concrete noun description

Descriptive writing uses words to paint a picture. It’s not story-telling, though stories usually contain lots of description. The goal of description is to reveal a person, place, or thing by appealing to the five senses.

Your writing assignment is to describe three nouns of your choice: a person, a place, and a thing. Describe each noun in several sentences. Keep them in individual paragraphs. Do your best to show what each noun looks like, but be aware that description may also include sound, smell, taste, and touch. Include details.

Below is a suggested list to jump start your imagination. You are not required to choose from the list. Choose any person, place, thing or idea you’d like.

Persons:  a family member, a favorite relative, a teacher, a coach, a friend, a historical figure, a sports hero, a fictional character, a cartoon character, a cowboy, a bank robber, a used car salesman, a bell boy, a ballerina, a gypsy, a circus clown, a chess master, a cannibal, etc.

Places: a vacation spot, your bedroom, your grandparent’s house, a playhouse, a bowling alley, a supermarket, a rodeo, an opera house, a miser’s basement, a widow’s attic, an abandoned library, a castle, a country road, a town square, a city street, a bus stop, the moon, an imaginary place, a theme park, a prison cell, etc.

Things: a toolbox, a car, a computer chip, an unusual invention, a skateboard, a video game, a work of art, a pet, a bowl of soup, a bug, etc.

Don’t be anxious about this assignment. Because it’s the first assignment of this course, you won’t receive a score. You’ll get feedback from your writing coach and he or she will use this paper to get to know your writing style. You will only do one draft of this paper.

Pay attention to the formatting guidelines.