how to write a essay on a person

Essay Papers Writing Online

Discover the art of writing an engaging and insightful essay about a person – dive deep into their character, experiences, and impact.

Every writer knows that relaying the essence of a person’s life through words is a task that requires finesse and meticulous attention to detail. Whether you are delving into the life of a historical figure, a beloved celebrity, or even a close family member, the art of writing a captivating essay about someone’s life is both a captivating and challenging venture.

As you embark on this literary journey, it is crucial to grasp the significance of capturing the individual’s essence, not merely listing a series of events. You must paint a vivid portrait using descriptive language, anecdotes, and careful selection of information that encapsulates their character and leaves a lasting impression on your readers.

An effective biography goes beyond a mere chronological narrative; it strives to provide insight into the thoughts, emotions, and motivations that defined the individual’s life. By using the power of storytelling, you can transport your readers to the time and place where their passions and struggles came to life, fostering a deep and personal connection that lingers long after the final words are read.

Choosing the Right Individual for Your Composition

Deciding the person you want to write about in your essay can greatly influence the overall quality and impact of your writing. The person you choose should not only be captivating and significant, but also contribute to the narrative in a meaningful way. Your chosen individual should have a rich background and a compelling story that can be explored and analyzed.

Selecting an individual: It is vital to select an individual who has had a considerable impact on their field or society. Look for someone who has achieved great success, made significant contributions, or overcome extraordinary challenges. This person must have a unique story that can engage and inspire readers.

Diverse perspectives: Consider selecting someone who has had a diverse and varied life experience. This allows you to delve into different aspects of their life, such as their personal and professional journey, their cultural background, or their role in shaping society. Exploring different dimensions of their life can add depth and richness to your essay.

Availability of sources: Ensure that there is sufficient information available about the person you choose. Conduct thorough research to find interviews, biographies, autobiographies, articles, and other relevant sources. Having access to a wide range of sources will enable you to gather enough material to construct a comprehensive and well-rounded essay.

Personal connection: It is helpful to have a personal connection or interest in the individual you choose. This connection can drive your passion and enthusiasm for the topic, enhancing your writing. Your personal investment in the person can also help you establish a connection with your readers, making the essay more relatable and engaging.

Relevance: Consider the relevance of the person to your intended audience and the overall theme or purpose of your composition. Choose someone who can resonate with your readers and contribute to the overarching message or argument of your essay. The person should align with your essay’s objectives and appeal to your target audience.

In conclusion, selecting the right individual for your essay requires careful consideration. The person you choose should possess a captivating story, diverse perspectives, and be relevant to both your audience and the overall theme of your essay. By carefully choosing the right person, you can ensure that your essay is compelling, engaging, and impactful.

Conducting Proper Research

Thorough and in-depth research is an essential step in writing a compelling and well-rounded essay about a person. Only by immersing yourself in the subject matter can you gain a comprehensive understanding of the individual in question and present a balanced and insightful portrayal.

When conducting research on a person, it is important to explore a variety of reliable sources. This includes books, articles, interviews, documentaries, and reputable websites. By examining multiple perspectives and source types, you can gather a broader range of information and ensure the accuracy and credibility of your essay.

As you delve into the research process, it is crucial to take organized notes. By using a structured approach, such as creating an outline or using note cards, you can keep track of important details, quotes, and references. This will make it easier to compile your research and craft a well-supported essay.

In addition to gathering factual information, it is beneficial to seek out personal anecdotes or firsthand accounts that offer unique insights into the person you are writing about. This could involve conducting interviews with individuals who have known or worked with the subject, or exploring personal letters, diaries, or other archival materials.

Remember to critically evaluate the sources you come across during your research. Consider the author’s credibility, the publication’s reputation, and any potential biases. By conducting thorough research, analyzing information critically, and cross-referencing multiple sources, you can ensure the accuracy and objectivity of your essay.

Conducting proper research is a fundamental step in writing an essay about a person. By immersing yourself in the subject matter, exploring a variety of sources, taking organized notes, and critically evaluating information, you can gather the necessary knowledge to create a thoughtfully written and well-supported essay.

Structuring Your Essay

Organizing and structuring your essay is crucial to effectively convey your ideas and information about the individual you are writing about. By creating a clear structure, you can ensure that your essay flows logically and is easy for readers to follow.

To begin, it is important to establish an introduction that captures the reader’s attention and provides a brief overview of the person you will be discussing. This introduction should give a glimpse into the significance of the individual and why you have chosen to write about them.

Next, you should develop the body paragraphs of your essay. Each paragraph should focus on a specific aspect or characteristic of the person, providing detailed examples and evidence to support your claims. It is important to use strong and compelling language to engage the reader and effectively convey your thoughts.

When structuring your body paragraphs, consider organizing them thematically or chronologically. Thematic organization allows you to group related details together, highlighting common themes or traits. On the other hand, chronological organization can be used to present information in a chronological order, highlighting the person’s life events or progression over time.

Lastly, conclude your essay by summarizing the main points discussed and offering a final thought or reflection on the person you have written about. This conclusion should leave a lasting impression on the reader and tie together the various aspects of your essay.

Overall, structuring your essay in a clear and cohesive manner is essential for effectively conveying information about the person you are writing about. By following a logical structure and using strong language, you can create a compelling and impactful essay that engages readers and leaves a lasting impression.

Highlighting Key Qualities and Achievements

Shining a spotlight on the remarkable attributes and notable accomplishments of an individual is crucial when writing an engaging essay. By emphasizing the distinctive qualities and significant achievements of the person you are depicting, you can provide your readers with a deeper understanding and appreciation of their life and contributions.

When delving into their key qualities, it is essential to paint a vivid picture of their character, unveiling the unique traits that set them apart from others. Whether it be their unwavering determination, exceptional creativity, or profound empathy, these qualities should be highlighted using precise and descriptive language to evoke a sense of awe and admiration in the reader.

In addition to their standout qualities, it is equally important to showcase the achievements that have defined the person’s life and contributed to their legacy. These achievements may range from academic or professional accomplishments to personal milestones or acts of service that have made a lasting impact on the lives of others. By providing specific examples and illustrating how these achievements have positively influenced the world around them, you can further amplify the significance of the person’s story.

Moreover, it is essential to weave together the qualities and achievements of the individual, demonstrating how their inherent strengths have propelled them towards success. Highlighting the correlation between their exceptional qualities and the results they have achieved will not only underscore their exceptionalism but also inspire readers to recognize the power of these qualities within themselves.

In conclusion, when crafting an essay about a person, it is crucial to focus on highlighting their key qualities and achievements. By emphasizing their exceptional attributes and noteworthy accomplishments, you can provide a comprehensive and engaging depiction of their life and leave a lasting impact on your readers.

Creating a Compelling Narrative

Developing a captivating storyline is crucial when writing an engaging essay about an individual. By weaving together a well-crafted narrative, readers are drawn into the person’s life and experiences, providing them with a deeper understanding of their character and significance. The art of storytelling holds the power to elicit emotions, create connections, and leave a lasting impact on the audience.

An effective narrative should transport the reader to different moments in the person’s life, allowing them to experience the triumphs, challenges, and pivotal moments that shaped their journey. Utilizing descriptive language, vivid imagery, and sensory details, the writer can paint a picture in the reader’s mind, making the story come alive. Incorporating dialogues and anecdotes can also help add authenticity and provide insights into the person’s personality and motivations.

Structure is key when crafting a compelling narrative. By organizing the essay in a coherent and logical manner, the writer can guide the reader through the story, maintaining their interest and engagement. Beginning with a captivating introduction that sets the stage and introduces the person, the writer should then progress through the essay, highlighting significant events or milestones that showcase the person’s growth, accomplishments, or struggles.

While it is important to maintain a consistent chronology, introducing unexpected twists and turns can add excitement and suspense to the narrative. Employing various literary techniques, such as foreshadowing or flashback, can be effective in creating anticipation and capturing the reader’s attention. However, it is important to ensure that these techniques serve the purpose of the story and contribute to the overall understanding and appreciation of the person being portrayed.

To create a compelling narrative, writers should strive for authenticity and emotional connection. By sharing personal insights, reflections, or anecdotes, the writer can expose their own emotions and reactions to the person, establishing a sense of intimacy and vulnerability. This not only adds depth to the essay but also invites the reader to form their own personal connection to the person being discussed.

In conclusion, a well-crafted narrative is essential to writing an essay that truly captures the essence of a person. By employing descriptive language, structuring the essay effectively, and cultivating emotional connections, writers can create a narrative that engages the reader and leaves a lasting impression.

How to master the art of writing expository essays and captivate your audience, convenient and reliable source to purchase college essays online, step-by-step guide to crafting a powerful literary analysis essay, unlock success with a comprehensive business research paper example guide, unlock your writing potential with writers college – transform your passion into profession, “unlocking the secrets of academic success – navigating the world of research papers in college”, master the art of sociological expression – elevate your writing skills in sociology.

How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person: Step By Step

Post author By admin
March 1, 2024

Descriptive essays are like painting a vivid picture with words. They allow us to delve deep into the essence of someone or something, capturing every detail, emotion, and nuance. When it comes to writing a descriptive essay on a person, it’s all about bringing that individual to life on the page. In this guide, we’ll explore step-by-step how to write a descriptive essay on a person, from choosing the right person to polishing your final draft.

Table of Contents

How Do You Start A Descriptive Essay?

Starting a descriptive essay requires setting the scene and grabbing the reader’s attention. Here are some effective ways to begin:

Start with a vivid description: Paint a picture with words by describing the setting, person, or object you’ll be focusing on. Use sensory details to immerse the reader in the scene.
Use an engaging anecdote: Begin with a short story or anecdote related to your subject. This can draw readers in and make them curious to learn more.
Pose a rhetorical question: Start with a thought-provoking question that relates to your topic. This can pique the reader’s curiosity and encourage them to keep reading for the answer.
Invoke the senses: Appeal to the reader’s senses by describing sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and textures. This creates a vivid experience for the reader and sets the tone for your essay.
Provide a brief background: Offer a brief introduction to your subject, providing context for the description that follows. This helps orient the reader and gives them a sense of what to expect.

Ultimately, the goal is to engage the reader from the very beginning and create a strong foundation for your descriptive essay.

How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person?

Pre-writing phase.

Before diving into writing, it’s essential to do some groundwork.

Selecting Your Subject: Choose a person who holds significance for you. It could be a family member, friend, mentor, or even a historical figure you admire.
Brainstorming Traits: Think about the qualities and characteristics that define this person. Jot down specific details, memories, and anecdotes that come to mind.
Gathering Memories: Reflect on your experiences with this person. Recall moments that stand out, whether they’re funny, heartwarming, or profound.
Determining Tone: Consider the tone and perspective you want to convey in your essay. Will it be nostalgic, admiring, or reflective?

Creating an Outline

A well-structured outline provides a roadmap for your essay, ensuring that you cover all essential aspects.

Introduction: Set the stage by introducing the person you’ll be describing and stating the purpose of your essay. Your thesis statement should give readers a glimpse of what to expect.
Body Paragraphs: Organize your essay into paragraphs focusing on different aspects of the person’s character.
Physical Description: Paint a vivid picture of their appearance, from their physical features to their style of dress and unique mannerisms.
Personality Traits: Dive into their personality, exploring their quirks, habits, values, and passions.
Impact on Others: Highlight the person’s relationships and influence on those around them, including anecdotes that showcase their impact.
Conclusion: Summarize the key traits discussed in the essay and reflect on their significance. Leave readers with a lasting impression.

Drafting the Essay

With your outline in hand, it’s time to start writing.

Introduction: Begin with an attention-grabbing opening that draws readers in. Introduce the person and provide context for why they are important to you.
Body Paragraphs: Develop each section with descriptive details and vivid imagery. Use sensory language to evoke emotions and create a sense of intimacy.
Conclusion: Reinforce the central theme of your essay and leave readers with a thought-provoking insight or reflection.

Revision and Editing

Once you’ve completed your first draft, it’s time to polish your essay.

Review for Clarity: Ensure that your essay flows smoothly from one paragraph to the next, with clear transitions between ideas.
Check for Errors: Proofread your essay for grammar, punctuation, and spelling mistakes. Pay attention to sentence structure and word choice.
Seek Feedback: Share your essay with friends, family, or peers for feedback. Consider their suggestions for improvement and make revisions accordingly.

Finalizing the Essay

Before submitting your essay, take one last look to ensure it’s polished and ready to shine.

Formatting: Format your essay according to the guidelines provided, including font size, spacing, and margins.
Proofread Again: Give your essay a final proofread to catch any lingering errors or typos.
Submission: Once you’re satisfied with your essay, submit it with confidence, knowing that you’ve crafted a compelling portrayal of the person who holds significance in your life.

Top 3 Examples of Descriptive Essays About a Person

“my grandmother: a portrait of strength and love”.

In this essay, the author paints a vivid picture of their grandmother, emphasizing her physical appearance as well as her inner strength and loving nature.

Through detailed descriptions of her wrinkled hands, warm smile, and comforting presence, the author captures the essence of their grandmother’s character.

Anecdotes and memories illustrate her resilience and the profound impact she has had on the author’s life, making her a cherished figure to be admired and celebrated.

“The Man Who Built Bridges: A Tribute to My Father”

This essay pays tribute to the author’s father, highlighting his remarkable qualities as a bridge builder both literally and metaphorically.

Through evocative descriptions of his weathered hands, steadfast determination, and unwavering kindness, the author portrays their father as a symbol of resilience, integrity, and compassion.

Anecdotes from the author’s childhood underscore the profound influence their father has had, leaving a lasting legacy of love and strength.

“The Artist of Words: An Ode to Maya Angelou”

In this essay, the author celebrates the life and legacy of Maya Angelou, the renowned poet, author, and civil rights activist.

Through vivid descriptions of Angelou’s commanding presence, eloquent speech, and unwavering courage, the author captures the essence of her indomitable spirit and profound impact on literature and society.

Quotes and excerpts from Angelou’s works illustrate her mastery of language and her ability to inspire and empower others, leaving an enduring legacy of hope and resilience.

Tips To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person

Writing a descriptive essay about a person requires attention to detail and a focus on capturing the essence of the individual. Here are some tips to help you craft a compelling descriptive essay:

Choose a Subject You Know Well: Select a person whom you know intimately or have spent significant time with. This familiarity will allow you to provide rich descriptions and insights into their character.
Brainstorm Descriptive Details: Before you start writing, make a list of physical attributes, personality traits, habits, and mannerisms that characterize the person. Think about specific anecdotes or memories that showcase their unique qualities.
Create an Outline: Organize your essay with a clear structure, including an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Decide on the main traits or characteristics you will focus on in each section.
Start with an Engaging Introduction: Grab the reader’s attention from the start with a compelling opening sentence or anecdote that sets the scene and introduces the person you will be describing.
Use Vivid Descriptive Language: Paint a vivid picture with words by using sensory details to describe the person’s appearance, movements, facial expressions, and gestures. Appeal to the reader’s senses to create a vivid and immersive experience.
Show, Don’t Tell: Instead of simply stating facts about the person, show their personality and character through descriptive scenes, dialogue, and actions. Use specific examples and anecdotes to illustrate your points.
Focus on Emotions and Impressions: Describe not only what the person looks like but also how they make you feel and the impression they leave on others. Capture the emotions and atmosphere surrounding your interactions with them.
Be Objective and Honest: While it’s important to highlight the person’s positive qualities, don’t shy away from portraying their flaws or weaknesses if they are relevant to the essay. Be honest and objective in your descriptions.
Organize Your Thoughts: Structure your essay logically, moving from one characteristic or trait to the next in a coherent manner. Use transitions to guide the reader smoothly through your descriptions.
Conclude with a Reflection: Summarize the key points of your essay in the conclusion and reflect on the significance of the person in your life or the impact they have had on others. Leave the reader with a lasting impression or insight.

