectives and
figurative language to attract the reader’s attention. Good descriptive
pieces emphasize overlooked items. The light is shone on the things that aren’t
really seen often. For example, rather than focusing on the waves at the beach
the writer will spend extra time describing the colorful piece of glass in the
sand. Some of the things that can be
described or some pictures that are painted when writing descriptive pieces are
of a person, place, animal, thing, an event or occasion. Some tools which can
be used to enhance a descriptive piece are, metaphors, personification,
similes, adverbs, verbs and adjectives. Imagery is also very important when writing
descriptive pieces. Imagery helps you
picture how something looks, sounds, smells, tastes and feels. Descriptive writing should be taught
because It will help students' writing be more
interesting and full of details. It encourages students to use new vocabulary
words and it can help students clarify their understanding of new subject
matter material.
There are many ways to teach descriptive writing,
but teachers are to ensure that they develop
descriptive writing skills through modeling and the sharing quality literature that
is full of descriptive writing. The teacher can facilitate activities such as
using a completed passage, erasing sentences one by one and allow students to
rewrite them using tools which enhance descriptive pieces to paint a better
picture. Students can also read a descriptive piece and draw exactly what was
being described. Another activity can be placing students in groups and each
group chooses a topic that they are interested in. they then will create a 5
senses cluster to vividly describe what they want to share. The first person in
the group writes one first sentence and each member writes one sentence to
complete the piece. The teacher will do an example for the class first before
this activity begins. When the groups are finished, they get a
chance to share their completed pieces with their classmates.
Not all students are at the same writing level and not all students
share the same experiences. So the teacher should ensure that he/she, provides
experiences that give students something to write about, encourage students to
work with pairs or small groups to develop first drafts and Provides a word bank of interesting and
descriptive words for students to incorporate into their writing. According to
Stephen King, description begins in the writer’s imagination but should end in
the reader’s. The purpose is always to live vicariously through the writer. Though
it may not have been experienced by the reader, the piece should allow the
reader to feel like they experienced that experience too.
