Lesson One
ELAR Level Five, Unit Eight: Descriptive Paragraph Writing
LESSON ONE
Do you like to tell stories to your friends and family? Do you talk or write about your favorite food or best friend? Of course, everyone does. When talking or writing about someone or something, you tell specific details about them. An artist uses tools such as crayons, paints, and brushes to create a picture; but writers can create pictures with words. A descriptive paragraph is a pictorial presentation in which you look at the specific parts, or details, of a person, place, or thing. To write a description, you must focus on the details.
Artists use mediums such as paints and paint brushes to create pictures.
Writers also create pictures but with words.
Some reasons for writing descriptively (creating word pictures) include telling about your friend, a vacation, or subjects in a letter, a note, or a diary; listing information and facts; and trying to convince and motivate readers to do what you want them to do or to believe as you believe. Other reasons for using descriptions are:
To be creative
To describe
To tell a story
To give directions
To share information
Without descriptions, your stories would be very boring and lacking in detail. Descriptions cause readers to use their imaginations to visualize what is being described.
A description must be well thought out and planned. A good description does not just happen by accident. You must first decide what it is that you want to describe. You may choose any subject to describe. For instance, you may wish to describe your favorite sport or book. Perhaps you need to describe a state or a country for a school assignment. You might want to describe your house or a favorite vacation spot.
Where can you find subjects to describe? You can get them from almost anywhere. Below are just a few places from which you can find ideas for descriptive paragraphs:
From what you read
From asking questions
From just writing whatever pops into your mind
From brainstorming (discussing ideas with your family and/or friends)
From your notes and diaries
From observing (paying close attention to what is around you)
You can get ideas for your descriptive paragraphs from many sources including books, your own notes and journals, watching what goes on around you, etc.
TOPICS AND TOPIC SENTENCES
You have learned that in order to write a description, you must first find a subject. Another word for subject is topic. The main idea or topic of a paragraph tells the reader about what you are writing. The topic sentence in a descriptive paragraph, or in any paragraph, states the main idea. The topic sentence is usually found at the very beginning of a paragraph but can be placed in the middle or at the end of a paragraph.
Read the paragraph below and notice the highlighted topic sentence. It lists the main topic or the main idea of the paragraph (i.e., California is a temperate state with different climates where the growing season is year around). Then the rest of the paragraph supports this topic sentence (main idea) by giving more details about all the fruits and vegetables that are grown in the state and the types of dishes that can be prepared from these ingredients.
DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH EXAMPLE
California is a temperate state with its varying climates and geography ranging from snow-capped mountains to sun-drenched beaches, allowing for a year-around growing season. This makes California the place where many people grow herbs in their backyards. Consequently, California has an unbelievable variety of fruits and vegetables. One of the most famous farms is the family-owned Chino Farms which provides an even broader palette of organic produce for chefs who want to create particularly showy dishes. Chefs can hand-select fresh produce and meats from the local farmers, ranchers, and fishermen. Such special selections can result in dishes which look like something out of a fantasy magazine.
California’s varying climate and geography allow for a year-round growing season. Farmers and chefs can take advantage of this and provide fresh, wonderful dishes for visitors and guests.
It is wise to start your descriptive writing with the topic sentence so that your reader knows the direction of your composition. The reader needs to know the topic so that he/she will know what the main idea is and can focus on the details, or the description. By your establishing the topic sentence at the beginning of the paragraph, this will also help you to stay on track in your writing.
Remember that the topic sentence contains the main idea or topic of the paragraph. The details in the rest of the descriptive paragraph support the topic sentence and the main idea. Occasionally you will find the topic sentence somewhere else in the paragraph besides at the beginning.
After choosing the subject, or topic, of your descriptive writing, you must decide on the purpose of your paragraph.
The purpose of your descriptive paragraph could be to describe something exactly the way it is.
The second purpose for using descriptions is to create a mood or ambience by describing expressively and creatively.
Some situations that may require you to describe something exactly the way it is include writing a newspaper article, a school assignment, listing an item for sale, writing a want ad, describing a lost pet, etc.
In these instances, you need to describe the subject in detail exactly the way it is because you want people to know exactly what it is that you are selling, needing, or are looking for.
Using creative descriptions, or creating a feeling or mood, is necessary when you want to write the way you feel about something. For instance, you might want to write about how sad you felt when your best friend moved away or how hungry you were after going to the movies.
Add color and life to your writing by using descriptions.
PRACTICE
The subject or topic of your writing is only limited by your imagination.
Writing a fairytale about an enchanted garden would require you to use creative writing to create a certain feeling or mood.
What kind of mood do an enchanted castle and garden create in your mind?