“Guidelines for

Writing Good
Description”
•Good Writers use description as a
basic element in all forms of writing,
whether it be narration, explanation,
or argument.
•To write good descriptive paragraphs,
you cannot merely tell your readers
what you have seen, heard, or felt. You
must make your readers see, hear, or
feel what you have experienced. You
will be able to do this if you follow
these guidelines:
1.Determine your point of view.
Your point of view is mental as well
as physical.
• Physical Point of View is the
position from which you observe
your subject.
Example: You may observe the subject
from a cliff, a pier, a window, etc.
Physical Point of View:
•I heard weird high frequency sounds outside while
watching the sea through the window. Meanwhile, at the
window; I saw an Airplane crashing into the sea! It was
scary!
•My Friend told me her story and it was all about her test
in overcoming Ophodiophobia. “I went inside the room
and I sat by the chair while watching the snakes. The
Snakes were petrifying but when it first crawled at me, I
almost had an Heart Attack; the times passed but
somehow my Phobia vanished and I can easily hold the
snakes.” She said.
• Mental Point of View is your
attitude toward your subject. This
mental attitude or impression may be
that of like or dislike, boredom or
interest, gloom or cheer, beauty or
ugliness, dullness or brilliance, etc.
Mental Point of View:
•When the day I met her, She had brilliant
aura which made me fall in love to her
•My Nephew was very annoying and it
made me lose my temper quickly
2. Carefully select details.
•Include those details that can be observed
from your point of view.
•Include only those details that contribute
to your mental point of view--- that one
impression you wish to convey.
•Select details that appeal to the senses:
sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell.
Example:
A.
hush fell as the stranger entered the room. He was a little over six
feet tall with brown hair and brown eyes. His nose was long and
straight and his chin was clean-shaven. He walked a few steps
into the room, then paused, hands on his hips, to survey his
environment. As he slowly scanned the room, his expression
revealed a superior self-confidence. He wore a long, dark leather
overcoat that revealed  brown pants below the knee. His shoes
were black and scuffed. In his right hand he held a silver pistol.
B.
A hush fell as the stranger entered the room. He wore a dark
leather overcoat and a superior sneer. The thumb of his right
hand twitched on the handle of gleaming steel pistol.
3. Arrange the details.
•Arrange the details in the natural order
that you see them or in some order that
your reader can easily follow.
Example:
side to side, bottom to top, near to far,.
More prominent to less prominent,
overall image to additional details,
general impression to special features,
etc.
4. Use exact nouns and
verbs instead of many
adjectives and adverbs.
•The overuse of adjectives and adverbs
typifies amateur description. Look for
nouns and verbs that include within
themselves the same meaning as a noun
with adjective modifiers or a verb with
adverb modifiers.
Examples:
•Instead of writing :The big airplane fell
straight into the water”, write “The Boeing 747
plunged into the ocean.” When you use
adjectives and adverbs, select the ones that are
exact and colorful.
•“The small red insect attacked the female
human’s epidermis”, turn this into “The Fire Ant
stung the woman’s skin”