When writing a descriptive paragraph remember to:
- Make sure that you choose a meaningful person, place or thing
- Introduce the person, place or thing you are describing
- Keep your reader interested in what they are reading
- Describe smells and tastes if you can
1/2. What stand out characteristics does this person have? For example, if you read this description, you might have a good idea who it is, right?
“Round ears, red shorts, falsetto voice, white gloves, and cartoonishly large yellow shoes” – Mickey Mouse.
What about “She blows in on the East Wind and arrives at the Banks home at Number Seventeen Cherry Tree Lane, London where she is given charge of the Banks children and teaches them valuable lessons with a magical touch”- Mary Poppins.
3. If you don’t grab your reader in the opening sentence/paragraph, they will not proceed to the second paragraph.
One of the most famous opening lines is “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger:
“If you really want to hear about it, the first thing you’ll probably want to know is where I was born, and what my lousy childhood was like, and how my parents were occupied and all before they had me, and all that David Copperfield kind of crap, but I don’t feel like going into it, if you want to know the truth.”
4. Imagine describing the meal you are cooking – the smell of the food, how did it feel when you were preparing it, the colours of the fresh vegetables, what did it taste like after it was cooked. Even if you are uploading your cooking videos on social platforms like YouTube or Instagram, the viewer can’t smell, taste or feel it. So, you need to write descriptively, allowing your viewers some real sense of experience.
Think of a moment when something very happy or exciting happened to you. What was your moment? Think about what you saw, how you felt, what you heard etc. These details will support your descriptive paragraph.
Close your eyes, apply your five senses and write.