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Saturday, August 31, 2013
Reflection – Descriptive Essay – Section 12 – Sept. 3
Visit URL: http://mnrivera1.com/Four_Major_Essays.pdf In your own words, discuss what a descriptive essay is. View the topics listed. Discuss which descriptive topic you would select and why? Please note that this will also be reviewed for Test #1.
Further reflect on today’s overall activities.
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To me, a descriptive essay is an essay that allows the writer to tell a story. The writer must describe an item or time in life they experienced in a way that stood out to them. Out of the topics that are listed, I would write about my favorite teacher because I would not be the same person without her. I would not even be in college without her. In today's class, we went over how to write an essay. It was a refresher course on the things I learned in elementary school.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way. A descriptive essay is limitless to a writer. The writer can write about anything, however he wants to. It's the writer's creativity and skill to compose a well-educated descriptive essay.
DeleteI think that you would write a great descriptive essay about your favorite teacher because you talk about her with so much emotion. I think being emotional about a subject, wether happy or sad, makes a well written essay. You can convey those feelings on to the paper and your readers will feel it too.
DeleteI like how you chose to write about your favorite teacher. You seem very passionate about the subject. With that being said, I know that you will be able to write a great essay about him or her. Through my experiences, I found it easier and more effective to write about something that you hold much interest in as opposed to writing about something that you might find boring.
DeleteWriting about your favorite teacher is an excellent topic because you are familiar with your favorite teacher. You know exactly what to write about and would not stumble or think. Also, you can let all your emotions out and make your teacher feel special.
DeleteI think that today's discussion on freewriting can be helpful at time when you are stuck on a paper and don't know what to talk about like the all about me essay. I had a hard time thinking about what to write about myself, I just let my mind just think about anything and sometimes it just keeps going and going and that's like freewriting, and it can help in your paper. But later we would have to go back and forth and review on the paper we write about.
ReplyDeleteI agree. The lessons we learned today can really help us when we get stuck on a paper and don't know what to do. I can let my mind run and just jot things down as it processes a variety of things at once. It helps me to cluster my ideas in a very effective way.
DeleteIf you ever feel stuck, try to not think so hard. It's easier to jot down any and all ideas that come freely. After you have a couple ideas, start clustering those ideas and see what works. Then just follow the steps that we refreshed on today and I guarantee everything will start to click. Remember that writing a good story takes time.
DeleteI personally love to use freewriting. I see is as a great way to compile all of your thoughts on a certain subject. I also sometimes find it difficult to continue writing an essay when I run out of ideas. That is why I try my best to freewrite beforehand so that I will be able to avoid that issue. This is why I believe that freewriting is definitely an important component of the writing process.
DeleteI agree the lesson that we had in class taught me that if I start of by freewriting I can get details on what I want to write on my essay and organize my thoughts.
DeleteA descriptive essay, basically the title says it all. It's a type of essay that describes something. That "something" isn't just limited to a tangible object, it can be a feeling or experience. I would choose a topic that I am familiar with or an experience just because it is something that only I would understand with my own feelings. It is easier to describe your feelings and you can talk about everything in detail about how you felt at an event and why you feel that way. Today, we learned about the beginning process of writing an essay & how it doesn't have to be completely perfect when you first write because its a freewrite, it basically helps you formulate the ideas and further along it helps you contribute those ideas into your main essay.
ReplyDeleteOur minds are limitless, and we can express our ideas and creativity in a variety of ways. It makes me feel secure that free writing won't really be our final draft. I feel secure because I can just keep writing whatever I think about, let my mind flow, and edit things later before completing my paper.
DeleteThe most effective descriptive essays are the ones that are based on experience. If I were to choose my topic, I would have to make sure it is something that I know inside and out, right at the back of my mind. I have not decided yet whether I should write about someone, some day, or somewhere. Hopefully I can figure this out and start on that draft! xD
DeleteYou're right, this is all pretty self-explanatory
DeleteFree writing really does help your mind flow freely to develop ideas for your topic without worrying about any mistakes.
DeleteI feel like a descriptive essay allows the writer to connect more intimately with the reader. I feel like a lot of readers nowadays require more vivid language to help them understand the writer's point of view better. At least that's how it is with me. During the exercise, I wrote about my mom. She is my hero and role model. I love her to bits.
ReplyDeleteThe more vivid it is, the better. It allows the reader to see what the writer saw. It should feel as if we were there as well. On the other hand, there's so much to say about about mothers, especially if they are the good ones. That's a good topic
DeleteAs an avid reader myself, I like to read stories that are vivid and make you feel like you're right there in the story. It's a good idea to write about something that is personal and has meaning to you.
