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Learning Outcomes
• Identify real world applications for writing a
description.
• Understand the steps for writing a
description.
• Interpret images and descriptive readings
about media and popular culture.
• Analyze the rhetorical star for description.
• Apply the steps for writing a description.
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Real World Applications
(LO 6.1)
• School
– Describe what you
see under a
microscope.
– Describe your
observations during
field work.
• Daily Life
– Describe a dream home
to a real estate agent.
– Describe your symptoms
to a physician.
• Career
– Describe your past achievements on a
job application.
– Describe the products or services your
company offers.
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Steps for Writing Descriptively
(LO 6.2)
• Begin by creating a
dominant
impression.
• Use an objective or a
subjective approach.
• Appeal to the
senses.
• Include similes and/or
metaphors.
• Organize your
description logically.
• End with something
memorable.
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Pop Culture: Images &
Descriptive Readings (LO 6.3)
Writing about an image
• Describe image.
• Tell how it appeals to the senses.
• Explain what aspect of popular culture the
image represents.
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Popular Culture: Images &
Persuasive Readings (contd.)
Media connection for describing
• Watch, read, or listen to the suggested
media for examples.
• View various types of media to better
understand methods of description.
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The Rhetorical Star (LO 6.4)
Subject
• Choose a topic that you can observe
firsthand or through a picture,
television show, or other medium.
• You might describe an interesting place, an exciting
event, a unique person or animal, or an unusual
object.
• Capture something interesting to share with your
readers.
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The Rhetorical Star (contd.)
Audience
• Know your readers.
• Determine what about your subject
will interest your readers.
• Select the audience characteristics you can
appeal to in your description.
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The Rhetorical Star (contd.)
Purpose
• Consider what you want to
accomplish.
• Decide if you want to inform, persuade,
or entertain your readers.
• Describe your subject so you readers feel as if they
have observed it themselves.
• Keep your purpose in mind at all times.
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The Rhetorical Star (contd.)
Audience
• Consider if your audience will be
supportive, hostile, or undecided.
• Select details that will appeal to your
specific audience.
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The Rhetorical Star (contd.)
Strategy
• Determine if other writing
strategies are needed.
• Consider what additional
information may be necessary.
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The Rhetorical Star (contd.)
Design
• Select the number of details
necessary.
• Determine if graphics or other
design elements are needed.
• Design your document to be as
descriptive as possible.
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Applying the Writing Process
(LO 6.5)
Discovering
• Search for a subject in the chapter that would be
interesting to describe.
• Go somewhere scenic, such as a beach, the woods,
or a mountainside to find something beautiful to
describe.
• Make a list of sensory details.
• Freewrite what comes to mind about your topic.
• Make a rough sketch of your subject to determine
what details to cover.
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Applying the Writing Process
(contd.)
Planning
• Create a list of adjectives you would like to include
in your description.
• Determine the order in which you would like to
present the descriptive details: left to right, top to
bottom, near to far, and so on.
• Organize your ideas with a graphic organizer, a
cluster, or an outline.
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Applying the Writing Process
(contd.)
Composing
• Write a first draft.
• Keep your dominant
impression in mind.
• Don’t focus on grammar
or punctuation.
• Keep the steps for
descriptive writing in
mind.
Getting Feedback
• Have a peer read your
rough draft.
• Utilize the peer review
questions if possible.
• Get a second opinion, if
possible.
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Applying the Writing Process
(contd.)
Revising
• Make sure your
description is full of
sensory details.
• Add, delete, or
rearrange ideas as
needed.
Editing
• Read your essay again.
• Check for grammar,
punctuation, and mechanics.
• Use transitions to help your
descriptive details flow
smoothly .
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Applying the Writing Process
(contd.)
Proofreading
• Read your essay at least one more time.
• Look for typographical errors.
• Make final corrections.
