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Writing Tips

How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph About a Person (With Examples)

4-minute read

7th January 2023

Describing a person or character is difficult for even the most successful authors. It requires a balance of words to make sure they shine through without the language being too heavy. In this article, we’ll look at how to write a descriptive paragraph about a person, share some examples, and talk about different strategies.

1. Brainstorm Your Ideas

Brainstorming is crucial to any writing process. It’s the process in which you think of ideas for what you’d like to write about. In this case, you’re writing a descriptive paragraph about a person. It’s important to use adjectives to describe the features or characteristics you want to focus on.

One way to come up with ideas for a descriptive paragraph about a person is to go through the five senses. Use the questions below to get some ideas for what you want to highlight about your person.

Appeal to your reader’s senses – smell, taste, sound, sight, and touch

Smell: How does the person smell? Do they wear perfume? Are they doing an activity that would make them have a certain smell?

Taste: Do you associate a certain food with this person? Does it make you think of a specific taste? Can you taste something due to a certain smell they have?

Sound: Do they have a unique voice or laugh? Are they doing an activity that has distinctive sounds?

Sight: What prominent features do they have? For example, think about their dressing style, their smile, or their surroundings. What do you see them doing in your mind when you see a photo of them? What memories do you have of this person? Does this person remind you of something or someone?

Touch: What textures do you see? For example, imagine their skin or clothing. How does it feel if you hug them?

2. Begin With a Short and Snappy Sentence

Like with any type of writing, you want to hook your reader so that they want to continue reading. In this case, you can use a topic sentence, if appropriate, to introduce your reader to the person. For example:

Or, if you want to be more creative, you can reel them in with a short and snappy sentence about this person. This is called a writing hook . This sentence should focus on a stand-out detail or characteristic about the person you’re describing. For example:

3. Describe the Person

Now, this is the hard part. But, if you’ve brainstormed plenty of ideas and know which ones you want to focus on, it will be easier. Let’s look at some examples to get a better idea of how to write a descriptive paragraph about a person using the prompt “describe a person you admire.”

Comments: This paragraph is pretty typical of most students. It gives lots of visual details of the person and uses a simile or two (“ Her eyes are like the color of honey” and “Her smile shines like the sun” ). While this strategy gets the job done, it’s not very exciting to read. In fact, it can be quite boring!

Let’s look at how we can rewrite this to make it more exciting.

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Comments: In this example, we focused on one defining characteristic of the person we are describing — her laugh. This strategy places more focus on the person you’re describing, rather than the adjectives you use to describe them.

4. Edit and Revise

After you write your descriptive paragraph, be sure to read it over. Read it out loud. Read it in a funny voice. Doing this will help you to hear the words and identify which parts do not work or sound awkward.

5. General Tips for Descriptive Writing

● Avoid using too many descriptive words.

● Remember to show the reader, not tell.

● Appeal to the reader’s five senses – smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound.

● Focus on a striking or defining characteristic.

● Use contrasting details from other people or surroundings for emphasis.

● Use literary devices (metaphors, similes etc.) sparingly and with intention.

● Use a hook to reel your reader in.

● Use a variety of short and long sentences.

● Practice creative writing exercises to improve your descriptive writing skills.

● Always edit and revise your writing.

If you need more help with writing a descriptive paragraph or essay , send your work to us! Our experts will proofread your first 500 words for free !

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How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person: Step By Step

Post author By admin
March 1, 2024

Descriptive essays are like painting a vivid picture with words. They allow us to delve deep into the essence of someone or something, capturing every detail, emotion, and nuance. When it comes to writing a descriptive essay on a person, it’s all about bringing that individual to life on the page. In this guide, we’ll explore step-by-step how to write a descriptive essay on a person, from choosing the right person to polishing your final draft.

Table of Contents

How Do You Start A Descriptive Essay?

Starting a descriptive essay requires setting the scene and grabbing the reader’s attention. Here are some effective ways to begin:

Start with a vivid description: Paint a picture with words by describing the setting, person, or object you’ll be focusing on. Use sensory details to immerse the reader in the scene.
Use an engaging anecdote: Begin with a short story or anecdote related to your subject. This can draw readers in and make them curious to learn more.
Pose a rhetorical question: Start with a thought-provoking question that relates to your topic. This can pique the reader’s curiosity and encourage them to keep reading for the answer.
Invoke the senses: Appeal to the reader’s senses by describing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. This creates a vivid experience for the reader and sets the tone for your essay.
Provide a brief background: Offer a brief introduction to your subject, providing context for the description that follows. This helps orient the reader and gives them a sense of what to expect.

Ultimately, the goal is to engage the reader from the very beginning and create a strong foundation for your descriptive essay.

How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person?

Pre-writing phase.

Before diving into writing, it’s essential to do some groundwork.

Selecting Your Subject: Choose a person who holds significance for you. It could be a family member, friend, mentor, or even a historical figure you admire.
Brainstorming Traits: Think about the qualities and characteristics that define this person. Jot down specific details, memories, and anecdotes that come to mind.
Gathering Memories: Reflect on your experiences with this person. Recall moments that stand out, whether they’re funny, heartwarming, or profound.
Determining Tone: Consider the tone and perspective you want to convey in your essay. Will it be nostalgic, admiring, or reflective?

Creating an Outline

A well-structured outline provides a roadmap for your essay, ensuring that you cover all essential aspects.

Introduction: Set the stage by introducing the person you’ll be describing and stating the purpose of your essay. Your thesis statement should give readers a glimpse of what to expect.
Body Paragraphs: Organize your essay into paragraphs focusing on different aspects of the person’s character.
Physical Description: Paint a vivid picture of their appearance, from their physical features to their style of dress and unique mannerisms.
Personality Traits: Dive into their personality, exploring their quirks, habits, values, and passions.
Impact on Others: Highlight the person’s relationships and influence on those around them, including anecdotes that showcase their impact.
Conclusion: Summarize the key traits discussed in the essay and reflect on their significance. Leave readers with a lasting impression.

Drafting the Essay

With your outline in hand, it’s time to start writing.

Introduction: Begin with an attention-grabbing opening that draws readers in. Introduce the person and provide context for why they are important to you.
Body Paragraphs: Develop each section with descriptive details and vivid imagery. Use sensory language to evoke emotions and create a sense of intimacy.
Conclusion: Reinforce the central theme of your essay and leave readers with a thought-provoking insight or reflection.

Revision and Editing

Once you’ve completed your first draft, it’s time to polish your essay.

Review for Clarity: Ensure that your essay flows smoothly from one paragraph to the next, with clear transitions between ideas.
Check for Errors: Proofread your essay for grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Pay attention to sentence structure and word choice.
Seek Feedback: Share your essay with friends, family, or peers for feedback. Consider their suggestions for improvement and make revisions accordingly.

Finalizing the Essay

Before submitting your essay, take one last look to ensure it’s polished and ready to shine.

Formatting: Format your essay according to the guidelines provided, including font size, spacing, and margins.
Proofread Again: Give your essay a final proofread to catch any lingering errors or typos.
Submission: Once you’re satisfied with your essay, submit it with confidence, knowing that you’ve crafted a compelling portrayal of the person who holds significance in your life.

Top 3 Examples of Descriptive Essays About a Person

“my grandmother: a portrait of strength and love”.

In this essay, the author paints a vivid picture of their grandmother, emphasizing her physical appearance as well as her inner strength and loving nature.

Through detailed descriptions of her wrinkled hands, warm smile, and comforting presence, the author captures the essence of their grandmother’s character.

Anecdotes and memories illustrate her resilience and the profound impact she has had on the author’s life, making her a cherished figure to be admired and celebrated.

“The Man Who Built Bridges: A Tribute to My Father”

This essay pays tribute to the author’s father, highlighting his remarkable qualities as a bridge builder both literally and metaphorically.

Through evocative descriptions of his weathered hands, steadfast determination, and unwavering kindness, the author portrays their father as a symbol of resilience, integrity, and compassion.

Anecdotes from the author’s childhood underscore the profound influence their father has had, leaving a lasting legacy of love and strength.

“The Artist of Words: An Ode to Maya Angelou”

In this essay, the author celebrates the life and legacy of Maya Angelou, the renowned poet, author, and civil rights activist.

Through vivid descriptions of Angelou’s commanding presence, eloquent speech, and unwavering courage, the author captures the essence of her indomitable spirit and profound impact on literature and society.

Quotes and excerpts from Angelou’s works illustrate her mastery of language and her ability to inspire and empower others, leaving an enduring legacy of hope and resilience.

Tips To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person

Writing a descriptive essay about a person requires attention to detail and a focus on capturing the essence of the individual. Here are some tips to help you craft a compelling descriptive essay:

Choose a Subject You Know Well: Select a person whom you know intimately or have spent significant time with. This familiarity will allow you to provide rich descriptions and insights into their character.
Brainstorm Descriptive Details: Before you start writing, make a list of physical attributes, personality traits, habits, and mannerisms that characterize the person. Think about specific anecdotes or memories that showcase their unique qualities.
Create an Outline: Organize your essay with a clear structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Decide on the main traits or characteristics you will focus on in each section.
Start with an Engaging Introduction: Grab the reader’s attention from the start with a compelling opening sentence or anecdote that sets the scene and introduces the person you will be describing.
Use Vivid Descriptive Language: Paint a vivid picture with words by using sensory details to describe the person’s appearance, movements, facial expressions, and gestures. Appeal to the reader’s senses to create a vivid and immersive experience.
Show, Don’t Tell: Instead of simply stating facts about the person, show their personality and character through descriptive scenes, dialogue, and actions. Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points.
Focus on Emotions and Impressions: Describe not only what the person looks like but also how they make you feel and the impression they leave on others. Capture the emotions and atmosphere surrounding your interactions with them.
Be Objective and Honest: While it’s important to highlight the person’s positive qualities, don’t shy away from portraying their flaws or weaknesses if they are relevant to the essay. Be honest and objective in your descriptions.
Organize Your Thoughts: Structure your essay logically, moving from one characteristic or trait to the next in a coherent manner. Use transitions to guide the reader smoothly through your descriptions.
Conclude with a Reflection: Summarize the key points of your essay in the conclusion and reflect on the significance of the person in your life or the impact they have had on others. Leave the reader with a lasting impression or insight.

By following these tips and techniques, you can create a descriptive essay that brings your chosen person to life on the page and leaves a lasting impression on your readers.

In conclusion, writing a descriptive essay on a person is a rewarding endeavor that allows you to celebrate the unique qualities and impact of someone special.

By following these steps (about how to write a descriptive essay on a person) and pouring your heart into your writing, you can create a masterpiece that truly brings your subject to life on the page.

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Descriptive Essay: Your Guide to Writing an Effective One

A descriptive essay is one of the four main types of essays, alongside narrative, argumentative, and expository essays. Among these, descriptive essays can be particularly challenging because they demand a keen eye for detail and an appreciation for aesthetics. By vividly describing scenes and details, you engage your reader’s senses, making your essay memorable and engaging. In this guide, our essay writers will break down the writing process for you, offering step-by-step instructions, practical examples, and clear definitions to help you excel in your next assignment.

What is a Descriptive Essay?

Descriptive writing aims to vividly portray something through essays, helping readers visualize and feel the scene or object being described. Such essays draw on detailed descriptions to create a clear and impactful image that not only presents the subject but also evokes emotions and memories.

There are three main techniques used in descriptive writing: naming, detailing, and comparing .

Naming identifies the subject and its characteristics, answering questions like 'What is it?' and 'What features does it have?'

Detailing elaborates on these features, providing answers to detailed questions such as 'How many are there?' and 'What is its value?' Techniques like synesthesia and comparisons enhance these descriptions.

Comparing uses similes and metaphors to make descriptions more vivid, linking the subject to familiar concepts.

What Is the Purpose of a Descriptive Essay?

The purpose of a descriptive essay is multifaceted. Primarily, it allows writers to give readers a vivid impression of a person, place, or event, making the subject come alive through words. By using detailed descriptions, writers can help readers visualize settings and characters as if they were seeing them firsthand.

Additionally, descriptive essays can serve to clarify abstract ideas. By describing these concepts with concrete images and examples, writers make complex ideas easier to understand and more relatable to the reader.

Descriptive essays also aim to make information more memorable. When details are vivid, they are more likely to stick in the reader's mind, enhancing recall and engagement with the text.

Lastly, it can bolster an argument by providing concrete, detailed evidence that supports a point of view. This helps persuade the reader by making the argument more tangible and credible.

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Descriptive Essay Topics

When you're tasked with writing a descriptive essay, you'll usually get a prompt that asks you to describe something. These descriptive essay prompts allow you to explore different settings, time periods, and imaginative scenarios in your essays.

Personal Prompts:

Describe a favorite childhood memory.
Describe a treasured family heirloom.

Imaginative Prompts:

Describe a day in the life of a pirate.
Describe what it would be like to explore an underwater city.

Historical Prompts:

Describe the atmosphere of a bustling ancient marketplace.
Describe the experience of witnessing a significant moment in history, like the moon landing or the fall of the Berlin Wall.

Nature Prompts:

Describe the sights and sounds of a peaceful forest at dawn.
Describe the feeling of standing at the edge of a majestic waterfall.

Everyday Prompts:

Describe the chaos of a busy morning commute in a big city.
Describe the tranquility of a sunset picnic in the countryside.

If you need topic ideas for other essay genres, consult our guide on narrative essay topics .

How to Write a Descriptive Essay in 8 Steps

Now that you understand the essence and purpose of this type of essay let's explore some fundamental yet valuable tips for writing a descriptive essay.

Step 1: Select Your Topic

The first step in creating a captivating descriptive essay is choosing the right topic. Start by paying close attention to your surroundings.

Consider describing a person you know well in your life, like a sibling, a close friend, or a teacher who has made a significant impact on you.
Alternatively, you could focus on a specific place or object that holds sentimental value to you, such as a favorite vacation spot, a cherished childhood toy, or a meaningful piece of jewelry.
Another option is to explore a strong emotion that you have experienced, like excitement, nostalgia, or determination.

Avoid using overly technical or jargon-filled language in your topic selection. Instead, aim for simplicity and clarity to ensure that your chosen topic resonates with your audience and allows you to convey your unique perspective effectively.

Step 2: Gather Details

Once you've selected your topic for your descriptive essay, the next step is to gather details that will bring your chosen subject to life on the page. Start by closely observing your subject, whether it's a person, place, object, or emotion. Pay attention to its appearance, characteristics, and any unique features that stand out to you.

For example, if you've chosen to describe your childhood home, take note of its architectural style, color scheme, and any distinctive elements like a front porch or a cozy fireplace. Recall memories associated with the home, such as family gatherings or quiet moments spent reading in your favorite spot.

