Descriptive Nonfiction

landscape of the Western TerritoriesUsing descriptive writing is an effective way to engage your audience. In this topic, you learned various methods for incorporating description, such as tapping into one or more of the five senses, employing figurative language, and establishing a mood to convey emotion. Additionally, you examined passages by a descriptive author named Mark Twain, observing how his careful use of word choice made his descriptions clear and authentic. Finally, you considered the helpful tip "Show, Don't Tell" and how it affects the power and vividness of a description. By incorporating description in all types of writing, you can enhance your readers' understanding of the events, the setting, and the people involved in your writing. After all, real life is incredibly interesting, and descriptive writers are the ones who share stories that others will be interested in reading.

"The roofs, which had no slant to them worth speaking of, were thatched and then sodded or covered with a thick layer of earth, and from this sprung a pretty rank growth of weeds and grass. It was the first time we had ever seen a man's front yard on top of his house."

— from Roughing It by Mark Twain