Descriptive essays are among the common types of essays you encounter in college. Unfortunately, writing your first descriptive essay may often prove an upward battle. Besides struggling to come up with a topic, you may find yourself confused about the type of information you need to express within your paper.

If you were struggling with the descriptive essay, this article will highlight what is expected of you in a descriptive essay and the steps to consider when writing your essay.

What is the purpose of a descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay is aimed at describing a person, a place, an event, or a phenomenon. This essay should thus narrate accounts of a phenomenon while painting vivid pictures in descriptive language.

The essay should thus illustrate the details of a phenomenon helping the reader understand how an event transpired, the appearance of a place or item, and the driving forces behind a given outcome. Descriptive essay writing, therefore, calls for mastery in illustrating a feeling, person, and place using descriptive words.

How to write a descriptive essay?

Like all essays, the descriptive essay requires a proper approach to ensure the desired outcomes. Some of the steps to consider when writing a descriptive essay are:

1. Topic selection

Topic selection bears much primacy in essay writing. poor topic selection may doom you to struggle with your paper and drain your writing inspiration. Before you write your essay, start by gauging various topics at your disposal and settle for the one that piques your interest. 

Preferably, settle for a topic that you experienced firsthand as this is easier to prepare and write. 

2. Conducting extensive research 

After choosing your topic, conduct research to identify the key ideas that could anchor your narration. Depending on the topic, you may brainstorm the order of events or search for the description of a given phenomenon to tackle all possible details of a topic.

3. Preparing an outline 

A descriptive essay outline is a crucial element for your writing efforts. This document allows you to get a grasp of the essay and also guides your writing without the interruption of conflicting ideas. For this, familiarize yourself with the descriptive essay format and sort out various ideas from the previous step into various chapters within your essay. 

4. Drafting and editing

Finally, write your paper and perform multiple rounds of editing to ensure that your paper is in line with the essay guidelines provided by your tutor. 

Topics for descriptive essay on a person

1. To introduce yourself to someone you have never met 
2. Your preferred historical location 
3. An occasion that altered your life 
4. Tell us about your best friend
5. What distinguishes you from others? 
6. Name a person you miss
7. Describe your relatives
8. Your neighbor to the rear 
9. The most admirable behavior of a loved one 
10. My very first instructor 
11. Describe a friend of yours
12. My favorite singer 

Topics for descriptive essay on a place

13. My childhood home
14. My preferred location in my hometown
15. Favorite academic setting
16. My ideal residence
17. A museum I recently went to
18. The day I traveled abroad 
19. Tell us about your street
20. Tell us about a building site
21. A beach away, a dilapidated school building
22. The first time I rode a metro
23. Describe a spooky location
24. Describe the coffee shop of your choice

Good descriptive writing topics

25. The movie character I love best
26. My initial abroad journey
27. My first love
28. My preferred musical genre
29. The historical museum visit
30. Personal superstition
31. The most significant figure in our history
32. A steamy summer day
33. How a typical day for me looks
34. What I think of God
35. How does it feel to be a police officer? 
36. Your preferred day
37. Tell us about your first computer

Interesting ideas for descriptive essays

38. Your trusted advisor
39. Describe a situation that put your life in danger
40. How do you deal with challenges in life? 
41. Your preferred trip memory
42. Describe how a priceless friendship first began
43. The realization that you are in love
44. The hardest duty you have to complete
45. The knowledge of experiencing heartbreak
46. How being in a school choir feels
47. What's it like to triumph in a school contest? 
48. Relaxing by playing video games
49. Your preferred aspect of gardening
50. Describe a rite or event you participated in