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How to Write a Descriptive Essay
by WriteExpress Staff Writers
More than many other types of essays, descriptive essays strive to create a deeply
involved and vivid experience for the reader. Great descriptive essays achieve this
affect not through facts and statistics but by using detailed observations and
descriptions.

What do you want to describe?
As you get started on your descriptive essay, it's important for you to identify exactly
what you want to describe. Often, a descriptive essay will focus on portraying one of the
following:
a person
a place
a memory
an experience
an object
Ultimately, whatever you can perceive or experience can be the focus of your
descriptive writing.
Why are you writing your descriptive essay?
It's a great creative exercise to sit down and simply describe what you observe.
However, when writing a descriptive essay, you often have a particular reason for
writing your description. Getting in touch with this reason can help you focus your
description and imbue your language with a particular perspective or emotion.
Example: Imagine that you want to write a descriptive essay about your
grandfather. You've chosen to write about your grandfather's physical
appearance and the way that he interacts with people. However, rather
than providing a general description of these aspects, you want to convey
your admiration for his strength and kindness. This is your reason for
writing the descriptive essay. To achieve this, you might focus one of your
paragraphs on describing the roughness of his hands, roughness
resulting from the labor of his work throughout his life, but you might also
describe how he would hold your hands so gently with his rough hands
when having a conversation with you or when taking a walk.
How should you write your description?
If there's one thing you should remember as you write your descriptive essay, it's the
famous saying: show don't tell. But what's the difference between showing and telling?
Consider these two simple examples:
I grew tired after dinner.
As I leaned back and rested my head against the top of the chair,
my eyelids began to feel heavy, and the edges of the empty plate
in front of me blurred with the white tablecloth.
The first sentence tells readers that you grew tired after dinner. The second
sentence shows readers that you grew tired. The most effective descriptive essays are
loaded with such showing because they enable readers to imagine or experience
something for themselves.
As you write your descriptive essay, the best way to create a vivid experience for your
readers is to focus on the five senses.
sight
sound
smell
touch
taste
When you focus your descriptions on the senses, you provide vivid and specific details
that show your readers rather than tell your readers what you are describing.
Quick Tips for Writing Your Descriptive Essay
Writing a descriptive essay can be a rich and rewarding experience, but it can also feel
a bit complicated. It's helpful, therefore, to keep a quick checklist of the essential
questions to keep in mind as you plan, draft, and revise your essay.

Planning your descriptive essay:
What or who do you want to describe?
What is your reason for writing your description?
What are the particular qualities that you want to focus on?

Drafting your descriptive essay:
What sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures are important for developing
your description?
Which details can you include to ensure that your readers gain a vivid impression
imbued with your emotion or perspective?

Revising your descriptive essay:
Have you provided enough details and descriptions to enable your readers to gain
a complete and vivid perception?
Have you left out any minor but important details?
Have you used words that convey your emotion or perspective?
Are there any unnecessary details in your description?
Does each paragraph of your essay focus on one aspect of your description?
Are you paragraphs ordered in the most affective way?

