How to Write Descriptive Texts?

A Step by Step Guide to Write Descriptive Text for Beginners

A descriptive text is a writing that create an image in the reader mind through using the senses and feeling. Descriptive writing employs specific observations and details about people, places, things or events to convey a clear and powerful impression. It does not simply state the facts, but rather endeavors to create an experience for the reader, allowing them to sink into the scene. In this guide, we’ll explore what descriptive writing is, why it is important, and how you can write in this style with examples.

What Is a Descriptive Text?

Embedding: A descriptive text is a genre that provides a detailed explanation about something. It aims to explain the qualities of an object, place or experience in such a way that the reader can visualize, listen to, smell, savor or sense what the writer is explaining. Expository or narrative writing explain or tell a story, but descriptive writing is all about showing and illustrating.

Points to remember for composing Descriptive writing:

• Sensory Detail: Descriptive writing appeals largely to the five senses — sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell. The above details also help paint a picture in the reader’s mind.
• Figurative Language: Writers frequently use similes, metaphors, personification and other figures of speech to make descriptions more vivid.
• Use of Accurate and Specific Language: Rather than general or unspecified wording, descriptive writing employs accurate and exact language to evoke live pictures.
• Ordered Structure: In descriptive texts, we often follow a clear order of description, either by each sense or from more general features to more specific ones.

Why Is Descriptive Writing Important?

What is the purpose of descriptive writing?

• Evokes Emotions: The Readers can feel, joy, fear, sadness, nostalgia, etc, by providing detailed descriptions.
• Adds Depth to Story: In storytelling, descriptive paragraphs transport the reader into the setting and can make the experience more immersive.
• It provides more clarity to information: Descriptions can suctionize a crystal ball of sorts to the normal human mind which often gets lost in generalised statements.
• Creates Imagination of Reader: A correctly written descriptive text awakens the creativity of the reader and aids to imagine and visualize things in his mind.

The Different Parts of a Descriptive Text

Three points you need to keep in mind while writing a descriptive text:

Subject of Description

It can be a person, a place, an object, an event, or an experience. Deciding what you want to attempt to describe is what will dictate the tone and detail of your writing. You can describe, for instance:

• A place: A beach, a mountain, a city street.
• Someone: A friend, a supermodel, a historical figure.
• An object: A classic car, a painting, a piece of jewelry.
• It could be: An event, a festival, a wedding, a concert.

Use of Sensory Details

Sensory details bring images to life. Writers are accustomed to the following sense:

• SIGHT: What does the subject look like? What are the colors, shapes, and sizes you see?
• ATTENTION TO SOUND: What do you hear? Is there music? Nowhere is a wind, voices? Is silence?
• Touch: How does it feel? Is it rough, soft, hot, cold?
• Taste: If relevant, how does it taste? Is it sweet, sour, bitter?
• Odor: What does it smell like? Is it floral, pungent, or fresh?

Figurative Language

Descriptive writers tend to use figurative language to make their descriptions more interesting and memorable:

• Similes: “Her smile was as bright as the sun.”
• Metaphor: “The room was a furnace.”
• Personification: "The trees whispered the wind."

Word Choice and Diction

Using big words in fancy format is not for the descriptive writing. Rich adjectives and precise verbs that create specific images are frequently used in descriptive texts. Instead of “The car was nice,” you might write, “The car gleamed under the streetlight, its silver body polished and shining in the moonlight.”

Organizing the Description

There are a few different ways you can structure your description:

• Descriptive List: In any order; uses a list of descriptors.
• Chronological Order: If you are writing about an event or scene, you may want to present your details in the order in which they took place.
• Order of Importance: It is a type of writing style where the most important details come first and the least important come last.

How to Write Descriptive Text

To write a descriptive text, you have to have good observation skills and know how to organize your ideas. Here are steps to follow:

Choose Your Subject

Decide what you want to describe. Be specific. Instead of writing about “a park,” for example, write about a specific area of that park, like a lake or a flower garden. With a more specific subject you can provide more detailed, focused descriptions.

