Here is an assignment guide you can use for writing a descriptive essay about a person.
Assignment: Describe someone who has been an important influence in your life.
Length: 300-500 words
Audience: Formal/Academic (imagine writing this essay as part of a scholarship application)
Instruction: Descriptive writing is about painting a picture for the reader. To do this, you want to use language that appeals to the five senses. The prewriting questions will guide you through this process.
Prewriting
- Make a list of people who have influenced you. Think about teachers, coaches, church leaders. Also, consider those influences that you might not know personally: singers, actors, missionaries, authors, characters in stories, politicians. Try to make a list of at least ten people.
- Circle the person on your list that you are most interested in writing about. With that person in mind, answer the following questions:
- What is the main impression you want to convey about this person? Is he/she cheerful, nervous, careful, funny, etc.?
- List three pieces of evidence that support the main impression you want to convey. For example, suppose the main impression you want to convey about your subject is that she is nervous. How do you know she is nervous? Maybe she bites her nails or jumps at the least little noise or constantly furrows her brow in a worried expression or cuts her kids’ meals into tiny bite-sized pieces to prevent choking. Think about actions and mannerisms that demonstrate the impression you want to convey.
- What sensory details can you bring in to paint a picture of this person? In other words, when you think about this person, what images come to mind?
- What does he/she look like?
- What sounds do you associate with him/her? (for example, singing or a certain accent, or the clink of pocket change)
- What smells/tastes do you associate with this person? (for example, the smell of pumpkin spice candles in Grandma’s house, or the taste of homemade apple pie, or the smell of the ocean because she lives near the beach)
- How does he/she make you feel?
- How has this person influenced you? Why is this person important to you? List the ways this person has influenced you. These are the points you will develop in your essay.
Drafting
If possible, write the essay in one sitting. Focus on ideas and organization rather than on mechanics and style.
The essay needs a minimum of three paragraphs—an introduction, body, and conclusion. However, there is no set number of paragraphs.
Introduction The goal of the introductory paragraph is to grab the reader’s attention and state the purpose of the essay.
Ways to grab the reader’s attention:
–start with an interesting detail about the person
–start with an interesting (and relevant) story about the person
Purpose:
–make a general statement (in a sentence or two) about who this person is and how he or she has influenced you.
Body: The body should describe the person and explain in detail the reason or reasons that this person is influential. For example, let’s say you are writing about the influence your grandmother has had in your life. Grandma is important because she always makes you feel loved and appreciated. She shows her love by taking the time to listen to you and by sending you special gifts. Those are the general statements that need to be described in detail. Here is an example of a paragraph that develops one of these statements.
Because Grandma believed that “idle hands were the devil’s workshop,” she was always busy, whether it was baking her famous apple turnovers or scrubbing a pile of dirty dishes. But no matter how busy she was, she always had time to listen to me. She would stop whatever she was doing, pull off her grease-stained apron, and give me a big bear hug. Then she’d invite me to sit on the settee with her and have a cookie and a cup of milk while I told her what I’d been up to lately. …
This paragraph can be further developed with additional details that reveal more of the grandmother’s character and influence. Perhaps Grandmother not only listens but also gives valuable advice, and so on. After this idea is developed, move on to the next point about Grandmother sending gifts and provide details about that idea. Continue to develop each point in this way.
Conclusion: The concluding paragraph wraps up your paper, usually by circling around to the beginning and restating the purpose in different words. An interesting detail or illustration about the person that ties in with your main idea is a good way to close.
Revising
If time permits, allow at least a day to pass before students revisit their drafts.
Students should read through their drafts and make improvements. They should also have at least one other person read their essay and make suggestions for improvement.
The draft should be considered a working copy, and as such, students should mark it up with margin notes, arrows, crossed out words, and so on.
Editing
After students are satisfied with the revisions, they should create clean copies suitable for publishing. The final step in this part of the process is for students to read their papers out loud because this will help them catch mistakes that they will miss if they only read silently
Publishing
Students should share their essays with others.
Evaluating
To see the complete guide for evaluating this essay as well as information for writing other types of essays, follow this link: The Basic PLUS Writing Plan.