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The Football Experience
In the beginning, there was football. The official said, Let the stadium lights come on, and
they came on. The football players came onto the field, and they saw the light was good.
Other teams started to show up and practice on the battle ground, otherwise known as
the playing field. Fans shouted, and cheerleaders went on about their playful acts.
Parents, brothers, sisters, and close friends all piled into the stands to see the game of
the year. The official stepped out onto the moist grass at Williams Stadium in Plano,
Texas. The time was seven oclock p.m. on a Thursday night. He paused for a moment,
looked at his stopwatch, and blew his whistle. Gigantic muscular men came from out of
nowhere as the fans began to cheer, waving various flags, and clanging cow bells. The
bells sounded like a wind chime in an April shower, all different sounds at different times.
The players ran out to the middle of the stadium. A smell of hatred and resentment came
about in the air. The crowd came unglued from their seats. The sounds of various
noisemakers filled the air once again. Parents and grandparents alike came to their feet in
the stands. Cars stopped on the street in front of the stadium, as they honked their horns,
and cheered for their team of choice. As the two burly men stood in the middle of the field,
many thoughts ran through their heads. They both knew someone was going to die, but
defeat was out of the question. The official tossed a polished silver quarter into the air.
The coin hit the wet grass with a shiny face of George Washington clearly showing. The
home team will receive the ball. Both anger infested players shook hands and ran back to
their sideline. The fans began to cheer as the players took the field again. Little did the
fans know of how the players practiced all week long.
The Clark Cougars had a very intense practice, while the Williams Warriors slacked off,
and took an easy week, since their opponent was not that good of a team. The kick-off
approached for both teams, almost instantaneously. Memories of past football games,
and practices were rushing through our heads. The time clock read fifteen minutes even;
time outs were at three a piece, and it was the first quarter. Suddenly, a whistle blew, and
brown bundle of pigskin went flying into the air. Running to the ball, one of the Clark
Cougars quickly caught the football, stepped left, then to the right, covering positive
yardage. Soon after, the ball carrier was brought down by a pack of Warriors, and the ball
was first down for the Cougars.
I had been waiting for this moment all of my life. The match up of the century was about
to begin. The Clark Cougars have lost 14 years straight to the Warriors. Coaches only
daydreamed of beating the undefeated Warriors. As the quarterback called the play, I
smiled with joy. The first play of the game was to me. I played running back for the team,
so I was going to run the ball. First play, up the middle of the field, I ran for a fifteen yard
gain. The next play was to one of my fellow team mates, which he also ran for another
large gain of 26 yards. I could not believe my eyes. After all these years, the game was
finally here. We, as a team, were slowly tearing apart the Warriors defense.
Our offense was dominating the ball, and they could not score against our defense.
Shortly after the first quarter, the Cougars took the lead going into the second quarter,
fourteen to zero. The start of the second quarter came as a shock to our team. We were
starting to get tired, and make little mistakes that cost us a touchdown. One of the
cornerbacks was not on the right coverage, and that lead to six points, followed by an
extra point after the touchdown. Our team fumbled again on offense, and turned the ball
back over to the Warriors, resulting in another Warrior touchdown. We all hung our heads
as the Warriors celebrated their score, and taunted our players. As we approached our
sideline, the coach had a few words of his own to share with the team. Listen up here
boys, it aint over yet. If you give up now, you are going to loose. That is the sport of
football. If you give up, you lose. I was not going to let 5 years of previous football
experience go to waste, just because I was tired. We as a team knew our coach was
serious, as a tiny tear drop formed in the corner of his eye.
Half time came about, as we all headed to the locker room for a sip of cool water, and a
long speech made by the coaches. To my surprise, the coach was very calm with us as
he drew out plays with piece of white chalk on the board. The coach mainly concentrated
on the linemen, and the quarterbacks. As I sat there in the locker room, I knew what I had
to do. I knew that the team was depending on my skills. Visions of victory ran through my
head. I visualized the opponent as a measly bowling pin, and myself as the bowling ball.
My imagination started to run wild. As I felt the adrenaline running through my veins, my
body started to tremble with anger. I thought to myself, They really do think we cant win,
and I have to prove them wrong.
The next quarter, our team took the field. With anger and rage in my eyes, I was ready. I
was a true lean, mean, killing machine. Nothing was going to get in my way. My head
steamed a white smoke. The weather slowly began to get colder a cold front moved in.
The sky, covered with clouds, grumbled at us as we called our plays, and ran them. As
the end of the third quarter approached us, both teams were overcome with fatigue. The
score remained at fourteen to fourteen.
The weather began to get cold, and small droplets of water started to fall from the ocean
like sky. I felt the nervousness of the crowd, as the clanging of the cow bells came to a
halt. Coaches paced back and fourth, as we headed into the fourth quarter. Each team
got two possessions on offense. Neither team had the strength to penetrate the defense.
Three minutes remained on the time clock. The weather took over the game, pouring
down with rain from the black sky. It was first down and ten for the Clark Cougars. The
play was called in the huddle, and the players sprinted up to the line. The play consisted
of me running to the right, and the quarter back was going to toss the ball to me. Down,
set, hut, hut, hike! As I took off to the right side of the field, I suddenly felt a burst of
energy. My bones felt relaxed, and my muscles replenished. The quarterback tossed me
the ball, as I ran frantically to the outside of the playing field. I couldnt believe my eyes,
as I viewed the hole made for me to run through. Fifteen yards down the field, I met up
with one of my old friends. The cornerback slipped and fell onto the turf in his attempt to
tackle me. As I darted up the sideline to the endzone, I smiled with joy. The crowd went
wild. Popcorn spilled onto the wet ground. Cow bells once again sounded as the
raindrops still poured down. I will never forget that moment of my life. The smile on my
face was literally being pulled up by strings that wouldnt seem to let go.
Our kicker went on to kick the extra point, as only one minute remained on the time clock.
The Clark Cougars went on to beat the Williams Warriors. I could see it now on the front
page of the town news paper. Clark demolishes Williams for the first time in 14 years!
We finally beat the best team in the world! As we celebrated, and jumped around on the
soggy grass, a tear came to my eye. It was all hitting me now. I finally achieved the goal
of my life! I could not control the tremendous smirk on my face. As I watched the coach
from the opposing team cry in agony, I thought to myself, That must be what they call the
agony of defeat. I knew that the moment of my life I had long waited for, was gone. Only
memories are left in my mind, and I cherish every single one of them.