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DeleteLike Sharleen I am also an avid reader. The more the author gives you something to imagine and picture it in your head the more you enjoy the story.
DeleteDescriptive essays are my favorite essays to read because of the vivid language the writer uses makes the story much more interesting when you have the feels of actually being there.
DeleteA descriptive essay is an essay that allows the writer to tell its reader something about a topic in a more distinctive way. A descriptive essay is an essay that allows the writer to make the reader get more than a mental image of the topic, but a virtual feel towards the topic. The topic I chose is "your current job". I could go on and on talking about my job. The love-hate relationship I have with it. In todays class session we jus reviewed the main purpose of free writing and brainstorming, which I think is pretty helpful.
ReplyDeleteAuthors such as J.K. Rowling and Stephenie Meyer have their own distinctive writing techniques. I believe that anyone has their own style of writing as well. What and how you write is what separates you from the other way people write.
DeleteIn a descriptive essay, of course, not everyone will be able to describe things in the exact same way. Like what you said, Miko, every writer has their own unique way in writing, because what separates them from each other are their own individual experiences.
DeleteYour definition is very on-spot. Coincidentally, I also wrote about the same topic and I think that descriptive essays are best done with something personal to the writer; something we can really put our passion into. Also, Miko made a good point about your style of writing separating you from other writers; very interesting.
DeleteI think choosing a topic close to you does help you write a better descriptive essay. It gives you more to write about and since you know said topic so well, you can be really descriptive.
DeleteYes, the whole idea of a descriptive essay is to have the readers picture the scenes clearly. Uses the five senses will help develop a good descriptive essay.
DeleteA descriptive essay is an essay in which a writer can freely express his creativity by describing a topic in which he can write about. He can use his imagination and describe it in his personal way. I would choose to write a descriptive essay about "food" because I'm a guy like that, and I love food. Food comes from a variety of places around the world, and it's amazing what you can do with them. Today's activities refreshed my mind a bit, and got me to think deeper. I really liked today's lesson because it helped me see more strategies that could help me when I write papers.
ReplyDeleteIt always help to choose a topic that is the most familiar to you when writing a descriptive essay. This allows you, as a writer, to describe your topic in full details that not everyone could see or experience. As for me, I'm not quite sure yet what topic to choose. There's just so many!
DeleteI think that when you write, it has to be personal so that your ideas flow free and constant. I absolutely love food as well. I like to read about food because when it's written well, you feel as though you can taste it. I would love to try foods from around the world.
DeleteFood would be an interesting topic to write a descriptive essay about since it's so broad. Excited to see your brainstorming ideas and how it connects to us readers (which probably would be easy since we all love food).
DeleteI felt the same way. Today's lesson was a huge refresher for me. And Maiko is right, writing about something you're familiar with does make for a better descriptive essay.
DeleteToday's lesson did open my mind more about how to write a better essay. Although it was a refresher, it was good to review it again.
DeleteA descriptive essay is kind of like a portal to another person's mind. It requires the use of all our senses, including the sense of sight, touch, smell, and hearing. The use of our other senses other than plain writing, helps the writer decide what type of descriptive words to use to give the readers the mental image of what the essay is all about.
ReplyDeleteYou're description of the descriptive essay reminds me of how stories are usually written. Perhaps that's another way of looking at it?
DeleteYes, stories are written to be told and remembered, and in order to remember, there has to be a connection created between the reader and the writer.
DeleteI really like the way you defined a descriptive essay. When writing a descriptive essay I think what you write should be something that will really pull the reader in and make them become interested to learn and read more about the topic. By using your senses, that will also interest the reader because they'll be imagining or thinking about how your topic smells, feels, hears, and looks like.
DeleteI like the way you defined it as well. You really got me seeing essays in a whole new light. I never realized how in-tuned you can get into a person's writing depending on descriptive they were.
DeleteI like the part when you said "A descriptive essay is kind of like a portal to another person's mind." This is true because you want to read a story where you feel like you are actually there rather than just plain reading a story and not understanding it.
DeleteI like and agree with your definition of a descriptive essay. A portal to another person's mind is a great way to explain what it is.
DeleteA descriptive essay is a type of written art that paints a picture in the reader's mind. When reading a descriptive essay, you should be able to imagine how a character looks like or how something felt. A great writer is able to take you to another place just by reading about it. I would choose to write about one of my friends because it's something that I truly know everything about. Today's lesson would help as I get to the writting process because it will help me gather and edit my thoughts.
ReplyDeleteI understand how knowing everything about your friends would help you in writing a descriptive essay. It is easier to paint a picture when you know all the little details within the painting. The more knowledge you accumulate on a topic the more descriptive you can be. Details, in a descriptive essay, are imperative.
