Overview
This lecture covers the rhetorical mode of description, its connection to narration, types of descriptive writing, sensory details, and techniques for effective descriptive passages in essays.
The Role of Description
- Description involves conveying the testimony of the senses: sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.
- Good narration nearly always relies on effective description to share experiences.
- Description can be used independently or alongside narration in writing.
Sensory Language and Imagery
- Description should appeal to the five senses to create vivid imagery for the reader.
- Academic buzzwords for senses: visual (sight), aural (sound), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste), tactile (touch).
- Imagery is not just visual; it encompasses all sensory experiences.
Types of Description
- Objective Description is factual, impartial, focused solely on the object, and avoids personal bias (used in fields like medicine, law enforcement, sciences).
- Subjective Description is personal, emotional, opinion-based, impressionistic, and centers on the describer's experience (used in narratives, personal essays).
Techniques for Effective Description
- Strive for specificity; use specific details instead of general statements for vividness.
- Use concrete language rather than abstract words to help readers visualize or sense the described subject.
- Select details that support your agenda or dominant impression (the main idea of your descriptive passage).
- Employ figurative language (creative comparisons) to enhance subjective description but avoid in objective description.
Organization of Descriptive Writing
- Descriptive passages usually appear as paragraphs, rarely as full essays.
- Introduce what is being described and why early in the passage (topic sentence or thesis).
- Organize details logically, using one of several patterns:
- Temporal Order: Describe events or details in the sequence they were experienced.
- Spatial Order: Describe details as they appear in space (left to right, top to bottom).
- Order of Significance: Move from least to most important (or vice versa) details.
- Always choose one organization pattern and remain consistent for clarity.
Key Terms & Definitions
- Description — Writing technique that conveys sensory experiences to the reader.
- Imagery — Language that appeals to one or more of the five senses.
- Objective Description — Factual, unbiased depiction focused solely on the object.
- Subjective Description — Personal, emotional depiction centering on the writer’s impressions.
- Dominant Impression — The main idea or effect the writer aims to convey through description.
- Concrete Language — Specific, tangible details that create vivid images.
- Figurative Language — Creative comparisons (such as metaphors/similes) to enrich description.
Action Items / Next Steps
- Complete assigned readings that exemplify descriptive writing.
- Identify and practice using specific, concrete, and sensory details in your own writing.
- For your "remembering an event" essay, plan descriptive passages using the organizational methods discussed.