aew 2009 grade lecture 6 description.docx

aew 2009 grade lecture 6 description.docx

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Lecture6

Description

I. Whatisdescription?

Descriptionistheartoftranslatingperceptionsintowords.Descriptivewritingcanbecomparedtoagoodphotograph:

itpresentsaclearpictureofanobject,aperson,orascene.Butgooddescriptiongoesastepfurther.Itappealstothereader’ssenseofsound,smell,touch,taste,andsight.Itisfilledwithdetailsthathelptocreateadominantimpression;ithasafocus.

II. Thebasictypesofdescription

Descriptioncanbetwobasictypes:

objectiveandimpressionistic.Objectivedescriptioncanbealsocalled“physicaldescription”or“scientificdescription”.Objectivedescriptionattemptstoreportaccuratelytheappearanceoftheobjectasathinginitself,independentoftheobserver’sperceptionofitorfeelingsaboutit.Itisafactualaccount,thepurposeofwhichistoinformareaderwhohasnotbeenabletoseewithhisowneyes.Thewriterregardshimselfasakindofcamera,recordingandreproducing,thoughinwords,atruepicture.

Impressionisticdescriptioncanbealsocalled“subjectivedescription”or“imaginativedescription”.Itfocusesuponthemoodorfeelingtheobjectevokesintheobserver,ratherthantheobjectasitexistsinitself.Impressionisticdescriptiondoesnotseektoinformbuttoarouseemotion.Itattemptstomakeusfeelmorethanmakeussee.Thusthecommunicationoffeelingistheprimarypurposeofimpressionisticdescription.

Inanobjectivedescription,youdescribethesubjectinstraightforwardandliteralway,withoutrevealingyourattitudeorfeelings.Forinstance,anobjectivedescriptionoftheweatherwillbelikethis:

Alldaywehadtemperaturesof30degreesFandheavyrainsdrivenbywindsof35-45mph.Incontrast,whenwritinganimpressionisticdescription,youconveyahighlypersonalviewofyoursubjectandseektoelicitastrongemotionalresponsefromyourreaders.Animpressionisticdescriptionoftheweatheris:

Alldaytheweatherwasdismal.

III. Structureofadescriptiveessay

Inadescriptiveessay,theintroduction,body,andconclusionallworktogethertobringasubjecttolife.Theintroductioncapturesthereader’sattention.Thetopicstatementexpressesonmainimpressionofthesubject.Thebodyofsupportingparagraphsbringsthepicturetolifethroughspecificdetailsandwordsthatappealtothesenses.Theconclusionreinforcestheoverallimpressionbysummarizingthespecificdetailsorbymakingavividcomparison.

IV. Featuresofadescriptiveessay

1. Adescriptiveessayhasone,cleardominantimpression,amoodoratmospherethatreinforcesyourwritingpurpose.If,forexample,youaredescribingasnowfall,itisimportantforyoutodecideandtoletyourreadersknowifitisthreateningorlovely;inordertohaveonedominantimpressionitcannotbeboth.Thedominantimpressionguidestheauthor’sselectionofdetailandistherebymadecleartothereaderinthetopicsentence.

2. Objectivedescription

1） Objectivedescriptionoftenbeginswithabriefgeneralpicturecomprehendingtheobjectinitsentirety,andthendevelopsanalytically,usingparagraphstodividetheobjectintoitsparts,handlingeachinturnwithasmuchdetailasthepurposerequires.Thesepartsareplacedinanorderthatreflectsthearrangementinspaceoftheobject.Thusawriterdepictingtheinteriorofahousewouldlikelyorganizehisdescriptionbyfloors,andindescribingtheroomsoneachfloorhewouldprobablymovefromlefttorightorfromfronttorear.

2） Usuallyobjectivedescriptioniswrittenimpersonally,andthewriterwandersfreelyabouttheobjectorscenewithoutbotheringtorecordhisownmovements.When,forexample,hehasfinishedthefirstfloor,heneednotreport,“Iamnowgoingupstairs”;hemerelywrites,“Onthesecondfloor...”Thetonemustbekeptfactual,andthewritershouldavoidwordsthatconnoteapersonalreaction.“Alargeelm”,forexample,statesafact;“amagnificentelm”suggestsafeeling.

3） Objectivedescriptionoftenappearsprosaic,evendull;andtoooftentheappearanceisreal.Itisnot,however,inherentlydull—itisonlydifficulttodowell.Eventhoughhisimpressionsareexcluded,thewritercancreateinterestbythefidelityandtheskillwithwhichhetranslatesintowordsthethingshesees.

3. Impressionisticdescription

1） Towriteimpressionisticdescriptiontherearetwoways:

directlyandindirectly.Thedirectmethod,thesimpler,ismerelytodescribethefeelingitself.Theindirectistoprojecttheemotionbackintotheobjectand,bythecarefulselectionandtreatmentofitsdetails,sotoinfusetheobjectwithfeelingthatitwillarouseinthereaderaresponsesimilartothewriter’s.

Ofthetwomethods,theindirectismoreeffective.Ifthewriter’spurposeistocommunicateamood,hesucceedsbetterbyre-creatingtheobjectasheseesit.Awriterwhote