Descriptive Essays

Subject:	Touch:	Sight:	Smell:	Taste:	Sound:
Baking cookies	Soft dough Warm cookies Hot pan	Brown (cooked, vs raw) Different ingredients	Chocolatey smell Sweet smell	Sweet Chocolate	Crunchy Squishing Scraping spoon on the bowl
Haunted house	Gooey blood Rough wood	Spooky shapes Peeling paint Creepy spiders	Moldy, musty Decaying smell	X	Scarping rats Moans, howls Creaking floors
Swimming in the ocean	Cold water Hot sand Strong waves	Huge ocean Colorful fish Sparkling waves White sand	Fresh smelling Fish smelling Smells salty	Salty water Sweet ice cream	Crashing waves Boat motors Screeching seagulls
A circus	Sticky seats	Huge animals Fancy costumes	Smelly animals Cooking popcorn	Buttery popcorn Sweet candy	Laughing crowd Cheering crowd Booming announcer Roaring tigers
The mall	Soft clothes	Bustling people Colorful clothes	Unhealthy food stalls Fresh, clean clothes	Cheap fast food	Crouds murmuring Music in the stores
The subway	Cold, hard, sturdy poles	Rushing people, gross rats, graffiti, ashy grey trains, silver	Stale bodies, sweat	X	People talking, staticy annoucements

The milk is warm and sweet. (touch/taste)

The smooth wrapping paper cricnkled when I bent it. (touch/sound)

The bright, warm sunlight came in through the large windows. (sight/touch)

The loud crowd was sweaty and stinky. (sound, touch, smell)

The small, round coin jangled in my pocket. (sight, touch, sound)

The french fries were crispy and hot. (touch)

Her voice was loud and shrill. (sound)

The trees’ leaves are green and fresh and wet. (sight, touch)

The dog barked loudly and harshly. (sound)

Figurative language:

Simile

He is as smart as a lion.

Metaphor

Your mother is an angel.

Nathan is tall like a mountain.

Personification

My cell phone is suffering because it’s low on battery.

Overstatement (Hyperbole)

I am going to melt in this heat.

Understatement

We didn’t eat a lot, only three trays of french fries.

Sound words (Onomotopoeia)
The rooster crowed “cock-a-doodle-doo!”

The kitten meowed when it was hungry.

Symbol

A candle represents knowledge.



Example introduction and conclusion for the "Summer Escape" essay:

Do you do the same thing every day, or do you try to shake things up every once in a while? I’m from Florida, and though I love it there, it gets hot and humid in the summer, and I start to question my living situation. That’s why my family and I take a trip to upstate New York every year and get a break from our home. Temporary changes in life can be a fun treat and help you appreciate your normal routine.

[Descriptive story from worksheet]

Leaving Florida for a while is always a welcome change after our stifling summers. This adventure helps me to take a break from the every day and also reminds me to apprecaite what I have. When I return home, I’m always happy to be back and am no longer tired of the same thing every day.