If your topic is a person, like a close friend or family member, observe their physical appearance, mannerisms, and personality traits. Consider the ways in which they interact with others and the impact they have on your life.

Step 3: Draft an Outline

When structuring your essay, you can organize your paragraphs from top to bottom or near to far, chronologically, or from general to specific. Here's a simple descriptive essay outline from our custom writers to guide you:

Step 4: Develop a Thesis Statement

When developing your thesis statement, consider the main points or aspects of your subject that you want to highlight in your essay. Think about the emotions or impressions you want to evoke in the reader and tailor your thesis statement accordingly.

For example, if you're writing about your favorite childhood memory, your thesis statement could be: 'My summers spent at my grandparents' farm were filled with laughter, adventure, and a sense of belonging.'

Or, if you're describing a beautiful sunset, your thesis statement might be: 'The breathtaking colors and serene atmosphere of the sunset over the ocean evoke a sense of peace and wonder.'

Step 5: Craft the Introduction

Start your descriptive essay introduction by hooking the reader with an engaging opening sentence or anecdote related to your topic. This could be a vivid description, a thought-provoking question, or a surprising fact. For example:

Growing up on my grandparents' farm, each summer brought new adventures and unforgettable memories that still warm my heart to this day.

After hooking the reader, provide some background information or context for your topic. This could include brief details about the setting, time period, or significance of your subject. For instance:

Nestled in the rolling hills of the countryside, my grandparents' farm was a sanctuary of simple pleasures and cherished traditions.

Finally, end your introduction with your thesis statement, clearly stating the main point of your essay. This ties everything together and gives the reader a roadmap for what to expect in the rest of your essay.

Step 6: Compose the Body Paragraphs

Once you've crafted your introduction, it's time to compose the body paragraphs, where you delve into the details and descriptions that bring your topic to life.

Each body paragraph should focus on a specific aspect or detail of your topic, expanding upon the ideas presented in your thesis statement. Use vivid language, sensory details, and descriptive devices to paint a clear picture for the reader.

For example, if you're writing about summers spent at your grandparents' farm, you could dedicate one body paragraph to describing the sights and sounds of the farm:

The rolling fields stretched out before me, golden waves of wheat swaying gently in the breeze. The air was filled with the sweet scent of wildflowers, mingling with the earthy aroma of freshly turned soil.

In another body paragraph, you might explore the adventures and activities that filled your days:

From sunrise to sunset, there was never a dull moment on the farm. Whether we were exploring the woods, splashing in the creek, or helping with chores, each day brought new excitement and adventure.

Continue with additional body paragraphs, each focusing on a different aspect of your topic and providing rich, detailed descriptions. Be sure to vary your language and sentence structure to keep the reader engaged and interested.

Step 7: Conclude the Essay

The conclusion should bring together all the ideas presented in your essay. Avoid introducing any new information in the conclusion. Instead, focus on evaluating your thoughts and reflections on the topic. End with a strong final sentence that leaves a lasting impression on the reader.

For example, if you were writing about summers spent at your grandparents' farm, your conclusion might reflect on the significance of those memories:

'As I reminisce about the summers spent amid the rustic charm of my grandparents' farm, I am filled with a profound sense of gratitude for the simple pleasures and cherished moments that shaped my childhood. The laughter echoing through the fields, the adventures awaiting around every corner, and the sense of belonging that enveloped me there will forever hold a special place in my heart.'

Step 8: Refine Your Essay

Once you've finished writing your essay, it's time to refine it for clarity and impact. Start by reading your essay aloud to yourself. Listen for any sentences that sound awkward or unclear. Mark these sentences so you can revise them later.

You can also read your essay aloud to others and ask for their feedback. Invite friends, family members, teachers, or mentors to listen to your essay and share their thoughts. Ask them if there are any parts that are difficult to understand or if they have trouble picturing the subject you're describing.

Be receptive to constructive criticism and feedback. Use it as an opportunity to improve your essay and make it stronger. And if it sounds too demanding right now, you can buy cheap essay to sidestep the hassle and reclaim some much-needed free time.

Descriptive Essay Format

The standard format for a descriptive essay typically includes five paragraphs: an introduction, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion. However, you can also organize your essay into sections, allowing for flexibility in the length of the body paragraphs.

Introductory Paragraph: This paragraph sets the scene by describing where, when, and to whom the experience occurred. It should include descriptive words to capture the reader's attention.

First Body Paragraph: Here, the writer provides details that allow the reader to visualize the situation. Descriptive language is key in painting a clear picture for the reader.

Second Body Paragraph: More details are provided, with a focus on using descriptive adjectives. Figurative language, such as metaphor (e.g., describing the city as a 'jungle of concrete'), can enhance the imagery.

Third Body Paragraph: The writer continues to appeal to the reader's senses with visually descriptive words. Figurative language, like personification (e.g., describing the wind as a playful dancer), adds depth to the description.

Conclusion: The conclusion alludes to another sense, such as touch or sound, and uses strong words to signify closure. It ends with a powerful concluding sentence to leave a lasting impression on the reader.

Descriptive Essay Examples

In this section, you'll discover essay examples that demonstrate how to captivate your readers' attention effectively. After exploring these examples, you might find yourself tempted to ask, 'Can someone do my homework for me?' - and that's completely understandable! We're here to help you become more confident and articulate communicators through your writing!

3 Additional Tips for Writing

While writing a descriptive essay, your goal is to make your subject come alive for the reader. Unlike more formal essays, you have the freedom to be creative with your descriptions, using figurative language, sensory details, and precise word choices to make your writing memorable.

Use Figurative Language: Figurative language, like metaphors and similes, adds flair to your descriptions. Instead of sticking to literal descriptions, use comparisons to create unique and memorable imagery.

For instance, describing a city as a bustling beehive of activity ' or a forest as ' a blanket of whispers ' adds an unexpected twist that captures the reader's attention.

Engage Your Senses: In a descriptive essay, don't just focus on what something looks like; appeal to all the senses. Describe how things smell, sound, feel, and even taste, if applicable. This adds depth and richness to your descriptions, making them more immersive.

For example, instead of just describing a beach visually, include sensory details like feeling the warm sand between your toes , hearing the rhythmic crash of waves , and t asting the salty sea breeze.

Choose Your Words Carefully: Use effective adjectives, verbs, and nouns to convey your impressions vividly. Avoid clichés and opt for original, precise language that reflects your unique perspective. Take the time to review your sentences and consider if there are better word choices that could enhance your description.

In Wrapping Up

To sum it up, descriptive essays are all about encouraging students like you to explore your surroundings and unleash your creativity by describing scenes in detail with words. When you carefully select and organize these descriptive details, it not only enhances your writing but also sharpens your critical thinking skills. Plus, diving into this expressive writing style allows you to appreciate the beauty of language and feel more connected to written communication. And remember, if you ever need a little boost in your writing journey, our descriptive essay writing service is here to help!

Need To Describe Something But DON'T KNOW HOW?

Let one of our essay writers do it for you, all you have to do is send us your paper requirements and wait for your original paper to be written.

How To Write A Descriptive Essay?

What is a descriptive essay, what is the purpose of a descriptive essay.

New samples
New information on each of the rest sections

Axelrod, R. B. and Cooper, R. C. (2008). The st martin’s guide to writing. (English Edition). New York: Bedford/St Martins

Okono, U. M. (2021). Descriptive essay: An assessment of performance by undergraduates of AkwaIbom State University. Erudite Journal of Linguistics and Languages . https://www.globalacademicstar.com/download/article/descriptive-essay-an-assessment-of-performance-by-undergraduates-of-akwa-ibom-state-university.pdf

Okono. U. M. (2020). “Qualities of a good essay: An assessment of the writings of Nigerian undergraduates.” International Journal on integrated Education. 3: vi.

https://irsc-asc.weebly.com/uploads/3/1/8/1/31813909/e7__descriptive_essay_guidelines.pdf

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Descriptive Essay About a Person

Table of Contents

The last type is probably the most difficult because the description of a person won’t include the appearance only, but would also consider character, temperament, behavior, and so on.

If you really want to write a high-quality descriptive essay, you should be attentive, competent, and … creative.

We understand that this essay type can be a real challenge; that’s why we would try to provide you with the most valuable recommendations on how to write a descriptive essay about a person.

What is the specifics of the descriptive essay about a person?

First, you should choose the person who will be the subject of this description. For example, you can write a descriptive essay about a person you love. On the other hand, we are not sure that the number of people who are interested in this article will not be awe-inspiring and your paper may be a bit boring for other people.

So, writers usually decide to create essays about an extraordinary historical personality or write a descriptive essay about a person you admire. For example, you can write an essay about Napoleon Bonaparte, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, or other famous and successful people to consider their personalities more precisely.

Describe the features of the person one by one, like:

Appearance. How to start a descriptive essay about a person? Clothes make the man! So, it should be the first part of your writing. Describe facial features, height, weight, hair color, eye color, clothes, and so on.
Manners. After that, you can describe the most typical acts and behaves of this man or woman. If you decided to consider famous people, it could help to detect the name of your subject from the very beginning. For example, if you say that this man liked to smoke cigars, drink alcohol, and wear hats, it will not be a problem to assume that it is Winston Churchill.
Character traits. This part is probably the most difficult because you can describe the appearance of this person without any additional help. Just analyze photos and write your text. However, if you need to consider the most significant character traits, it’s recommended to read memoirs or look for articles of experienced historians.
Emotions. You can watch videos or analyze special materials to figure out the emotional state of your subject. Don’t forget to mention whether this human is choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, or sanguine. Don’t forget to mention its sense of humor as well.

Use free descriptive essay example about a person to avoid mistakes

Don’t forget that you are not the first author on the Internet who has to write this article. Fortunately, there are dozens of websites, which provide descriptive essay examples about a person.

We don’t recommend you to use any descriptive essay about a person you admire example as your own article because you will fail all anti-plagiarism tests. However, this sample could be a great pattern, which you can use in the future.

How to write a descriptive essay about a person: simple tips

Of course, these recommendations don’t guarantee your future success in this sphere, but we strongly recommend you to use them to minimize risks and increase the quality of your paper:

For example, you can find info about the number of bottles of wine which this man consumes every day or the number of brothers and sisters of this particular subject.

“He is very tall and has big blue eyes.”

Choose people, you know well. Remember! You should choose people whom you know good enough to write an article about them. On the other hand, if you decided to consider the main features of a star, you should research more information about this person before choosing the topic.
Find the balance. We are sure that it’s not enough to use even several paragraphs if you really want to describe each feature of this person, but a lot of info can overload your text. So, you should find the ideal balance between informative and concise. We can recommend you to write down 3-4 the most recognizable features of this person and stay focused on them. Describe them well, and it would be significantly better than writing about nose, mouth, eyebrows, lips, arms, legs, and other parts of the body of this person.

… Final thoughts

Therefore, it’s not an easy task. In most cases, it takes at least 5-6 hours to write a high-quality paper.

Luckily, you may manage to avoid a lot of problems and make this process more comfortable if you try to analyze any sample descriptive essay about a person and follow our simple recommendations.

Ain’t in the mood for writing a descriptive essay about a person? Guess who is! Yeah, our writers are the best. And always available, by the way…

How to Write a White Paper

60 best argumentative essay topics in 2024, 100 proposal topics ideas for your assignment.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay

This could be something as simple as your favorite flavor of ice cream or as complicated as the politics of 13th century Vienna. Different than a simple description, a descriptive essay allows the writer to really show off both their imagination as well as their writing skills.

What is a Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay is a type of academic writing that asks the writer to fully describe a place, person, situation, event, or thing. They can be simple or they can be very complex depending on the subject matter and audience written for. These types of essays train a writer’s ability to express themselves accurately as well as build compelling sentences and arguments.

Descriptive Essay Ideas

There is no exhaustive list of things that can be described, but these are some of the most common things you may be asked to write about.

A Location - The goal of writing about a place is to make the reader feel as if they are there. Words, similes, and metaphors that ignite the reader’s imagination are essential. Try and immerse the reader in the sights, smells, and sounds of the place you are describing. Examples could be a city, a view, a particular building like your house, etc.

A Time Period - Similar to writing about a location, the goal is to make the reader lose themselves in the time you are describing. This requires great research to be able to describe physical characteristics as authentically and as well as possible. This could include how you felt a year ago, an ancient time period, or the future.

An Event - The goal of describing an event is to explain a series of interesting circumstances. Typical storytelling elements like describing the plot, setting, and characters are useful, but make sure you focus on the chain of events.

An Emotion - The goal of describing an emotion is to make the reader feel the sentiments of the character you are describing. Metaphors and similes are very useful when trying to evoke an emotion in a reader along with physical descriptions that express the emotion.

A Person - The goal of writing about a person is to make the reader understand something about that person. This includes physical descriptions of what they look like, what kind of clothing they wear, a sense of the physical presence along with their profession, as well as how they behave.

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Descriptive Essay Outline and Structure

Though a descriptive type of essay is quite different from a typical academic paper, it still follows a classic 5 paragraph format. Always follow any directions though, sometimes you may need more or fewer body paragraphs. This is a general structure you should keep in mind for this type of essay.

Introduction

Introduction/background information

Body Paragraphs

Topic Sentence
Sensory Information
Physical Descriptions
Transition Sentence
Summary of the main points
Restate the thesis

An outline is always a good idea for any kind of writing, but it is particularly useful for this type of essay because it collects your thoughts and makes sure your essay stays on track.

Introduction

Hook - The sting of salty water, the hypnotic crash of the waves, the breathtaking sunsets, the best vacation spot?
Background information - Everyone is different and everyone likes different types of things. When it comes to vacations though, there is a place that almost everyone enjoys.
Thesis - In my opinion, the beach is the best possible vacation spot because of the variety of ways one can enjoy it.

Body Paragraph 1

Topic Sentence - The beach has many kinds of natural beauty
Sensory information - The unlimited expanse of the ocean combined with glorious sunrises and sunsets.
Physical descriptions -The crunch of sand below your bare feet and the crash of waves on your body.
Transition sentence - There’s more than just natural beauty though, there are physical activities to enjoy as well

Body Paragraph 2

Topic Sentence - The beach has unlimited activities for physical enjoyment.
Sensory information - The thrill of battling with the ocean, the joy of falling on the sand, the wind streaming through your hair, and the pleasant tingling of the sun on bare skin.
Physical descriptions - Water sports like surfing, jet skiing, and the like allow you to exercise in one of the most fun ways possible. Not to mention sports like frisbee, volleyball, beach soccer, and more.
Transition sentence - If you just want to relax, the beach is perfect for that too!