DeleteI agree with how you described the descriptive essay. It is an art that paints a picture on the reader`s mind. The more the colorful or descriptive the essay is the more the readers enjoy it.
DeleteGood way of saying it! It is an art that you paint in the reader's mind using our senses. With this, it captivates the reader and takes them wherever your essay takes them.
DeleteA descriptive essay is the type of essay that should tempt the reader. It should be written using all the senses, and also focus on the main points. As we learned today in class, it should allow the reader to know Who, What, Where, When, Why and how that focuses on the point giving it a lot of details and bringing the essay to life.
ReplyDeleteI completely agree with you. Descriptive essays should be about to grab a reader's attention and hold it until the very last word is read. If the essay doesn't do that then it can sometimes be very tedious to read and the reader will find the content to be dreary. Therefore, the purpose of the essay will be useless because the reader was not able to comprehend the message that was being delivered.
DeleteTempt the reader to do what, exactly? Perhaps you mean inform? Tempting is something a persuasive essay would do, descriptive essay should inform the readers about details of the topic. The 'who, what, when, where, why, and how' questions do exactly that.
DeleteThanks for pointing that out, but what I meant by tempt the reader was actually in the way so I can tempt the reader to get interested in my story. Grab his attention as Ritacia said on the comment above.
DeleteTo me, a descriptive essay is an essay that allows a writer to express their thoughts and feelings on a certain subject. Writers are able to go into detail of something that is either important to them or meaningless to their life. If I were to select a descriptive topic to write on, I would choose to write about my friend because there is an endless amount of things that I could describe. Besides learning about descriptive essays, we discussed some major steps in the writing process. I thought that it was a great way to brush up on techniques that would further our writing this semester.
ReplyDeleteI definitely agree. Good writers go into depth about experiences in their life in a way that truly engages readers, and writing our own descriptive essays gives us the practice we need to get to the level they are at.
DeleteToday's lessons are a huge help and also I agree with you on the descriptive essay. Going through the link, that I have read. Writers to me always have things to express their feelings on an anything they what to write about.
DeleteI agree, brushing up on our techniques for the writing process really helps me to just stay organized and just keeps all my ideas in one place where I can access it instantly whenever I need it
DeleteI think a descriptive essay is one that adds more facts and details than any of the other essays mentioned in class. With this in mind, I currently choose to select the favorite flower as my essay topic. However, I may change this if I feel that it doesn't do me justice, which is part of the writing process we learned in class today. Time to brainstorm!
ReplyDeleteI'm curious towards the way you are able to come up with enough substance to write about your favorite flower. Looking forward to seeing the details you list in order to succeed in this writing. However, I like the idea of changing topic if you feel it's not enough. My word of advice: do a quick pre-write for a handpicked 3 topics and see which one you can come up with the most information on. It has always helped me, I've never had an issue with meeting length requirements! (:
DeleteTo me, descriptive essays is an essay that allows the writer to give the readers an imaginative way of reading. Using the five senses the reader describes how beautiful the thing being describe, what is the smell, the texture ,the taste and does it make a sound? In this way of writing the writer does not only gives the idea of what the thing is but it also enhance the imagination of the reader. For the topic i will choose a famous historical person. Being a fan of science I admire Charles Darwin`s influence and additional information to the world of science. Also, during the class discussing about the use of free writing, listing, and clustering will be a big help on gathering ideas for our essays.
ReplyDeleteYes, descriptive essays provides us readers something to connect to. Can't wait to read about your essay about Charles Darwin. I'm a fan as well, and it'll be interesting to see how you portray him in a descriptive essay.
DeleteI think descriptive essays definitely will enhance the imagination of the reader. I for one know that when I read essays with a lot of interesting details, I seem to pay close attention to them and imagine what exactly the writer sees as well. I also agree that today's lesson will be a big help in jotting ideas for our essays.
DeleteA descriptive essay is an essay that uses the five senses to vividly describe something, whether it be an event, a person, or an idea. It is important as it helps the writer connect to the reader in a more intimate and emotional level.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I've decided to write is about my favorite teacher because he had made such a big impact on my life, and taught me the lessons that I abide by throughout my years in school.
Since there's a lot to be said on this topic, today's lessons really helped with reminding me about the different strategies I could use to efficiently write about my topic. The strategy of freewriting would have to be my favorite because from the babble written, important key topics emerge.
You have a very good definition of a descriptive essay. I honestly didn't even consider beforehand that this type of essay allows for the five senses to participate in our writings. I like the vocabulary you used in this post and I am interested in what you can use in your descriptive essays. You did meet the requirement of a descriptive essay with using more "pizzazz" words rather than the drab and common verbs. However, I must agree that these strategies will enrich our efficiency and get rid of babbling habits.
