WHAT IS A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY?

A descriptive essay is sort of what it says on the tin. It’s a type of essay that involves describing a person or
object, though it can really extend to any sort of noun, like a place, event, experience, or emotion. If you
think that seems pretty broad, you’re right. You’re technically describing something in every essay.
What makes the descriptive essay notable is that focus on description — the details, colors, feelings,
sights, and sounds. Some descriptive essays might have a slight argument in their theses, but it’s not really
a requirement. Your thesis statement could be as simple as “I had a cookie that changed my entire life.”

General Format and Structure of a Descriptive Essay

There isn’t a set format for descriptive essays. A lot of it really comes down to the subject that you’re
describing and your own approach to how you experience things, and it turns out that we all experience and
see things differently.
A good outline structure that you can start with might look like this.

Introduction
- Write a hook that helps your reader relate to the senses you’re tapping into.
- Provide some general background about the thing you’re describing.
- Form a thesis statement that makes a claim (but may not necessarily include an argument or
opinion).

Body paragraph: Physical Description

- Provide a topic sentence introducing the subject.
- Give an in-depth physical description of the subject.

Body paragraph: Contextual Description

- Describe your subject within its given context, like its physical surroundings or temporal
environment.

Body paragraph: Emotional Description

- Describe how the subject emotionally or mentally affected those who interacted or experienced it.

Conclusion
- Restate your thesis about the subject’s description.
Consider the subject (and its description) outside of what you’ve already mentioned in the essay. How might
it apply to other people or society at large?
Obviously, if you have a different angle, go with that. For example, if you’re going more for a personal
essay, the structure might have more of a narrative (beginning, middle, end) format.