Body Paragraph 3

Topic Sentence - The beach is ideal just to relax, destress, and take it easy.
Sensory information - To relax as you are massaged by either human hands or the sun is a pleasure. Lazing around might be frowned upon, but the beach is the ideal place to spend some time taking care of yourself and letting the stresses of the world melt away.
Physical description - Whether it’s reading a book, or enjoying a refreshing beverage with umbrellas in it, you can get taken care of on the beach. Building sandcastles, painting, and meditating are other activities easily and freely enjoyed.
Transition sentence - The beach has so much to offer.
Summary of the main points - Whether it’s nature, physical exercise, or simple relaxation, the beach can offer all of that and more.
Restate the thesis - That’s the main reason that a beach is the ideal vacation spot, it allows for diverse ways of having fun.
Closing statement/Clincher - Think about the last time you went to the beach, don’t you want to go again?

What is the Purpose of a Descriptive Essay?

It should leave the reader with a clear idea of the topic of the essay. The goal is to explain things in a comprehensive and interesting way so that the information stays with the reader. Let’s go into the details of how to accomplish this.

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Writing Process & Descriptive Essay Examples

It may seem challenging to write a successful essay of this type, but if you follow the advice below, it will be a breeze.

How to Start a Descriptive Essay

Making sure you choose the right topic is the first hurdle to cross. A topic for a descriptive essay is vital because it is the main subject you will be writing about. Spend at least 20 minutes brainstorming different topic ideas and make sure you choose a topic that you know well.

Next, create an outline to better structure your thoughts and figure out the pieces of information you need to find out more about. The more time you spend creating a well-researched outline, the better your endpaper is going to be, and you’ll end up spending less time on actually writing the paper. Now you can move on the writing the descriptive essay introduction.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay Thesis

A thesis statement is the main argument you are trying to make in your paper. It is the main point you are trying to describe. A good thesis statement for descriptive essay is particular without being too brief. It should include not only just what the topic is, but also mention why the topic is important.

How to Write Body Paragraphs

You can have as many body paragraphs as you think are necessary to achieve the goal of describing something clearly. This means you could have just one body paragraph, the standard three, or more.

Start every paragraph with a topic sentence that explains what the main purpose of the paragraph is. Next fill in sensory details, describing the emotions before moving on to describing the actual physical details. End each body paragraph with a transition sentence that helps each paragraph flow into the other. Not only does this make your writing stronger, but it also helps you create an immersive experience.

How to Write the Conclusion

Summarize the main points of your essay and make sure that you reiterate the thesis statement. This reminds people of the point of your essay and ensures that when writing, you don’t stray too far from the point.

Descriptive Essay Format

There are 3 main formats of citation types for essays. Though the most common one is MLA, it is possible that you may have to use APA or Chicago Style citations.

MLA stands for Modern Language Association and is used primarily for the arts and humanities. MLA uses in-text parenthetical citation in the format of (Author, Page). The page at the end that contains all the sources is called the Works Cited page. The format of these entries is unique to MLA but is easy to make with a citation generator.

APA stands for American Psychological Association and is used mostly for the sciences and social sciences. APA uses in-text parenthetical citations in the format (Author, Date). The page at the end that contains all the sources is called the References section

Chicago Style is used primarily for Business, History, and the Fine Arts. In-text citation can be either as footnotes or parenthetical citation in the format (Author, Date). The page at the end that contains all the sources is called the Bibliography.

Most descriptive essays will follow the MLA style of citation, but if you need any more help, find a guide on Studyfy.com for more information about citation styles in general.

Descriptive Essay Topics

The topic is crucial, because all the research you do, and the entire paper, will specifically be about describing the topic. Here are some descriptive essay prompts to inspire you!

The person you’ve most admired in your life

A movie scene that made you feel strong emotions

The time period you would travel to if you had a time machine

Why a beach is better than the mountains for a vacation (or vice versa)

The taste of a drink when you are incredibly tired

An author that inspired you

Your favorite cuisine

The best place in the world to be by yourself

The best Christmas morning you’ve ever had

An accent that you really enjoy

A time when you wanted something so much it burned

Describe the day in the life of your favorite celebrity

The joy of escaping into a video game

What dancing means to you

A life philosophy you believe in

The feeling of holding a baby in our arms

The sound of crashing waves

Standing in front of a gorgeous view

A vacation that was meaningful

Why fireworks are magical

The first time you cosplayed

How it feels to listen to music that you hate

The best thing you have ever eaten in your life

What would it be like to live 100 years in the future

Why hearing people laugh is beautiful

A day in the life of your favorite animal

A strange superstition you believe in

The strangest person you’ve ever met

Your favorite tv show

Playing your favorite sport

What it’s like to be in love

Descriptive Essay Tips

Before we end, let’s go over some of the key points of information in this article.

Use figurative language including metaphors and similes
Use your senses
Choose appropriate words
Show don't tell
Focus on specific details
Spend time choosing the right topic
Create a detailed outline
Forget about the purpose of the essay
Submit your first draft
Make it too complicated
Ignore your audience
Ignore any directions

In addition to the information provided in this article, there are various resources available to help with your writing needs. If you are struggling to write your descriptive essay, you can turn to professional writers and editors for assistance. You may consider hiring a research paper writing service or seeking help from dissertation writers .

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It is important to note that before submitting any work, it should be proofread and edited thoroughly to ensure its quality. Studyfy offers a range of services to help with this, including professional proofreaders and editors who can check your work for grammatical errors and ensure that it meets academic standards.

In summary, there are various resources available to help with your writing needs, including professional writing services, proofreaders, and editors. By utilizing these resources and following the guidelines outlined in this article, you can write a successful descriptive essay that effectively conveys your ideas and engages your readers.If you are looking for the query " I need someone to write an essay for me ", Studyfy has got you covered

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What is a Descriptive Essay? How to Write It (with Examples)

A descriptive essay is a type of creative writing that uses specific language to depict a person, object, experience, or event. The idea is to use illustrative language to show readers what the writer wants to convey – it could be as simple as a peaceful view from the top of a hill or as horrific as living in a war zone. By using descriptive language, authors can evoke a mental image in the readers’ minds, engaging readers and leaving a lasting impression, instead of just providing a play-by-play narrative.

Note that a description and descriptive essay are not the same thing. A descriptive essay typically consists of five or more well-written paragraphs with vivid imagery that can help readers visualize the content, as opposed to a description, which is typically one or more plain paragraphs with no particular structure or appeal. If you are still unsure about how to write a compelling descriptive essay, continue reading!

What is a descriptive essay, types of descriptive essay topics.

Characteristics of descriptive essays

How to write a descriptive essay using a structured outline

Frequently asked questions.

A simple descriptive essay definition is that it is a piece of writing that gives a thorough and vivid description of an object, person, experience, or situation. It is sometimes focused more on the emotional aspect of the topic rather than the specifics. The author’s intention when writing a descriptive essay is to help readers visualize the subject at hand. Generally, students are asked to write a descriptive essay to test their ability to recreate a rich experience with artistic flair. Here are a few key points to consider when you begin writing these.

Look for a fascinating subject

You might be assigned a topic for your descriptive essay, but if not, you must think of a subject that interests you and about which you know enough facts. It might be about an emotion, place, event, or situation that you might have experienced.

Acquire specific details about the topic

The next task is to collect relevant information about the topic of your choice. You should focus on including details that make the descriptive essay stand out and have a long-lasting impression on the readers. To put it simply, your aim is to make the reader feel as though they were a part of the experience in the first place, rather than merely describing the subject.

Be playful with your writing

To make the descriptive essay memorable, use figurative writing and imagery to lay emphasis on the specific aspect of the topic. The goal is to make sure that the reader experiences the content visually, so it must be captivating and colorful. Generally speaking, “don’t tell, show”! This can be accomplished by choosing phrases that evoke strong emotions and engage a variety of senses. Making use of metaphors and similes will enable you to compare different things. We will learn about them in the upcoming sections.

Capture all the different senses

Unlike other academic articles, descriptive essay writing uses sensory elements in addition to the main idea. In this type of essay writing, the topic is described by using sensory details such as smell, taste, feel, and touch. Example “ Mahira feels most at home when the lavender scent fills her senses as she lays on her bed after a long, tiring day at work . As the candle melts , so do her worries” . It is crucial to provide sensory details to make the character more nuanced and build intrigue to keep the reader hooked. Metaphors can also be employed to explain abstract concepts; for instance, “ A small act of kindness creates ripples that transcend oceans .” Here the writer used a metaphor to convey the emotion that even the smallest act of kindness can have a larger impact.

Maintain harmony between flavor and flow

The descriptive essay format is one that can be customized according to the topic. However, like other types of essays, it must have an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. The number of body paragraphs can vary depending on the topic and available information.

It is crucial to remember that a descriptive essay should have a specific topic and goal, such as sharing personal experiences or expressing emotions like the satisfaction of a good meal. This is accomplished by employing exact language, imagery, and figurative language to illustrate concrete features. These language devices allow the writer to craft a descriptive essay that effectively transmits a particular mood, feeling, or incident to readers while also conjuring up strong mental imagery. A descriptive essay may be creative, or it may be based on the author’s own experiences. Below is a description of a few descriptive essay examples that fit into these categories.

Personal descriptive essay example

A personal essay can look like a descriptive account of your favorite activity, a place in your neighborhood, or an object that you value. Example: “ As I step out of the front door, the crisp morning air greets me with a gentle embrace; the big chestnut tree in front, sways in the wind as if saying hello to me. The world unfolds in a symphony of awakening colors, promising a day filled with untold possibilities that make me feel alive and grateful to be born again”.

Imaginative descriptive essay example

You may occasionally be required to write descriptive essays based on your imagination or on subjects unrelated to your own experiences. The prompts for these kinds of creative essays could be to describe the experience of someone going through heartbreak or to write about a day in the life of a barista. Imaginative descriptive essays also allow you to describe different emotions. Example, the feelings a parent experiences on holding their child for the first time.

Characteristics of descriptive essay s

The aim of a descriptive essay is to provide a detailed and vivid description of a person, place, object, event, or experience. The main goal is to create a sensory experience for the reader. Through a descriptive essay, the reader may be able to experience foods, locations, activities, or feelings that they might not otherwise be able to. Additionally, it gives the writer a way to relate to the readers by sharing a personal story. The following is a list of the essential elements of a descriptive essay:

Sensory details
Clear, succinct language
Organized structure
Thesis statement
Appeal to emotion

How to write a descriptive essay, with examples

Writing an engaging descriptive essay is all about bringing the subject matter to life for the reader so they can experience it with their senses—smells, tastes, and textures. The upside of writing a descriptive essay is you don’t have to stick to the confinements of formal essay writing, rather you are free to use a figurative language, with sensory details, and clever word choices that can breathe life to your descriptive essay. Let’s take a closer look at how you can use these components to develop a descriptive essay that will stand out, using examples.

Figurative language

Have you ever heard the expression “shooting for the stars”? It refers to pushing someone to strive higher or establish lofty goals, but it does not actually mean shooting for the stars. This is an example of using figurative language for conveying strong motivational emotions. In a descriptive essay, figurative language is employed to grab attention and emphasize points by creatively drawing comparisons and exaggerations. But why should descriptive essays use metaphorical language? One it adds to the topic’s interest and humor; two, it facilitates the reader’s increased connection to the subject.

These are the five most often used figurative language techniques: personification, metaphor, simile, hyperbole, and allusion.

Simile: A simile is a figure of speech that is used to compare two things while emphasizing and enhancing the description using terms such as “like or as.”

Example: Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance, you must keep moving – Albert Einstein

Metaphor: A metaphor are also used to draw similarities, but without using direct or literal comparisons like done in similes.

Example: Books are the mirrors of the soul – Virginia Woolf, Between the acts

Personification: This is the process of giving nonhuman or abstract objects human traits. Any human quality, including an emotional component, a physical attribute, or an action, can be personified.

Example: Science knows no country, because knowledge belongs to humanity, and is the torch which illuminates the world – Louis Pasteur

Hyperbole: This is an extreme form of exaggeration, frequently impractical, and usually employed to emphasize a point or idea. It gives the character more nuance and complexity.

Example: The force will be with you, always – Star Wars

Allusion: This is when you reference a person, work, or event without specifically mentioning them; this leaves room for the reader’s creativity.

Example: In the text below, Robert Frost uses the biblical Garden of Eden as an example to highlight the idea that nothing, not even paradise, endures forever.

Then leaf subsides to leaf.

So Eden sank to grief,

So dawn goes down to day.

Nothing gold can stay

– Nothing Gold Can Stay by Robert Frost (1923)

Descriptive essays need a combination of figurative language and strong sensory details to make the essay more memorable. This is when authors describe the subject matter employing senses like smell, sound, touch, and taste so that the reader can relate to it better.

Example of a sensory-based descriptive essay: The earthy fragrance of freshly roasted chestnuts and the sight of bright pink, red, orange fallen leaves on the street reminded her that winter was around the corner.

Word choice

Word choice is everything in a descriptive essay. For the description to be enchanting, it is essential to utilize the right adjectives and to carefully consider the verbs, nouns, and adverbs. Use unusual terms and phrases that offer a new viewpoint on your topic matter instead of overusing clichés like “fast as the wind” or “lost track of time,” which can make your descriptive essay seem uninteresting and unoriginal.

See the following examples:

Bad word choice: I was so happy because the sunset was really cool.

Good word choice: I experienced immense joy as the sunset captivated me with its remarkable colors and breathtaking beauty.

Descriptive essay format and outline

Descriptive essay writing does not have to be disorganized, it is advisable to use a structured format to organize your thoughts and ensure coherent flow in your writing. Here is a list of components that should be a part of your descriptive essay outline:

Introduction
Opening/hook sentence
Topic sentence
Body paragraphs
Concrete details
Clincher statement

Introduction:

Hook: An opening statement that captures attention while introducing the subject.
Background: Includes a brief overview of the topic the descriptive essay is based on.
Thesis statement: Clearly states the main point or purpose of the descriptive essay.

Body paragraphs: Each paragraph should have

Topic sentence: Introduce the first aspect or feature you will describe. It informs the reader about what is coming next.
Sensory details: Use emphatic language to appeal to the reader’s senses (sight, sound, touch, taste, and smell).
Concrete details: These are actual details needed to understand the context of the descriptive essay.
Supporting details: Include relevant information or examples to improve the description.

Conclusion:

Summarize key points: Here you revisit the main features or aspects of the subject.
Restate thesis statement: Reinforce the central impression or emotion.
Clincher statement: Conclude with a statement that summarizes the entire essay and serve as the last words with a powerful message.

