Descriptive Writing. This Photo by Unknown Author is. Could you describe this microbe objectively?

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1 Descriptive Writing "A description is an arrangement of properties, qualities, and features that the author must pick (choose, select), but the art lies in the order of their release visually, audibly, conceptually and consequently in the order of their interaction, including the social standing of every word." (William H. Gass, "The Sentence Seeks Its Form." A Temple of Texts. Alfred A. Knopf, 2006) In descriptive writing, the writer is painting a picture for the reader. While painting a picture may sound fluffy, academic descriptive writing should not be fluffy. Descriptive writing for academic purposes should ensure that the reader knows exactly what the writer is writing about. Whether it s an historical figure, a microbe, or a painting, the writer needs to describe it with precision and clarity. If you cannot describe what you are talking about, the reader will not be able to follow your discussion or argument. Be clear and precise. Use the senses as necessary to get the right picture into your reader s head. There are many uses of descriptive writing in academics. Scientific papers Lab reports Histories Literary Analysis Analysis of data of any kind Memoirs Travelogues Presentation of a problem to be solved This Photo by Unknown Author is Could you describe this microbe objectively? An engineer describing the terrain where a bridge will be built, a realtor describing a house for sale, or a journalist describing a political rally all need good descriptive skills. I m sure you can think of many more places where description is important. Writing description well keeps your academic writing fresh and interesting, not stodgy and pompous. Descriptive writing employs the senses but in research papers, the instructor won t be looking for anything like, Imagine yourself on a beautiful morning in Athens, three thousand years ago. The sky is a beautiful blue and the Mediterranean breezes gently stroke your face. That is creative non-fiction at best and fiction at worst. It is simply not academic even if it sounds fun.

2 However, you may encounter an English instructor in college that prefers that kind of writing or you may have opportunities to do creative projects for some of your classes. For instance, in The Classical Bard, Lukeion s Shakespeare class, my students are assigned to do a creative project of their choice. Some choose to do creative writing. Dr. Fisher also expects creativity in some of her writing projects. If you are working on a creative project, then use creative description along with the objective description. We will do a small amount of writing like this so that you can see the difference and be prepared when you do need this type of writing. My goal is to have you prepared for whatever your college instructor throws at you. If you prefer the creative description style and the creative projects more than the academic style, you may want to consider taking some creative writing classes where you can get much more practice in this type of writing. Most colleges have excellent creative writing classes. (If you are going into creative writing, I d love an autographed copy of your first book!) What s the difference between academic description and creative description, you might ask. It boils down to objective description vs. subjective description. Objective description is not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts. Subjective description tells the reader how the writer feels about something. The girl had long, brown hair vs. The girl had dark, beautiful locks that moved like sea waves in the breeze. You might prefer the second type of writing, but the instructor assigning you a research paper will not.

3 Examples: Objective Writing Description of the globe theater While this writer does use we a few times, which we will not do in our writing, he gives an objective picture of the Globe theater. It helps us to picture how Shakespeare s productions would have looked in Shakespeare s time. We have no need to know how the author feels about any of this. His feelings are irrelevant and would muddy the writing. Lincoln s description of himself "If any personal description of me is thought desirable, it may be said, I am, in height, six feet, four inches, nearly; lean in flesh, weighing, on an average, one hundred and eighty pounds; dark complexion, with coarse black hair, and gray eyes--no other marks or brands recollected."(abraham Lincoln, Letter to Jesse W. Fell, 1859) Subjective Writing Examples of subjective writing There are five examples of beautiful subjective writing on this page. I particularly like the last one by Joyce Carol Oates. As beautiful as these are, they will not fly for academic writing. Save this type of writing for creative writing projects. Selecting details "The descriptive writer's main task is the selection and verbal representation of information. You must choose the details that matter that are important to the purposes you share with your readers as well as a pattern of arrangement relevant to those mutual purposes.... (Richard M. Coe, Form and Substance. Wiley, 1981) Understand what you need to convey to your reader and select the details necessary to present that. You will never be able to present every detail of something to your readers so be specific in the areas that are necessary and leave out what isn t needed. If you were describing the results of an experiment, the weather that day may or may not be important. You decide whether to include it or not. If you are writing a description of an ancient battle, decide whether the color of the armor matters or not. Be thoughtful and selective.

4 Examples of a thesis statement for descriptive writing We will thoroughly discuss thesis statements as the semester goes on, but I wanted to give you some examples of what a thesis statement might look like for this type of paper. You will, of course, be writing your own thesis statement to suit your topic. The thesis statement will go at the end of your introductory paragraph. While the frieze at the top of a temple may seem only to be there for decoration, it holds many historical details for scholars. An old globe may seem like it s just wasting space, but it can be a useful tool for historical research. My siblings and I have a strong family resemblance, but a closer look exposes our many differences. (this would be an example of one of the few times the word I would be allowed in academic writing) Examining an impressionistic painting with a magnifying glass will give a different experience than looking at it from farther away. A drop of water viewed under a microscope will reveal that it is far from pure and clear as it appears in a glass. Assignment parameters: (Assignment parameters are extremely important in academic writing! Always read them carefully and know exactly what the teacher wants. Many teachers dock your grade significantly for not sticking to the assignment parameters. If you have any questions about assignment parameters, ask!) Font: Times New Roman 12 pt. Format: MLA 8-See the formatting instruction sheet on Quia Due : August 28th, 7 :00 pm at my Length : Section one words Section two words Section one will be an objective description of something you can look at right now. It can t be something you remember but no longer have access to. It can be a person, a location, a piece of artwork, a pet, or anything else that you can observe right now. Give concrete details that paint a picture of what you are describing. If it is your home, it may have a distinctive odor, such as the Glade Plug-in your mom loves. If it is your baby sister, she may have a distinctive cry that identifies her, even in a nursery full of children. If you were writing a research paper or an analysis of your object or person, I would need full details to understand what you are

5 researching or analyzing. Be clear and precise. This should have an appropriate title, introduction with a thesis, supporting evidence, and a conclusion that ties it all together. Section two will be a subjective description of the same thing you described in Section one. If you are working on a creative non-fiction project, how would your description differ from section one, the academic project? This section is shorter and you can leave off the introduction and conclusion. Just write the description. Do put an appropriate title. Put this section in the same document, after section 1. No new heading is required. I want to be sure that you understand the differences between the two types of descriptive writing and can use each appropriately.