The aim of a descriptive essay is to create an image of what is being written.

The
golden rule of descriptive essay is ‘Show, don’t tell’. The descriptive essay does not only
describe the person, places or events but creates a vivid image of what is being told.
The readers feel themselves to be in the situation as they are witnessing the events
being told by the writer. Great descriptive essays achieve this affect not only by through
facts and statistics but by using detailed observations and descriptions and above all by
structuring the essay before writing.

In order to structure a perfect descriptive essay, these techniques are used.

• Choose a person, place, or object to describe.

• Select an emotion to describe.

• Make a list of sensory details about the topic.

• Organizing the information

No. 1 is to choose a person or place or an object you want to describe. Well, this the
most important point as the rest of your essay is completely going to revolve around this
particular topic. So one should select a topic about which he has lot of knowledge. He
should know every possible aspect of the topic so that the readers should not have any
understanding issues. For example, one option for a topic is to describe a person that
you know well in your life. This could be a family member like your mother or your
father. It could also be a best friend, a coworker, or a mentor. Another option is to focus
on a specific place or object that you have strong feelings about. This could be a place
like your high school, your workplace, or your childhood home. Choose a person or a
place that you have a lot to write about so you have enough material for the essay.

Second is to deal with emotions. The key to understanding the best way to deal with
emotion description is to revert to the principles of Show, Don’t Tell. The fundamental
concept of the system is that, if you can provide a truthful description of a character’s
words and actions, this will stimulate an emotion in the reader.

At the most basic level, TELLING the reader someone is sad will do nothing, but
SHOWING the reader someone is sad, by describing the actions of a sad person, will
stimulate a level of sadness in the reader.

If we can SHOW the reader an emotion, describing the emotion in a way that triggers
the reader’s own internal emotions, we are going to produce a far more powerful
reading experience than one in which we TELL the reader how to feel.

Here’s an example:
Ali cried with sadness.
This is pure TELL. We are TELLING the reader that Ali is sad. This is emotionally
sterile. We don’t want the reader to know Ali is sad; we want the reader to feel Ali’s
sadness.

Try this example:

Ali slumped into the chair. He leaned forward, placed his head in his hands and sobbed.
Huge body-shaking sobs racked Ali’s body, each coming in a wave, and, with every
sob, he let out a low whimper.

In this example, we SHOW the reader that Ali is sad. We are not TELLING the reader
what Ali is feeling; we describe Ali’s actions while experiencing sadness. In the process,
we create a narrative space. Since we don’t tell the reader what Ali is feeling, the reader
is forced to work it out alone. It is this narrative space that the reader will fill. The reader
tries to match Ali’s actions with those actions that the reader has experienced. The
reader’s brain will match the actions to an emotion. In the process, the reader triggers
that same emotion within his or her mind. That’s our goal. Adding such type of content
can involve the reader emotionally.
Thirdly, make a list of sensory details about the topic. Once you have chosen your topic,
draw five columns on a piece of paper or a word document on your computer. Then, label each
column for the five senses, “touch,” “sight,” “sound,” “taste,” and “smell.” Write down as many
details you can think of for the topic based on each sense. You can then use these notes in your
essay.[4]
● For example, if you were writing about a person like your mother, you may write down
under “sound” : “soft voice at night, clack of her shoes on the floor tiles, bang of the spoon
when she cooks.”
In this way information is collected and can be used efficiently in essay.

After doing all the above steps, start organizing information and organize all the pre-
writing ideas in a perfect order. Doing so will help you to structure your essay in best
possible way and will leave some good impressions on the reader.