Revision and editing:

Go over your essay to make sure it is coherent, clear, and consistent.
Check for logical paragraph transitions by proofreading the content.
Examine text to ensure correct grammar, punctuation, and style.
Use the thesaurus or AI paraphrasing tools to find the right words.

A descriptive essay often consists of three body paragraphs or more, an introduction that concludes with a thesis statement, and a conclusion that summarizes the subject and leaves a lasting impression on readers.

A descriptive essay’s primary goal is to captivate the reader by writing a thorough and vivid explanation of the subject matter, while appealing to their various senses. A list of additional goals is as follows: – Spark feeling and imagination – Create a vivid experience – Paint a mental picture – Pique curiosity – Convey a mood or atmosphere – Highlight specific details

Although they both fall within the creative writing category, narrative essays and descriptive essays have different storytelling focuses. While the main goal of a narrative essay is to tell a story based on a real-life experience or a made-up event, the main goal of a descriptive essay is to vividly describe a person, location, event, or emotion.

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Descriptive Essays

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What is a descriptive essay?

The descriptive essay is a genre of essay 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. What is more, this genre allows for a great deal of artistic freedom (the goal of which is to paint an image that is vivid and moving in the mind of the reader).

One might benefit from keeping in mind this simple maxim: If the reader is unable to clearly form an impression of the thing that you are describing, try, try again!

Here are some guidelines for writing a descriptive essay.

Take time to brainstorm

If your instructor asks you to describe your favorite food, make sure that you jot down some ideas before you begin describing it. For instance, if you choose pizza, you might start by writing down a few words: sauce, cheese, crust, pepperoni, sausage, spices, hot, melted, etc. Once you have written down some words, you can begin by compiling descriptive lists for each one.

Use clear and concise language.

This means that words are chosen carefully, particularly for their relevancy in relation to that which you are intending to describe.

Choose vivid language.

Why use horse when you can choose stallion ? Why not use tempestuous instead of violent ? Or why not miserly in place of cheap ? Such choices form a firmer image in the mind of the reader and often times offer nuanced meanings that serve better one’s purpose.

Use your senses!

Remember, if you are describing something, you need to be appealing to the senses of the reader. Explain how the thing smelled, felt, sounded, tasted, or looked. Embellish the moment with senses.

What were you thinking?!

If you can describe emotions or feelings related to your topic, you will connect with the reader on a deeper level. Many have felt crushing loss in their lives, or ecstatic joy, or mild complacency. Tap into this emotional reservoir in order to achieve your full descriptive potential.

Leave the reader with a clear impression.

One of your goals is to evoke a strong sense of familiarity and appreciation in the reader. If your reader can walk away from the essay craving the very pizza you just described, you are on your way to writing effective descriptive essays.

Be organized!

It is easy to fall into an incoherent rambling of emotions and senses when writing a descriptive essay. However, you must strive to present an organized and logical description if the reader is to come away from the essay with a cogent sense of what it is you are attempting to describe.

Descriptive Essay

Descriptive Essay Examples

Descriptive Essay Examples & Writing Tips

13 min read

Grasping the Concept of Descriptive Essays

A descriptive essay is a type of essay in which a writer describes a specific subject in detail. The writer takes help from vivid language to paint a picture in the reader’s mind by engaging the human senses.

Whether you are writing about a person or an historical events, use strong adjectives and adverbs to present sensory details. The main objective of writing a descriptive essay is to describe a particular subject, person, place, or situation.

It is written in a way to make the reader feel the same way as you do. It is like a narrative essay where you provide a detailed description of the subject.

Descriptive essays vividly depict a subject, engaging the reader's senses. They transport readers to the scene described, making it feel real.

To help you grasp the essence of a descriptive essay and enhance your descriptive writing skills, here is a selection of descriptive essay examples pdf that showcase the art of painting with words.

Descriptive Essay Example 5 Paragraph

By following a 5 paragraph structured approach, you'll learn how to create a captivating essay that vividly brings your subject to life.

It consists of five distinct paragraphs, organised in the following sequence:

Introduction
Body Paragraph 1
Body Paragraph 2
Body Paragraph 3

Here's an example of a descriptive essay using the classic 5-paragraph structure.

Subjective Descriptive Essay Example

Subjective descriptive essays are written based on personal experiences. Take a look at the below examples to understand this descriptive essay format.

Objective Descriptive Essay Example

The objective descriptive essay is a type of descriptive essay in which you describe a person, place, or thing without any emotions or opinions.

Take a look at the below examples to understand this format better.

Descriptive Essay Example About an Object

Personal Descriptive Essay Example

In a personal descriptive essay, the writer vividly portrays a significant aspect of their life, allowing readers to connect emotionally.

Below is an example of an essay focused on a memorable childhood experience.

Descriptive Essay Example About A Person

Looking for a descriptive essay example about a person? Check out our outstanding example:

Descriptive Essay Example About A Place

Describing a place can be tricky. If you want to write a descriptive essay about a place, it is even more difficult. To understand this format better, let's take a look at this descriptive essay example about a place.

Short Descriptive Essay Example

Many students fail to understand the key to writing a short descriptive essay. If you are one of them, here is an example that will help you get an idea of how to write it.

Narrative and Descriptive Essay Example

A narrative descriptive essay is a type of descriptive essay where you narrate a story in an interesting manner. Take a look at the below example to understand how to write this type of essay.

Narrative Descriptive Essay Example

Descriptive Essay Example for Middle School

Middle school students often struggle to write essays. Descriptive essay assignments might even prove to be more difficult. Here is an example that will help middle schoolers understand this format better.

Descriptive Essay Example for Grade 6

Descriptive Essay Examples For Grade 7

Descriptive Essay Example for High School

High school students face similar challenges as middle schoolers when it comes to descriptive writing. It is difficult to describe something without being generic. If you're going through something similar, here are some examples for you.

Descriptive Essay Example for High School Students

Descriptive Essay Example for Grade 10

Grade 12 Descriptive Essay Examples

Descriptive Essay Example for University and College

College and University students have to deal with complex and more challenging descriptive essay topics. Mostly, they don't have time to write such lengthy essays. Here are some examples that can help them understand such essays better.

Descriptive Essay Example for University Students

Descriptive Essay Example College

Thesis for Descriptive Essay Example

How to Write a Descriptive Essay?

There are many elements to an amazing descriptive essay. For starters, it's important that the writer stays focused on one point when learning how to write a descriptive essay.

Also, uses figurative language so readers can imagine what they're reading about in their minds.

Below are some steps as well as how to write a descriptive essay examples that you should follow for writing.

1. Choose a Good Topic

The best way to make an interesting essay is by choosing a unique topic. It will allow you the freedom of creativity. Be careful not to choose something familiar because it might get boring quickly for readers.

Short on descriptive topic ideas? Check out our extensive list of descriptive essay topics to get inspiration.

2. Create a Strong Introduction

In your opening paragraph, introduce your subject and provide some context. Engage your readers' curiosity by offering a glimpse of what you'll be describing.

Your introduction should have a topic sentence and it must set the tone and establish the mood for the essay.

Here are samples for how to write introduction for your descriptive essays:

How to Start a Descriptive Essay - Examples

Introduction of a Descriptive Essay - Examples

3. Write a Thesis Statement

It is the most important part of any essay. When you are planning a descriptive essay, you need to come up with a strong thesis statement .

A thesis statement is usually one or two sentences that explain the whole point of your essay to the reader.

4. Collect Information

To write a good essay, you need relevant information supporting your thesis statement. Make sure that you get your information from reliable sources.

5. Make an Outline

An essay outline is a way to organize your thoughts and plan what you will say in your essay. In the outline, you should have an introduction, a thesis statement, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Don’t know how to make an outline? Visit our descriptive essay outline blog and learn to create impressive outlines for your descriptive essays.

6. Use Descriptive Language

The heart of your essay lies in the details you provide. Use vivid, sensory language to help your readers envision what you're describing.

Engage all five senses — sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch — to make your description come to life.

7. Conclude Effectively

In your conclusion, summarise the key points and leave a lasting impression. Reinforce the emotional impact of your description and provide a sense of closure.

Make your readers feel like they've completed a journey with you.

How to End a Descriptive Essay - Examples

8. Proofreading

Proofreading is the process of looking for and correcting any spelling or grammatical errors in a written essay. Proofreading makes a document look more professional, so it is important to do it before submission.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay - Example

Tips to Write a Good Descriptive Essay

Writing a good descriptive essay is both a difficult and easy task. Here we have listed some useful descriptive writing tips that will make your writing process easy and simple.

Preplanning: Before you start writing, plan your essay, and write all the essential details. Please do not think that you will remember it just because you know something; it does not happen this way. Write down all the details and assemble them all in one place.
Use Descriptive Language: Employ vivid and specific language to paint a detailed picture. Instead of general terms, opt for precise adjectives and powerful nouns to convey a clear image.
Appeal to Emotions: Connect with your readers on an emotional level by describing not just the physical attributes but also the emotional significance of the subject. Help readers feel what you felt.
Create an Outline: Creating a descriptive essay outline before starting the essay will keep you focused on the essay topic. Include what you will add to each of the sections. Divide it into the introductory paragraph, thesis statement, body paragraphs, and conclusion.
Edit and Revise: No writing process is complete without thorough editing and proofreading. Spelling and grammar checking the essay for plagiarism are the main steps before the final submission of the essay.

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How To Write A Descriptive Essay About A Person (Step By Step)

Table of Contents

Descriptive essay about a person

Students are required to write different types of essays on various subjects, and descriptive essays are among the many articles that students will be required to present as part of their coursework . It describes different objects like events or a person. A good descriptive paper needs to be detailed and should capture the reader’s interest from the beginning to the end. Descriptive articles are not intended to present logical arguments or persuade readers, the paper contains word paintings , the author use colorful, accurate and vivid language to engage a reader’s senses.

How to start a descriptive essay about a person

Before writing your essay , the first process entails choosing the subject to be discussed, conduct in-depth research to gather more details about the individual. Identify any dialogues, or works of literature that might support your thesis statement and observe or reflect the person you want to explain. Think about your target audience before choosing the type of language that would attract his audience. An excellent introduction states why the author intends to present using a clear thesis statement to support the essay theme . Writing an article about a person means the person has significantly influenced the author. The author presents the main features of the person that makes him stand out.

Anecdotes are a good start, starting with an inspiring story about a person is a common phenomenon with most descriptive essays. Anecdotes creatively capture the reader’s attention in a dramatic way. The author can use similes and descriptive adjectives to present the person’s physical features. An introduction can start with a question, an exclamation, a flashback a quote or an emotional memory

How to write main part

A standard body contains three paragraphs, writing an essay about a person also follows the same format. The first section of the body includes observational detailed of a person, the second paragraph aims at describing the environment where the person lives, and the third paragraph present sensual and emotional details of the person. When describing an influential person in our lives, some of the most important details include his personality traits, physical characters and biographical data about an individual.

The physical description can include details like long curly brown hair, brown eyes, slender and graceful appearance. Personality traits include describing individual behavior to reveal her personality traits. For example, the author can present individual emotional responses like when a person is in a joyful mood or sad. The following example can act as a good illustration when describing emotional response: When Carol found out that she was to join Harvard University, she raised her slender arms in the sky and broke into crazy dance moves that surprised everyone.

The author should present every important aspect of a person. Writers use various adjectives and adverbs to give an interesting and exciting essay about a famous person. In the article body, the author should provide specific examples to enhance his description for the audience to understand why the person is important. Appropriate examples provide readers with better insight of the author’s view about the person. The author can also use prepositional phrases and give concrete examples of the person’s characteristics including the author’s interaction with the particular person.

A good description of a person should paint a glowing picture of an individual whereby the reader can visualize the person being described. When describing an important person, the author needs to not only to talk about the person, but also present the positive impact the person has made in his life .It is important to describe the relationship between the author and the person he is describing to convince the reader the significance of the person being described.

How to conclude a descriptive essay about a person

The conclusion is the last paragraph, but the most important part so an essay. The author concluded an essay by rephrasing the thesis statement and reviewing the main point to concave the reader why the person is worth describing.

Outline example

Introduction

Topic sentence

Thesis Statement

Essay body:

Physical Appearance
Detail description of the person
Second’s physical characteristic
Detailed description giving examples
Individual Characteristics
Individual characteristic one
Examples and detailed explanation about the characteristic 2
Individual characteristic two
Individual characteristic three
Examples and detailed explanation about the characteristic 3
Examples of hobbies and dialogue about his perception about the hobbies
Topic Sentence:
Detailed explanation for hobby 1 including where, why, hewn and how
Detailed explanation of hobby 2
Detailed explanation hobby 3
Sensory Details
Description of smell, hear and touch and examples presenting visual details
Sensory detail 1
Sensory detail 2
Sensory detail 3
Show the most memorable moment
Review the main details given in the essay body
Conclude by showing one thing you like the most.

Descriptive Essay Writing

Descriptive Essay: Definition, Tips & Examples

Published on: Jun 21, 2023

Last updated on: Mar 1, 2024

What is a Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay is a type of essay that asks the students to describe something, such as a person, place, incident, emotion, or event. It is a detailed description where the writer is painting a picture in words.

Different people have different thoughts and points of view. A descriptive essay allows you to explain your point of view in your own way. You should give a description of every aspect of the topic so that a reader can feel as if he has personally experienced that.

Two Classic Approaches to the Descriptive Essay

There are two main ways to write a descriptive essay: the personal essay and the formal description. Letâs discuss them in detail.

Personal Essay

The best way to describe an experience using your feelings and responses would be through a personal essay. This work can awaken empathy in readers, but it's important not to make any mistakes or organize poorly.

Formal Description

Descriptive writing is a great way to show your readers what you're talking about. It resembles an argumentative essay because it has one main goal: communicating key points or describing something in detail.

Features of Descriptive Essay

There are five basic features of a descriptive essay that distinguishes it from other writing types. Let's discuss them in detail.

Sensory Details - A great descriptive essay appeals to the audience's emotions and forms an association for them. In this essay type, a writer paints a picture with words so they have to be really engaging and appealing to the senses.
Central Theme - The content of your descriptive essay is shaped according to the central or major theme. Make sure to define the central theme explicitly and focus it on one single point.
Figurative Language - A key to writing an impactful descriptive essay is to use figurative language throughout the content. Use metaphors, similes, adverbs, and adjectives to describe settings and characters.
Precise Language - The vocabulary you use for the content should be appropriate and accurate. The language, as well as the tone, should reflect the major theme of the essay vividly.
Organization of Ideas - Arrange all your ideas and information in a properly structured manner. Make sure that your descriptive writing is based on these elements to ensure its effectiveness and success.

Descriptive Essay Format

All formal writing types, including descriptive papers, require a proper format to be readable and understandable.