By following these tips and techniques, you can create a descriptive essay that brings your chosen person to life on the page and leaves a lasting impression on your readers.

In conclusion, writing a descriptive essay on a person is a rewarding endeavor that allows you to celebrate the unique qualities and impact of someone special.

By following these steps (about how to write a descriptive essay on a person) and pouring your heart into your writing, you can create a masterpiece that truly brings your subject to life on the page.

australia (2)
duolingo (13)
Education (284)
General (78)
How To (18)
IELTS (127)
Latest Updates (162)
Malta Visa (6)
Permanent residency (1)
Programming (31)
Scholarship (1)
Sponsored (4)
Study Abroad (187)
Technology (12)
work permit (8)

How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph About a Person (With Examples)

4-minute read

7th January 2023

Describing a person or character is difficult for even the most successful authors. It requires a balance of words to make sure they shine through without the language being too heavy. In this article, we’ll look at how to write a descriptive paragraph about a person, share some examples, and talk about different strategies.

1. Brainstorm Your Ideas

Brainstorming is crucial to any writing process. It’s the process in which you think of ideas for what you’d like to write about. In this case, you’re writing a descriptive paragraph about a person. It’s important to use adjectives to describe the features or characteristics you want to focus on.

One way to come up with ideas for a descriptive paragraph about a person is to go through the five senses. Use the questions below to get some ideas for what you want to highlight about your person.

Appeal to your reader’s senses – smell, taste, sound, sight, and touch

Smell: How does the person smell? Do they wear perfume? Are they doing an activity that would make them have a certain smell?

Taste: Do you associate a certain food with this person? Does it make you think of a specific taste? Can you taste something due to a certain smell they have?

Sound: Do they have a unique voice or laugh? Are they doing an activity that has distinctive sounds?

Sight: What prominent features do they have? For example, think about their dressing style, their smile, or their surroundings. What do you see them doing in your mind when you see a photo of them? What memories do you have of this person? Does this person remind you of something or someone?

Touch: What textures do you see? For example, imagine their skin or clothing. How does it feel if you hug them?

2. Begin With a Short and Snappy Sentence

Like with any type of writing, you want to hook your reader so that they want to continue reading. In this case, you can use a topic sentence, if appropriate, to introduce your reader to the person. For example:

Or, if you want to be more creative, you can reel them in with a short and snappy sentence about this person. This is called a writing hook . This sentence should focus on a stand-out detail or characteristic about the person you’re describing. For example:

3. Describe the Person

Now, this is the hard part. But, if you’ve brainstormed plenty of ideas and know which ones you want to focus on, it will be easier. Let’s look at some examples to get a better idea of how to write a descriptive paragraph about a person using the prompt “describe a person you admire.”

Comments: This paragraph is pretty typical of most students. It gives lots of visual details of the person and uses a simile or two (“ Her eyes are like the color of honey” and “Her smile shines like the sun” ). While this strategy gets the job done, it’s not very exciting to read. In fact, it can be quite boring!

Let’s look at how we can rewrite this to make it more exciting.

Find this useful?

Subscribe to our newsletter and get writing tips from our editors straight to your inbox.

Comments: In this example, we focused on one defining characteristic of the person we are describing — her laugh. This strategy places more focus on the person you’re describing, rather than the adjectives you use to describe them.

4. Edit and Revise

After you write your descriptive paragraph, be sure to read it over. Read it out loud. Read it in a funny voice. Doing this will help you to hear the words and identify which parts do not work or sound awkward.

5. General Tips for Descriptive Writing

● Avoid using too many descriptive words.

● Remember to show the reader, not tell.

● Appeal to the reader’s five senses – smell, touch, taste, sight, and sound.

● Focus on a striking or defining characteristic.

● Use contrasting details from other people or surroundings for emphasis.

● Use literary devices (metaphors, similes etc.) sparingly and with intention.

● Use a hook to reel your reader in.

● Use a variety of short and long sentences.

● Practice creative writing exercises to improve your descriptive writing skills.

● Always edit and revise your writing.

If you need more help with writing a descriptive paragraph or essay , send your work to us! Our experts will proofread your first 500 words for free !

Share this article:

Post A New Comment

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

9-minute read

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Is your content getting noticed? Capturing and maintaining an audience’s attention is a challenge when...

8-minute read

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Are you looking to enhance engagement and captivate your audience through your professional documents? Interactive...

7-minute read

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Voice search optimization is rapidly shaping the digital landscape, requiring content professionals to adapt their...

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

Are you a creative freelancer looking to make a lasting impression on potential clients or...

How to Ace Slack Messaging for Contractors and Freelancers

Effective professional communication is an important skill for contractors and freelancers navigating remote work environments....

3-minute read

How to Insert a Text Box in a Google Doc

Google Docs is a powerful collaborative tool, and mastering its features can significantly enhance your...

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

Home ➔ How to Write an Essay ➔ Profile Essay

Profile Essay Guide

A profile essay is a type of essay that centers on one person, place, or event. One of the most common profile essay assignments is one in which the author “profiles” a certain person, offering information about who that person is and why they are important, so it is similar to an informative essay in its goals.

Main characteristics and purpose

The main purpose of a profile essay is to present an objective profile of a person, group, or basically anything in a way that readers find interesting and informative. The profile essay can be either factual, presenting information based on direct observation and research, or it can be fictional, presenting information based on the author’s imagination.

When you write a profile essay, present the subject in a manner that is both objective and subjective. Objective information presents the facts without any type of interpretation, while subjective information presents the facts with some type of interpretation.

The characteristics that make a good profile essay:

Focusing on a single individual, group, or place
Including a detailed description and explanations
Offering insight into the subject’s importance, meaning, or significance
Utilizing a variety of research methods (interviews, surveys, observation, etc.)
Showing behind-the-scenes information that others may not be aware of

If you want to find out more about essays in general, check our or other guide: Academic Essay Definition

How to write a profile essay

There are a few things to keep in mind when writing a profile essay. First, choose a subject that is interesting to you and that you have some knowledge about. It is also important to make sure that the subject is someone or something that can be adequately described in a short essay .

Next, you will need to do some research on your subject. This can be done through interviews, observation, or surveys. Once you have gathered your information, you will need to organize it in a way that makes sense and is easy for readers to follow.

Note: If you want to know how to write an essay in general, we suggest checking out our corresponding guide: How to Write an Essay .

Choosing a topic and developing a thesis statement

When writing a profile essay, you can choose not only a person as your profiling subject but also a place or an event. Profiling a place can be especially interesting, as it will allow you to explore the history and culture of the area. If you are profiling a person, you will want to focus on their personality, accomplishments, and any other unique characteristics that make them interesting.

However, before deciding on the final subject, consider if you have the time and resources to do the necessary research. You will need to have access to the subject in order to interview them and observe their behavior. In addition, you will need to be able to find enough information on the subject to write a comprehensive essay.

Ideas for profiling people:

A person with an unusual job (e.g., a professional clown, a pet psychic, etc.)
A person who has overcome adversity (e.g., a homeless person, a person with a disability, etc.)
A person with an interesting hobby or talent (e.g., a competitive eater, a quilter, etc.)
A prominent person in your community (e.g., the mayor, a police chief, etc.)

Ideas for profiling places:

A local business (e.g., a family-owned restaurant, a mom-and-pop shop, etc.)
A historical landmark in your town or city
A local festival or fair
A commonly unpleasant place (e.g., the DMV, the dentist’s office, etc.)
A rarely visited place in your town or city (e.g., an abandoned building, a remote park, etc.)
A place you like to go to (e.g., your favorite store, your grandmother’s house, etc.)

Ideas for profiling events and activities:

A sporting event (e.g., a marathon, a football game, etc.)
A musical performance (e.g., a concert, a school play, etc.)
A community service project (e.g., a food drive, a park clean-up, etc.)
A volunteer event (e.g., working at a soup kitchen, Habitat for Humanity, etc.)
An annual event in your town or city (e.g., a parade, a festival, etc.)

Various Essay Topics – here, you will find a list of different essay topics divided by essay type and educational level.

Once you have decided on a subject, you will need to develop a thesis statement . Your thesis statement should briefly summarize the main points you will be making in your essay. This should be a brief sentence that sums up the main point of your essay. For example, your thesis might be “John Doe is an interesting person because of his work in the community and his dedication to his family.”

Keep in mind that your goal is to provide an accurate and insightful portrayal of your subject. Avoid writing a paper that is purely flattering or one that only focuses on the negative aspects of your subject. Instead, strive to provide a balanced and fair portrayal to come up with a successful profile essay.

Creating an outline of the essay

Once you have decided on a topic and developed a thesis statement, you will need to create an outline for your essay . This will help you determine the main points that you want to include in your paper. An outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion.

Here’s an example of a simple but detailed outline of a profile essay about a person:

Subject: A profile of my high-school History teacher, Mr. Smith.

A. Hook: Describing how Mr. Smith has impacted my life in a positive way.
B. Background information: When I first met Mr. Smith, I was a sophomore in high school. He was my History teacher, and I quickly developed a respect for him as an educator and a person.
C. Thesis statement: Through his teaching, mentorship, and personal example, Mr. Smith has instilled in me a love of learning and a desire to make a difference in the world.
A. Topic sentence : Mr. Smith’s dedication to his students is evident in the way he teaches.
B. Supporting details: He makes sure that we understand the material, but he also challenges us to think critically about the world around us.
C. Topic sentence: Mr. Smith is more than just a teacher; he is also a mentor.
D. Supporting details: He has taken an interest in my personal life and career goals, and he has helped me to stay on track when I’ve faced challenges.
E. Topic sentence: Mr. Smith is a role model to me in the way he lives his life.
F. Supporting details: He is a man of integrity who treats others with respect, and I strive to emulate his example in my own life.
A. Restating the thesis: I am grateful to have had Mr. Smith as a teacher and mentor, and I know that his influence will continue to be a positive force in my life.
B. Closing thoughts: Mr. Smith has made a lasting impact on me, and I will always remember the lessons he taught me both in and out of the classroom.

Writing the profile essay

The outline example above shows a simple essay structure consisting of five parts (an intro, three body paragraphs, and a conclusion). However, a profile essay can be written in a more free model of organization, which makes it somewhat similar to narrative or descriptive essays in this regard.

The main difference is that while narrative and descriptive essays are typically written in the first person, a profile essay is usually written in the third person. This is because you want to maintain an objective, unbiased perspective when describing your subject. However, if you are a part of the story, it is okay to write in the first person to show that you were involved in the scene.

Point-by-point approach:

Some profile essays will take the form of a point-by-point list of facts about the person, also known as a topical approach. This might be appropriate if you are writing about someone who has many different facets to their life (for example, a celebrity or public figure). The outline we presented earlier is an example of such an approach.

Narrative approach:

Another common way to structure a profile essay is to write it in the form of a story. This might be appropriate if you are writing about someone who has done something newsworthy or has an interesting backstory. In this approach, you will typically start with a brief introduction of the subject, followed by a series of events or anecdotes that illustrate its different aspects.

For example, if you are profiling an event, you might choose to write in chronological order, starting with the preparations and leading up to the event itself.

Or, if you are profiling a person, you might start with their childhood and then move on to their adult life.

In a profile essay about places, you can either write about different parts of the place in separate paragraphs (for example, the history, geography, and culture), or you can choose to write about the place as a whole.

Note: The number of body paragraphs is usually higher than three in such essays due to the narrative writing nature.

Introduction

The introduction of a successful profile essay should give the reader an idea of who you are writing about. You will need to provide basic background information about your subject, as well as any significant facts that will help to introduce it. You can also start with a hook , a good way to keep the readers interested in your essay.

Introduction example of a profile essay about a local Hippotherapy center:

Did you know that horses can help people with physical, emotional, and mental health problems? That’s what Hippotherapy is – using horses to help people heal. And there’s a place right here in our town where you can experience it. The Harmony Horse Center is a non-profit organization that provides Hippotherapy services to people of all ages. Founded in 2006, the center has helped countless people in our community improve their physical, emotional, and mental health.

Body paragraphs

Your body paragraphs will be the meat of your profile essay, so you will need to choose the most interesting and relevant facts about your subject. These should be arranged in a logical order – for example, if you are writing about someone’s life, you might start with their childhood and move on to their adulthood. Or, if you are writing about a place, you might start with its history and then move on to its present-day features.

Here’s what the first body paragraph of that Hippotherapy profile essay may look like:

If you’ve never heard of Hippotherapy, you’re not alone. I hadn’t either until I started researching for this profile and went to the center myself. Once it was in view, I saw the barn and the arena and knew exactly what it was. As I approached, I could hear the horses neighing and the sound of hooves against the ground. I walked in and was immediately greeted by the staff. They were all so friendly and welcoming, and they answered all of my questions about Hippotherapy.

To end a profile essay, write a conclusion that ties all of the different elements of your essay together and leaves the reader with a strong impression of your subject. You might want to reiterate and rephrase some of the key points that you made in your body paragraphs, or you might want to briefly describe what your subject’s life is like now. You might also want to include a call to action – for example, if you are writing about a cause that you care about, you might encourage the reader to get involved.

The conclusion of that Hippotherapy profile essay might look like this:

Hippotherapy is an incredible experience, and the Harmony Horse Center is a wonderful place to try it. I highly encourage anyone who is interested in Hippotherapy or who is looking for an alternative form of therapy to check out the center. The staff is incredibly knowledgeable and welcoming, and the horses are absolutely gorgeous.

Key Takeaways

When writing a profile essay, remember to:

Choose an interesting subject: Your subject should be someone you’re curious about and want to learn more about.
Stick to a clear organizational pattern: The introduction, body paragraphs, and conclusion should all serve a specific purpose and support your topic.
Show your role as a writer from the start: You should either write in the first person and show your direct participation or write in the third person to maintain a more objective perspective throughout the essay.
Interweave quotations and evidence with your narrative: Strengthening your argument with direct quotes from your subject or secondary sources will make your essay more convincing.
Conduct research: You will need to do some research on your subject in order to write a well-rounded essay. This can include interviews, observation, and secondary sources.
Create an outline: As with any type of essay, you will need to create an outline of your thoughts before you start writing. This will help you to organize your ideas and ensure that your essay flows smoothly.
Use details and sensory language: A profile essay should be written with plenty of detail and usage of descriptive and sensory language. This will help to paint a picture of your subject for the reader.
Reveal the significance of your subject: In addition to providing information about your subject, you should also explain why they are important or interesting.
Have a clear angle: Your profile essay should have a clear angle or focus so that it is not just a general overview of your subject. Analyzing what most people think about your subject will help you pick a good angle.
Cite your sources: Be sure to cite any interviews, observations, or secondary sources that you use in your essay, following the conventions of the situation style in the assignment.
Edit and proofread: As with any type of writing, be sure to edit and proofread your essay before you submit it. This will help to ensure that there are no errors and that your essay is well-written.
Anoka Ramsey Community College – Portfolio #1: Profile Essay
Washtenaw Community College – Profile Essay (Assignment Sheet)
Ohio State University – ENGL 1113 Essay 2: Profile (Assignment Sheet)

Was this article helpful?

