Before anything else, learn to describe.

A descriptive paragraph describes how something or someone looks or feels. It gives an impression of something. If, for example, you only wanted to write specific information about a certain river, you could write a paragraph filled with facts about the river. However, if you wanted to tell about the feelings you had when you sailed on a boat on the same river, you would write a descriptive paragraph.

A descriptive paragraph:

- describes

- gives impressions, not just definitions

- "shows" the readers

- creates a sensory image in the readers mind (NOTE: sensory refers to the five senses: hearing, taste, touch and smell.

In a DESCRIPTIVE paragraph/essay, a simple sentence may become longer, and more descriptive through the use of ADJECTIVES and ADVERBS, for example:

Simple sentence: The man walked into the room.

Descriptive sentence: The tall, large man swiftly and silently walked into the dark, dusty room.

Activity:

Change the simple sentences into descriptive sentences:

1. The dog crossed the street.

2. The woman is carrying her baby in the park.

3. The man is running to the train.

4. The boy is playing with his friends by the river.

5. The girl is reading a book in the library