Brainstorm Sensory Details

Consider what sense the subject appeals to. Write down what you see, hear, smell, touch or taste. Think about the most distinctive thing about your subject. Jot down any colorful images that pop into your head.

Use Figurative Language

Use similes, metaphors and personification to bring your writing to life. This gives the description a more human feeling.

Structure Your Writing

Make sure that your details are organized effectively. As you know, you can present your description spatially, chronologically, or from least to most important. The trick is to lead your reader through the scene, seamlessly and pleasantly.

Revise and Edit

Once you have written a first draft, read it through and improve your descriptions. Are there parts that you feel are vague or too vague? Do any locations where you could color the scene more with sensory detail? Descriptive writing also requires revision for effect.

Descriptive Writing Examples

Example 1: A Description of a Sunset (Sensory Details)

“The sun was starting its lazy dip below the horizon, staining the sky in orange, pink and lavender. The salty sea wafted on the cool zephyrs that mixed with the warm soil smell of the sand. The rhythmic sound of waves lapping at the shore was like a gentle lullaby. It was cool, the evening more calm against my skin. And as I looked at the sun lower and lower, the golden horns were dusting the water, leaving a trail of glare.

Here are sensory details used to describe the sunset in this example (Analysis). The writer appeals to sight (sky colors, the sun); smell (ocean salty); touch (cool air); and sound (waves lapping). And all this paints a such vivid and immersive picture.

Example 2 — A Character Description

“Her eyes were stormy grey, like clouds poised to break, and her dark hair hung over her shoulders in loose curls. She walked with a sense of self-assurance, but the twist of her lips suggested an inner world of secrets; And when she moved, the scent of jasmine hovered about her, as if she were made of flowers and magic. When she spoke, her voice was quiet but powerful, like a velvet cloak draped across the words.

Analysis: Detailed visual imagery (eye color, hair), figurative language (her smile is compared to a hidden world) and sensory description (smell of jasmine, sound of her voice) create a multifaceted character.

Note:

A “setting description” is a narrative that describes a place.

The forest was a riot of color, every leaf glittering in the light of the afternoon sun, tall trees reaching into the sky, their trunks buried in the moss, as though they were all far older than the world outside. The ground under my feet was moist and soft and smelled of damp earth. There were birds singing in the wind above in the trees. “The deeper I walked into the forest, the cooler the air was, the longer the shadows, and the place had an almost mystical quality.

Analysis: This passage describes a forest through sensory detail (sight, smell, sound) and personification (trees stretching high into the sky). Imagery helps establish mood, letting readers see the setting as if they were walking through it.

Avoid These Common Mistakes in Descriptive Writing

• Too Many Adjectives: Even though the descriptors have their place, using excessive adjectives only makes the description sound fake and forced. Use them rarely and select the most effective ones.
• Underuse of the Senses: Overemphasis on a sense (i.e., sight) and neglect of the others can make the description seem incomplete. Invoke all five senses when applicable.
• Vague or General Descriptions: Rather than writing, “The room was nice,” give it more detail: “The room was warm and washed in soft golden light that spilled across the wooden floor, with the smell of fresh coffee in the air.”
• Not Meeting Needs of Organizing Details: A chaotic description can drive the reader mad. Your details should be arranged in a logical progression.

Conclusion

Any writer needs descriptive writing in their arsenal, and it is a genre in itself. With the careful use of sensory information, figurative language and structure, you can write immersive, engaging descriptions that leap off the page and into readers’ minds, bringing to life scenes, characters and objects in your writing. You will be very well bedded down in a process that you take time to practice, play around with different types of descriptions, and immerse yourself in whatever world it is that you are writing about. Learning how to write descriptively will take your storytelling to a whole new level and help to make your readers feel like they’re right there in whatever scenario(s) you’re describing.

A descriptive text needs to have an appropriate number of characters to be convincing and capable of engaging the reader or viewer. Therefore, it's important to use tools that allow you to count characters and words so that the limit of your text is not exceeded. On our website, you have access to a free word counter. With it, you can count words, count characters, count blank spaces, and get an estimate of the time needed to write a given text.