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Descriptive Writing: Genre Analysis
Descriptive writing as a genre entails many vibrant sensory details that create an image and appeals to all of the reader’s senses of taste (only if appropriate), hearing, sight, smell, and touch. It also gives an image of how a person is feeling or how something or someplace makes the writer feel. Most of the time, descriptive writing employs the use of figurative language such as similes, metaphors, and analogies that aide in painting the picture in the reader’s mind.
Greg Rodgers is a blogger that wrote an article titled Malaysia’s top 10 destinations, where he describes the sceneries in a manner that is calm and collected. The article serves its purpose really well, considering tourism is about relaxation. “Bukit Nanas has picnic areas, a few resident monkeys, and well-done walk with labeled flora” (Rodgers). In this short excerpt, the writing culminates into a peaceful and serene tone, although before this part, he talks of cities in Malaysia in a bit different tone.
The difference in this example from the other is the lack of a poetic style. The writer merely gives information about the Bukit Nanas forest. There is no that much use of sensory details. A good descriptive writer will not just say use the language in this excerpt. He should change the sentences into something more engaging, like the air filtered from all the labeled flora, creating a serene and relaxing atmosphere for a picnic with a little entertainment from the resident monkeys.
In the second example, the use of descriptive writing is spot on. “The hot boards warmed our bare feet. We watched the foam-covered waves topple over each other and then slide back into the sea. The crashing water competed with the exuberant yells from the seagulls (Faucher).” The writing focuses on a dominant impression. This impression dictates the atmosphere and defines the mood of the article. The use of sensory details is very well done with elements of sound and sight use in near perfection. If the author used words like the sounds of crashing water and yelling seagulls, the writing would not have been as vivid as the one used in the excerpt.
In the third example, the writing goes something like this “The jukebox in the back played songs that we all knew the words to, and we sang along until our food arrived, hot and enticing on the table (Faucher).” Without saying it, the author is trying to express a feeling of safety, happiness, and comfort. The message is received through descriptive detail. The main impression of this piece of writing is one of comfort and happiness. In describing what holidays with family mean the writer creates a relatable ground before moving into anything general through this narrative.
The fourth example goes like this “The clown’s short yellow hair, made of yarn, covers its ears but is parted above the eyes…. It has cherry-red cheeks, nose, and lips, and its broad grin disappears into the wide, white ruffle around its neck. The clown wears a fluffy, two-tone nylon costume” (Sandhar). The good thing about this piece is that it defines descriptive writing as a window into another dimension. There is an appeal to various senses. This is better explained by how the writer shifts from the head of the clown in some of the virtual transition to the body. We can see the hair made of yarn as well as the suit of nylon. These sensory details are also of touch. The colors and their specificity helps create a vision of the object, and the descriptions help with the visualization of the object.
The take away points in from this style writing is the importance of selecting sensory details that create a picture for the reader as it is in the mind of the writer. The use of general, vague words does not fit properly with descriptive writing. Sometimes the writing is considered descriptive because of fulfilling the descriptive task. However, a more engaging piece uses sensory details to enhance a reader’s experience. If done properly, description will be able to draw a connection by relying on sight, smelling, state, and touch.
Including a medium in which writing will be delivered through is an important feature along with picking the genre. Such articles, of course, are best served by websites and blogs. The medium is particularly to how a writer wants to convey information. Descriptive writing is used when describing items, places, or people. The reason writers use this genre is to capture an event by paying close attention to details by applying the use of all senses.
Works Cited
Faucher, A. “Descriptive Writing.” Indiana University of Pennsylvania, www.iup.edu/writingcenter/writing-resources/organization-and-structure/descriptive-writing/.
Rodgers, G. “A Guide for First-Time Visitors to Kuala Lumpur.” TripSavvy, 6 Oct. 2019, www.tripsavvy.com/kuala-lumpur-travel-1458480.
Sandhar, J. “A Friendly Clown.” Spark Young Writers Magazine, www.sparkwriters.org/a-friendly-clown/.