DeleteI also liked the freewriting strategy in today's lesson. Before this lesson, I didn't know it was okay to "blah blah blah" until you find something to fill in your essay. I used to be stuck and take forever to complete essays waiting for something to come to mind. After learning more about the freewriting technique, I was able to continuously write in today's first exercise. I also chose to write about my favorite teacher because I feel like I can describe her a lot and write about how much she has taught me.
DeleteA descriptive essay is an essay in which you describe a topic in great detail. You also put a lot of emotion and thought into writing the certain topic and use senses to help you describe the topic as well. The topic I'm choosing for my descriptive essay is my favorite teacher. Even if she was only my teacher for kindergarten, she was always there for me throughout the years after that guiding me in the right direction to succeed in life.
ReplyDeleteToday's lesson was about freewriting, brainstorming, and clustering. I really enjoyed the lesson, especially because the freewriting exercise was about a topic we chose to write about. I also think that this lesson is definitely going to help me write my descriptive essay. I think it'll help me choose a lot of main points to write about.
Your subject of your favorite teacher should be able to give a lot of information, but also a lot of sentiment which makes for an excellent descriptive essay. I imagine by your introduction that I will feel as if I've already met your kindergarten teacher.
DeleteI also enjoyed the lesson because it was relatively easy but did give us the chance to exercise our brains a bit.
I believe that a descriptive essay is a form of freewriting that is less structured and more personal to the writer. Descriptive essays are more inviting and enjoyable than the average research paper or persuasive essay because they allow for attitude, opinion, strong adjectives, a main perspective, and usually use more enticing words.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I'd be most likely to choose is "my current job." My job is something that I could provide a lot of detail with in my own perspective and add my own personal flair to. I could write about my coworkers, my customers (who), my duties (what), my hours (when), the reason I work (why), and (how) how does my job benefit me, or how much do I get paid? In fact, I could go many ways with this topic because I could talk about the downsides or the positives. Listing would really benefit me in brainstorming my ideas alone. However, I do believe that the best way to go about this topic for a descriptive essay is the cluttering strategy. I would take my "6 big questions" as subtopics and branch out to the important details that will add substance to my work. Therefore, I will have all the information I want to use ready and pre-organized. The last thing I have to do is just string it together with sentences. I think clustering may actually be the most useful and reintroduced strategy in the class so far. It is the fastest, easiest, and most organized form of pre-writing that is essential for a good essay.
I like how you used what we learned in today's lesson to start brainstorming on your descriptive essay topic already. You seem to be on the right track to a very interesting essay just by seeing your responses to the 6 questions. I also agree that descriptive essays are more enjoyable because when reading the essay, you can put yourself in the writers shoes and imagine what they wrote about as if you were experiencing what they're writing about with them.
DeleteA descriptive essay is an essay that goes into detail. It uses the five sense: touch, taste, smell, sight, and hear. This type of essay should allow the reader to visualize the setting and feel of it clearly. The writer of a descriptive essay must make the reader feel as if they are actually in the setting of the story. I would choose writing about a personal experience because I can go into details easier since I've actually lived it.
ReplyDeleteIn today's lesson, we learned about stage one of the writing process. This can help develop ideas of your chosen topic and will also help in making a well organized essay.
I like your choice of topic because it is much easier to write about something that you have experienced. I hope you are able to grab your readers attention and make an amazing essay.
DeleteYes, but don't forget the freewriting part! If you write about a personal experience, freewriting it ahead of time will help you come up with more details to use on your essay. You can then organize and select which ideas will be beneficial to the topic you have in mind, since a personal experience is such a broad subject.
DeleteA descriptive essay, to me, allows the writer to pay attention to detail. You're given the opportunity to put the reader or audience in your position and let them know and make them feel what you were feeling at the point in life you're writing about. It challenges the writer to use their senses and translate what they were feeling onto paper.
ReplyDeleteBasically transcending from the typical writing stage. You would want the reader to empathize with the writer about what is written on the essay. It helps the reader and the writer have a closer connection with each other with the descriptive topic.
DeleteA descriptive essay is when a person gives a detailed story. The narrator can be as detailed as can be. You can be put into the narrator's shoes and feel what they are feeling. This form of writing can be used when describing a tragedy or an exciting event that took place because the emotions are realistic.
ReplyDeleteA descriptive essay includes all five senses and allows the author to give a more thorough explanation as to what the reader should imagine. The more information given the better the reader could understand and in turn relate to what is written. Descriptive essays allow the reader to connect better with the situation that the paper portrays.
ReplyDeleteThe topic I would choose from the list given would have to be happy moments. This is because most other emotions are felt more frequently then true happiness. Writing about one of the happiest moments of my life would not only help me remember it better but cherish it even more.