UNIT 3: ACADEMIC WRITING: ESSAYS

DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

ISABEL GONZLEZ SOGAMOSO

CODE: 40.776.012
GROUP NUMBER 20

Present to:
MILLY ANDREA MUOZ

NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OPEN AND DISTANCE - UNAD

BACHELOR'S DEGREE ENGLISH LANGUAGE AS A FOREIGN LANGUAGE
ACADEMIC WRITING
VILLAVICENCIO META
2017
 DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
The descriptive essay is a genre of academic writing that asks the
student to describe something: object, person, place, experience,
emotion, situation, etc. This genre encourages the student's ability
to create a written account of a particular experience. In addition,
this genre allows great artistic freedom (the goal is to paint a vivid
and moving image in the mind of the reader).
 CHARACTERISTICS OF A DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

Descriptive essays usually make use of five senses to describe

an object, person, place, experience, emotion, situation, etc.
A good descriptive essay should awaken strong emotions to the
readers so that they can clearly imagine what the writer is
representing.
You are free to use epithets, comparisons, metaphors, etc., to
make your text impressive.
COMPONENTS OR PARTS OF A
DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
 COMPONENTS OR PARTS OF A DESCRIPTIVE
ESSAY
You can start by brainstorming ideas for the essay.
Then, outline and write the essay using sensory
detail and strong description.
Always polish your essay and proofread it so it is at
its best.
Organize the essay by creating a brief outline.
Do this in sections: introduction, body, and
conclusion.
The standard is to have a five paragraph essay, one
paragraph for introduction, three paragraphs for the
body, and one for the conclusion.
 AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR SELECTED ESSAY

Description of a Desert
It is difficult to form a correct idea of a desert without having seen one. It is
a vast plain of sands and stones, interspersed with mountains of various
sizes and heights, usually without roads or shelters. They sometimes have
springs of water, which burst forth, and create verdant spots.
The most remarkable of deserts is the Sahara. This is a vast plain, but little
elevated above the level of the ocean, and covered with sand and gravel,
with a mixture of sea shells, and appears like the basin of an evaporated
sea.
 AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR SELECTED ESSAY
Amid the desert, there are springs of water, which burst forth and create
verdant spots, called oases. There are thirty-two of these that contain
fountains, and date and palm trees; twenty of them are inhabited. They
serve as stopping places for the caravans, and often contain villages.

Were it not for these, no human being could cross this waste of burning
sand. So violent, sometimes, is the burning wind that the scorching heat
dries up the water of these springs, and then frequently, the most
disastrous consequences follow.

In 1805, a caravan consisting of 2,000 persons and 1,800 camels, not

finding water at the usual resting place, died of thirst, both men and
animals. Storms of wind are more terrible in this desert than on the ocean.
Vast surges and clouds of red sand are raised and rolled forward, burying
everything in its way, and it is said that whole tribes have thus been
swallowed up.
 AN EXAMPLE OF YOUR SELECTED ESSAY

The situation of such is dreadful, and admits of no resource. Many

perish, victims of the most horrible thirst. It is then that the value of a
cup of water is truly felt.

To be thirsty in a desert, without water, exposed to the burning sun,

without shelter, is the most terrible situation that a human being can
be placed in, and one of the greatest sufferings that a human being
can sustain; the tongue and lips swell; a hollow sound is heard in the
ears, which brings on deafness, and the brain appears to grow thick
and inflamed.

If, unfortunately, any one falls sick on the road, he or she must either
endure the fatigue of traveling on a camel, (which is troublesome even
to healthy people,) or he or she must be left behind on the sand,
without any assistance, and remain so until a slow death comes to
relieve him or her.
 OUTLINE OF THE SELECTED ESSAY
OUT LINE FOR DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY

Paragraph I
a. Opening topic Sentence/Attention
b. The place about which your writing
c. Brief feeling about the place
d. Sensory details
Paragraph II
a. Description of another specific location within the same place.
b. Factual Details
c. Sensory details with vivid language
Paragraph III
a. Description of another specific location within the same place.
b. Factual details
c. Sensory details within vivid language
Paragraph IV
a. Restatement of feeling about the place with further expansion.
b. Additional details
c. Conclusion
 OUTLINE ABOUT EXAMPLE
Paragraph I
Description of a Desert
It is a vast plain of sands and stones, interspersed with
mountains of various sizes and heights, usually without roads or
shelters.
The most remarkable of deserts is the Sahara. This is a vast
plain, but little elevated above the level of the ocean, and
covered with sand and gravel, with a mixture of seashells, and
appears like the basin of an evaporated sea.
A desert is a place that is characterized by its landscape of
sand and burning wind, where the sun is scorching and so
violent that it dries the water of the springs causing disastrous
consequences
 OUTLINE ABOUT EXAMPLE
Paragraph II
Amid the desert, there are springs of water, which burst
forth and create verdant spots, called oases.
There are thirty-two of these that contain fountains, and
date and palm trees; twenty of them are inhabited. They
serve as stopping places for the caravans and often
contain villages.
Were it not for these, no human being could cross this
waste of burning sand.
In this place the burning wind and scorching heat dries
the water from the springs, and then the most disastrous
consequences follow.
 OUTLINE ABOUT EXAMPLE
Paragraph III

In 1805, a caravan consisting of 2,000 persons and

1,800 camels, not finding water at the usual resting
place, died of thirst, both men, and animals.

Storms of wind are more terrible in this desert than

on the ocean. Vast surges and clouds of red sand
are raised and rolled forward, burying everything in
its way, and it is said that whole tribes have thus
been swallowed up.
 OUTLINE ABOUT EXAMPLE

Paragraph IV
The situation in a desert is dreadful and admits of no
resource. Many perish victims of the most horrible
thirst. It is then that the value of a cup of water is
truly felt.
To be thirsty in a desert, without water, exposed to
the burning sun, without shelter, is the most terrible
situation that a human being can be placed in, and
one of the greatest sufferings that a human being
can sustain.
 REFERENCES
UWA Students. (2013) Writing essays at UWA: Get started on essay structure.
Retrieved on December 12th, 2016 from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6VmG6B_Gaf4

Carvajal, H. (2016) Academic Writing: Essays. Retrieved on December 19th, 2016 from
http://hdl.handle.net/10596/9686

Academic Help. (06 May 2016). Description of a Desert. Recovered from

https://academichelp.net/samples/academics/essays/descriptive/descriptio n-of-
a-desert.html

Jack Baker, Allen Brizee, Elizabeth Angeli. (10 mar 2013). Descriptive Essays.The Purdue
University Online Writing Lab. Recovered from
https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/03/

Images taken from; google.com