How to Order

Descriptive Essay

Descriptive Essay About A Person

Crafting an Authentic Portrait: A Guide to Writing a Descriptive Essay About a Person

Writing Tips for Descriptive Essay About a Person

Descriptive essays can be written on a range of themes. For instance you can write a descriptive essay about a place , food or even nature . It's common to write these essays about people, which paints a vivid picture of their appearance, personality, evoking a clear mental image for the reader.

Now that you've seen what a descriptive essay about a person looks like, you're ready to start crafting your own.

Here are some writing tips to help get you started:

Tips for Pre-Writing Phase

The prewriting phase is a crucial stage of the writing process, where you lay the foundation for a successful essay or document. Here are some tips for this stage:

Choose Your Subject

Before you start writing, take some time to think carefully about who you want to write about and why. Is it a family member, close friend, celebrity or public figure? What do you want to say about them? Who would be the ideal reader for this essay?

Want to write a descriptive essay on other topics? Check out 100+ descriptive essay topics !

Brainstorm Ideas

Once you've chosen the subject, take some time to brainstorm ideas. Think about their physical appearance, personality traits, hobbies, likes and dislikes, goals and dreams. Make notes of what comes to mind so that you can refer back to them during the writing process.

Describe Physical Features

Once you have your ideas in place, start by describing the person's physical features. Give a detailed description of their facial features, body type, clothing style and other elements that make up their overall appearance.

List Personality Traits

Now, move on to listing the person's character traits. Talk about how they act in different situations and what makes them unique as a person. Describe their different personality traits, how they think and how others perceive them.

Explore Their Interests

Next, focus on their interests and hobbies. Talk about what they like to do for fun, how they spend their free time, or any other activities that make them unique. Here, you may also include their achievements or other important events in their lives.

Tips for Writing Phase

As you transition from the prewriting phase to the actual writing stage, these tips will help you navigate the writing process more effectively:

Follow Your Outline

Now that you've brainstormed and outlined your essay, it's time to start writing. Stick to the points that you have listed in your outline or notes. Don't get too distracted with other aspects of the person that are not related to your topic.

Getting started on your essay? Check out this in-depth guide on how to create a descriptive essay outline !

Be Specific

When writing about a person, it's important to be as specific and concise as possible. Don't use general statements or cliches; instead, focus on giving the reader a vivid image of who this person is by using concrete examples and tangible details.

Show Don't Tell

Weave stories into your essay to give it more depth and make it come alive. Instead of just saying that the person is generous, tell a story about how they donated their time to help out in a charity event. This helps the reader paint a clearer picture of who this person really is.

Draw Conclusions

Once you've written the essay, it's time to draw some conclusions . What have you learned about this person from the essay? What makes them special? How would you sum up the overall portrait of this person?

Tips for Editing/Revising Phase

The editing and revising phase is where you refine and polish your work. Here are some tips to help you make your content clearer, more coherent, and error-free:

Check Your Facts

Before you submit your essay, make sure that all of the details that you have provided are accurate. Double-check any facts or dates to ensure accuracy.

Check Grammar and Clarity

Make sure to review your essay for any grammar, spelling, or punctuation mistakes. Read through it several times to check for clarity and readability. This will help make sure that your essay is as polished and professional as possible.

Get a Second Opinion

Getting another opinion on your essay is always a good idea. Ask an expert essay writer to read it over and give you honest feedback. They will be able to point out any mistakes or areas where the essay could use some improvement.

These are just some basic tips to help get you started with writing a descriptive essay about someone. Allow yourself to be creative and write from the heart. With some practice and patience, you'll be able to create an essay that truly captures who this person is.

Descriptive Essay About a Person Examples

A descriptive essay is an essay where you describe something in detail. A descriptive essay relies on facts and information to describe a subject as it is.

A descriptive essay about a person is often written to describe a particular person. It can be about a person you admire , an acquaintance, family member like mother , friend, or even a celebrity.

Here are some examples to give you a better idea. Download and read them for free.

Descriptive Essay About a Person PDF

Descriptive Essay About a Person Example PDF

Descriptive Essay About a Person You Admire

Descriptive Essay About a Person You Love

Descriptive Essay About a Person Who Changed My Life

Descriptive Essay About a Famous Person

Need more examples? Check out these descriptive essay examples on other topics as well!

Do you need more help writing your descriptive essay? No worries, we're here to help you out!

MyPerfectWords.com is a professional descriptive essay writing service that specializes in helping students write essays.

Our team of expert descriptive essay writers will work with you to craft a perfect essay. We also offer a range of other services, including editing and proofreading, so that your essay is as high-quality and error-free as possible.

Write Essay Within 60 Seconds!

Caleb S. has been providing writing services for over five years and has a Masters degree from Oxford University. He is an expert in his craft and takes great pride in helping students achieve their academic goals. Caleb is a dedicated professional who always puts his clients first.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!

Keep reading

Still have questions? Leave a comment

Add Comment

Checklist: Dissertation Proposal

Enter your email id to get the downloadable right in your inbox!

Examples: Edited Papers

Need editing and proofreading services, guide to a perfect descriptive essay [examples & outline included].

Tags: Academic Writing , Essay , Essay Writing

A descriptive essay is the most creative of all essay types. It involves the use of sensory descriptors and impactful narratives to depict an object, person, or even something abstract like an emotion. This type of essay is administered by teachers and professors to gauge your understanding of language.

In this article, we will guide you through everything there is to know about descriptive essays. This includes the descriptive essay definition, some descriptive essay topics, and various examples. To help you in your essay-writing process, we have also included an outline of a descriptive essay.

But let’s start from the beginning: What is a descriptive essay?

Perfect your essay with our expert editing services today! Get started

What is a descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay is a highly creative form of writing which describes an object, person, location, experience, emotion, or situation. It makes use of vivid imagery and different figures of speech to create a beautiful and immersive experience for the reader.

This type of essay is often assigned in creative writing courses in schools or colleges. It does not involve the presentation of arguments or information. It just involves creatively expressing yourself with the help of various language devices.

Unlike a narrative essay which involves telling a story, a descriptive essay only focuses on one particular object or idea. Although most essay topics are non-fictional, descriptive essay topics can either be fictional or non-fictional.

Let us look at a few examples of topics for a descriptive essay.

Descriptive essay topics

Since writing a descriptive essay is a creative form of writing, it can cover a wide range of topics. These topics can range from practical experiences such as “My Grandpa’s Couch” to thought experiments such as “Living in a world with no concept of time”.

Here are a few more descriptive essay topics:

Exploring a ghost town
A starry night in the mountains
A day in the life of an explorer
Trip to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Wandering through the Swiss meadows
My childhood home
Memories of grandma’s farm
Experiencing euphoria for the first time
My description of utopia
My most treasured possession

Descriptive essay structure

Since descriptive essays are highly creative in nature, the descriptive essay structure is much more fluid as compared to most academic essay types. Although they do follow a general structure, there is no specific descriptive essay format. It serves more as a guideline than a hard and fast rule.

Descriptive essays generally don’t revolve around proving a point or making an argument. The goal is to simply provide a vivid and detailed description of a particular subject.

Let’s study the basic structure of a descriptive essay:

1. Introduction

Wondering how to start a descriptive essay? Like all essay types, the introduction of a descriptive essay is composed of three key elements: A hook, some background information, and a thesis statement.

However, the thesis statement of a descriptive essay is different from the thesis statements of most academic essays. It simply makes a claim regarding the subject of your choosing.

Here’s an example of a descriptive essay introduction:

Background information
Thesis statement

The last day of school—a momentous occasion that marks the culmination of a year’s worth of hard work and growth. Excitement hangs in the air as students gather for one final day of shared experiences and unforgettable memories. The hallways buzz with chatter and laughter, mingling with the anticipation of summer freedom. It’s a day of mixed emotions, as the promise of lazy days ahead clashes with the bittersweet farewell to teachers and classmates who have become like family. The last day of school is a mosaic of emotions, a snapshot of a moment that holds the weight of an entire academic journey, and a prelude to the new adventures that lie just beyond the horizon.

2. Body paragraph

A descriptive essay usually has three body paragraphs. However, the length and number of paragraphs may vary depending on the complexity and scope of your essay topic.

A body paragraph comprises of a topic sentence that focuses on a particular aspect of the subject. The topic sentence is elaborated upon by sensory, contextual, and emotional descriptors. Each paragraph ends with a transition sentence that provides context for the next paragraph.

Let’s understand this better with the help of an example:

Topic sentence
Description
Transition sentence

Classrooms brim with finality and accomplishment. Doodles and scribbles now grace once-neat desks, testifying to idle daydreams and shared laughter. Colorful displays and academic achievements adorn the walls, silently witnessing each student’s growth. Empty lockers echo the countless exchanges and whispered secrets they once held. Yearbooks circulate like cherished artifacts, pages filled with smiling faces and heartfelt messages. Laughter and hugs fill the hallways as friends make promises to keep in touch and embark on summer adventures. The last day of school etches indelible memories, a tapestry of nostalgia and celebration that encapsulates the joy, camaraderie, and growth of their academic journey.

3. Conclusion

The conclusion of your essay should begin with the restatement of your thesis statement along with its broader implications. You can then provide a quick summary of all the important aspects mentioned in the body paragraphs.

Finally, you can end your essay with a powerful statement or a clincher. This can include anything from a powerful lesson to a thought-provoking quote. The goal is to leave the reader with something to think about.

Here’s an example:

Restated thesis statement
Summary of body paragraphs
Concluding statement

As the final bell echoes through the hallways and students scatter in all directions, school leaves behind a lingering sense of closure and anticipation. It is a day filled with mixed emotions—a blend of nostalgia for the memories created, gratitude for the knowledge gained, and excitement for the new chapter that awaits. The last day of school symbolizes a milestone in each student’s journey, marking the end of one chapter and the beginning of another. It is a time to reflect on the growth, challenges overcome, and friendships forged along the way. The last day of school is not an end, but rather a stepping stone towards new horizons, where each student will continue to learn, explore, and thrive.

Now that we’ve understood how to structure a descriptive essay, let’s figure out how to write it!

How to write a descriptive essay

In order to write a perfect descriptive essay you must effectively make use of multiple creative writing devices. These creative writing devices include figures of speech, imagery, sensory and emotional descriptors, as well as evocative language.

If you find the essay writing process challenging, we’re here to equip you with essential tips on writing a descriptive essay. Let’s take a look at how to write a descriptive essay:

1. Use figures of speech

Literary devices such as similies, metaphors, and imagery are creative devices that describe an object or a person in a figurative sense. These creative devices add an element of interest to your essay, making it more vivid, vibrant, and colorful.

The use of figures of speech can turn an otherwise boring piece of writing into a masterpiece. Take a look at the following example:

On that spot stood an old banyan tree with thick bark and intertwining branches.

Although this example is a good start, it can be made much more interesting with the use of figures of speech.

On that spot stood an old banyan tree with its resolve as strong as iron. Its arms intertwined as they reached for the skies, yearning for the sun.

The use of literary devices such as personification and metaphor makes the banyan tree in the second example come to life. This is how you can make your writing more vivid, descriptive, and poetic.

2. Use your senses

Sensory descriptors are one of the most important aspects of a descriptive essay. The key is to make the reader experience what you’ve experienced. This means appealing to all five senses of the reader.

Although the visual aspect is important, you should also focus on how something sounds, feels, and smells. The experience of touching, smelling, or feeling something is more evocative than simply viewing it.

Some sensory descriptors are used in a literal sense:

The smell of rain in July takes me back to my childhood. The pitter-patter reminds me of my mother’s footsteps, bringing us delicious snacks.

They can also be used metaphorically:

The beautiful, cold gaze of the moon stunned us all.

3. Use evocative language

It is a good idea to use strong, evocative language that conveys an intense action or emotion. Creative use of words is an important factor in writing a descriptive essay since passive language leads to a dull, boring essay. Let’s take a look at the following sentences:

The 100-meter race was completed by Usain Bolt in under 10 seconds.

Usian Bolt whizzed through the 100-meter race in under 10 seconds!

The use of the word “completed” indicates no action and the use of passive voice makes the example dull. On the other hand, the phrase “whizzed through” indicates speed and intensity which makes the second example much more interesting to read.

Now that we’ve understood the different methods of writing a descriptive essay, let’s understand its outline.

Descriptive essay outline

The outline of a descriptive essay is less structured compared to most academic essay types. It merely serves as a guideline that you can use to flesh out your essay. It also helps you develop a coherent structure and logical flow for your topic sentences.

In order to help you further develop your essay, we’ve created an outline for your reference. The following descriptive essay outline revolves around the nostalgia experienced when going through an old diary.

Turning the Pages of Time

I. Introduction

A. Hook: Engaging opening sentence to grab the reader’s attention.

B. Background: Briefly explain the significance of finding your old diary and the memories associated with it.

C. Thesis statement: Clearly state the main idea of the essay, highlighting the emotional journey of rediscovering your old diary.

II. The discovery

A. Setting the scene: Describe the circumstances and location where you stumbled upon your old diary.

B. Initial emotions: Express the range of emotions that flooded your mind upon finding the diary.

C. Anticipation: Share the anticipation and curiosity about what lies within the pages of the diary.

III. The diary’s contents

A. Opening the pages: Describe the physical act of opening the diary and the smell and texture of the pages.

B. Memories unfolded: Reflect on the memories and experiences captured in the diary entries.

C. Emotional impact: Discuss the emotional response evoked by reading your own words and reliving past moments.

IV. Nostalgic reflections

A. Time traveling: Explain how reading the diary transported you back to the time and place when the entries were written.

B. Reconnecting with your past self: Describe the process of reconnecting with your past self and reevaluating your thoughts and experiences.

C. Lessons and insights: Highlight any valuable lessons, self-discoveries, or personal growth revealed through the diary’s contents.

V. Resonating with present self

A. Relevance to current life: Discuss how the insights and reflections from the diary still resonate with your present self.

B. Perspective shifts: Explain any shifts in perspective or newfound understanding that arose from revisiting the diary.

C. Appreciation: Express gratitude for the diary and its role in preserving and enriching your personal history.

VI. Cherishing the rediscovery

A. Preservation: Discuss the steps you took to preserve and protect the diary after finding it.

B. Future reflections: Share your intentions and plans for continuing the habit of journaling or preserving personal memories.

C. Closing thoughts: Reflect on the lasting impact of finding your old diary and the value of personal reflection and self-expression.

VII. Conclusion

A. Recap: Summarize the emotional journey of rediscovering your old diary.

B. Significance: Emphasize the personal and emotional significance of reconnecting with your past self through the diary.

