Descriptive writing appeals to the 5 senses of Sight, Sound, Touch, Taste, and Smell.
A reader should be able to experience the essay topic through use of specific detail and strong word choices, particularly in the area of adjectives and verbs. Basic writing simply tells a reader about the topic. Descriptive writing shows the reader about the topic. Here's an example of a sentence that has been revised from basic to descriptive:
First draft: We ran to the car to get away from the fire.
Second draft: We sprinted to the car though a choking haze of flame and smoke.
Descriptive writing might involve an assigned topic to write about or it might ask the writer to describe a personal experience. Either way, care should be taken during the writing process to drill down on details that speak to the human need to see, hear, touch, taste, and smell in order to understand a subject or situation.
