Here is a first assignment that Lewis Long uses in WR 201. Notice how he breaks it down into two parts. This is the first part. The assignment is two pages in length and requires a clear descriptive thesis statement at the beginning.
First writing assignment, part 1Context: One essential function of writing is to get your readers to see things as you do. This does not always mean that they should share your opinions, but often that you try to get them to adopt your point of view, or way of seeing, so that they see objects in the same way that you see them. A particularly vivid and detailed description that creates for your reader a mental image of what you see is one effective way to do that. But presenting an image to others is not the only purpose of a written description. Often, the very act of writing about an object helps the writer to see it more clearly as well. It is only when you are faced with the necessity of translating a thing into language so that you can show it to someone else that you really begin to see it.
Assignment: In a typed, double-spaced essay of about two pages, choose and describe a thing. You may choose an object with special significance to you, or just something that’s convenient, but your goal is not to describe the memories associated with the object, or the object’s sentimental value, but to describe the physical object in as much detail as you can. Paint a word picture of your object for your reader. Your description should create a detailed, multi-sensory image that allows your reader to experience your object as you have, and persuades your reader to see the object as you do. The object you choose to describe has to be a real, actual object, not an abstract idea of an object: for example, if you choose to describe a rose, you must find and study one, specific real rose—rather than roses in general—and show how this rose is colored, how it reflects the light, how it is shaped, etc. You should not choose too abstract objects, such as the ocean, or too complex objects, such as cars, rooms, stereos, calculators, cellular phones, or computers. Also, you should not choose a photograph or collection of photographs, since a photograph is both a thing, and contains other things, and the description of both will be too difficult in the space you have. Your object should be simple enough that you can describe it in detail in about two pages.
Suggestions: This assignment is not as simple as it may seem, and it would not be a good idea to take it too lightly. Choose your object carefully, so that it has enough detail to produce a full description, but don’t choose anything that’s too complex to describe in one page. You need to describe your object as vividly as possible—using concrete and specific language, invoking multiple senses and drawing vivid comparisons—so that the reader is able to visualize the thing you have chosen. You do not need to make your reader guess what your object is, so be sure to identify it early in the description.
I would suggest you start by simply examining your chosen object very closely for an extended period of time, from as many different angles and in as many different ways as possible, noting details in a list as you observe them. Sit down with your object in front of you and write as many different things about it as you can. What does it look like? What color is it? Is it bright? dull? reflective? What is its texture? Is it soft or hard? wet or dry? smooth or rough? spongy or rubbery? What is its shape? Is it made up of different parts? Is it symmetrical and balanced, or awkward? Is it heavy or light? Does it have a smell? a taste? What kind of activity does it suggest? You do not have to answer all of these questions, but you can use them as a guide to the kind of detail you should be representing to your reader. You might also discover some ideas and helpful similes or metaphors through brainstorming and freewriting sessions. Does its appearance remind you of anything that might help create its image in your reader’s mind? Let your mind go free, and even come up with weird stuff. You don’t have to use it all, but it might give you some interesting ideas.
After you have as many ideas as you can come up with, sit down and start to organize them into related groups, which you can use to construct paragraphs. We will discuss organizational methods in detail in class. Once you have organized the details of your description, you can begin to put them into coherent paragraphs, which you can then organize into an essay.
Your goal in this essay is not to make your reader guess what your object is. Begin your essay by naming the object you’re describing in a clear, descriptive thesis statement. Your audience for this paper is made up of your classmates, and you are writing a paper to describe your image to them.
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