Descriptive Paragraph Instructions
You are required to submit the FINAL copy of this
assignment, but you may first submit an optional DRAFT. This will allow you to
receive qualitative feedback that can inform your revision. You should always
avoid focusing solely on the graderâs DRAFT feedback; use the feedback as a
supplement to the course lessons and your own revision ideas. Always expect to
revise beyond what the DRAFT grader specifically notes.
Additional helpful resources:
Descriptive Paragraph Rubric | Descriptive Paragraph Sample
Choose one photo from the Time Magazine website at this
address: http://lightbox.time.com/?iid=lf|tn
You will choose a photograph from the Time site and write a
descriptive paragraph. Use all five senses (sight, hearing, smell, taste, and
touch) to create vivid and tangible images in your own paragraph. Be sure to
address each sense in its physical form and avoid metaphors. See below:
Sight: âThe green pine trees dotted the horizon.â
Hearing: âThe last-minute buzzer echoed through the
stadium.â
Smell: âThe sweet aroma of jasmine filled my nose as I
jogged past the flower garden.â
Taste: âThe cookies taste sweet with a hint of salt.â
Touch: âThe sand felt cold, wet, and gritty beneath my
feet.â
A topic sentence for this assignment should introduce the main
point or points in the paragraph using key terms. In this case, you should
touch upon the five senses because they are the focus of this paragraph. For
example, âAttending the basketball game opened up my senses to vibrant lights,
loud sounds, salty aromas, mouth-watering treats, and stinging sensations from
so much clapping.â
Finally, add directional transitions (above the fountain,
next to the doorway, to the left of the trees, etc.) to show the location and
relationship of objects in the photo. This will help the reader paint a picture
by placing objects in the scene without seeing the image.
You can write this from a third person perspective (as a
viewer from the outside) or from a first person perspective (as if you were
experiencing this scene firsthand).
Please copy-and-paste the photo image at the top of your
paragraph (see Descriptive Paragraph Sample).
When you submit your paragraph for review, include the name
of the photograph (if available) and the exact URL where you accessed your
chosen photograph. For this shorter assignment, you need not include this
information in a formal MLA Works Cited list. You may simply put the photo
title and URL at the bottom of the essay.
Below find the requirements and guidelines for this
assignment
Remember to apply the concepts you’re learning in the
course, including elements of grammar, punctuation, thesis development, and
other skills.
Header: Include a header in the upper left-hand corner of
your writing assignment with the following information:
Your first and last name
Course Title (Composition I)
Assignment name (Descriptive Paragraph)
Current Date
Length: This assignment should be one full paragraph, or at
least 10 sentences.
Format:
Last name and page number in upper-right corner of each page
Double-spacing throughout
Title, centered after heading
Standard font (Times New Roman or Calibri)
1â margins on all sides
Save the file as .docx
or .doc format
Underline your topic sentence.