C. Closing remarks: Conclude with a reflection on the power of personal artifacts and the importance of preserving one’s history.

Now that we have taken a look at the descriptive essay structure let’s look at an example.

Descriptive essay example

To help you better understand the process of descriptive essay writing, we’ve constructed an example. The following example revolves around an imaginary situation. It describes the writer’s voyage through the cosmos.

Exploring the Cosmos

As the rocket engines ignited, the powerful thrust propelled us into the vast expanse of space. The vibrations rattled through the cabin, merging with the palpable anticipation that filled the air. We were embarking on a remarkable journey through the cosmos, leaving behind the familiarity of Earth and venturing into the unknown.

Outside the small window, the twinkling stars grew brighter, casting a mesmerizing glow on the infinite darkness. The view was awe-inspiring as if we were floating amidst a sea of diamonds, each one beckoning us to explore its mysteries. The depth and grandeur of space stretched out before us, reminding us of the minuscule nature of our existence in the universe.

As we traversed through the cosmic void, weightlessness engulfed our bodies, releasing us from the Earth’s gravitational pull. Every movement became a ballet, effortlessly gliding from one corner of the spacecraft to another. The sensation was both exhilarating and disorienting as if the boundaries of physical limitations had dissolved.

The silence in space was profound, a symphony of tranquility. Without the interference of atmospheric sounds, we were left with the gentle hum of the spaceship’s systems and the rhythmic beating of our own hearts. It was a humbling reminder of the vastness and serenity that lay beyond our home planet.

Farther into our journey, celestial bodies came into view, captivating us with their sheer beauty. The fiery hues of neighboring planets illuminated the darkness, displaying their own distinct personalities. We marveled at the majestic rings of Saturn, a delicate masterpiece encircling the giant planet, and the crimson swirls of Jupiter, a tempestuous giant with its own cosmic dance.

Time seemed to lose its grip on the vastness of space. Hours felt like mere moments as we traveled through light-years, witnessing the unimaginable beauty of celestial phenomena. We were reminded of the sheer magnitude of the cosmos, a testament to the wonders that lie beyond our earthly confines.

Eventually, the time came for us to return to our home planet. As we reentered Earth’s atmosphere, the fiery descent illuminated the sky, marking our triumphant return. The journey through space left an everlasting mark on our souls, forever changing our perception of our place in the universe.

Our journey was more than a physical exploration; it was a voyage of wonder and introspection. It taught us the fragility and interconnectedness of all things and ignited an insatiable curiosity to continue unraveling the mysteries of the cosmos. We were forever transformed by the immensity and beauty that awaited us beyond our pale blue dot in the vast expanse of space.

After writing the essay, it’s important to edit and proofread it, which is a not easy. If you find essay editing challenging, you can consider taking the help of an essay editing service .

Want to keep reading? Here are the newest articles we’ve worked on:

How to Start an Essay
Expository Essays | Step-by-Step Manual
How to Write an Argumentative Essay
Types of Essays
Compare and Contrast Essay

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the purpose of a descriptive essay, how to conclude a descriptive essay, how long should a descriptive essay be, what are the five parts of a descriptive essay, what are the two types of descriptions.

Found this article helpful?

Your vs. You’re: When to Use Your and You’re

Your organization needs a technical editor: here’s why, your guide to the best ebook readers in 2024, writing for the web: 7 expert tips for web content writing.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Get carefully curated resources about writing, editing, and publishing in the comfort of your inbox.

How to Copyright Your Book?

If you’ve thought about copyrighting your book, you’re on the right path.

Terms of service
Privacy policy
Self Publishing Guide
Pre-Publishing Steps
Fiction Writing Tips
Traditional Publishing
Additional Resources
Dissertation Writing Guide
Essay Writing Guide
Academic Writing and Publishing
Citation and Referencing
Partner with us
Annual report
Website content
Marketing material
Job Applicant
Cover letter
Resource Center
Case studies

Have a language expert improve your writing

Run a free plagiarism check in 10 minutes, generate accurate citations for free.

Knowledge Base

The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
Revision: Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Upload your document to correct all your mistakes in minutes

Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

1. Preparation	2. Writing	3. Revision
	, organized into Write the	or use a for language errors

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
Do your research: Read primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
Come up with a thesis: The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

See the full essay example

The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

Returns to your thesis
Ties together your main points
Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

Including new arguments or evidence
Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

Write your essay conclusion

Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

Open Google Slides Download PowerPoint

An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

It gives your writing direction and focus.
It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

Is this article helpful?

Other students also liked.

How long is an essay? Guidelines for different types of essay
How to write an essay introduction | 4 steps & examples
How to conclude an essay | Interactive example

"I thought AI Proofreading was useless but.."

I've been using Scribbr for years now and I know it's a service that won't disappoint. It does a good job spotting mistakes”

Dissertation
PowerPoint Presentation
Book Report/Review
Research Proposal
Math Problems
Proofreading
Movie Review
Cover Letter Writing
Personal Statement
Nursing Paper
Argumentative Essay
Research Paper
Discussion Board Post

Descriptive Essay About a Person

Table of Contents

The last type is probably the most difficult because the description of a person won’t include the appearance only, but would also consider character, temperament, behavior, and so on.

If you really want to write a high-quality descriptive essay, you should be attentive, competent, and … creative.

We understand that this essay type can be a real challenge; that’s why we would try to provide you with the most valuable recommendations on how to write a descriptive essay about a person.

What is the specifics of the descriptive essay about a person?

First, you should choose the person who will be the subject of this description. For example, you can write a descriptive essay about a person you love. On the other hand, we are not sure that the number of people who are interested in this article will not be awe-inspiring and your paper may be a bit boring for other people.

So, writers usually decide to create essays about an extraordinary historical personality or write a descriptive essay about a person you admire. For example, you can write an essay about Napoleon Bonaparte, Martin Luther King, Ronald Reagan, or other famous and successful people to consider their personalities more precisely.

Describe the features of the person one by one, like:

Appearance. How to start a descriptive essay about a person? Clothes make the man! So, it should be the first part of your writing. Describe facial features, height, weight, hair color, eye color, clothes, and so on.
Manners. After that, you can describe the most typical acts and behaves of this man or woman. If you decided to consider famous people, it could help to detect the name of your subject from the very beginning. For example, if you say that this man liked to smoke cigars, drink alcohol, and wear hats, it will not be a problem to assume that it is Winston Churchill.
Character traits. This part is probably the most difficult because you can describe the appearance of this person without any additional help. Just analyze photos and write your text. However, if you need to consider the most significant character traits, it’s recommended to read memoirs or look for articles of experienced historians.
Emotions. You can watch videos or analyze special materials to figure out the emotional state of your subject. Don’t forget to mention whether this human is choleric, phlegmatic, melancholic, or sanguine. Don’t forget to mention its sense of humor as well.

Use free descriptive essay example about a person to avoid mistakes

Don’t forget that you are not the first author on the Internet who has to write this article. Fortunately, there are dozens of websites, which provide descriptive essay examples about a person.

We don’t recommend you to use any descriptive essay about a person you admire example as your own article because you will fail all anti-plagiarism tests. However, this sample could be a great pattern, which you can use in the future.

How to write a descriptive essay about a person: simple tips

Of course, these recommendations don’t guarantee your future success in this sphere, but we strongly recommend you to use them to minimize risks and increase the quality of your paper:

For example, you can find info about the number of bottles of wine which this man consumes every day or the number of brothers and sisters of this particular subject.

“He is very tall and has big blue eyes.”

Choose people, you know well. Remember! You should choose people whom you know good enough to write an article about them. On the other hand, if you decided to consider the main features of a star, you should research more information about this person before choosing the topic.
Find the balance. We are sure that it’s not enough to use even several paragraphs if you really want to describe each feature of this person, but a lot of info can overload your text. So, you should find the ideal balance between informative and concise. We can recommend you to write down 3-4 the most recognizable features of this person and stay focused on them. Describe them well, and it would be significantly better than writing about nose, mouth, eyebrows, lips, arms, legs, and other parts of the body of this person.

… Final thoughts

Therefore, it’s not an easy task. In most cases, it takes at least 5-6 hours to write a high-quality paper.

Luckily, you may manage to avoid a lot of problems and make this process more comfortable if you try to analyze any sample descriptive essay about a person and follow our simple recommendations.

Ain’t in the mood for writing a descriptive essay about a person? Guess who is! Yeah, our writers are the best. And always available, by the way…

How to Write an Argumentative Essay: Your Ultimate Guide

How to Use a Quote in an Essay

20 Most Prominent Technology Essay Topics And Writing Hints

EssayBasics.com
Pay For Essay
Write My Essay
Homework Writing Help
Essay Editing Service
Thesis Writing Help
Write My College Essay
Do My Essay
Term Paper Writing Service
Coursework Writing Service
Write My Research Paper
Assignment Writing Help
Essay Writing Help
Call Now! (USA) Login Order now
EssayBasics.com Call Now! (USA) Order now
Writing Guides

How To Write A Descriptive Essay About A Person (Step By Step)

Table of Contents

Descriptive essay about a person

Students are required to write different types of essays on various subjects, and descriptive essays are among the many articles that students will be required to present as part of their coursework . It describes different objects like events or a person. A good descriptive paper needs to be detailed and should capture the reader’s interest from the beginning to the end. Descriptive articles are not intended to present logical arguments or persuade readers, the paper contains word paintings , the author use colorful, accurate and vivid language to engage a reader’s senses.

How to start a descriptive essay about a person

Before writing your essay , the first process entails choosing the subject to be discussed, conduct in-depth research to gather more details about the individual. Identify any dialogues, or works of literature that might support your thesis statement and observe or reflect the person you want to explain. Think about your target audience before choosing the type of language that would attract his audience. An excellent introduction states why the author intends to present using a clear thesis statement to support the essay theme . Writing an article about a person means the person has significantly influenced the author. The author presents the main features of the person that makes him stand out.

Anecdotes are a good start, starting with an inspiring story about a person is a common phenomenon with most descriptive essays. Anecdotes creatively capture the reader’s attention in a dramatic way. The author can use similes and descriptive adjectives to present the person’s physical features. An introduction can start with a question, an exclamation, a flashback a quote or an emotional memory

How to write main part

A standard body contains three paragraphs, writing an essay about a person also follows the same format. The first section of the body includes observational detailed of a person, the second paragraph aims at describing the environment where the person lives, and the third paragraph present sensual and emotional details of the person. When describing an influential person in our lives, some of the most important details include his personality traits, physical characters and biographical data about an individual.

The physical description can include details like long curly brown hair, brown eyes, slender and graceful appearance. Personality traits include describing individual behavior to reveal her personality traits. For example, the author can present individual emotional responses like when a person is in a joyful mood or sad. The following example can act as a good illustration when describing emotional response: When Carol found out that she was to join Harvard University, she raised her slender arms in the sky and broke into crazy dance moves that surprised everyone.

The author should present every important aspect of a person. Writers use various adjectives and adverbs to give an interesting and exciting essay about a famous person. In the article body, the author should provide specific examples to enhance his description for the audience to understand why the person is important. Appropriate examples provide readers with better insight of the author’s view about the person. The author can also use prepositional phrases and give concrete examples of the person’s characteristics including the author’s interaction with the particular person.

A good description of a person should paint a glowing picture of an individual whereby the reader can visualize the person being described. When describing an important person, the author needs to not only to talk about the person, but also present the positive impact the person has made in his life .It is important to describe the relationship between the author and the person he is describing to convince the reader the significance of the person being described.

How to conclude a descriptive essay about a person

The conclusion is the last paragraph, but the most important part so an essay. The author concluded an essay by rephrasing the thesis statement and reviewing the main point to concave the reader why the person is worth describing.

Outline example

Introduction

Topic sentence

Thesis Statement

Essay body:

Physical Appearance
Detail description of the person
Second’s physical characteristic
Detailed description giving examples
Individual Characteristics
Individual characteristic one
Examples and detailed explanation about the characteristic 2
Individual characteristic two
Individual characteristic three
Examples and detailed explanation about the characteristic 3
Examples of hobbies and dialogue about his perception about the hobbies
Topic Sentence:
Detailed explanation for hobby 1 including where, why, hewn and how
Detailed explanation of hobby 2
Detailed explanation hobby 3
Sensory Details
Description of smell, hear and touch and examples presenting visual details
Sensory detail 1
Sensory detail 2
Sensory detail 3
Show the most memorable moment
Review the main details given in the essay body
Conclude by showing one thing you like the most.

Descriptive Essay Writing

Descriptive Essay: Definition, Tips & Examples

Published on: Jun 21, 2023

Last updated on: Jul 23, 2024

What is a Descriptive Essay?

A descriptive essay is a type of essay that asks the students to describe something, such as a person, place, incident, emotion, or event. It is a detailed description where the writer is painting a picture in words.

Different people have different thoughts and points of view. A descriptive essay allows you to explain your point of view in your own way. You should give a description of every aspect of the topic so that a reader can feel as if he has personally experienced that.

Two Classic Approaches to the Descriptive Essay

There are two main ways to write a descriptive essay: the personal essay and the formal description. Let's discuss them in detail.

Personal Essay

The best way to describe an experience using your feelings and responses would be through a personal essay. This work can awaken empathy in readers, but it's important not to make any mistakes or organize poorly.

Formal Description

Descriptive writing is a great way to show your readers what you're talking about. It resembles an argumentative essay because it has one main goal: communicating key points or describing something in detail.

Features of Descriptive Essay

There are five basic features of a descriptive essay that distinguishes it from other writing types. Let's discuss them in detail.

Sensory Details - A great descriptive essay appeals to the audience's emotions and forms an association for them. In this essay type, a writer paints a picture with words so they have to be really engaging and appealing to the senses.
Central Theme - The content of your descriptive essay is shaped according to the central or major theme. Make sure to define the central theme explicitly and focus it on one single point.
Figurative Language - A key to writing an impactful descriptive essay is to use figurative language throughout the content. Use metaphors, similes, adverbs, and adjectives to describe settings and characters.
Precise Language - The vocabulary you use for the content should be appropriate and accurate. The language, as well as the tone, should reflect the major theme of the essay vividly.
Organization of Ideas - Arrange all your ideas and information in a properly structured manner. Make sure that your descriptive writing is based on these elements to ensure its effectiveness and success.

Descriptive Essay Format

All formal writing types, including descriptive papers, require a proper format to be readable and understandable.

Therefore, before starting your essay, you should create an outline of your essay. It will help you organize your essay.

Below is the format of the descriptive essay outline.

Descriptive Essay Outline Template

How to Start a Descriptive Essay?

Writing a strong descriptive essay requires a writer to form a strong plan. Following are the steps involved in the pre-writing or planning procedure of a good descriptive essay:

1. Topic Selection

Usually, professors assign the topic for a descriptive essay. But, if you have a choice to select a topic, then you have a great chance to select something which you know a lot about.

Have a look at some popular descriptive essay topics.

