Descriptive essays are a natural way of writing, direct descendants of the way human beings have recounted our experiences to each other since doing so around a fire of smoldering mammoth dung. This is one crucial aspect of storytelling (another is narration).
 
You need to master this genre in order to be a compelling writer, even if you never do more than describe – in vivid detail – the mess on your firm’s loading dock, or a patient’s awesomely revolting symptoms. Here are some ideas to use when you can choose your topic.
 
Descriptive creative essays give you great scope for exercising your imagination and your powers of expression. A descriptive essay can address a person, place, object, or even an event. You want to evoke for your reader as vividly as you can the impact of your subject on all five senses and, in some cases, the emotions and spirit as well, in such an essay.
 
Descriptive words and phrases, specific, active, and colorful, make your reader see, hear, touch, taste, smell, and empathize with what you portray. Focus on something broad enough to allow you to ‘look around’ the scene, but narrow enough to keep you focused and within any applicable length limits.
 
Descriptive essays about people

• Your first impressions of your roommate/classmates
• Your mother/father/grandfather/grandmother/sibling
• A neighbor
• A friend
• A political leader or celebrity you have observed closely
• A favorite or detested teacher or professor (be discreet about names!)

A descriptive essay about a place

1. Your home
2. Your dorm room
3. Your first or most memorable sight of

• the capitol,
• a big city/another city,
• the presidents’ home,
• the residence of a famous living person
• a historic home/battleground/pilgrimage destination

Descriptive essays about events

1. The day you arrived at college
2. A mishap
3. The feeling of being ill with a specific disease – even a cold can be quite intense
4. Your first or most memorable travel experience
5. Memorable exposure to

• snow
• tornado
• hurricane
• flood
• ice storm
• autumn leaves

Your descriptive essay can even taste good

1. The first meal you cooked or ate at a restaurant as a young adult on your own
2. Your favorite meal, perhaps a holiday meal
3. special foods of your home region

Describe a well-known object

• A favorite outfit
• A beloved stuffed animal or other toy
• Something that reminds you of a much-loved relative

Useful links:
http://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Describe.html
http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/descriptive.html
http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/685/03/

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