Here are Directions for Essay 4 (Description):

For the Description Essay you are being asked to describe (1) a person, I what is sometimes called a “character sketch,” (2) a place, real or imagined, OR (3) an object, such as a machine or a work of art.

Your first option is a character sketch. To be effective, the character sketch must be controlled by a thesis that expresses a dominant impression of the person being described. For example, My Uncle Herb was the most modest and generous person I have ever known. This statement becomes the controlling idea for the essay.​ You are not writing a biography but a selective assessment of a person’s character, with one paragraph devoted to each character trait (for example, a paragraph on his modesty and a paragraph on his generosity). Fill the body paragraphs with elaboration through illustrations and anecdotes.

Your second option is a description of place. Selecting the right place to describe is as important as choosing the details to include. The most common mistake is with description of place is selecting a place much too large for a single essay assignment.​ New York City, for example, is much too large and tends to produce a list of landmarks, like Central Park, Greenwich Village, Times Square, etc.​ Instead, choose a place where you can stand and see everything, such as a park, inside a church, a hotel room, a restaurant, etc. Your thesis will create an overall dominant impression. For example, As I lay in the closed coffin, I had an overwhelming sense of claustrophobia and darkness. Organize using spatial organization, which means one section at a time (On the left, you see….On the right, there is a……..). Remember the expression, “A picture is worth a thousand words”? Well, your job is to create in the mind of the reader a clear picture using 500-800 words.

Your third option is description of an object, such as a cell phone, inside an upright computer, or under the hood of a car. Again, you need a thesis that creates a dominant impression of the object. For example, The inside of my desktop computer is elegant in its efficient use of space. As with description of space, use spatial organization and move the reader around from one section to another until you have completed the description.

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Sample character sketch topics: a friend, a neighbor, a teacher, a movie villain, a fictional character, an historical figure, a relative.

Sample places for description: inside a recreational vehicle, a church, a campsite, a cottage, a beach, a restaurant, a room in your house.

Sample objects for description:​ a painting or a sculpture, an antique, a Halloween costume, a car engine, a motorcycle, a tattoo, a spider or bug.

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See Chapter 16, Steps to Writing Well, 347-65 for additional discussion, and 355-56 for additional topics.