KS1 (Age 5-7)KS2 (Age 7-11)11 Plus (Age 7-11)KS3 (Age 11-14)GCSE (Age 14-17)PSHE A.I.ESL Spanish Specialist Games

Need help with Writing Descriptively? Ask our AI Tutor!

AI Tutor - Lucy

Connecting with Tutor...

Please wait while we establish connection

Hi! I'm Lucy, your AI tutor. How can I help you with Writing Descriptively today?

now

'A stilted heron laboured up into the air and pounded down river.'

Writing Descriptively

Descriptive writing makes your reader feel like they're right there. Use sensory language, powerful verbs, and vivid imagery to bring your words to life.

Explore the Topic →

(quiz starts below)

Fascinating Fact:

Scale changes perspective. From the hill the town is a handful of toy roofs, up close one roof is a patchwork of tiles.

In GCSE English, mastering descriptive writing is essential for both creative tasks and analytical essays. Successful description doesn't just list objects; it selects precise language to create a sensory experience for the reader, shaping their emotional response and interpretation of the scene, character, or event.

Key Terms

Sensory Language: Words and phrases that appeal to the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) to create vivid descriptions.
Imagery: The use of descriptive language to create mental pictures for the reader, often involving similes, metaphors, and personification.
Figurative Language: Language that uses words or expressions with a meaning that is different from the literal interpretation, such as 'The moon was a ghostly galleon.'

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

How can I make my descriptive writing better for GCSE English?

To improve descriptive writing, replace simple adjectives and adverbs with more powerful, precise verbs and figurative language like metaphors or similes, and focus on engaging at least three of the five senses.

What techniques are used in descriptive writing?

Key techniques include the use of sensory detail to create a mood, show, don't tell to convey information through actions and feelings, and the careful application of figurative language (like personification or hyperbole) to enhance imagery.

What is the purpose of descriptive writing?

The main purpose of descriptive writing is to paint a clear, vivid picture in the reader's mind, allowing them to fully experience the atmosphere, person, place, or object being described, often to evoke an emotional response.

Try These Related Quizzes

1 .

In Louis Sachar's novel, The Cardturner, the narrator's wealthy uncle attends a bridge club which is described this way: 'If you were expecting a fancy club, with plush carpeting, leather chairs, wood panelling, and people sipping brandy and smoking cigars as they discuss the stock market, then you've come to the wrong place.' What is the effect of this description?

It tells the reader that the wealthy uncle would prefer nice surroundings

It does not tell the reader anything

It describes the wealthy uncle's bridge club exactly

It allows you to build the image of the 'fancy' club in your head before dismissing it

Louis Sachar does not describe the actual bridge club at all (beyond the number of tables and how they are arranged) - this leaves the reader to imagine exactly what the opposite of the 'fancy' club would be like

2 .

Which of the following would be most effective?

Describing only the overall impression given by the scene

Spending an equal amount of time describing every aspect of the scene

Describing both the overall picture as well as aspects of the scene, gradually homing in

Focussing only on the important detail, while ignoring the rest of the scene

Sometimes teachers advise pupils to imagine the scene as it would be filmed - this is good advice, as long as you remember to use all five senses - not vision alone

3 .

What is the aim or purpose of writing descriptively?

To explain how a phenomenon occurs

To make the reader feel present in the scene; to evoke a feeling

To persuade your reader to take action

To tell a story

4 .

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, the servant Calpurnia is described thus: 'She was all angles and bones; she was near-sighted; she squinted; her hand was wide as a bed-slat and twice as hard.' Which of the following examples of figurative language has Lee used here?

Simile

Metaphor

Personification and Metaphor

Simile and Metaphor

Simile: 'her hand was wide as a bed-slat and twice as hard'. Metaphor: 'She was all angles and bones'

5 .

Calpurnia's character description describes her hand as being 'wide as a bed-slat and twice as hard'. What does this description accomplish?

It gives the reader an image of Calpurnia and hints that she has slapped the narrator before

It tells the reader that Calpurnia is old

It tells the reader that Calpurnia doesn't like the narrator

It hints that Calpurnia is gentle and good-natured

A good description usually does at least two jobs - it gives the reader a mental image of a scene or character, but it can also convey an atmosphere or feeling, or give an impression of a character's personality. Sometimes it conveys the author's feeling about the scene or character

6 .

Descriptive writing often makes use of figurative language. Which of the following is NOT an example of figurative language?

Simile

Caesura

Metaphor

Personification

7 .

In Charlie Connelly's Attention All Shipping, we read this description of the approach to the town, Haugesund: 'The roaring wind buffeted my progress and caused the sea to boil away to my left in huge fans of spume. The tarmac wound between enormous rocks and the wind whistled tunelessly through the coarse, flattened grass. Somewhere in the distance a rope clanged against a flagpole...' Which word best describes the mood evoked by this description?

Joyful

Despairing

Solitary

Excited

8 .

In the opening chapter to John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men, we find this description: 'A stilted heron laboured up into the air and pounded down river.' This is a good example of...

choosing verbs with precision

using plenty of adjectives

using powerful adverbs

All of the above

A precise verb choice is more effective than always combining verbs and adverbs

9 .

What does it mean to write a 'sensory' description?

To write a sensible description of a particular scene

To write a sensational, exaggerated description of a scene

To describe the scene in a way that makes sense

To include details about the scene which relate to the senses

Readers can almost imagine they are present in the scene when descriptive writing includes details from the five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight

10 .

'When the hard clay is swept clean as a floor and the fine sand around the edges lined with tiny, irregular grooves, anyone can come and sit and look up into the elm tree and wait for the breezes that never come inside the house.' In Alice Walker's description of the 'outdoor living room', from 'Everyday Use', which words are adjectives?

swept, lined, come, sit, look, wait, come

clay, floor, sand, edges, grooves, elm, tree, breezes, house

hard, clean, fine, tiny, irregular

when, as, around, with, up, into, for, inside

Walker's description uses very simple adjectives effectively. Her description would not be improved by using words like: adamantine, dazzling, miniscule, or exquisite. Packing sentences with the most impressive vocabulary you know can really detract from your description

You can find more about this topic by visiting BBC Bitesize - Using language effectively

Author: Sheri Smith (PhD English Literature, English Teacher & Quiz Writer)