Therefore, before starting your essay, you should create an outline of your essay. It will help you organize your essay.

Below is the format of the descriptive essay outline.

Descriptive Essay Outline Template

How to Start a Descriptive Essay?

Writing a strong descriptive essay requires a writer to form a strong plan. Following are the steps involved in the pre-writing or planning procedure of a good descriptive essay:

1. Topic Selection

Usually, professors assign the topic for a descriptive essay. But, if you have a choice to select a topic, then you have a great chance to select something which you know a lot about.

Have a look at some popular descriptive essay topics.

Descriptive Essay Topics On Writing About A Person

Describe your favorite person
Describe your best friend
Describe your favorite family member
Describe your enemy
Describe someone whom you love the most
Describe your mother
Describe your father
Describe your family
Describe your favorite brother
Describe a person whom you idealize

Descriptive Essay Topics About an Event

Describe your friendâs wedding
Describe your college farewell
Describe the last Christmas party
Describe your brotherâs bachelor party
Describe your own wedding
Describe the memorable concert you have attended
Describe your last convocation
Describe the best dinner party you have ever attended
Describe the event you have attended where you were not invited
Describe your last day at the office

Descriptive Essay Topics About a Place

Describe your favorite place
Describe the place you have visited in the summer
Describe your grandmamaâs farmhouse
Describe your hometown
Describe your favorite college
Describe your favorite vacation destination
Describe your favorite tourist spot
Describe your favorite museum
Describe your dream house
Describe a fancy place that you have created

2. Brainstorming

The next step is brainstorming about the selected topic. At this point, think of all the relevant points that exactly describe your topic.

3. Thesis Statement for Descriptive Essay

After the brainstorming session, develop a strong thesis statement . It is a very crucial part of the whole essay because it will be a prominent part of the essay.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay?

When you have drafted a plan for your essay, it is time to execute it effectively. The writing process of your essay will only get simpler if you have taken all the required pre-writing steps.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to finally begin your writing procedure for the descriptive essay:

1. Introduction

An introduction serves as the gateway to your essay, drawing readers into the realm of your ideas. It's the stage where you set the tone and establish the central theme.

Unlike an analytical essay , which dives deep into dissecting and interpreting information, a descriptive essay paints a vivid picture, immersing readers in sensory experiences and intricate details.

In the descriptive essay introduction, we aim to pique curiosity, perhaps by posing a thought-provoking question or igniting a spark of intrigue that beckons readers to journey further into the narrative woven within these pages.

The body part gives you the freedom to write the details about your selected topic. Here you have 3 to 4 paragraphs where you can paint a picture in the readerâs mind through vivid language, persuading dialogues, or images.

This part should support your thesis. Describe all the points in detail. The idea should come out at the beginning.

The paragraphs should be interlinked with good transition words . Organize your paragraphs in a way that makes sense.

3. Conclusion

It is the last chance to impress the reader. So, you need to pay all attention to this section. Restate your thesis statement and give a short reminder to the reader what the essay was required to cover. Make a good final statement so that the reader can leave thinking about your essay.

4. Proofreading

Proofread your essay to do a review. You can identify the mistakes and correct your tone. Go through your essay 2 or 3 times so that you can identify all the mistakes and correct them before final submission.

Descriptive Essay Examples

Given below is a visual demonstration of how a descriptive essay typically looks!

If youâre still struggling, check out some more descriptive essay examples given below!

Descriptive Essay Example About a Person

Descriptive Essay Example About an Event

Descriptive Essay Example About a Place

For further information, check out this informative video below.

In conclusion, mastering the art of descriptive essays is within your reach.

By implementing the expert techniques and tips shared in this blog, you can elevate your writing to new heights.

Remember to practice and refine your skills, allowing your creativity to flourish.

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Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

What are the 4 elements of descriptive writing.

The four elements of descriptive writing are:

What are the 2 types of description?

The two types of description are:

Impressionistic

How many paragraphs is a descriptive essay?

The five-paragraph essay is a classic format that has been used for a descriptive essay. This format includes an introductory paragraph with the inclusion of a thesis statement, followed by three body paragraphs and a conclusion.

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Writing Descriptive Essays about People

Descriptive essays are essays that usually describe something which includes places, emotions, situations, or even people. Descriptive essays about people can prove more difficult as many times we do not see these types of descriptions in books or popular literature. If there is a description of a person, it is usually short, within one paragraph, or spans across the entire book. Because of this, a descriptive essay about people can be challenging for those just learning. We have provided some tips and other strategies when writing descriptive essays. Psychology essay example page will help as well. The three biggest tips for writing descriptive essays are to use a person you know, bear in mind that actions speak louder than words, and make the most of the personality traits.

1. Use a Person You Know

Using a person you know can build a foundation for descriptions. This can be family members, friends, actors, or your favorite artist. Knowing what they look like can help with the process as you can pull up the mental image of them in your head for reference at any point. For a lower level entry essay, this can be your entire topic. If you want to describe a made-up person, you could use a collaboration of people you know in your life. You can also base it off on someone you know and change some key features making them unique to your story. The goal is to make the description of the person as authentic as possible, so using someone who is real can get the ball rolling. If you don't know the person as well as you want, try and schedule an interview. This should let you learn more about them in both physical and mental aspects. Basing a character on a real person can help them become more realistic. For example, you are going to describe a girl that is breathtakingly beautiful, you might base her on Marilyn Monroe. In the description, you could say:

She has golden curly hair that framed her perfectly symmetrical face. Lips that were bright red making her teeth light up with a smile. Her eyebrows were long and slim. She had a slim body and well-tanned skin which makes fitting into a dress and going out look easy. She had a distinctive mole on the left side of her face right outside her dimples. Although some found it off-putting, I found it completed her.

2. Actions Speak Louder than Words

A descriptive essay that describes the character in one paragraph can be detrimental. In fact, many physical descriptions in popular literary work are not short, and as characters, physical personalities are shown throughout the book. Take a look back to your favorite book and think how the characters were revealed to you. Many of them use the span of the book or series of books to show character traits, flaws, and even sometimes descriptions. How do they do this? Many authors use actions or behaviors to speak for the character. Reveal only bits and pieces of the character as you write the story. As the character interacts with other characters, the reader will understand more about who they are. For example:

John has brown eyes and brown hair to his shoulders. He has a little stubble and stands about 6 feet tall.

Now take that sentence and use actions to describe John.

John smiled. The stubble around his mouth shaped his smile making it seem larger than it was. All of the sudden John tipped his head back and let out a belly of a laugh. So guttural and loud that it could be heard from across the hall. His long brown hair falling to his shoulders swayed with each laugh. John was standing over me like a tower, but his laugh was so infectious, I started laughing myself.

John is the same person in each scenario, but we used two different methods. The first was a simple description of John while the second used action verbs and behaviors to describe him. Using this method can be difficult if there is a certain page limit or it is a short essay. If so, you can use creative ways to integrate action verbs in short paragraphs to describe your characters. You can still take your time to reveal their physical and personal traits. Instead of doing it in one paragraph, try it in one or two pages.

Expository essay definition page has more tips on those methods.

3. Personality Traits

Personality traits can be difficult to write for a character. Consider that not every hero has to be perfect. You can give your main character a tragic flaw, or a character trait leading to the downfall or a low point in your story. Aristotle introduced this concept into the writing world a long time ago. When writing personality traits, also consider the above and don't reveal everything at once. This can be done slowly as your character is faced with more trials. Seeing them react to others and their surrounding will develop their characteristics further. A tactic for creating personality traits is to give your character extreme emotions. For example, let's say that John has an intense emotion. He is really happy; he is also someone who doesn't give a care in the world- to a fault. You might say:

John is the kind of guy who doesn't care about anything. All John wants to do is laugh and be happy. Even when I told John that I lied to him about using his truck, he smiled. The stubble around his mouth shaped his smile making it seem larger than it was. All of the sudden John tipped his head back and let out a belly of a laugh. So guttural and loud that it could be heard from across the hall. His long brown hair falling to his shoulders swayed with each laugh. John was standing over me like a tower, but his laugh was so infectious, I started laughing.

Adding this extreme personality trait gave John more character in the sample paragraph. You might even, later on, add that John is only this way because of a tragic childhood. This gives his character depth that can be revealed later in the essay.

For descriptive essays, there are some helpful structures in case you are still having trouble. Generally speaking, you should identify three personality traits that your character will have. In the introduction, introduce your character and some of their traits. These could be the biggest positives of your character to hook the reader into your story. The middle of the story should introduce other characters and show how your main character responds to its environment. This can bring rise to more complex emotions. Lastly, you can conclude the descriptive essay by showing how all these traits and emotions complete the individual. For John, he might use his over positivity to volunteer for at-risk youth which is something he faced when he was young.

And of course, do not forget that if you are still having trouble with a descriptive essay, you can always get professional writing help. Many students hesitate to contact custom writing services , even though there is absolutely nothing wrong in outsourcing. For starters, it can save you a lot of time and effort on subjects that are not your major. And, as a result, it can help you focus on studies that really matter.

Next, employing a professional to write an essay for you can help you improve your academic result. Since all of our essay writers are qualified graduates, you can rest assured that your paper will be completed according to high educational standards. Finally, you can always get in touch with us, even if the deadline is really short. This is why our friendly support staff is available for you 24/7. If you want to know how to make an essay have more words our writers share their tips in our blog.

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How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways

Learning how to describe a person so that the reader forms a vivid impression of your characters is essential for writing compelling stories. Read 8 tips for describing characters so they come to life:

Post author By Jordan
12 Comments on How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways

Knowing how to describe a person so that your reader forms a vivid impression is vital for immersive writing. How can you describe a person precisely and avoid pace-crushing info dumps or eyes, eyes, eyes? Read 8 ways to write better, varied character description:

8 ways to describe people in a story

Start with character profiles and pin boards
Focus on details that reveal personality, use detailed descriptive language
Practice describing people in brief
Prioritize unique character features
Describe character actions and gestures
Find descriptive precise adjectives and fitting comparisons, use descriptive verbs too
Describe personality via dialogue and voice
Read writers renowned for good characterization

Let’s dive into each of these ideas for bringing your characters to life:

1. Start with character profiles and pin boards

Before you begin describing people who’ll populate your story, it’s useful to sketch character ideas . It helps if you can answer questions such as:

What clothing does my character wear?
What is idiosyncratic or recognizable about how my character moves? What does their body language reveal?
What would a stranger notice first about this character if they entered a room?
What is their physical description? What is their eye and hair color, do they have freckles, scars or tattoos?

To build richer descriptions , you could create a pin board on Pinterest before you draft of clothing your character would wear, places they might love to visit. Any visual reference point that captures the essence of their persona.

Another option is to answer character prompts to build a character profile , which you can do in the Now Novel dashboard as you build a downloadable story outline packed with useful story background.

Describing people and outlining in Now Novel Dashboard

In our monthly writing craft webinars, writing coach Romy Sommer also suggests ‘reverse-casting’ your characters for inspiration:

2. Focus on details that reveal personality

A character’s hair or eye color doesn’t tell the reader much (there are other ways to use eye descriptions to build personality).

When you introduce a character, focus on details that reveal character personality or psychology .

Here’s Dostoevsky describing his character Katerina Ivanova (who has tuberculosis) in Crime and Punishment (1866):

Describe habitual actions to reveal personality

Katerina Ivanovna had just begun, as she always did at every free moment, walking to and fro in her little room from window to stove and back again, with her arms folded across her chest, talking to herself and coughing. Fyodor Dostoevsky, Crime and Punishment (1866), Chapter 7.

Dostoevsky conveys Katerina’s fragile mental health and state clearly. The coughing is a reminder of her life-threatening condition. The fact she continues to pace despite her discomfort suggests her determined, fighting spirit, which we see in further scenes.

You could also use descriptions of a character’s physical appearance to show their personalities, for example: ‘Jenna’s curly hair was bouncy, like her character. bouncy and bubbly.’

Use objects such as possessions left behind to suggest persona

The acclaimed short story author Alice Munro is a master of understated character development.

In her story ‘Free Radicals’, Munro describes a recently-widowed woman named Nita coming to terms with her husband’s death:

She thought carefully, every morning when she first took her seat, of the places where Rich was not. He was not in the smaller bathroom, where his shaving things still were, along with the prescription pills for various troublesome but not serious ailments which he’d refused to throw out. Alice Munro, ‘Free Radicals’, available via The New Yorker

Munro creates the emotional affect of a deceased spouse’s absence by describing objects in detail that remain once they’ve gone.

A precise detail – the prescription pills Rich refused to throw out – describes something about his hoarding character.

Detail the type of behavior characters might exhibit

Another way to describe a character’s personality is to give an example of something they might do.

Further on in the story, Munro describe pranking behavior that was typical of Rich to suggest a playful nature:

He was of course not out on the half-scraped deck, ready to peer jokingly in the window – through which she might, in earlier days, have pretended to be alarmed at the sight of a peeping tom. Munro, ‘Free Radicals’

The details Munro shares combine character behavior (Rich’s joking at the window) and setting detail (pills left behind that he refused to discard) to simultaneously create a sense of character and place . Her details describe the way people inhabit their spaces. This creates Rich as a vivid, lingering, ghostly presence in Nita’s memory.

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3. Practice describing people in brief

One thing to avoid in choosing how to describe a character in a story is an info dump.

Info-dumping character description makes your reader go, ‘Oh, the author wants to squeeze in everything they possibly can about their character.’ It alerts your reader to the author’s hand, the wizard behind the curtain conjuring Oz. Such spurious description may lose your reader.

Instead, pick a specific detail to focus on for an introduction, and bring in other visual or descriptive character details as they become relevant to the story/action.

Examples of how to describe people succinctly

Here are a few examples of character descriptions that are precise and impactful:

Her hair had been long and wavy brown then, natural in curl and colour, as he liked it, and her face bashful and soft – a reflection less of the way she was than of the way he wanted to see her. Alice Munro, ‘Dimensions’, Too Much Happiness (2009), p. 2. Available online .

Note how Munro succinctly creates a sense not only of a character’s appearance but how it is affected by her being in a controlling relationship (which we find out more about as the story continues).

A sense of time and change is bundled with character description as we read a factor that shaped the protagonist Doree’s past appearance, now changed at the story’s start.

Below, Kent Haruf uses simile drawn from two elderly brothers’ farmland world to describe their appearance:

Their faces were red and weather-blasted below their white foreheads, the coarse hair on their round heads grown iron-gray and as stiff as the roached mane of a horse. Kent Haruf, Eventide (2004), p. 3.

Practice describing characters in three lines or less. What can you compare their appearance to? What does it say about them?

