Descriptive writing is a literary device in which the author uses details to paint a picture with their words. This process will provide readers with descriptions of people, places, objects, and events through the use of suitable details.

There are 2 kinds of descriptive essays. The first type deals with persons and the second one is about objects. When you describe a person, you should add the physical features and details that appeals readers emotionally and physically. The other type is describing physical objects.

The primary purpose of descriptive writing is to describe a person, place or thing in such a way that a picture is formed in the reader’s mind. Capturing an event through descriptive writing involves paying close attention to the details by using all of your five senses.

The four types are:

• Location description.
• Character description.
• Action description.
• Emotion description.

Types of Descriptive Detail

• Sensory Detail.
• Characterization.
• Observational Writing.
• “Showing” versus “Telling” Simile.

Types of Details

• Narrative details—action/ events.
• Descriptive details—adj. / adv.
• Sensory details—senses: hearing, feeling, touching, smelling, etc.
• Dialogue and fragments—conversational tone.

Supporting details are reasons, examples, facts, steps, or other kinds of evidence that explain the main idea. Major details explain and develop the main idea. Minor details help make the major details clear. Identify the following sentences as Main Idea (MI), Topic (T), Supporting Detail (SD):

There are two types, of which there may be a couple for each.

• Protagonist – This is the main character, around which the whole story revolves.
• Antagonist – This character, or group of characters, causes the conflict for the protagonist.

Answer: In an article, the stated main idea is called the thesis statement. When the author does not state the main idea directly, it is called an implied main idea. An implied main idea requires you to look at the specific statements in the paragraph and consider what idea they suggest.

Finding the main idea

1. at the beginning of paragraphs. The first sentence often explains the subject being discussed in the passage.
2. in the concluding sentences of a paragraph. The main idea can be expressed as a summation of the information in the paragraph as well as a link to the information in the next paragraph.

Supporting detail is additional information that explains, defines or proves the main idea. An example of a supporting detail in a story is a description of the character’s clothing. An example of supporting detail in a newspaper article are sentences that answer the questions who, what, where, when, why and how.

The main idea may be stated in the first sentence of a paragraph and then be repeated or restated at the end of the paragraph. The main idea may be split. The first sentence of a paragraph may present a point of view, while the last sentence presents a contrasting or opposite view.

Here are some examples: Topic Sentence: There are many reasons why pollution in ABC Town is the worst in the world. The topic is “pollution in ABC Town is the worst in the world” and the controlling idea is “many reasons.”

A paragraph is a group of sentences related to a particular topic, or central theme. Every paragraph has a key concept or main idea. The main idea is the most important piece of information the author wants you to know about the concept of that paragraph.

The topic sentence is usually the first sentence of the paragraph because it gives an overview of the sentences to follow. The supporting sentences after the topic sentence help to develop the main idea. These sentences give specific details related to the topic sentence.

Generally, the topic sentence appears at the beginning of the paragraph. It is often the paragraph’s very first sentence. A paragraph’s topic sentence must be general enough to express the paragraph’s overall subject.

Because there are four paragraph types — narrative, descriptive, expository, and persuasive—the paragraph can be used to describe or explain an endless variety of things.

A basic paragraph structure usually consists of five sentences: the topic sentence, three supporting sentences, and a concluding sentence…….What are the 5 elements of a paragraph?

• Element #1: Unity. Unity in a paragraph begins with the topic sentence.
• Element #2: Order.
• Element #3: Coherence.
• Element #4: Completeness.