Descriptive Essay Topics On Writing About A Person

Describe your favorite person
Describe your best friend
Describe your favorite family member
Describe your enemy
Describe someone whom you love the most
Describe your mother
Describe your father
Describe your family
Describe your favorite brother
Describe a person whom you idealize

Descriptive Essay Topics About an Event

Describe your friend's wedding
Describe your college farewell
Describe the last Christmas party
Describe your brother's bachelor party
Describe your own wedding
Describe the memorable concert you have attended
Describe your last convocation
Describe the best dinner party you have ever attended
Describe the event you have attended where you were not invited
Describe your last day at the office

Descriptive Essay Topics About a Place

Describe your favorite place
Describe the place you have visited in the summer
Describe your grandmama's farmhouse
Describe your hometown
Describe your favorite college
Describe your favorite vacation destination
Describe your favorite tourist spot
Describe your favorite museum
Describe your dream house
Describe a fancy place that you have created

2. Brainstorming

The next step is brainstorming about the selected topic. At this point, think of all the relevant points that exactly describe your topic.

3. Thesis Statement for Descriptive Essay

After the brainstorming session, develop a strong thesis statement . It is a very crucial part of the whole essay because it will be a prominent part of the essay.

How to Write a Descriptive Essay?

When you have drafted a plan for your essay, it is time to execute it effectively. The writing process of your essay will only get simpler if you have taken all the required pre-writing steps.

Follow the below-mentioned steps to finally begin your writing procedure for the descriptive essay:

1. Introduction

An introduction serves as the gateway to your essay, drawing readers into the realm of your ideas. It's the stage where you set the tone and establish the central theme.

Unlike an analytical essay , which dives deep into dissecting and interpreting information, a descriptive essay paints a vivid picture, immersing readers in sensory experiences and intricate details.

In the descriptive essay introduction, we aim to pique curiosity, perhaps by posing a thought-provoking question or igniting a spark of intrigue that beckons readers to journey further into the narrative woven within these pages.

The body part gives you the freedom to write the details about your selected topic. Here you have 3 to 4 paragraphs where you can paint a picture in the reader's mind through vivid language, persuading dialogues, or images.

This part should support your thesis. Describe all the points in detail. The idea should come out at the beginning.

The paragraphs should be interlinked with good transition words . Organize your paragraphs in a way that makes sense.

3. Conclusion

It is the last chance to impress the reader. So, you need to pay all attention to this section. Restate your thesis statement and give a short reminder to the reader what the essay was required to cover. Make a good final statement so that the reader can leave thinking about your essay.

4. Proofreading

Proofread your essay to do a review. You can identify the mistakes and correct your tone. Go through your essay 2 or 3 times so that you can identify all the mistakes and correct them before final submission.

Descriptive Essay Examples

Given below is a visual demonstration of how a descriptive essay typically looks!

Descriptive Essay Example - CollegeEssay.org

If you're still struggling, check out some more descriptive essay examples given below!

Descriptive Essay Example About a Person

Descriptive Essay Example About an Event

Descriptive Essay Example About a Place

For further information, check out this informative video below.

In conclusion, mastering the art of descriptive essays is within your reach.

By implementing the expert techniques and tips shared in this blog, you can elevate your writing to new heights.

Remember to practice and refine your skills, allowing your creativity to flourish.

At CollegeEssay.org, we understand the importance of strong writing skills for academic success.

Our team of experienced writers is here to provide professional assistance. Whether it's your high school or narrative essay, we have got you covered!

Hire our essay help for students today to achieve your academic goals. Don't forget to try our AI writing tool for exceptional essays!

Frequently Asked Question (FAQs)

What are the 4 elements of descriptive writing.

The four elements of descriptive writing are:

What are the 2 types of description?

The two types of description are:

Impressionistic

How many paragraphs is a descriptive essay?

The five-paragraph essay is a classic format that has been used for a descriptive essay. This format includes an introductory paragraph with the inclusion of a thesis statement, followed by three body paragraphs and a conclusion.

Cathy A. (Literature)

For more than five years now, Cathy has been one of our most hardworking authors on the platform. With a Masters degree in mass communication, she knows the ins and outs of professional writing. Clients often leave her glowing reviews for being an amazing writer who takes her work very seriously.

Paper Due? Why Suffer? That’s our Job!

Keep reading

Legal & Policies

Privacy Policy
Cookies Policy
Terms of Use
Refunds & Cancellations
Our Writers
Success Stories
Our Guarantees
Affiliate Program
Referral Program
AI Essay Writer

Disclaimer: All client orders are completed by our team of highly qualified human writers. The essays and papers provided by us are not to be used for submission but rather as learning models only.

Our reviews

How to Write a Descriptive Essay About a Person You Admire

Writing a descriptive essay, or a “describe a person you admire essay” can be a fantastic way of developing your writing skills. These skills will be particularly useful if you choose to write fiction.

This type of writing is very different to academic writing, but it is hugely rewarding, and doing it well can become a stepping stone into a career in writing in the United Kingdom.

Step one: Choose your subject/Brainstorm

The essay about someone you admire could focus on, for example, your father, your mother, a friend, a grandparent, a celebrity like UK favourite Kate Middleton, a public figure like Mahatma Ghandi or your favourite teacher.

Write a paragraph about a person you admire as you brainstorm. Think about what message you want to get across.

Step two: Write your first draft

Your first draft is exactly that – a first draft. Don’t worry too much about everything being perfect. The most important thing at this point is getting all your thoughts down on paper.

Remember, this is a descriptive essay about a person you love and feel admiration for – you want the reader to feel as though they know the person after reading your piece.

A good writer can make you feel as though you know a person. A great writer makes you care about the person.

Show, don’t tell

I’m sure you’ve come across this term before. It’s the mantra of most creative writers and their teachers. But what does it actually mean?

It’s simple really. Use words to build up a picture in your reader’s mind. Don’t just tell them things; let them see it in their mind.

For example:

Telling – The man was angry

Showing – The man jumped to his feet, his face red and frowning. He gave an unintelligible roar, spraying spittle in front of his face. He crossed the room in three quick strides, wrenching the door open and slamming it shut behind him.

Do you see the difference there? You can show the reader that the man is angry without even using the word. I’m sure I don’t need to explain why showing is a better writing technique.

Use the senses

To really bring your piece to life and make the reader feel a personal connection to your writing, use all of the senses:

Sight – Describe the physical attributes of the person

Sound – What does their speech sound like?

Touch – What do they feel like – for example, are their hands rough from years of hard work?

Smell – What smells do you associate with the person? Did they always wear a certain scent?

Taste – Do you associate any tastes with the person? Did they have a signature cake recipe that no one can match?

Step three: Edit

Reread your work, concentrating on the following:

Does the essay flow well? If not, re-order your paragraphs until it does.
Try to imagine you are reading about a stranger. Have you included enough details to make you feel like you know them? Do you know what they look like? Do you feel as though you understand their character and motivations?
Have you showed rather than told?
Of course, check your spelling, punctuation and grammar too. Have you used clichés? Too many adjectives?

If, at the end of the piece, you feel something towards the person, you have done a good job!

For decades now, the UK has been an extremely popular destination for students across the world. Every year, students flock to cities across the biggest channel island in search of a higher education that will help them to land the job of their dreams. But why do so many individuals make the journey to the UK and its education system?

The United Kingdom is an extremely diverse place. Despite London being one of the central hubs of Europe, it is far different from similar cities such as Berlin, Paris or Madrid, as is the rest of the country. There’s simply nowhere else like it. Culturally, there is a tonne of differences, traditions and just the way things work can vary from town to town, city to city.

How It Works
Essay Examples

Writing Descriptive Essays about People

Descriptive essays are essays that usually describe something which includes places, emotions, situations, or even people. Descriptive essays about people can prove more difficult as many times we do not see these types of descriptions in books or popular literature. If there is a description of a person, it is usually short, within one paragraph, or spans across the entire book. Because of this, a descriptive essay about people can be challenging for those just learning. We have provided some tips and other strategies when writing descriptive essays. Psychology essay example page will help as well. The three biggest tips for writing descriptive essays are to use a person you know, bear in mind that actions speak louder than words, and make the most of the personality traits.

1. Use a Person You Know

Using a person you know can build a foundation for descriptions. This can be family members, friends, actors, or your favorite artist. Knowing what they look like can help with the process as you can pull up the mental image of them in your head for reference at any point. For a lower level entry essay, this can be your entire topic. If you want to describe a made-up person, you could use a collaboration of people you know in your life. You can also base it off on someone you know and change some key features making them unique to your story. The goal is to make the description of the person as authentic as possible, so using someone who is real can get the ball rolling. If you don't know the person as well as you want, try and schedule an interview. This should let you learn more about them in both physical and mental aspects. Basing a character on a real person can help them become more realistic. For example, you are going to describe a girl that is breathtakingly beautiful, you might base her on Marilyn Monroe. In the description, you could say:

She has golden curly hair that framed her perfectly symmetrical face. Lips that were bright red making her teeth light up with a smile. Her eyebrows were long and slim. She had a slim body and well-tanned skin which makes fitting into a dress and going out look easy. She had a distinctive mole on the left side of her face right outside her dimples. Although some found it off-putting, I found it completed her.

2. Actions Speak Louder than Words

A descriptive essay that describes the character in one paragraph can be detrimental. In fact, many physical descriptions in popular literary work are not short, and as characters, physical personalities are shown throughout the book. Take a look back to your favorite book and think how the characters were revealed to you. Many of them use the span of the book or series of books to show character traits, flaws, and even sometimes descriptions. How do they do this? Many authors use actions or behaviors to speak for the character. Reveal only bits and pieces of the character as you write the story. As the character interacts with other characters, the reader will understand more about who they are. For example:

John has brown eyes and brown hair to his shoulders. He has a little stubble and stands about 6 feet tall.

Now take that sentence and use actions to describe John.

John smiled. The stubble around his mouth shaped his smile making it seem larger than it was. All of the sudden John tipped his head back and let out a belly of a laugh. So guttural and loud that it could be heard from across the hall. His long brown hair falling to his shoulders swayed with each laugh. John was standing over me like a tower, but his laugh was so infectious, I started laughing myself.

John is the same person in each scenario, but we used two different methods. The first was a simple description of John while the second used action verbs and behaviors to describe him. Using this method can be difficult if there is a certain page limit or it is a short essay. If so, you can use creative ways to integrate action verbs in short paragraphs to describe your characters. You can still take your time to reveal their physical and personal traits. Instead of doing it in one paragraph, try it in one or two pages.

Expository essay definition page has more tips on those methods.

3. Personality Traits

Personality traits can be difficult to write for a character. Consider that not every hero has to be perfect. You can give your main character a tragic flaw, or a character trait leading to the downfall or a low point in your story. Aristotle introduced this concept into the writing world a long time ago. When writing personality traits, also consider the above and don't reveal everything at once. This can be done slowly as your character is faced with more trials. Seeing them react to others and their surrounding will develop their characteristics further. A tactic for creating personality traits is to give your character extreme emotions. For example, let's say that John has an intense emotion. He is really happy; he is also someone who doesn't give a care in the world- to a fault. You might say:

John is the kind of guy who doesn't care about anything. All John wants to do is laugh and be happy. Even when I told John that I lied to him about using his truck, he smiled. The stubble around his mouth shaped his smile making it seem larger than it was. All of the sudden John tipped his head back and let out a belly of a laugh. So guttural and loud that it could be heard from across the hall. His long brown hair falling to his shoulders swayed with each laugh. John was standing over me like a tower, but his laugh was so infectious, I started laughing.

Adding this extreme personality trait gave John more character in the sample paragraph. You might even, later on, add that John is only this way because of a tragic childhood. This gives his character depth that can be revealed later in the essay.

For descriptive essays, there are some helpful structures in case you are still having trouble. Generally speaking, you should identify three personality traits that your character will have. In the introduction, introduce your character and some of their traits. These could be the biggest positives of your character to hook the reader into your story. The middle of the story should introduce other characters and show how your main character responds to its environment. This can bring rise to more complex emotions. Lastly, you can conclude the descriptive essay by showing how all these traits and emotions complete the individual. For John, he might use his over positivity to volunteer for at-risk youth which is something he faced when he was young.

And of course, do not forget that if you are still having trouble with a descriptive essay, you can always get professional writing help. Many students hesitate to contact custom writing services , even though there is absolutely nothing wrong in outsourcing. For starters, it can save you a lot of time and effort on subjects that are not your major. And, as a result, it can help you focus on studies that really matter.

Next, employing a professional to write an essay for you can help you improve your academic result. Since all of our essay writers are qualified graduates, you can rest assured that your paper will be completed according to high educational standards. Finally, you can always get in touch with us, even if the deadline is really short. This is why our friendly support staff is available for you 24/7. If you want to know how to make an essay have more words our writers share their tips in our blog.

How to Write a Compelling Comparative Essay
How To Write an Article Review
How to write a successful reflective essay: best ideas to try
How To Write A Persuasive Speech
It’s all in the outline: mastering the compare and contrast essay

Home — Essay Samples — Life — Hero — Someone Who Inspires Me

Essays About Someone Who Inspires Me

My dad is my inspiration: a story from my life, my favorite person, my friend vie, made-to-order essay as fast as you need it.

Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences

+ experts online

My Parents – The People I Admire The Most

How my grandfather inspires me throughout my life, my mother is a true hero for me, one of my heroes – my cousin, let us write you an essay from scratch.

450+ experts on 30 subjects ready to help
Custom essay delivered in as few as 3 hours

Why My Mother is My Hero

My father – a person i admire the most, ash ketchum – my inspiration to be the very best, my older brother: my hero and inspiration, get a personalized essay in under 3 hours.

Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind

Allen Lau – an Entrepreneur I Admire

The people i consider to be my heroes, reason why my mother is the person i admire the most, my hero: elon musk, why my role model is my mother, me hero: forensic expert henry chang-yu lee, the life and accomplishments of mother teresa, my hero: larry page, bo jackson: an american hero and legend in sports, oprah winfrey as a nowadays hero, who is your role model: my father's influence on my life, why jesus inspires me and other poeple, an entrepreneur i admire the most, my hero: timothy john 'tim' berners-lee, emma watson as my role model, ellen degeneres – a person who inspires me, my hero: michelle obama, my role model at work, my favorite tv presenter and why i admire her, kobe bryant - an example of genuine leader, relevant topics.

Helping Others
Winter Break
Paying College Athletes
Childhood Memories

By clicking “Check Writers’ Offers”, you agree to our terms of service and privacy policy . We’ll occasionally send you promo and account related email

No need to pay just yet!

Bibliography

We use cookies to personalyze your web-site experience. By continuing we’ll assume you board with our cookie policy .

Instructions Followed To The Letter
Deadlines Met At Every Stage
Unique And Plagiarism Free

A business journal from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania

Knowledge at Wharton Podcast

What does your writing style say about you, july 23, 2024 • 15 min listen.

Wharton’s Jonah Berger explains how writing style can predict future success.

Listen to the podcast.

Wharton marketing professor Jonah Berger discusses his published study, “ Topography of Thought ,” which was co-authored with Olivier Toubia , business professor at Columbia Business School. The paper examines how someone’s writing style can be indicative of their future success, and where generative AI might come into the picture.

Read an edited transcript below.

Studying How Successful People Think

Angie Basiouny: Give us an overview of this paper by way of explaining your title. What is topography of thought?

