Course: Academic writing
Descriptive Paragraphs
DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPHS
In a descriptive paragraph, the writer uses
words to describe the idea of the paragraph.
They use the words to create a picture so that
the reader can see the topic that they are
describing.
FILL IN THE MISSING ADJECTIVES:
(long, old, blue, beautiful, walking, )
It was a _____day. The sun was shining, and there were
no clouds in the sky. The_____man decided that he
would go for a walk. He put on his_____cap, and his
____shoes. Took his walking stick from the closet and
began his _________walk.
REVIEW
write a T for true and F for false for each statement.
1. ______ Prapulla went shopping for her wedding sari with
her family.
2. ______ Prapulla’s wedding sari was made by hand.
3. ______ Prapulla’s wedding dress was white.
4. ______The man who made the sari told her she was lucky.
5. ______The sari was the last one in the store.
6. ______ She bought the sari after her wedding.
Answer the questions about the paragraph in complete
sentences.
1. How does Prapulla’s husband want her to dress in
America? Why do you think so?
2. What type of clothes do you think Prapulla wants to wear
when she’s in America?
3. Why is Prapulla’s sari so important to her?
4. What do you think Prapulla should do? Should she wear
Indian or American clothes?
BRAINSTORMING
Brainstorming is thinking about different ideas. When
writing, brainstorming helps to give the writer the ideas they
will write about in their paragraph. Brainstorming is
something you do before you begin writing.
CONT.
Look at the chart below. Think of different items you own
that you can add to the different categories.
Jewelry Clothing Electronics Others
CONT.
Circle three items in the chart above that you might like to
write about and write them below. Then describe those items
to a partner.
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
CONT.
Select some of the descriptive words from previous exercise
and write three sentences about the items you circled.
Example: My grandmother’s wedding ring is precious.
1. ________________________________________________
2. ________________________________________________
3. ________________________________________________
WRITING
Write a six sentence paragraph about your favorite piece of
clothing. Describe what it looks like, and explain why it is
your favorite.
DESCRIPTIVE PARAGRAPH ORGANIZATION
Descriptive paragraphs describe a person, place
or thing so that the reader can picture the item
in their mind. As a writer, you want to give
details to help the reader see what you are
writing about. Here is how a descriptive
paragraph is organized.
SUPPORTING SENTENCES
The supporting sentences give background
information about the topic. Where did it come
from? Why is it special?
Supporting sentences also give descriptions about the
topic. What does it look like? How big is it? How
does it taste and smell? Depending on the topic, there
can be a lot of different details that are described.
They also can explain more about how the writer
feels about the topic.
CONCLUDING SENTENCE
The concluding sentence finishes the paragraph by
reminding the reader about the idea of the topic.
REVIEW
Read the paragraph, then answer the questions.
REVIEW
1. Which of these sentences best describes the main
idea of the paragraph?
A. a. The writer’s grandfather travelled across the
country in his Cadillac.
B. The writer likes Cadillac convertibles.
C. The writer has strong feelings about his
grandfather’s Cadillac convertible.
REVIEW
2. Which of the following does the writer NOT
describe?
A. the car’s appearance
B. the car’s smell
C. the car’s sound
REVIEW
3. Why is the car important to the writer?
A. It connects the writer to the grandfather
B. The writer likes expensive cars
C. The writer likes to go on trips.
REVIEW
3. Why is the car important to the writer?
A. It connects the writer to the grandfather
B. The writer likes expensive cars
C. The writer likes to go on trips.
4. Write three descriptive details about the cadillac.
5. What words or phrases does the writer use to
describe their feelings about the car?
REVIEW
1. What is the special treasure?
2. What are the writer’s feelings about the treasure? Why?
3. Who gave the writer the treasure?
4. What words does the writer use to describe the treasure?
5. Underline the topic sentence. What is the author
describing?
6. In which part of the paragraph does the author describe
how they got the picture? Is it in the first part, the
middle part, or the last part?
REVIEW
7. In which part of the paragraph does the author
describe what the picture looks like? Is it in the
first part, the middle part, or the last part?
8. In which part of the paragraph does the author
describe her feelings about the picture? Is it in the
first part, the middle part, or the last part?