Example of Descriptive Essay
The Arena - Sensory Overload

Standing here, in this arena that's larger than five of my houses, I feel like a needle in
a haystack. So many people surround me it's like I'm a little grain of sand in a huge
ocean. The people in the round gymnasium all form a crimson, white, and blue rainbow.
Their shirts mesh together like a finely woven shirt with different colors strings. Smelling
the concession stand foods, makes me feel like a starving child. The aroma of the
melted cheese on nachos makes me want to be outside having a picnic. The smell of
tenderly cooked hot-dogs makes my stomach growl wishing I had some. I can taste the
hamburgers as somebody walks by with one. The warm meat, with a sweet barbecue
sauce is delicious.

Then, a man on a loud intercom yells for the players to come out. The roar of the
people surrounding me is like being right behind the jet of an airplane. The deafening
noise makes me squint my eyes. I open them though and stand of the lightly cushioned
seat. I clap my hands along with the other fans, and my hands feel greasy after just
eating a hot piece of pizza. My mouth still has the pasty, saucy taste of the slice in my
mouth. I look down towards the court where the players have now started shooting
baskets. Their brightly colored uniforms stand out in the glare of the spotlights above.

The court has a waxy look, like it was just swept, and the glass backboards, have a
shine as bright as a new car. The band starts playing a song and the crowd swings their
arms back and forth through the air. The mass of people moving looks like a field of
wheat blowing in a spring breeze. A lady rubs up against me as she moves down the
aisle. Her jeans have cracks, and they feel as dry as a lizards skin that has spent the
day in the desert. Her sweatshirt contrasts the dry feeling of the jeans. It is made of a
soft cotton that makes me think of a bunny's fur.
Then a man in front of me comes to his seat with a glass of lemonade. The tangy
smell makes me squint thinking somebody running their fingernails down a chalkboard.
And then the game ends. The crowd all was wearing smiles like they had just won a
prize. Few others scream and pout as they waddle down the stairs to the doorway. The
noise has greatly decreased giving my ears a rest. It is down to a dull roar, like a breeze
blowing around leaves. My feet and hands ache from being pounded for nearly three
hours.

Passing the bathroom, a dirty, smell flies in the air. It is like walking through an old
abandoned building that hasn't been cleaned in years. And then I step outside. And
smell the fresh air. And my mind clears. Remembering times in an empty park on a
spring day. I watch car after car pass by while walking to mine. Some are brightly
polished, reflecting the sun. Others have of dull, dusty look. Every few cars make a
sharp squeak as they brake. The exhaust fills the air and makes me think of a grimy
factory. And then I reach my car. Sitting in the warm, soft seat, I lost my thoughts and fall
asleep.