Jonah Berger: I don’t have to tell you that we all use language all the time. We write emails, make presentations, and submit job applications. We use language all the time. And language, in some sense, is a fingerprint. It reveals or reflects things about the people who produce it. You can predict how extraverted someone is, for example, based on the words they use.

But beyond the individual words people use, might the pattern of ideas they put out there, the way they organize their ideas, reveal something interesting about them and their likelihood of future success?”

I think it’s important to talk about what I mean about the pattern of ideas. When someone talks about something, they can cover a small amount of ground or a large amount of ground. If you ask someone about their work history, for example, they can talk about a variety of things they’ve done or a smaller set of things they’ve done. They can cover a lot of ground or a little bit of ground.

If you want to use an analogy here, you can almost think about going for a run. Someone can go for a run and go all the way around the city, or they can go for the same number of miles, but just go around the block a number of times. In both cases, they did the same distance, but they covered more ground in one than the other. So, one way we express ideas is the amount of ground we cover. We cover more ground with our ideas, or less. We can talk about more ideas, more topics, more themes, more things that are disparate from one another, or things that are related to one another.

But it’s not just that. It’s also the speed with which we move between adjoining ideas. Imagine a movie. It can cover more or less ground across the course of the movie, but it can also move faster or slower between ideas. If a movie has one scene, for example, that’s at the beginning of a wedding, if the next scene is the later part in a wedding, that’s related to the first part. Different things may happen, but it’s pretty closely related. But if you jump from a wedding to an action scene, that would be really different sorts of ideas. They’re not very related. They’re moving further across those two points.

We wondered if these two ideas, how much ground someone covers, and how quickly they move between ideas, might tell us something about their likelihood of future success.

Basiouny: You’re not talking about the length of the piece of writing. You’re not talking about whether it’s a 500-word essay or 1,000-word essay. It’s really about how they use that space to move through their ideas. Correct?

Berger: Yes, great point. It’s not about the length. It’s about the ground covered. Are they covering a lot of ground in their hundred or thousand words, whatever it is? Or are they covering less ground? Someone talking about their vacation could share 1,000 words, but they could use those words to talk just about the food they ate, or also to talk about the sights they saw and the places they visited. The former would cover less ground while the latter would cover more.

Basiouny: How did you go about studying this?

Berger: The same ideas can be applied to any type of content, but here we looked at college applications. In other work we’ve looked at online reviews, and in related work we looked at books, movies, and TV shows.

We took 40,000 college application essays from a variety of folks who were applying to school, and we looked at what they wrote and the topography of thought of what they wrote — how much ground they covered in that essay. Again, similar length, but how much ground they covered, and how quickly they moved between ideas. And we looked at their future success. How well did they do in school? What was their GPA once they got there? We were interested in seeing whether, not just the individual words they use, but the way they express ideas might that reveal something or predict how likely they are to be successful in the future.

The Essay Writing Style That’s Linked to Greater Success

Basiouny: What did you find?

Berger: We found two very important things. First, covering more ground, that notion of covering a broad range of things in the same amount of length, was linked to greater success. But doing so while moving rather slowly, was also important.

Think about the numbers arrayed on a circular clock. You could cover a lot of ground by moving in a circle, (e.g., going from 12 to 1 to 2 to 3 to 4) or by traversing the same ground but going from like 12 to 6 to 1 to 7 to 3 to 11. You’ve covered the same amount of ground, but you’ve taken a much longer route between each individual point.

What we found is that folks who are successful in school are able to blend these two things that might seem mutually exclusive. It might seem like covering a lot of ground requires moving really quickly between points to get there. But folks that end up doing well in school figure out a way to cover that ground really efficiently. They’re able to do so by moving slowly between these points, and they don’t have to take a lot of big jumps along the way.

Basiouny: In this paper, you controlled for some socioeconomic factors. Can you talk about that a little bit?

Berger: Yes, so someone could wonder, “OK, so you’ve found that people did well in school, and you’re using writing as a way to indicate how they think. But does it indicate something else?” Maybe it’s just that people who do better on the SAT also have higher grades and also tend to write a certain way. Maybe it’s that people who have parents who are more educated tend to write a certain way and also do better in school. Or maybe people who have parents who are more educated can afford to pay for an essay consultant who helps them write a certain way and also helps them do better in school.

So, we controlled for a variety of different things. We controlled for what they wrote about. Maybe certain types of people tend to write about certain types of things, rather than other types of things. Maybe it’s not about how they write, it’s about what they wrote about — the topics or themes they discussed. No, it wasn’t that.

Maybe it’s parents’ education. No, we controlled for that. Maybe it’s SAT scores. No, we can control for that. What this suggests is that the topography of thought goes beyond things related to just socioeconomic factors or family background. It’s not just that people who might have had wealthier families, for example, tend to write a certain way or have application consultants and do better in school because they get tutoring. No, it really suggests that writing reveals something about the way we think, which can reveal or predict our likelihood of being successful in the future.

Implications Beyond College Essay Writing

Basiouny: There are other critical forms of writing that we do every day in business, like cover letters, resumes, a press release, communications to the C-suite. Can you take this research and translate it into a business context?

Berger: What I find fascinating about these ideas is yes, we looked at the case of college application essays, but it doesn’t have to be only about application essays. These same ideas should apply more broadly to a variety of contexts, whether it’s a cover letter that someone writes, whether it’s an online review that someone puts together, whether it’s the emails they write at the office — all these things provide insight into who people are and what they’re likely to do in the future. I think on a previous episode that you had me on, I talked about a paper I loved recently, where they can tell whether someone is going to default on the loan or not by the language they use in their application. Similarly, you can predict whether someone is going to get promoted or fired or leave a job for a better opportunity elsewhere based on the language they use in their email.

Most of this work that I just mentioned is using individual words, but I think what our work suggests beyond the individual words someone used, you can get insight into who they are, how they think, and how well they’re going to do in the future, based on the pattern of ideas that they have or their topography of thought.

Basiouny: As a manager, it gives you an indication of how they might move through their physical work or their knowledge work, right?

Berger: Yes, one thing we’re looking at right now is, as people learn more, does that change the way their topography of thought looks? Obviously, as we gain more knowledge in a given domain, we may talk differently. We may think about ideas differently. One thought we have is, “Hey, if people who are able to cover a lot of ground really efficiently by moving slowly between points, how did they get there? Are they naturally that way?” Probably not. They may have gained more knowledge along the way that allows them to represent their ideas differently.

One thing we’re doing right now is looking at online forums where people write multiple reviews over time. Someone, for example, might write hundreds of wine reviews over the years. They’ve learned more about wine years later. We’re looking at how do they represent ideas differently as they gain knowledge? And that may help us understand why people who represent ideas certain ways end up doing better.

Humans Still Write Better than ChatGPT and Gen AI — For Now

Basiouny: ChatGPT and artificial intelligence have entered the conversation. People have access to these free tools that can help them perfect their cover letters and written business communication. How does this change things? We can’t really tell how good someone’s topography of thought is if they have an AI-assisted piece of writing. What do we do?

Berger: Yes, so I’d say a couple of things. I agree with much of what you said, except one word. I’m not sure they allow you to “perfect” your writing. At least at the moment. What they do is allow you to write something pretty good quickly and easily. You give it a prompt, and it produces content that’s pretty interesting, does a pretty good job of doing something that might have been difficult for you to do.

And to a degree it uses your own content somehow. Like you could say, “Take my CV and use it to put together a cover letter based on my past experiences.” So that is based on you, and someone else’s might look different, to the degree that their CV is different, but I wouldn’t say it necessarily perfects anything. At least at the moment.

Certainly, tools like ChatGPT and others have made the production of content much easier, and I can imagine a time down the road where we do use them for many tasks, rather than writing ourselves. But I still think there is a lot to be understood about how language reflects the people that produce it and how to write more effective content, based on understanding what makes language impactful.

More From Knowledge at Wharton

Vera Bradley CEO: Company Rebrands Need to Reset the Brand Health

Ciara Dilley, VP of Marketing for Global Brands at PepsiCo

Marketplace Dignity: The Hidden Driver of Customer Engagement

Looking for more insights.

Grades 6-12
School Leaders

Get our FREE 'Meet the Teacher' bundle!

21 Writing Strategies To Help Aspiring Writers Plan, Create, and Finalize Their Work

Including smart ways to break through writer’s block!

Two writing strategies, including a storyboard printable worksheet and a printable student goal setting sheet.

Writing well takes practice and patience, but it’s a skill that offers real benefits both in the classroom and the real world. For many, writing is incredibly challenging, leaving people asking “Where do I even start?” Even experienced authors use a variety of writing strategies to keep themselves on track. We’ve rounded up some of the best writing strategies, with explanations and examples to help aspiring writers plan, organize, get started, and polish their final drafts.

Planning and Prep Writing Strategies

Organization writing strategies, writing strategies to overcome writer’s block, writing strategies to polish your work.

Before you ever put pen to paper (or fingers to keyboard), writing takes a lot of preparation and planning. Use these strategies to get yourself ready to write.

Mentor Texts

The best writers are the ones who also read voraciously. Reading helps you develop your general language and composition skills by exposing you to correct grammar, syntax, and more. Even more importantly, reading gives you examples of great writing (and often, bad writing). It allows you to explore different writing styles so you can develop your own personal voice. Author and screenwriter Ray Bradbury recommended reading one short story before bed every single night.

Many writers, especially students, use mentor texts as examples of the type of writing they want to emulate. Reading a few of these in the style of the piece you’re working on can inspire and guide you along the way. These texts can be books, magazines, articles, poems, essays, and more. Here are some of our favorite mentor texts in various styles:

Opinion Writing Mentor Texts
Narrative Writing Mentor Texts
Procedural Writing Mentor Texts

To write convincingly about a topic, you must know it well, whether you’re working in nonfiction or fiction. If you decide to set your short story in Greece in the 19th century, you’ll need to know what life was like then. Writing about a main character who loves skateboarding means knowing the terminology and language of the culture. Deep knowledge on a topic adds realism and authenticity to any form of writing.

Regardless of what you’re researching, it’s important to use reliable primary sources. The Internet makes researching easier than ever before, but it can be harder to know whether your sources are trustworthy. Dedicated writers take time to verify their sources, and it’s especially important to teach young writers how to do so .

Taking good notes is vital when you’re researching. For some people, this means bookmarks and annotated text. Others prefer outlines or mind maps. Learn about smart note-taking strategies and choose a few that work best for you.

Immerse Yourself

Take your research a step further by truly immersing yourself in the time and place you’re writing about. Visit places in person if you can, or try virtual online tours through sites like Google Earth. These virtual field trips are a good option if you can’t get there yourself.

Meet or talk with people who have personal experience with your topic. Eat the foods of a country or culture, and listen to its music. Explore lots of visual sources, like pictures and videos. You can even hang some of your favorite images around your workspace for inspiration. The more familiar you are with a topic, the more comfortable you’ll feel writing about it.

Know Your Audience

Imagine you’re writing about whales. You’ve done lots of research and have plenty of interesting information to share. But the way you share it will vary a lot depending on who you’re writing for. If your audience is your teacher, you’ll probably want to use technical terms and cite your sources. But if you’re writing a book for little kids, your writing will be more descriptive and the language much simpler.

Ask defining questions like these:

Who will read what I’m writing?
Why are they reading it?
What kind of language will they understand?
What might they already know about this topic?
What will these readers really care about?
How will their personal experiences affect them as they’re reading?
What style and tone of writing are they likely to enjoy most?

Character Profiles

Fiction writers need to create believable characters, with fully developed personalities. Some writers envision entire backstories for their characters that never make it onto the page. But these backstories inform their writing, driving their characters’ actions and choices. Try some of these ideas to develop strong characters:

Create a family tree or relationship map of your characters
Draw the characters, or describe their physical looks in detail
Write timelines of your characters’ lives
List their personality or character traits
Describe a character’s hopes, dreams, and ambitions
Determine the character’s voice: how they talk (words and phrases, syntax, etc.) and any accents, dialects, or code-switching they use

Start at the End

It sounds a little strange, but consider writing the final sentence or paragraph of your work first. After all, when you plan a trip, you almost always have a final destination in mind. How you get there may vary, but you’re ultimately striving toward a particular goal.

If you’re working on a nonfiction essay or research paper, writing the end first allows you clarify exactly what ideas you want your reader to walk away with. Then, you can work backward to fill in the details that support those ideas. Write your first paragraph last, and you’ll find it much easier to sum up your ideas and prepare the reader for what’s to come.

Fiction writers can do this too. In fact, many mystery writers start at the end, determining the solution to their mystery first. This allows them to build up the story around that resolution, ensuring the narrative hangs together. Picture your characters at the end of the story, then decide how you’ll get them there.

One of the hardest parts of writing can be keeping everything in order, especially when you’re writing longer pieces. Writers also need to manage their time to ensure they hit any deadlines or due dates they might have. These writing techniques can help.

Establish a Routine

Every famous author has had their own particular writing routine or habits. Stephen King sat in the same place each day , with his papers arranged carefully around him. E.B. White never listened to music while he wrote (although other distractions didn’t bother him). Hemingway wrote first thing every morning , as early as possible. Simone de Beauvoir wrote a little in the morning and then again in the evening.

Each one is different, but one thing is the same: They almost always followed the same routine and habits. This kept them focused and ensured they could meet the goals they set. Set aside a specific time for writing each day, and figure out the setting and habits that suit you best. Think about when you’ve been most productive, and try to replicate that as much as possible.

Set Writing Goals

We often teach students to set S.M.A.R.T goals : specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound. These are ideal for writing, especially when you have a longer or more complex piece to finish. They also work if you just want to get a little better at your craft.

If you have a deadline or due date, start with that in mind and work backward. Be sure to allow time in your schedule for items like research, planning, a first draft, revision/editing, second draft, feedback, and a final draft. When you’re writing your first draft, consider breaking it into even smaller sections that will help you meet your goal and keep you on target. (Stephen King writes six pages a day; John Steinbeck was happy with just one.)

Outline or Story Map

For longer pieces, writers turn to outlines and story maps, creating the overall structure of their composition before they start writing in sentences and paragraphs. Some do this using the traditional outline structure , starting with the main points and filling in key details. Others like the sticky note method, where they write one fact or plot point on each note and move them around as needed.

When you map things out in advance, it makes the writing process itself much simpler. For nonfiction pieces, it ensures you don’t leave out any important information. In fiction, a story map helps you plan a narrative arc that hangs together and drives the story along. When you have an outline or story map in place, you can focus on finding the words to share these ideas with your audience.

Writing Template

Hamburger Writing Graphic Organizer Template.

A template can be a real benefit, especially for beginners or young students. It lays out the various sections and guides the writer through the process of completing each one. Think of a template kind of like training wheels; they help inexperienced writers feel a little more comfortable and keep them from missing important steps while they write. Check out our huge collection of free printable writing templates for elementary students.

Examples of video project toolkit templates on blue background

If you’re a visual person, try a storyboard instead. This method uses a blank comic-book-style template to sketch out the action scene-by-scene. You don’t necessarily need to be a strong artist to use a storyboard, as long as you can get your ideas across in your drawings. Find a free storyboard template for younger students here.