4. Prioritize unique character features

A large part of learning how to describe a person believably is showing what makes them unique or distinctive.

The Victorian author Charles Dickens, a master of characterization, described people with vivid, characteristic humor.

Here Dickens describes the schoolmaster Thomas Gradgrind, ‘a man of facts and calculations’ in his novel Hard Times (1854):

The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s voice, which was inflexible, dry, and dictatorial. The emphasis was helped by the speaker’s hair, which bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface, all covered with knobs, like the crust of a plum pie, as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside. Charles Dickens, Hard Times (1854), full text on Project Gutenberg .

Although Dickens describes his character’s hair, he uses a striking visual metaphor (‘a plantation of firs’).

This leads quickly back to description showing the schoolmaster’s fact-obsessed nature (‘…as if the head had scarcely warehouse-room for the hard facts stored inside’).

Dickens takes the description of Gradgrind as obstinate and fact-obsessed further:

The speaker’s obstinate carriage, square coat, square legs, square shoulders, – nay, his very neckcloth, trained to take him by the throat with an unaccommodating grasp, like a stubborn fact, as it was, – all helped the emphasis. Dickens, Hard Times

Thus Dickens mines a single, defining detail – Gradgrind’s tyrannical obsession with fact over imagination – for cohesive, comical description.

If Dickens had simply said ‘he was balding and inflexible and would lecture the students about facts’, this would create some sense of character. Dickens instead writes stronger description to show us what the character is like.

Yet the unique details Dickens chooses make Thomas Gradgrind especially vivid.

5. Describe character actions and gestures

Showing characters’ gestures and actions is an important part of bringing characters to life.

The way your characters move , their body language and gestures, is a key part of describing personality, status, or mental state.

In the example from Dostoevsky above, Katerina Ivanovna’s anxious pacing conveys her mounting fear over her husband (who drinks away the little money they have).

In Hard Times , Dickens uses movement and body language to reinforce the impression of Gradgrind as domineering and forceful:

“Girl number twenty,” said Mr. Gradgrind, squarely pointing with his square forefinger, “I don’t know that girl. Who is that girl?” “Sissy Jupe, sir,” explained number twenty, blushing, standing up, and curtseying. Dickens, Hard TImes

Dickens extends Gradgrind’s ‘squareness’ through his pointing. Sissy Jupe’s own body language conveys both her own bashfulness and the fact that Gradgrind wields stern authority over his pupils.

Dickens could simply use dialogue for the schoolmaster’s inquiry. Because of Gradgrind’s gestures, though, we get a clear sense of his dominant, demanding persona.

6. Find descriptive adjectives and fitting comparisons

There are two useful tools for accurate description of characters in stories: Precise, exact adjectives , and comparative language.

Finding adjectives to describe people with positive and negative connotations

Positive adjectives to describe a person include:

Kindness: Kind, fair, caring, thoughtful, non-judgmental, respectful, loving
Conscientiousness: Principled, upstanding, disciplined, rigorous, thorough, careful, decisive
Selflessness: Selfless, giving, generous, dedicated
Intelligence: Smart, insightful, perceptive, brainy, whip-smart, aware, informed, knowledgeable
Attractive: Beautiful, stunning, gorgeous, hot, sexy, alluring, glamorous, studly, magnetic, hypnotic, fit [UK slang]

These are just some adjectives to describe a person in positive terms. If you need a good word for description:

Look up a similar, broader word in a thesaurus.
Find a word you like and look up its full definition and even etymology to ensure it has the right connotations (latent or associated meanings).

Negative adjectives to describe a person might include:

Cruelty: Cruel, unkind, nasty, vicious, wicked, evil, despicable, malevolent, vindictive
Ugliness: Hideous, vile, gross, creepy, fugly, monstrous, disgusting
Boring: Dull, dreary, insufferable, tedious, insipid, bland
Non-intelligence: Stupid, thick, ignorant, cretinous, basic

Keep in mind that some words to describe people negatively may have socially-offensive connotations (for example ‘dumb’ in the informal sense to mean stupid comes from ‘mute’).

If in doubt, find the most exact adjective whose connotations cannot be read another way.

Find fitting comparisons and use figurative language describing character

Comparisons are a great tool for writing character descriptions that are vivid. Look at how Dickens describes Gradgrind’s bald head in the example above, for example. Dickens uses metaphor (there is no ‘like’ or ‘as though’ which would make it a simile): ‘[Gradgrind’s hair] bristled on the skirts of his bald head, a plantation of firs to keep the wind from its shining surface.’

Now this isn’t the most fitting description (Gradgrind’s head has nothing to do with trees or a plantation of firs). Yet it conjures a precise, memorable image.

In Toni Morrison’s Song of Solomon , a father’s anger is shown using the metaphor of a volcano likely to erupt at an time.

Morrison extends this metaphor beautifully to show how Macon’s (the father) anger affects his daughters:

Solid, rumbling, likely to erupt without prior notice, Macon kept each member of his family awkward with fear. His hatred of his wife glittered and sparked in every word he spoke to her. The disappointment he felt in his daughters sifted down on them like ash, dulling their buttery complexions and choking the lilt out of what should have been girlish voices. Toni Morrison, Song of Solomon (1978), p. 10.

7. Describe personality via dialogue and voice

In deciding how to describe characters in your story, dialogue and voice in narration are two powerful tools to create a persona.

People’s speech describes so much about who they are:

Tone : Is a person often angry, huffy, disappointed (like Macon in the example by Toni Morrison above)
Vocabulary: Does the person have an extensive vocabulary suggesting they are educated or well-read or the opposite?
Diction: Does the character have a marked accent, drawl, lisp or other distinguishing feature of the way they speak?
Voice: What are the actual timbral qualities of your character’s voice? Is it high, low, or in-between? Loud or soft? Grating or pleasant to the hearer?

What your characters talk about (and what they leave unsaid) describes their persona in addition to visual descriptive details. Tweet This

8. Read writers renowned for their characterization

To learn how to describe a person brilliantly, collect memorable character descriptions . Read authors who are particularly noted for their vivid characters.

Many short story authors ( such as Anton Chekhov ) are good at compressing character detail into shorter passages.

Here, for example, is Chekhov describing his character Mihail Petrovitch Zotov, an old man, through dialogue and action tags in his story ‘The Dependents’:

“What an existence!” he grumbled, rolling crumbs of black bread round in his mouth. “It’s a dog’s life. No tea! And it isn’t as though I were a simple peasant: I’m an artisan and a house-owner. The disgrace!” Anton Chekhov, ‘The Dependents’, available online.

Chekhov combines this portrait of the character’s psychological state with description of his appearance:

Grumbling and talking to himself, Zotov put on his overcoat, which was like a crinoline, and, thrusting his feet into huge clumsy golosh-boots (made in the year 1867 by a bootmaker called Prohoritch), went out into the yard. Chekhov, ‘The Dependents’.

Start keeping a journal where you collect character descriptions that strike you as effective. This can become a useful source of inspiration to page through when you are sketching out your own characters.

Before concluding, let’s briefly take a look at how to detail character if you are writing in the first person. So far, we have looked at how to describe when you are writing in the third person point of view. First person description examples will need to be slightly different as you don’t have access to the omniscient narrator device.

There are various ways to do so, however, and effectively. For example another character could comment on the appearance of the first-person character. Here are some ways:

‘John looked at me with a shocked expression and asked why I had black dots under my eyes.’

‘I glanced into the mirror, and noticed my mascara had smudged, leaving a trail of black dots under each eye.’

Ready to flesh out your characters and get feedback on character descriptions? Start outlining characters , and get constructive feedback from the Now Novel community when you’re ready to revise.

Now Novel is a great platform for all writers to check out – especially for plotting, brainstorming, characterisation and even world building. Their customer service is top notch and I highly recommend NN!— MJ

How to describe hands: 6 ways to make characters real
How to describe setting: 6 ways to bring setting to life
How to start a novel in third person: 7 tips
Tags character description , description writing , how to describe a person

Jordan is a writer, editor, community manager and product developer. He received his BA Honours in English Literature and his undergraduate in English Literature and Music from the University of Cape Town.

12 replies on “How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways”

Great post 🙂 Thanks for the tips!

Thanks, Amy! It’s a pleasure. Thanks for reading.

My name is Muhammad saqlain mushtaq I am from pakistan

Hi Muhammad, welcome to our blog. Let me know if you have any questions about character description (or anything else writing related) and I’ll do my best to answer them.

Thanks for very descriptive and inspiring inputs. Impressive and very helpful. This is helpful not only for me but also for everyone. My salute .

Hi Alex, it’s a pleasure. Thank you for reading our blog.

Hi😊 It’s your newest fan here. Thanks Jordan😊

Hi Glajol, I’m glad you’re a fan of our blog. Thank you for reading and saying hi.

I feel like everything you wrote was meant for me because I’m having alot of trouble describing my characters,so thanks alot

Hi Kaitlyn, I’m so glad to hear that. Hope your story goes well further.

Jordan- Wow! This information on building vivid characters is exactly what I was looking for. I am in the early stage of my writing career and struggling with describing my scene or setting and characters. Thank you for providing this resource. This information is great!

Dear Melika, Thanks so much for your comments! So pleased to hear them. All the very best with your writing.

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Describe a person essay 9 models

Describe a person essay, a description of my friend in English, a description of a famous person, a description of a famous football player is very interesting because it may address the description of the person, or describe behavior, and principles, because the term “personal description” in English can be written in several different ways. It may describe a character with good qualities, describe personality with bad qualities, and you can describe a famous person , and other ideas. The term personal description is appropriate for all educational stages. Here we will learn how to describe a person in “describe a person essay”.

Describe a person essay

There are 4 topics in English, we try to use easy English words, and English phrases used in daily life, so that it is easier for the students, and he can write ” describe a person essay” in English easily.

First: describe a person essay in English with good qualities;

The first essay

We will use many qualities to describe someone in English such as long, agile, fast, high concentration, collaborator, ambitious, famous, and you can borrow other words in describing a person in English.

My brother is tall, with a length of 190 cm, weighing 80 kg. He is very agile, Likes to exercise, he also eats healthy food, and goes to the gym three times a week.

His favorite game is football, so he joined the football team at school. He trains seriously with the rest of the team. Last week there was a match between my brother’s football team and another school football team, my brother won, and the coach praised my brother because he is characterized by his fast running, high concentration, and a collaborator who likes to cooperate with the rest of the team.

My brother is an ambitious person, he likes to be a famous football player, and joins a famous club, so he trains a lot, and listens to the guidance of his coach well.

The second essay

We will describe a person’s example with the use of benign qualities in the next essay, qualities of a hard-working and successful person in his work. In this essay we talk about the characteristics of study and work.

My family lives in a small village, my father is an agricultural engineer, my father studied at the Faculty of Agriculture, and earned a distinction in bachelor’s degree. He completed his studies until he got a doctorate, and his specialization in genetic engineering.

He worked at the Agricultural Research Center, he carried out many different experiments on plants, especially wheat plants, until he was able to produce a kind of wheat plant with distinctive characteristics; this type gives a larger amount of the crop, and this type of wheat plant is resistant to diseases, so the farmer does not need to use pesticides frequently.

The research carried out by my father participated in solving the problem of importing wheat, therefore, the Minister of Agriculture honored my father and gave him a certificate of appreciation.

Second: – describe a person essay in English with non-benign qualities

My classmate is neglected, unorganized, and always comes to school always late. She does not wake up early, does not take care of her appearance, her hair is beautiful, long and its color is brown but not well-groomed.She is lazy and therefore does not do her homework.

My friend is fun and loves to joke all the time. She is skilled in the game of basketball, because she is tall, her length is 180 cm, but she doesn’t like studying, So she got weak grades in the test last month, which made her frustrated and sad.

I told her not to be stupid and not to waste all her time playing basketball only,she must be smart and divide time between study and exercise.

My friend worked with advice and now she gets good grades in the test. She also became happy with her success in the study and became hopeful that she would be a famous basketball player.

My friend in the classroom is nervous, he is always angry, always speaks out loud, he fights a lot with others, he is strong and he practices violent sports.

He loves wrestling and hurts his friends so much , as he shamelessly pronounces bad words, so we lodged a complaint to the principal. We wrote in the complaint that all the bad deeds happen from him, the school director punished him, and advised him to be quiet and gentle with his friends.

Now he is polite and kind, loves his friends a lot and spends weekends with them, and we are delighted by his new behavior.

Words to help you write the following topics:

adjective words to describe a person
describe a person essay
descriptive paragraph
descriptive paragraph about a person
describe my best friend
describe your friend
descriptive essay about a person
describing a person example
describe someone
description of a person

Describing a person essay

Undoubtedly, there are many influential personalities around us, we can know them personally and closer than anyone else we can see through the television screen, or through books.

I have an influential personality around me and he is my uncle. I find him a self-made person, he was able to build himself from scratch. He was not born rich and owns everything like many children, but he made a way by selling simple things on the street, such as hot dogs and burgers.

Because of the people’s love for him, the cleanliness of his tools and his good price, he was able to form many customers who love his method, to be the beginning of a famous and many chain of restaurants, in addition to a good lifestyle free of any drugs or alcohol.

Despite this, he lives on rules. He has not neglected his physical fitness or changed and become evil because of money. Rather, he has become more humble, and loving to help other family members or acquaintances and relatives. No one is left without his help.

He also participates in many important and useful donations. So I find him a very influential person and lives by his wonderful and healthy rules.

Kuwait beautiful places

Kuwait has many distinctive and beautiful places such as Al Shaheed Park. This modern park represents the largest park in Kuwait, and it is possible to ride bicycles and exercise in it. It also contains two museums, a restaurant and a cafe, which makes it suitable for family outings.

The other area is Marina Crescent and Aquarium. It is a beautiful marina overlooking the sea and it has a wonderful corniche that you can stroll on or eat in one of the restaurants directly overlooking the sea. On Fridays, you will find large gatherings of families and their children hiking and riding bicycles, and it has a large and happy family atmosphere.

The third area, Shark market. One of the areas not to be missed, as there are many large and famous stores. It is also distinguished by its beautiful architecture and shape. You will definitely like to see this view, especially that overlooking the sea.

Fourth District: Kuwait Towers, which represent the symbol of Kuwait. The atmosphere there is beautiful and wonderful, especially when eating breakfast or dinner.

There are also many amazing areas such as Souk Al Mubaraka, the many malls scattered throughout the city, and Sadu House. All of these beautiful areas you can spend the best time in Kuwait and enjoy.

Description of a person essay

I would very much like to talk about an influential person in my life, who is the physical education teacher in my school.

He is responsible for all students, works to improve their physical fitness, increase their self-confidence and make them responsible and has a great ability to challenge to surpass their personal abilities.

