There are five senses. Sight, smell, hearing, taste, touch. In this lesson, we are going to learn how to use the five senses in descriptive writing. Let's have a look at this picture.
Try to imagine yourself physically being in this environment. And try to use your five senses. Think about what you can see. what you can smell, what you can hear, what you can taste and what you can touch or feel.
Here is a simple way to describe the picture. I can see the green grass and the tall trees. I can smell the fresh scent of the blooming flowers.
I can hear the birds chirping. I can taste the fresh air on my tongue. I can feel the wind blowing.
This description is very basic, therefore we want to improve it by using a range of language techniques, interesting verbs, adjectives, adverbs and effective vocabulary. This will help to engage the reader and will also help the reader to create a picture in their mind. We can also see that each sentence starts with I.
This is very repetitive and can be quite boring for the reader. Here is the improved version. As I walk through the enchanted forest I am greeted with the fresh smell of scented flowers. Their bright colors glow in the sunlight.
Chirping birds happily dance around in the sky as the trees wave their arms in excitement. The warm spring breeze softly brushes against my face as I walk along the freshly grown grass. Slowly the refreshing air lands on my tongue filling me with happiness. Now let's have a look at why this description is more effective.
There are various techniques used in this description. so let's have a look at a few examples. The use of the adjective enchanted suggests the forest is magical and fascinating. The use of the adjective scented gives the reader an idea of how nice the flowers smell. The use of the verb chirping brings life to the picture, helping to create a feeling of happiness and delight.
By giving the trees human quality, such as trees wave further emphasizes how vibrant and full of life the atmosphere is. This is an example of personification. Personification is used again by giving human quality to the breeze as it brushes against my face. The fact that it brushes against my face softly suggests the weather is not harsh rather it's pleasantly warm with cool air.
Finally, the last example, the use of the verb filling, emphasizes the extent to which the narrator feels a sense of happiness and delight, as opposed to just saying, it makes me happy, which doesn't allow the reader to imagine exactly how happy the narrator feels. Now let's have a look at another example. Again, try to use your five senses to describe the image. A simple way to describe the image would be to say I can see the bright blue water and the golden sand.
I can smell the fresh air. I can hear people talking and children playing. I can taste the salt water on my tongue. I can feel my feet sinking into the soft sand. Here is the improved version.
Slowly, the bright blue sea crawls towards the golden sand. The fresh air enters my nose as I make my way down the seashore. With every step I can feel my feet sink into the smooth sand and the taste of the salty sea water lands on my tongue.
The sound of the violin echoes along the coast as I begin to dance around on the sand elegantly. This description is improved by using a range of language techniques Interesting verbs, adjectives, adverbs and effective vocabulary. Now let's look closely at a few examples and I will explain why it is effective. The use of alliteration in bright blue draws attention to the sentence, helping to emphasise how vibrant and beautiful the C is.
The verb sink suggests the sand is so smooth that it almost absorbs anything that is placed in it. The use of the verb echoes suggests the beach is huge as the sound travels along the coast. Lastly, the use of the adverb elegantly creates a pleasant and graceful image which reflects the surroundings.
Here is our last example. Again, look at the picture and try to use your five senses to describe the image. So what can you see?
What can you smell? What can you hear? What can you taste? And what can you touch?
Again, I will go through a simple way to describe the image and an improved version of the description. A simple way is, I can see the dark gloomy sky. I can smell the damp air, I can hear the wind howling, I can taste thick fog, I can feel the fog as it brushes against my skin. Now let's have a look at the improved version.
In the bleak distance, the huge tower stood tall in isolation. Standing broken and crippled in front of it is a forest of trees, their bark decaying slowly. A blanket of fog covers my skin, filling my mouth with distaste.
Cautiously, I make my way through the desolate street as the icy wind howls. Now let's look closely as to why this description is better. The use of the adjective bleak is effective as it allows the reader to picture a harsh, deserted place, helping to create a sense of mystery. The use of the noun isolation suggests that the place is abandoned therefore causing the reader to question why no one visits the place. This ultimately intrigues the reader.
The use of the verb crippled is used to give the trees a human quality suggesting that the trees are lifeless and damaged. Furthermore the trees are described as decaying which further emphasizes how lifeless the trees are as they are slowly breaking down. The metaphor, a blanket of fog, suggests that there is so much fog that it becomes difficult to see anything.
The use of the adjective desolate allows the reader to create an image of a miserable gloomy and deserted place which is suggested by the picture. Lastly, personification is used when the wind howls. This creates a terrifying image as the wind is brought to life in this abandoned place, therefore creating tension and mystery.
Okay, now it's your turn. Look at this picture and think about your five senses. What can you see?
What can you smell? What can you hear? What can you taste and what can you touch? Make sure you use synonyms to replace boring words in order to make the writing descriptive and interesting for the reader.
You can find synonyms in a thesaurus or even just online.