Once you have your sketches, go back and add some text underneath. This might be dialogue, descriptive terms, or facts you want to include in that section. This text provides a terrific jumping-off point to begin writing in earnest.

It happens to everyone: the horror of the blank page—and a blank mind. The deadline clock is tick-tick-ticking, so you know you’ve got to do something, and do it pretty quick. Take a deep breath, then see if one of these writing strategies can help you break through.

Free-Write (Brainstorm)

This is all about just putting something down on the page. It doesn’t need to be good, it doesn’t need to follow grammar or spelling rules, it doesn’t even necessarily need to make sense! Just start letting words flow from your brain through the pen or keyboard and onto paper. In the same way that the physical act of smiling can actually make us feel happier, the physical act of writing or typing can sometimes get the creative juices flowing at last.

Write about anything, even the fact that you don’t have anything to write about, in a stream-of-consciousness style. When you feel up to it, transition into writing a bit about your topic or plot. Even if you only manage to write one good sentence or phrase you can use, it’s still progress.

Writing Sprints

Set a timer and just WRITE. Keep your pen (or fingers on the keyboard) moving the entire time, no matter what. If you’re really stuck, just write or type the same word over and over again until something shakes loose. Or combine a writing sprint with a writing prompt (see below) and let your words run free.

Short sprints of 5 to 10 minutes are great for warming up before a longer writing session. But you can also try longer sprints (up to an hour or so), where you purposely block out all other distractions. Turn off or mute your phone, set your device to distraction-free mode, shut the door or put on noise-cancelling headphones, whatever it takes. For the duration of your sprint, your only job is to write.

Writing Prompts

Computer and tablet screen with short story prompts.

Use prompts to spark creativity and overcome writer’s block. Whether they inspire you to write a lot or a little, they get you into a creative mood and strengthen your writing muscles. We’ve got lots of writing prompts and topics to tackle:

Short Story Starters and Writing Prompts
Inspiring Picture Writing Prompts
Kindergarten Writing Prompts
First Grade Writing Prompts
Second Grade Writing Prompts
Third Grade Writing Prompts
Fourth Grade Writing Prompts
Fifth Grade Writing Prompts
Creative Writing Prompts for Grades 4-8
The Big List of Essay Topics for High School

A vignette is a short, descriptive piece that tries to bring the reader fully into one single moment. It doesn’t need a plot; rather, it tries to capture the mood and atmosphere with lots of evocative detail. Vignettes are a great way to jump-start your writing, establishing the setting of your piece or a particular scene you want to describe. Learn more about using vignettes here.

Having trouble figuring out your characters’ motivations, voices, or relationships? Try dialogue. You can approach this several different ways. One is to imagine and write a conversation between two or more characters in your story on any topic. You may or may not use this dialogue in your finished work; the point is to help you hear each character and their personality more clearly.

Another option is to have an imaginary conversation with a specific character out loud. Pretend you’re talking to them, and when they “respond,” speak aloud their voice as you imagine it in your head. Then, try to put those words into writing to see how they translate to the page.

Rough Draft

Initial drafts can actually be pretty freeing, because you’re not working toward perfection. Instead, you’re trying to get all your ideas onto paper for the first time, in sentences and paragraphs. Don’t worry too much about word choice, spelling, or even grammar at this point. Instead, just keep on writing. You’ll have plenty of opportunities to go back to revise and edit.

A rough draft might wind up being much shorter or longer than your final version. Some people like to write down anything and everything they’ve researched or planned for. Then, they condense and trim their text in later drafts. Others like to lay out the overall structure, then return to add more details and depth. Both of these methods are valid, so use whichever works best for you.

With your initial draft finally on the page, it’s time to edit, revise, and make it the best it can possibly be! These techniques and strategies will help you get there.

Captivating Opening Sentence

A strong opening sentence draws the reader in from the beginning. Try writing multiple versions to see which you like best. To ensure your opening is truly meaningful, share it with someone on its own, without the rest of the text for context. Ask what they think your writing will be about based on that single sentence, and if it interests them enough to want to read the rest.

Even nonfiction writing deserves amazing opening sentences. Darwin began On the Origin of Species by saying, “When on board H.M.S. ‘Beagle,’ as naturalist …” The book itself has a lot of dry technical writing, but that opening sentence evokes a sense of time and place, of adventure in far-off places, and it draws the reader in.

Avoid starting your writing with conventional phrases like “In this paper I will prove that …” or “I’m going to tell you about …” Thesis statements are important, but they’re rarely interesting enough to really intrigue the reader. Take a cue from Virginia Woolf, who opened A Room of One’s Own with: “But, you may say, we asked you to speak about women and fiction—what has that got to do with a room of one’s own? I will try to explain.”

Very few writers write a first draft that’s ready to be turned in or published. Instead, they revisit and refine their drafts multiple times, a process known as revision. When you revise, you focus on the overall structure and clarity of your work. Ask yourself questions like these:

Nonfiction Revision

Is/Are my main point/s clear?
Have I completely proven all the points in my thesis statement?
Did I use facts to back up my assertions or opinions?
Have I included citations or quotations that support my writing?
Are there any areas where my writing is vague or needs to be clarified?
Have I addressed any counterarguments and acknowledged alternative views?
Does the overall structure make sense?
Do my paragraphs transition well from one to the next?
Should I add headings or subdivisions to make the paper easier to follow?
Is my language and tone appropriate?
Have I varied my word choice, refraining from repeating words or phrases over and over?
Does my conclusion effectively and clearly sum up my paper?
How will the reader feel when they finish reading this work, and does it match how I want them to feel?

Fiction Revision

Does the story have a clear beginning, middle, and end?
Is there a strong narrative arc?
Have I left any plot holes or unresolved conflicts that may feel unsatisfying?
How is the pacing? Does the story move along well, or does it get bogged down in places?
Do my characters speak with clear, individual voices?
Have my characters grown and changed as the story progressed?
Do the characters’ voices feel authentic?
Have I added realistic details without relying too heavily on description to carry the story? (“Show, don’t tell.”)
Does the setting feel real? Can I picture myself living in that place and time?
Is the conflict interesting enough to draw in the reader and hold their attention?
How do I want the reader to feel when they finish the story? Have I accomplished that?

Once you’re happy with the overall structure and writing itself, it’s time to get down to the technical nitty-gritty. That means details like grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling. In other words, the time has come to proofread your work.

Word-processing programs or apps like Grammarly can help you catch a lot of these errors, making this job easier. But the final edit is ultimately down to you, so proofread and correct, then proofread again. Do your best to make your writing as technically perfect as you can, so the reader isn’t distracted by spelling mistakes or other minor problems.

One fantastic way to revise and edit is to read your text aloud, to yourself or others. Maya Angelou often read her writing out loud to her husband in the evening. “Hearing it aloud is good,” she explained. “Sometimes I hear the dissonance; then I try to straighten it out in the morning.”

Reading aloud is also ideal for catching errors like missing words or confusing sentences. You likely read much faster in your head than you do out loud, so this method forces you to slow down and focus. This is one of our favorite writing strategies for those who have trouble with attention to detail.

Peer Review

Experienced writers welcome feedback from others. Read the acknowledgements in any book, and you’re likely to find the author thanking their peer writing group or editors for substantially improving their text.

Some people find it hard to take feedback on writing, since it can feel very personal. Remember this: If you’re writing something only you will ever see, then you don’t need to worry about others. But if your writing is intended for an audience, you have to let that audience see your work to find out if you’ve truly managed to convey your ideas.

You don’t need to incorporate every suggestion or change your peers, teacher, or editor suggests. But feedback ultimately makes writing stronger and better. Seek it actively and use it wisely, and you’ll find it’s one of the most valuable writing strategies of all.

What are your favorite writing strategies to share with students? Come exchange ideas in the We Are Teachers HELPLINE group on Facebook .

Plus, must-have anchor charts for teaching writing of all kinds ..

Writing strategies that help students and other writers get started, stay organized, polish their work, and even push through writer's block!

30 Hilarious Back-to-School Memes That Will Have You Saying “Same”

Nailed it. Continue Reading

Vanderbilt University Labs

How to structure a good essay.

Posted by Digital Strategies (Div of Comm) on Sunday, July 21, 2024 in Uncategorized .

Essay writing is one of the most important areas of the academic program. It is usually, in fact, a lengthy essay that present the author’s argument, but often the precise definition is unclear, overlapping with that of an argumentative paper, a personal essay, a report, a brief story, and even a book. Essays are traditionally been categorized as both formal and educational or informal as well as popular. In recent years, a third kind has surfaced -“casual” – which allows for a larger variety of expressive possibilities than could have been possible in previous decades. The”essay format” now refers to a more fluid blend of elements which will be broadly constructed in many various ways.

The common thread in all sorts of essay writing is the ability to synthesize the arguments introduced within the article. However, since we have seen, it’s likely to do so further by presenting arguments in different ways, generating various stylistic options that can further refine the presentation of this corretor de portugues article. Pupils are encouraged to explore these different options in their own essays. And there are a number of excellent reasons why.

One very powerful way to arrange essay content would be always to use the descriptive essay format. A descriptive essay counts on the pupil’s use of personal details, monitoring, and knowledge concerning specific subjects to encourage and enhance the main point of this essay. By way corretor de textos online of example, a study essay may rely on the researcher’s description of the several facets of an experiment. In precisely the exact same vein, a cultural studies article could utilize the opinions and observations of the author for a representative of the people depicted in the narrative. These personal details permit the essay to stay topical, even though much of the material is generically based on a lot of distinct areas of research. This is a particularly handy arrangement for research-based essays, where the private insights offered up from the essay subject are supported by scientific facts.

Another crucial concept for good essay writing is the capability to connect the different strands of the article’s argument. The thesis statement of the article reflects the fundamental purpose of this essay, laying the main focus of the essay. But while the thesis is essential, it’s important for the essay to have lots of supporting evidence to back up the thesis statement. This proof can come from a number of different types of resources, such as literary texts, personal stories, or documentaries. After the strength of the evidence warrants it, the article can use what is called”pep talk” to deliver the many strands of the article together.

A narrative essay is another commonly used format for article writing. Like the thesis statement, the story focus is supported by the truth contained in the body of the article. However, the potency of the case rests upon how well the essay draws the reader to the story. Essays that don’t tell a complete and persuasive narrative will frequently lose their overall attractiveness.

In the end, an effective article uses the usage of the paragraph. The paragraph is effective at powerfully expressing the numerous points and ideas contained in the essay. The main argument of an essay is usually expressed in a paragraph that includes both a thesis statement and a body of supporting evidence. In this manner, the thesis and the rest of the essay’s argument are tightly intertwined in the body of the essay.

Leave a Response

The Gunman and the Would-Be Dictator

Violence stalks the president who has rejoiced in violence to others.

A photomontage illustration of Donald Trump.

Listen to more stories on hark

When a madman hammered nearly to death the husband of then–House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Donald Trump jeered and mocked . One of Trump’s sons and other close Trump supporters avidly promoted false claims that Paul Pelosi had somehow brought the onslaught upon himself through a sexual misadventure.

After authorities apprehended a right-wing-extremist plot to abduct Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, Trump belittled the threat at a rally. He disparaged Whitmer as a political enemy. His supporters chanted “Lock her up.” Trump laughed and replied , “Lock them all up.”

Fascism feasts on violence. In the years since his own supporters attacked the Capitol to overturn the 2020 election—many of them threatening harm to Speaker Pelosi and Vice President Mike Pence—Trump has championed the invaders, would-be kidnappers, and would-be murderers as martyrs and hostages. He has vowed to pardon them if returned to office. His own staffers have testified to the glee with which Trump watched the mayhem on television.

Now the bloodshed that Trump has done so much to incite against others has touched him as well. The attempted murder of Trump—and the killing of a person nearby—is a horror and an outrage. More will be learned about the man who committed this appalling act, and who was killed by the Secret Service. Whatever his mania or motive, the only important thing about him is the law-enforcement mistake that allowed him to bring a deadly weapon so close to a campaign event and gain a sight line of the presidential candidate. His name should otherwise be erased and forgotten.

It is sadly incorrect to say, as so many have, that political violence “has no place” in American society. Assassinations, lynchings, riots, and pogroms have stained every page of American political history. That has remained true to the present day. In 2016 , and even more in 2020, Trump supporters brought weapons to intimidate opponents and vote-counters. Trump and his supporters envision a new place for violence as their defining political message in the 2024 election. Fascist movements are secular religions. Like all religions, they offer martyrs as their proof of truth. The Mussolini movement in Italy built imposing monuments to its fallen comrades. The Trump movement now improves on that: The leader himself will be the martyr in chief, his own blood the basis for his bid for power and vengeance.

Christopher R. Browning: A new kind of fascism

The 2024 election was already shaping up as a symbolic contest between an elderly and weakening liberalism too frail and uncertain to protect itself and an authoritarian, reactionary movement ready to burst every barrier and trash every institution. To date, Trump has led only a minority of U.S. voters, but that minority’s passion and audacity have offset what it lacks in numbers. After the shooting, Trump and his backers hope to use the iconography of a bloody ear and face, raised fist, and call to “Fight!” to summon waverers to their cause of installing Trump as an anti-constitutional ruler, exempted from ordinary law by his allies on the Supreme Court.

Other societies have backslid to authoritarianism because of some extraordinary crisis: economic depression, hyperinflation, military defeat, civil strife. In 2024, U.S. troops are nowhere at war. The American economy is booming, providing spectacular and widely shared prosperity. A brief spasm of mild post-pandemic inflation has been overcome. Indicators of social health have abruptly turned positive since Trump left office after years of deterioration during his term. Crime and fatal drug overdoses are declining in 2024; marriages and births are rising. Even the country’s problems indirectly confirm the country’s success: Migrants are crossing the border in the hundreds of thousands, because they know, even if Americans don’t, that the U.S. job market is among the hottest on Earth.

Yet despite all of this success, Americans are considering a form of self-harm that in other countries has typically followed the darkest national failures: letting the author of a failed coup d’état return to office to try again.

One reason this self-harm is nearing consummation is that American society is poorly prepared to understand and respond to radical challenges, once those challenges gain a certain mass. For nearly a century, “radical” in U.S. politics has usually meant “fringe”: Communists, Ku Kluxers, Black Panthers, Branch Davidians, Islamist jihadists. Radicals could be marginalized by the weight of the great American consensus that stretches from social democrats to business conservatives. Sometimes, a Joe McCarthy or a George Wallace would throw a scare into that mighty consensus, but in the past such challengers rarely formed stable coalitions with accepted stakeholders in society. Never gaining an enduring grip on the institutions of state, they flared up and burned out.

Trump is different. His abuses have been ratified by powerful constituencies. He has conquered and colonized one of the two major parties. He has defeated—or is on the way to defeating—every impeachment and prosecution to hold him to account for his frauds and crimes. He has assembled a mass following that is larger, more permanent, and more national in reach than any previous American demagogue. He has dominated the scene for nine years already, and he and his supporters hope they can use yesterday’s appalling event to extend the Trump era to the end of his life and beyond.