I am very happy with the effort he makes, and I find him completely fair between me and the rest of the students and does not differentiate between anyone, whether the others are the best level, or personalities close to him. He treats everyone like his children and wants to raise everyone’s abilities.

And he never gives up with anyone, and empties himself to work on the late groups and gives them more than one opportunity to raise their abilities and catch up with the rest, so as not to waste their chances of joining the school team.

I find him in a good place at school, but I think he deserves more than this, he should have been one of the top coaches in the clubs we watch on TV.

Description of a person example

Undoubtedly, there are some people who stick in our minds, and we cannot forget their great humanitarian stances.

For a while, I noticed someone in my area helping everyone.

He is of African descent. I find him to be of good character and a calm personality. He tends to laugh and sit with everyone and deal with humility.

He likes to laugh and say some funny jokes even to those who are young, helps the elderly to relieve their needs, and in the recent period he has been helping all people with corona by spending groceries for them and buying medicine for them, so as not to require them to go out while they are injured.

From time to time I watch him perform such humane actions that leave a great impact on my mind. I would very much like my life to be calm and have many good deeds like this.

How to describe a person personality in essay

To determine the personality of a person, you must be close to him, and be aware of what he does often, such as being a friend of his at school, working together for a long time, or living in one neighborhood since childhood.

One of the most important things that show the personality of others is the material attitudes, through which a person’s personality can be known if he is moderate in spending, or likes to spend a lot more than necessary, or a stingy personality.

The second position that determines the personality of others is to talk about others in their absence and when they are present, he praises them. This shows which people he is, and whether he tends to divide and cause others to get into trouble, or is he a moderate and natural person.

The third situation that a person can find out about is when you ask him for help. If he is always next to you and does not ask you to return the favor, or takes advantage of you in any way, then this indicates a good personality. But if he has an exploitative personality, he cannot wait to take advantage of you after you ask him for help.

The fourth position is disclosing secrets. This type is the most dangerous of them, and you must specify it in the person in front of you from the beginning of the relationship so as not to get you into many problems.

This is how you can describe a character and determine what defects or advantages it has, and you can describe any person using the previous points.

Describing a person paragraph

I have had a wonderful friend since childhood, I can say that he is my best friend and I am very confident in him that he will never let me down, and he will always be by my side.

I find that his best qualities are that he is a good secretive, and he is a wonderful counselor when a person encounters any problem and needs advice.He is also good at dealing with others and tactful in speaking.

Do not tire of talking to him, and you find him talking about topics with concentration and attention. He listens to you when you talk and does not move from a topic until he finishes discussing it, and gives full attention and respect to whoever is speaking, and does not comment in any way that makes you upset.

And if he disagrees with you in opinions, he argues with you in a good way until he convinces you of his idea, or you convince him of yours.

This point represents the thing I admire the most about him. He is flexible and accepts what others say if it is correct and logical.

Describing a person example essay

Each person has many relatives and friends around him, but few of them are like an open book that you know everything about and you can describe their personalities with ease.

I have a friend. I know all his qualities and I can describe what he wants to say just by seeing his movements and expressions.

I am very happy to accompany him and roam together, and I feel happy when he begins to make some movements if he is bored or wants to leave. I then tell him if we should go somewhere else, I find him always surprised that I can tell what he wants to say.

I like his personality. He is a spontaneous personality, what is in his heart is on his tongue and he does not hide anything. It can be said that his actions and what he wants to say appear on his face before he speaks, and he is not good at concealing his feelings.

I also like his other qualities, such as that he is considerate in speaking of the feelings of others, and thinks about his speech well before speaking. And he chooses the kindest words even if it is painful, I understand him well then and I know that he does not want to hurt me and he is trying to choose nice words to tell me something. I like this aspect of him.

He is also a loyal friend and always stands by my side and I find him in many difficult situations. He was by my side and he never tried to ask me for anything in return.

So I am very grateful to have such a friend and I hope we can remain friends for the rest of my life.

How to describe a person essay

We can describe a person by choosing some good aspects in his personality, which we see as a good aspect that makes him deserves to be placed on our side for its existence, and that these qualities we want to acquire and be present in our personality, through which we can progress and gain confidence in ourselves more than we are now.

Example describing a person

My name is (put your name here). I study in class (Put your class here). I have many friends, whether in my neighborhood, or at school, and despite this large number of friends and acquaintances, I can say that I tend to have a few personalities, perhaps one or two individuals. I find them distinguished by their behavior and personality, the best of them is my friend (put a name).

I find that he is a person who appreciates the meaning of friendship and cares a lot about my feelings and what I tell him, where his best characteristic is that he listens carefully to what I tell him and answers me with the best advice that anyone can advise me.I feel that he is my brother whenever he advises me and guides me to the right path.

Also one of the characters that you can tell your secrets without fear of revealing these secrets. He is also excellent at speaking and making funny phrases, and he can speak on any topic fluently.

He has the ability to be persuasive and humble in speech, so he is not one of the arguing personalities who wants to prove themselves that they are right, or tell you what he sees and likes to force you to be convinced with his point of view. Rather, he is a rational person and tends to the persuasive side based on evidence and realistic events.

So I like to spend all my time with him.

In this way, we have provided you with describe a person essay in English ,and you can read more through the following link:

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CRISPR therapy restores some vision to people with blindness

The light-absorbing rods and cones in the retina (artificially coloured) deteriorate in people with Leber’s congenital amaurosis. Credit: Science Photo Library

A CRISPR-based gene-editing therapy led to improved vision in people with an inherited condition that causes blindness 1 .

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When Prison and Mental Illness Amount to a Death Sentence

The downward spiral of one inmate, Markus Johnson, shows the larger failures of the nation’s prisons to care for the mentally ill.

Supported by

By Glenn Thrush

Photographs by Carlos Javier Ortiz

Glenn Thrush spent more than a year reporting this article, interviewing close to 50 people and reviewing court-obtained body-camera footage and more than 1,500 pages of documents.

Published May 5, 2024 Updated May 7, 2024

Markus Johnson slumped naked against the wall of his cell, skin flecked with pepper spray, his face a mask of puzzlement, exhaustion and resignation. Four men in black tactical gear pinned him, his face to the concrete, to cuff his hands behind his back.

He did not resist. He couldn’t. He was so gravely dehydrated he would be dead by their next shift change.

Listen to this article with reporter commentary

“I didn’t do anything,” Mr. Johnson moaned as they pressed a shield between his shoulders.

It was 1:19 p.m. on Sept. 6, 2019, in the Danville Correctional Center, a medium-security prison a few hours south of Chicago. Mr. Johnson, 21 and serving a short sentence for gun possession, was in the throes of a mental collapse that had gone largely untreated, but hardly unwatched.

He had entered in good health, with hopes of using the time to gain work skills. But for the previous three weeks, Mr. Johnson, who suffered from bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, had refused to eat or take his medication. Most dangerous of all, he had stealthily stopped drinking water, hastening the physical collapse that often accompanies full-scale mental crises.

Mr. Johnson’s horrific downward spiral, which has not been previously reported, represents the larger failures of the nation’s prisons to care for the mentally ill. Many seriously ill people receive no treatment . For those who do, the outcome is often determined by the vigilance and commitment of individual supervisors and frontline staff, which vary greatly from system to system, prison to prison, and even shift to shift.

The country’s jails and prisons have become its largest provider of inpatient mental health treatment, with 10 times as many seriously mentally ill people now held behind bars as in hospitals. Estimating the population of incarcerated people with major psychological problems is difficult, but the number is likely 200,000 to 300,000, experts say.

Many of these institutions remain ill-equipped to handle such a task, and the burden often falls on prison staff and health care personnel who struggle with the dual roles of jailer and caregiver in a high-stress, dangerous, often dehumanizing environment.

In 2021, Joshua McLemore , a 29-year-old with schizophrenia held for weeks in an isolation cell in Jackson County, Ind., died of organ failure resulting from a “refusal to eat or drink,” according to an autopsy. In April, New York City agreed to pay $28 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of Nicholas Feliciano, a young man with a history of mental illness who suffered severe brain damage after attempting to hang himself on Rikers Island — as correctional officers stood by.

Mr. Johnson’s mother has filed a wrongful-death suit against the state and Wexford Health Sources, a for-profit health care contractor in Illinois prisons. The New York Times reviewed more than 1,500 pages of reports, along with depositions taken from those involved. Together, they reveal a cascade of missteps, missed opportunities, potential breaches of protocol and, at times, lapses in common sense.

A woman wearing a jeans jacket sitting at a table showing photos of a young boy on her cellphone.

Prison officials and Wexford staff took few steps to intervene even after it became clear that Mr. Johnson, who had been hospitalized repeatedly for similar episodes and recovered, had refused to take medication. Most notably, they did not transfer him to a state prison facility that provides more intensive mental health treatment than is available at regular prisons, records show.

The quality of medical care was also questionable, said Mr. Johnson’s lawyers, Sarah Grady and Howard Kaplan, a married legal team in Chicago. Mr. Johnson lost 50 to 60 pounds during three weeks in solitary confinement, but officials did not initiate interventions like intravenous feedings or transfer him to a non-prison hospital.

And they did not take the most basic step — dialing 911 — until it was too late.

There have been many attempts to improve the quality of mental health treatment in jails and prisons by putting care on par with punishment — including a major effort in Chicago . But improvements have proved difficult to enact and harder to sustain, hampered by funding and staffing shortages.

Lawyers representing the state corrections department, Wexford and staff members who worked at Danville declined to comment on Mr. Johnson’s death, citing the unresolved litigation. In their interviews with state police investigators, and in depositions, employees defended their professionalism and adherence to procedure, while citing problems with high staff turnover, difficult work conditions, limited resources and shortcomings of co-workers.

But some expressed a sense of resignation about the fate of Mr. Johnson and others like him.

Prisoners have “much better chances in a hospital, but that’s not their situation,” said a senior member of Wexford’s health care team in a deposition.

“I didn’t put them in prison,” he added. “They are in there for a reason.”

Markus Mison Johnson was born on March 1, 1998, to a mother who believed she was not capable of caring for him.

Days after his birth, he was taken in by Lisa Barker Johnson, a foster mother in her 30s who lived in Zion, Ill., a working-class city halfway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Markus eventually became one of four children she adopted from different families.

The Johnson house is a lively split level, with nieces, nephews, grandchildren and neighbors’ children, family keepsakes, video screens and juice boxes. Ms. Johnson sits at its center on a kitchen chair, chin resting on her hand as children wander over to share their thoughts, or to tug on her T-shirt to ask her to be their bathroom buddy.

From the start, her bond with Markus was particularly powerful, in part because the two looked so much alike, with distinctive dimpled smiles. Many neighbors assumed he was her biological son. The middle name she chose for him was intended to convey that message.

“Mison is short for ‘my son,’” she said standing over his modest footstone grave last summer.

He was happy at home. School was different. His grades were good, but he was intensely shy and was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in elementary school.

That was around the time the bullying began. His sisters were fierce defenders, but they could only do so much. He did the best he could, developing a quick, taunting tongue.

These experiences filled him with a powerful yearning to fit in.

It was not to be.

When he was around 15, he called 911 in a panic, telling the dispatcher he saw two men standing near the small park next to his house threatening to abduct children playing there. The officers who responded found nothing out of the ordinary, and rang the Johnsons’ doorbell.

He later told his mother he had heard a voice telling him to “protect the kids.”

He was hospitalized for the first time at 16, and given medications that stabilized him for stretches of time. But the crises would strike every six months or so, often triggered by his decision to stop taking his medication.

His family became adept at reading signs he was “getting sick.” He would put on his tan Timberlands and a heavy winter coat, no matter the season, and perch on the edge of his bed as if bracing for battle. Sometimes, he would cook his own food, paranoid that someone might poison him.

He graduated six months early, on the dean’s list, but was rudderless, and hanging out with younger boys, often paying their way.

His mother pointed out the perils of buying friendship.

“I don’t care,” he said. “At least I’ll be popular for a minute.”

Zion’s inviting green grid of Bible-named streets belies the reality that it is a rough, unforgiving place to grow up. Family members say Markus wanted desperately to prove he was tough, and emulated his younger, reckless group of friends.

Like many of them, he obtained a pistol. He used it to hold up a convenience store clerk for $425 in January 2017, according to police records. He cut a plea deal for two years of probation, and never explained to his family what had made him do it.

But he kept getting into violent confrontations. In late July 2018, he was arrested in a neighbor’s garage with a handgun he later admitted was his. He was still on probation for the robbery, and his public defender negotiated a plea deal that would send him to state prison until January 2020.

An inpatient mental health system

Around 40 percent of the about 1.8 million people in local, state and federal jails and prison suffer from at least one mental illness, and many of these people have concurrent issues with substance abuse, according to recent Justice Department estimates.

Psychological problems, often exacerbated by drug use, often lead to significant medical problems resulting from a lack of hygiene or access to good health care.

“When you suffer depression in the outside world, it’s hard to concentrate, you have reduced energy, your sleep is disrupted, you have a very gloomy outlook, so you stop taking care of yourself,” said Robert L. Trestman , a Virginia Tech medical school professor who has worked on state prison mental health reforms.

The paradox is that prison is often the only place where sick people have access to even minimal care.

But the harsh work environment, remote location of many prisons, and low pay have led to severe shortages of corrections staff and the unwillingness of doctors, nurses and counselors to work with the incarcerated mentally ill.

In the early 2000s, prisoners’ rights lawyers filed a class-action lawsuit against Illinois claiming “deliberate indifference” to the plight of about 5,000 mentally ill prisoners locked in segregated units and denied treatment and medication.

In 2014, the parties reached a settlement that included minimum staffing mandates, revamped screening protocols, restrictions on the use of solitary confinement and the allocation of about $100 million to double capacity in the system’s specialized mental health units.

Yet within six months of the deal, Pablo Stewart, an independent monitor chosen to oversee its enforcement, declared the system to be in a state of emergency.

Over the years, some significant improvements have been made. But Dr. Stewart’s final report , drafted in 2022, gave the system failing marks for its medication and staffing policies and reliance on solitary confinement “crisis watch” cells.

Ms. Grady, one of Mr. Johnson’s lawyers, cited an additional problem: a lack of coordination between corrections staff and Wexford’s professionals, beyond dutifully filling out dozens of mandated status reports.

“Markus Johnson was basically documented to death,” she said.

‘I’m just trying to keep my head up’

Mr. Johnson was not exactly looking forward to prison. But he saw it as an opportunity to learn a trade so he could start a family when he got out.

