The Pattern of Description
A cold rainy day dawns. The young, slender ten-year-old looks outside at the empty, grey, wet street through the heavy, rust colored drapes that blanket the front picture window in the living room. “No one around today,” she thinks sadly, “this could be very boring for a first week of summer vacation…” But then her face lights up and she rushes through the kitchen – smells of perking coffee in the air, the radio sounding in the background – and quickly climbs up the back stairs to the office room over the garage. “Here they are,” she thinks, kneeling down in front of the old, brown, bookcase under the window, reaching out to touch her very good companions – Nancy Drew, The Bobbsey Twins, and The Hardy Boys. Time for some real adventures she thinks, and she smiles as she curls up on the cozy, green floral love-seat by the light of the old-fashioned, glass, candlestick table lamp and re-joins her old friends for a morning of mystery and fun. Description. What is it exactly? Well, the technical definition of description is “a statement that tells you how something or someone looks, sounds, etc.: words that describe something or someone; discourse intended to give a mental image of something experienced. "Description." Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 1 Sept. 2016. It would be equally correct to extend this definition by adding that description is an important part of reading and writing. In fact, working with description can help a writer inform, persuade, entertain, and convey or relate feelings. It can help a reader understand, gain a shared experience, and enjoy a text. Indeed, description transcends all types of writing in many genres and disciplines. In entertainment, who doesn’t like a spooky story that draws us in and keeps us on the edge of our seats. In science, it is important to write good, detailed lab reports that give accurate descriptions of the experiments. In the social sciences it is critical to write up descriptive case studies that can be used to inform people about critical situations that require input. And so on…. In short, description helps us show through words. It uses our senses – how does something look, sound, feel, smell, and, in some cases, even taste. |
In writing, we work with two types of description: subjective and objective.
Subjective description is the opinion of the writer: The conference proved to be an excellent experience with informative workshops, great keynote speakers, and fun networking opportunities. Based on this, would you decide to attend the same conference next time if possible. Chances are good that you would because this writer give a clear, positive description of the event. Objective description is a factual description of something: The bright, red firetruck went down the four-lane highway at a brisk speed, it’s siren screaming for cars to clear out of the way. You can see and hear the firetruck, and understand clearly what the writer was experiencing at the time. Finally, when writing with description, it is best to pick a dominant impression and work through this experience using as many of the senses as possible. For example: It was an easy walk through the main gate, that was actually one of eight main gates, into the heart of the fairgrounds. As we approached, the magnificent, imposing structure of the stainless steel Unisphere stood out as an icon of the fair’s place as an international and universal exposition. The street leading to the Unisphere was tree lined, with throngs of people stopping at the varied exhibits along the way. Beautiful fountains in a blue pool surrounded it, the sound of the water splashing and a light spray touched us as we approached this towering sculpture. Slowly, we walked around the structure and, on the other side, we saw the brilliant colors of the flags of the many nations represented at this exhibition. They stood like an honor guard in front of the area designated to international exhibits. Indeed, this side of the Unisphere has become very well known, the subject of many images that represent the 1964-65 New York World’s Fair. The expressive details of the experience give the reader a good understanding of what was happening. Note, there is a combination of subjective and objective description here. The feelings, sights, sounds, and even touch all combine to create a richness that gives the reader a clear understanding of what it felt like to walk into the heart of the fair. |