The American political and social system cannot treat such a person as an alien. It inevitably accommodates and naturalizes him. His counselors, even the thugs and felons, join the point-counterpoint dialogue at the summit of the American elite. President Joe Biden nearly wrecked his campaign because he felt obliged to meet Trump in debate. How could Biden have done otherwise? Trump is the three-time nominee of the Republican Party; it’s awkward and strange to treat him as an insurrectionist against the American state—though that’s what Trump was and is.

David Frum: Biden’s heartbreaking press conference

The despicable shooting at Trump, which also caused death and injury to others, now secures his undeserved position as a partner in the protective rituals of the democracy he despises. The appropriate expressions of dismay and condemnation from every prominent voice in American life have the additional effect of habituating Americans to Trump’s legitimacy. In the face of such an outrage, the familiar and proper practice is to stress unity, to proclaim that Americans have more things in common than that divide them. Those soothing words, true in the past, are less true now.

Nobody seems to have language to say: We abhor, reject, repudiate, and punish all political violence, even as we maintain that Trump remains himself a promoter of such violence, a subverter of American institutions, and the very opposite of everything decent and patriotic in American life.

The Republican National Convention, which opens this week, will welcome to its stage apologists for Vladimir Putin’s Russia and its aggression against U.S. allies. Trump’s own infatuation with Russia and other dictatorships has not dimmed even slightly with age or experience. Yet all of these urgent and necessary truths must now be subordinated to the ritual invocation of “thoughts and prayers” for someone who never gave a thought or uttered a prayer for any of the victims of his own many incitements to bloodshed. The president who used his office to champion the rights of dangerous people to own military-type weapons says he was grazed by a bullet from one such assault rifle.

Conventional phrases and polite hypocrisy fill a useful function in social life. We say “Thank you for your service” both to the decorated hero and to the veteran who barely escaped dishonorable discharge. It’s easier than deciphering which was which. We wish “Happy New Year!” even when we dread the months ahead.

Adrienne LaFrance: Thoughts, prayers, and Facebook rants aren’t enough

But conventional phrases don’t go unheard. They carry meanings, meanings no less powerful for being rote and reflexive. In rightly denouncing violence, we are extending an implicit pardon to the most violent person in contemporary U.S. politics. In asserting unity, we are absolving a man who seeks power through the humiliation and subordination of disdained others.

Those conventional phrases are inscribing Trump into a place in American life that he should have forfeited beyond redemption on January 6, 2021. All decent people welcome the sparing of his life. Trump’s reckoning should be with the orderly process of law, not with the bloodshed he rejoiced in when it befell others. He and his allies will exploit a gunman’s vicious criminality as their path to exonerate past crimes and empower new ones. Those who stand against Trump and his allies must find the will and the language to explain why these crimes, past and planned, are all wrong, all intolerable—and how the gunman and Trump, at their opposite ends of a bullet’s trajectory, are nonetheless joined together as common enemies of law and democracy.

About the Author

Hillary Clinton: How Kamala Harris Can Win and Make History

Credit... Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

Supported by

By Hillary Rodham Clinton

Mrs. Clinton was the Democratic nominee for president in 2016.

July 23, 2024

History has its eye on us. President Biden’s decision to end his campaign was as pure an act of patriotism as I have seen in my lifetime. It should also be a call to action to the rest of us to continue his fight for the soul of our nation. The next 15 weeks will be like nothing this country has ever experienced politically, but have no doubt: This is a race Democrats can and must win.

Mr. Biden has done a hard and rare thing. Serving as president was a lifelong dream. And when he finally got there, he was exceptionally good at it. To give that up, to accept that finishing the job meant passing the baton, took real moral clarity. The country mattered more. As one who shared that dream and has had to make peace with letting it go, I know this wasn’t easy. But it was the right thing to do.

Elections are about the future. That’s why I am excited about Vice President Kamala Harris. She represents a fresh start for American politics. She can offer a hopeful, unifying vision. She is talented, experienced and ready to be president. And I know she can defeat Donald Trump.

There is now an even sharper, clearer choice in this election. On one side is a convicted criminal who cares only about himself and is trying to turn back the clock on our rights and our country. On the other is a savvy former prosecutor and successful vice president who embodies our faith that America’s best days are still ahead. It’s old grievances versus new solutions.

Ms. Harris’s record and character will be distorted and disparaged by a flood of disinformation and the kind of ugly prejudice we’re already hearing from MAGA mouthpieces. She and the campaign will have to cut through the noise, and all of us as voters must be thoughtful about what we read, believe and share.

I know a thing or two about how hard it can be for strong women candidates to fight through the sexism and double standards of American politics. I’ve been called a witch, a “nasty woman” and much worse. I was even burned in effigy. As a candidate, I sometimes shied away from talking about making history. I wasn’t sure voters were ready for that. And I wasn’t running to break a barrier; I was running because I thought I was the most qualified to do the job. While it still pains me that I couldn’t break that highest, hardest glass ceiling, I’m proud that my two presidential campaigns made it seem normal to have a woman at the top of the ticket.

We are having trouble retrieving the article content.

Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.

Thank you for your patience while we verify access.

Already a subscriber? Log in .

Want all of The Times? Subscribe .

COMMENTS

Writing an Effective Essay About a Person: Tips and Guidelines
Consider the author's credibility, the publication's reputation, and any potential biases. By conducting thorough research, analyzing information critically, and cross-referencing multiple sources, you can ensure the accuracy and objectivity of your essay. Conducting proper research is a fundamental step in writing an essay about a person.
How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person: Step By Step
Brainstorm Descriptive Details: Before you start writing, make a list of physical attributes, personality traits, habits, and mannerisms that characterize the person. Think about specific anecdotes or memories that showcase their unique qualities. Create an Outline: Organize your essay with a clear structure, including an introduction, body ...
How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph About a Person (With ...
1. Brainstorm Your Ideas. Brainstorming is crucial to any writing process. It's the process in which you think of ideas for what you'd like to write about. In this case, you're writing a descriptive paragraph about a person. It's important to use adjectives to describe the features or characteristics you want to focus on.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
An example of a short descriptive essay, written in response to the prompt "Describe a place you love to spend time in," is shown below. Hover over different parts of the text to see how a descriptive essay works. On Sunday afternoons I like to spend my time in the garden behind my house. The garden is narrow but long, a corridor of green ...
Profile Essay ⇒ Writing Guide with Outline and Examples
An outline should include an introduction, body paragraphs, and a conclusion. Here's an example of a simple but detailed outline of a profile essay about a person: Subject: A profile of my high-school History teacher, Mr. Smith. I. Introduction. A. Hook: Describing how Mr. Smith has impacted my life in a positive way.
Descriptive Essay About a Person: A Comprehensive Guide
Writing Tips for Descriptive Essay About a Person. Descriptive essays can be written on a range of themes. For instance you can write a descriptive essay about a place, food or even nature.It's common to write these essays about people, which paints a vivid picture of their appearance, personality, evoking a clear mental image for the reader.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay About a Person or Place
As the author, you will be required to convey the physical and, more importantly, the emotional attributes of the person or the place you are describing. To grab your reader's attention for your essay, your descriptions have to be interesting. But don't forget about the structure of the essay itself. It is crucial that it has a captivating ...
Guide to a Perfect Descriptive Essay [Examples & Outline Included]
The use of literary devices such as personification and metaphor makes the banyan tree in the second example come to life. This is how you can make your writing more vivid, descriptive, and poetic. 2. Use your senses. Sensory descriptors are one of the most important aspects of a descriptive essay.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay (2021 Edition)
A descriptive essay is both expository and creative. When you write a descriptive essay, you use rich diction to make your chosen subject come alive. Your job is to describe in detail a person, place, or thing. You describe things every day of your life. Just think: you tell your friend about the date you had last night in great detail, or you describe how good that bowl of ramen was yesterday ...
The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay
The essay writing process consists of three main stages: Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline. Writing: Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion. Revision: Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling ...
How To Write A Descriptive Essay About a Person?
The purpose of this essay is quite clear: you have to express your feelings about a particular subject or object and describe its significant features. In most cases, students are forced to describe events, places, objects, and people. The last type is probably the most difficult because the description of a person won't include the appearance only, but would also consider character ...
How To Write A Descriptive Essay About A Person, with Outline
Sensory detail 1. Sensory detail 2. Sensory detail 3. Conclusion. Show the most memorable moment. Review the main details given in the essay body. Conclude by showing one thing you like the most. Descriptive essay about a person, writing guide for students on essaybasics.com.
How to Write a First-Person Essay
Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Aug 23, 2021 • 3 min read. First-person essays are an opportunity for a writer to share their personal experiences. They can be funny, inspiring, or challenging to the reader. Either way, the goal of a first-person essay is to forge a connection with the person who is reading it, inviting them to follow ...
How to Write a Descriptive Essay
Following are the steps involved in the pre-writing or planning procedure of a good descriptive essay: 1. Topic Selection. Usually, professors assign the topic for a descriptive essay. But, if you have a choice to select a topic, then you have a great chance to select something which you know a lot about.
How to Write a Personal Statement (Tips + Essay Examples)
In a great personal statement, we should be able to get a sense of what fulfills, motivates, or excites the author. These can be things like humor, beauty, community, and autonomy, just to name a few. So when you read back through your essay, you should be able to detect at least 4-5 different values throughout.
How to Write a Personal Essay: 6 Tips for Writing Personal Essays
Written by MasterClass. Last updated: Sep 9, 2021 • 3 min read. People write personal essays for a number of reasons. High school students write them for college admissions and writers use them to share personal stories with others. A personal narrative essay can enlighten and inspire an audience with information gained from real life ...
How To Write a Personal Essay in 8 Simple Steps (With Tips)
Write the introduction. Write the body. Write the conclusion. 1. Make preparations. When preparing to write your personal essay, first consider who your audience is and what you want them to know. Ask yourself questions to determine how your story relates to your goals for writing it.
How to Write a Profile Essay about a Person Format & Example
Step-by-step writing guide. 1. Determining your profile. You must define what kind of profile you plan to approach by collecting as much information as possible. Take notes of the facts, check statistical information, and interview a person of choice before you start writing. 2. Choosing your profile essay subject.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay About a Person You Admire
Step one: Choose your subject/Brainstorm. The essay about someone you admire could focus on, for example, your father, your mother, a friend, a grandparent, a celebrity like UK favourite Kate Middleton, a public figure like Mahatma Ghandi or your favourite teacher. Write a paragraph about a person you admire as you brainstorm.
Writing Descriptive Essays About A Person, with Example, Outline
Psychology essay example page will help as well. The three biggest tips for writing descriptive essays are to use a person you know, bear in mind that actions speak louder than words, and make the most of the personality traits. 1. Use a Person You Know. Using a person you know can build a foundation for descriptions.
Free Someone Who Inspires Me Essay Examples & Topic Ideas
1 page / 462 words. For me my personal hero is my mother. She is always keeping an eye out on me, and has taught me the fundamentals to life. My mother has instilled into me how to properly interact with people. Yet most importantly she provided me a life... My Heroes Mother Someone Who Inspires Me.
What Does Your Writing Style Say About You?
Wharton's Jonah Berger explains how writing style can predict future success, based on a study on over 40,000 college application essays.
21 Writing Strategies To Help Aspiring Writers Plan, Create, and
These texts can be books, magazines, articles, poems, essays, and more. Here are some of our favorite mentor texts in various styles: Opinion Writing Mentor Texts; Narrative Writing Mentor Texts; Procedural Writing Mentor Texts; Research. To write convincingly about a topic, you must know it well, whether you're working in nonfiction or fiction.
How to Structure a Good Essay
How to Structure a Good Essay. Posted by Digital Strategies (Div of Comm) on Sunday, July 21, 2024 in Uncategorized.. Essay writing is one of the most important areas of the academic program. It is usually, in fact, a lengthy essay that present the author's argument, but often the precise definition is unclear, overlapping with that of an argumentative paper, a personal essay, a report, a ...
The Gunman and the Would-Be Dictator
In rightly denouncing violence, we are extending an implicit pardon to the most violent person in contemporary U.S. politics. In asserting unity, we are absolving a man who seeks power through the ...
PC Learning Commons writing tutor Kevin Flanagan helps students build
Ask Phoenix College writing tutor Kevin Flanagan what a typical day in the Learning Commons is like, and it's anything but typical. Requests for writing support come via in-person visits, online appointments, and Online Writing Lab submissions, where students send in an essay or paper for review. Kevin noted most students come in with a specific issue.
Hillary Clinton: How Kamala Harris Can Win and Make History
Ms. Harris can explain to the American people that inflation would surge again under Mr. Trump, thanks to his proposed across-the-board tariffs, sweeping tax cuts for the rich and mass deportations.

Essay Papers Writing Online

Choosing the Right Individual for Your Composition

Conducting Proper Research

Structuring Your Essay

Highlighting Key Qualities and Achievements

Creating a Compelling Narrative

Related Post

How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person: Step By Step

How Do You Start A Descriptive Essay?

How To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person?

Creating an Outline

Drafting the Essay

Revision and Editing

Finalizing the Essay

Top 3 Examples of Descriptive Essays About a Person

“The Man Who Built Bridges: A Tribute to My Father”

“The Artist of Words: An Ode to Maya Angelou”

Tips To Write A Descriptive Essay On A Person

Recent Posts

How to Write a Descriptive Paragraph About a Person (With Examples)

1. Brainstorm Your Ideas

Appeal to your reader’s senses – smell, taste, sound, sight, and touch

3. Describe the Person

Find this useful?

4. Edit and Revise

5. General Tips for Descriptive Writing

Share this article:

Got content that needs a quick turnaround? Let us polish your work. Explore our editorial business services.

How to Use Infographics to Boost Your Presentation

Why Interactive PDFs Are Better for Engagement

Seven Key Strategies for Voice Search Optimization

Five Creative Ways to Showcase Your Digital Portfolio

How to Ace Slack Messaging for Contractors and Freelancers

How to Insert a Text Box in a Google Doc

Make sure your writing is the best it can be with our expert English proofreading and editing.

Profile Essay Guide

Main characteristics and purpose

How to write a profile essay

Choosing a topic and developing a thesis statement

Creating an outline of the essay

Writing the profile essay

Introduction

Body paragraphs

Key Takeaways

Was this article helpful?

Crafting an Authentic Portrait: A Guide to Writing a Descriptive Essay About a Person

Writing Tips for Descriptive Essay About a Person

Tips for Pre-Writing Phase

Tips for Writing Phase

Tips for Editing/Revising Phase

Descriptive Essay About a Person Examples

Keep reading

Checklist: Dissertation Proposal

Examples: Edited Papers

What is a descriptive essay?

Descriptive essay topics

Descriptive essay structure

1. Introduction

2. Body paragraph

3. Conclusion

How to write a descriptive essay

1. Use figures of speech

2. Use your senses

3. Use evocative language

Descriptive essay outline

Descriptive essay example

Frequently Asked Questions

Your vs. You’re: When to Use Your and You’re

Have a language expert improve your writing

The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

Instantly correct all language mistakes in your text

Table of contents

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

1. Hook your reader

2. Provide background on your topic

3. Present the thesis statement

4. Map the structure

Length of the body text

Paragraph structure

What not to include in a conclusion