On Dec. 18, 2018, he arrived at a processing center in Joliet, where he sat for an intake interview. He was coherent and cooperative, well-groomed and maintained eye contact. He was taking his medication, not suicidal and had a hearty appetite. He was listed as 5 feet 6 inches tall and 256 pounds.

Mr. Johnson described his mood as “go with the flow.”

A few days later, after arriving in Danville, he offered a less settled assessment during a telehealth visit with a Wexford psychiatrist, Dr. Nitin Thapar. Mr. Johnson admitted to being plagued by feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and “constant uncontrollable worrying” that affected his sleep.

He told Dr. Thapar he had heard voices in the past — but not now — telling him he was a failure, and warning that people were out to get him.

At the time he was incarcerated, the basic options for mentally ill people in Illinois prisons included placement in the general population or transfer to a special residential treatment program at the Dixon Correctional Center, west of Chicago. Mr. Johnson seemed out of immediate danger, so he was assigned to a standard two-man cell in the prison’s general population, with regular mental health counseling and medication.

Things started off well enough. “I’m just trying to keep my head up,” he wrote to his mother. “Every day I learn to be stronger & stronger.”

But his daily phone calls back home hinted at friction with other inmates. And there was not much for him to do after being turned down for a janitorial training program.

Then, in the spring of 2019, his grandmother died, sending him into a deep hole.

Dr. Thapar prescribed a new drug used to treat major depressive disorders. Its most common side effect is weight gain. Mr. Johnson stopped taking it.

On July 4, he told Dr. Thapar matter-of-factly during a telehealth check-in that he was no longer taking any of his medications. “I’ve been feeling normal, I guess,” he said. “I feel like I don’t need the medication anymore.”

Dr. Thapar said he thought that was a mistake, but accepted the decision and removed Mr. Johnson from his regular mental health caseload — instructing him to “reach out” if he needed help, records show.

The pace of calls back home slackened. Mr. Johnson spent more time in bed, and became more surly. At a group-therapy session, he sat stone silent, after showing up late.

By early August, he was telling guards he had stopped eating.

At some point, no one knows when, he had intermittently stopped drinking fluids.

‘I’m having a breakdown’

Then came the crash.

On Aug. 12, Mr. Johnson got into a fight with his older cellmate.

He was taken to a one-man disciplinary cell. A few hours later, Wexford’s on-site mental health counselor, Melanie Easton, was shocked by his disoriented condition. Mr. Johnson stared blankly, then burst into tears when asked if he had “suffered a loss in the previous six months.”

He was so unresponsive to her questions she could not finish the evaluation.

Ms. Easton ordered that he be moved to a 9-foot by 8-foot crisis cell — solitary confinement with enhanced monitoring. At this moment, a supervisor could have ticked the box for “residential treatment” on a form to transfer him to Dixon. That did not happen, according to records and depositions.

Around this time, he asked to be placed back on his medication but nothing seems to have come of it, records show.

By mid-August, he said he was visualizing “people that were not there,” according to case notes. At first, he was acting more aggressively, once flicking water at a guard through a hole in his cell door. But his energy ebbed, and he gradually migrated downward — from standing to bunk to floor.

“I’m having a breakdown,” he confided to a Wexford employee.

At the time, inmates in Illinois were required to declare an official hunger strike before prison officials would initiate protocols, including blood testing or forced feedings. But when a guard asked Mr. Johnson why he would not eat, he said he was “fasting,” as opposed to starving himself, and no action seems to have been taken.

‘Tell me this is OK!’

Lt. Matthew Morrison, one of the few people at Danville to take a personal interest in Mr. Johnson, reported seeing a white rind around his mouth in early September. He told other staff members the cell gave off “a death smell,” according to a deposition.

On Sept. 5, they moved Mr. Johnson to one of six cells adjacent to the prison’s small, bare-bones infirmary. Prison officials finally placed him on the official hunger strike protocol without his consent.

Mr. Morrison, in his deposition, said he was troubled by the inaction of the Wexford staff, and the lack of urgency exhibited by the medical director, Dr. Justin Young.

On Sept. 5, Mr. Morrison approached Dr. Young to express his concerns, and the doctor agreed to order blood and urine tests. But Dr. Young lived in Chicago, and was on site at the prison about four times a week, according to Mr. Kaplan. Friday, Sept. 6, 2019, was not one of those days.

Mr. Morrison arrived at work that morning, expecting to find Mr. Johnson’s testing underway. A Wexford nurse told him Dr. Young believed the tests could wait.

Mr. Morrison, stunned, asked her to call Dr. Young.

“He’s good till Monday,” Dr. Young responded, according to Mr. Morrison.

“Come on, come on, look at this guy! You tell me this is OK!” the officer responded.

Eventually, Justin Duprey, a licensed nurse practitioner and the most senior Wexford employee on duty that day, authorized the test himself.

Mr. Morrison, thinking he had averted a disaster, entered the cell and implored Mr. Johnson into taking the tests. He refused.

So prison officials obtained approval to remove him forcibly from his cell.

‘Oh, my God’

What happened next is documented in video taken from cameras held by officers on the extraction team and obtained by The Times through a court order.

Mr. Johnson is scarcely recognizable as the neatly groomed 21-year-old captured in a cellphone picture a few months earlier. His skin is ashen, eyes fixed on the middle distance. He might be 40. Or 60.

At first, he places his hands forward through the hole in his cell door to be cuffed. This is against procedure, the officers shout. His hands must be in back.

He will not, or cannot, comply. He wanders to the rear of his cell and falls hard. Two blasts of pepper spray barely elicit a reaction. The leader of the tactical team later said he found it unusual and unnerving.

The next video is in the medical unit. A shield is pressed to his chest. He is in agony, begging for them to stop, as two nurses attempt to insert a catheter.

Then they move him, half-conscious and limp, onto a wheelchair for the blood draw.

For the next 20 minutes, the Wexford nurse performing the procedure, Angelica Wachtor, jabs hands and arms to find a vessel that will hold shape. She winces with each puncture, tries to comfort him, and grows increasingly rattled.

“Oh, my God,” she mutters, and asks why help is not on the way.

She did not request assistance or discuss calling 911, records indicate.

“Can you please stop — it’s burning real bad,” Mr. Johnson said.

Soon after, a member of the tactical team reminds Ms. Wachtor to take Mr. Johnson’s vitals before taking him back to his cell. She would later tell Dr. Young she had been unable to able to obtain his blood pressure.

“You good?” one of the team members asks as they are preparing to leave.

“Yeah, I’ll have to be,” she replies in the recording.

Officers lifted him back onto his bunk, leaving him unconscious and naked except for a covering draped over his groin. His expressionless face is visible through the window on the cell door as it closes.

‘Cardiac arrest.’

Mr. Duprey, the nurse practitioner, had been sitting inside his office after corrections staff ordered him to shelter for his own protection, he said. When he emerged, he found Ms. Wachtor sobbing, and after a delay, he was let into the cell. Finding no pulse, Mr. Duprey asked a prison employee to call 911 so Mr. Johnson could be taken to a local emergency room.

The Wexford staff initiated CPR. It did not work.

At 3:38 p.m., the paramedics declared Markus Mison Johnson dead.

Afterward, a senior official at Danville called the Johnson family to say he had died of “cardiac arrest.”

Lisa Johnson pressed for more information, but none was initially forthcoming. She would soon receive a box hastily crammed with his possessions: uneaten snacks, notebooks, an inspirational memoir by a man who had served 20 years at Leavenworth.

Later, Shiping Bao, the coroner who examined his body, determined Mr. Johnson had died of severe dehydration. He told the state police it “was one of the driest bodies he had ever seen.”

For a long time, Ms. Johnson blamed herself. She says that her biggest mistake was assuming that the state, with all its resources, would provide a level of care comparable to what she had been able to provide her son.

She had stopped accepting foster care children while she was raising Markus and his siblings. But as the months dragged on, she decided her once-boisterous house had become oppressively still, and let local agencies know she was available again.

“It is good to have children around,” she said. “It was too quiet around here.”

Read by Glenn Thrush

Audio produced by Jack D’Isidoro .

Glenn Thrush covers the Department of Justice. He joined The Times in 2017 after working for Politico, Newsday, Bloomberg News, The New York Daily News, The Birmingham Post-Herald and City Limits. More about Glenn Thrush

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15+ Examples of Descriptive Essays About a Person
Examples of Descriptive Essays About a Person - Descriptive essay is one type of essay that aims to describe a specific object (animal, person, or other thing) specifically. This text type has a slight difference with report text written based on common terms. The following essays are some examples of descriptive essays about a person, family members, and famous people.
How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph About a Person (With ...
1. Brainstorm Your Ideas. Brainstorming is crucial to any writing process. It's the process in which you think of ideas for what you'd like to write about. In this case, you're writing a descriptive paragraph about a person. It's important to use adjectives to describe the features or characteristics you want to focus on.
Descriptive Essay About a Person: A Comprehensive Guide
A descriptive essay relies on facts and information to describe a subject as it is. A descriptive essay about a person is often written to describe a particular person. It can be about a person you admire, an acquaintance, family member like mother, friend, or even a celebrity. Here are some examples to give you a better idea.
15 Good Descriptive Essay Examples for All Students
Descriptive Essay Example About A Person. Descriptive essays are the best option when it comes to describing and writing about a person. A descriptive essay is written using the five human senses. It helps in creating a vivid image in the readerâ s mind and understanding what the writer is trying to convey. Here is one of the best descriptive ...
How to Write a Descriptive Essay About a Person or Place
A descriptive essay is essentially a short piece of writing in which the author describes a person or place using words that engage all five senses: sight, touch, smell, sound and taste. As the author, you will be required to convey the physical and, more importantly, the emotional attributes of the person or the place you are describing.
How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person: Step By Step
Brainstorm Descriptive Details: Before you start writing, make a list of physical attributes, personality traits, habits, and mannerisms that characterize the person. Think about specific anecdotes or memories that showcase their unique qualities. Create an Outline: Organize your essay with a clear structure, including an introduction, body ...
Descriptive Essay: Definition, Format & Writing Tips
Consider describing a person you know well in your life, like a sibling, a close friend, or a teacher who has made a significant impact on you. ... A descriptive essay is a type of essay that describes a person, place, object, event, or experience in vivid detail. It aims to create a sensory experience for the reader by appealing to the five ...
Descriptive Essay About a Person
The purpose of this essay is quite clear: you have to express your feelings about a particular subject or object and describe its significant features. In most cases, students are forced to describe events, places, objects, and people. The last type is probably the most difficult because the description of a person won't include the appearance only, but would also consider character ...
What Is a Descriptive Essay? Definition & 10+ Examples
Defining Descriptive Essay. A "Descriptive Essay" is a type of written composition that focuses on creating a detailed depiction of a person, place, object, event, or experience. It employs meticulous, vivid language and sensory details to paint a comprehensive and immersive picture in the reader's mind. A well-crafted descriptive essay ...
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A descriptive essay is a type of academic writing that asks the writer to fully describe a place, person, situation, event, or thing. They can be simple or they can be very complex depending on the subject matter and audience written for. These types of essays train a writer's ability to express themselves accurately as well as build ...
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Commonly, these types of essays describe a particular person, an event, a place, or an emotion with the aim to make the reader feel your way. Below we have given some good descriptive examples free for students. Descriptive essay example for grade 6. Descriptive essay example college.
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Imaginative descriptive essays also allow you to describe different emotions. Example, the feelings a parent experiences on holding their child for the first time. Characteristics of descriptive essays. The aim of a descriptive essay is to provide a detailed and vivid description of a person, place, object, event, or experience.
Descriptive Essays
The descriptive essay is a genre of essay 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. What is more, this genre allows for a great deal of artistic freedom (the goal of which is to ...
Descriptive Essay
Writing a descriptive essay is both fun and challenging. You need to describe the main topic in detail and by engaging the five senses of the readers. Students usually get this type of essay in high school and college. Writing a descriptive essay is different from other essays. You need to focus on describing a certain person, place, or event.
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Descriptive essay example. An example of a short descriptive essay, written in response to the prompt "Describe a place you love to spend time in," is shown below. Hover over different parts of the text to see how a descriptive essay works. On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house.
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The Basics of Descriptive Essay. A descriptive essay is an essay that requires the student to provide a detailed and precise description of their chosen subject.. When writing about a person, the goal is to introduce your reader to the person you are writing about. You will want to include important facts about them and discuss their personality, including their beliefs, hobbies, and interests ...
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3. Write a Thesis Statement. It is the most important part of any essay. When you are planning a descriptive essay, you need to come up with a strong thesis statement. A thesis statement is usually one or two sentences that explain the whole point of your essay to the reader. 4.
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How to conclude a descriptive essay about a person. The conclusion is the last paragraph, but the most important part so an essay. The author concluded an essay by rephrasing the thesis statement and reviewing the main point to concave the reader why the person is worth describing. Outline example. Introduction. Topic sentence. Thesis Statement ...
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
Following are the steps involved in the pre-writing or planning procedure of a good descriptive essay: 1. Topic Selection. Usually, professors assign the topic for a descriptive essay. But, if you have a choice to select a topic, then you have a great chance to select something which you know a lot about.
Writing Descriptive Essays About A Person, with Example, Outline
Psychology essay example page will help as well. The three biggest tips for writing descriptive essays are to use a person you know, bear in mind that actions speak louder than words, and make the most of the personality traits. 1. Use a Person You Know. Using a person you know can build a foundation for descriptions.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
Descriptive Essay Definition. A descriptive essay is a type of paper where the writer describes an experience, person, place, or object (the essay topic) in great detail.. Overview of a Descriptive Essay. A descriptive essay is written in order to have the reader experience a person, place, object, event, or thing just as the writer did. In a descriptive essay, the writer uses several ...
How to describe a person vividly: 8 ways
2. Focus on details that reveal personality. A character's hair or eye color doesn't tell the reader much (there are other ways to use eye descriptions to build personality).. When you introduce a character, focus on details that reveal character personality or psychology. Here's Dostoevsky describing his character Katerina Ivanova (who has tuberculosis) in Crime and Punishment (1866):
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First: describe a person essay in English with good qualities; The first essay. We will use many qualities to describe someone in English such as long, agile, fast, high concentration, collaborator, ambitious, famous, and you can borrow other words in describing a person in English. My brother is tall, with a length of 190 cm, weighing 80 kg.
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How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph About a Person (With Examples)

1. Brainstorm Your Ideas

Appeal to your reader’s senses – smell, taste, sound, sight, and touch

3. Describe the Person

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4. Edit and Revise

5. General Tips for Descriptive Writing

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How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person: Step By Step

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How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person?

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Top 3 Examples of Descriptive Essays About a Person

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Tips To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person

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How to write a descriptive essay, with examples