Writing A Descriptive Paragraph.pdf

English 10 – EOP Page 1 of 2
Writing A Descriptive Paragraph
When you write a descriptive paragraph, you need to try to paint a word picture, so the
reader receives a clear impression of what you are trying to portray.
The writer uses all five senses in his word pictures. He uses sound, tastes, smells,
feelings, and sights to tell the reader about what he is describing.
Please review the example of a descriptive paragraph:
The shore was fledged with palm trees. These stood or leaned or reclined
against the light and their green feathers were a hundred feet up in the air. The
ground beneath them was a bank covered with coarse grass, torn everywhere by the
upheavals of fallen trees, scattered with decaying coconuts and palm saplings.
Behind this was the darkness of the forest proper and the open space of the scar. He
stood, one hand against a gray trunk, and screwed up his eyes against the
shimmering water. Out there, perhaps a mile away, the white surf flicked on a coral
reef, and beyond that the open sea was dark blue. Within the irregular arc of coral
the lagoon was still as a mountain lake-blue of all shades and shadowy green and
purple. The beach between the palm terrace and the water was a thin bow-stave,
endless apparently, for to his left the perspectives of palm and beach and water
drew to a point of infinity; and always, almost visible, was the heat.
Use comparisons when you write. The three common types of figures of speech are
simile, metaphor, and personification. The writer uses these figures of speech to make his
descriptions more vivid and imaginative, so that a lively picture is created in the reader’s mind.
1) Simile: A simile is a comparison of two unlike things that have a certain similarity.
Like, as, or as if are always used with a simile. For example:
The moon shone from behind the trees as if nestled in its branches.
She was small and fragile like a china doll.
2) Metaphor: A metaphor is the application of a name or descriptive phrase to something
to which it is not literally applicable. It is also a comparison, but does not use like, as,
or as if. For example,
The road was a narrow ribbon unwinding before us.
She is a saint.
3) Personification: A personification gives a personal quality to an object that is not
human. For example:
The waves murmured, and moon’s face gazed down coldly.
The wind shrieked with fury and rained blows on the sinking ship.

English 10 – EOP Page 2 of 2
Decide on a point of view. The point of view from the top of a mountain will be different
from the point of view at the bottom of the mountain.
Pick out the most interesting or important features of your scene. Don’t present too much
detail, or you will confuse the reader.
Arrange details in order of impression and of observation. Begin with the dominant
feature of your scene. Describe it first then describe the scene around it in an orderly manner.
For example, you could move from the foreground to the background, from the top to the
bottom, from the centre to the circumference, or from right to left or left to right.
You may use helpful phrases such as on the right, on the extreme right, just beyond,
farther along, somewhat lower, in the distance, or just in front, to help to put the parts of the
picture together for the reader.
End the description with an important detail or an effective statement that relates to the
central feeling or impression.