Descriptive Essay

Directions: Choose one of the four topics below and compose a five-paragraph essay on the topic you selected. The PowerPoint shown in class on the topics will help you organize your essay and choose the appropriate POV and verb tense. Follow directions.

Submit your essay on Blackboard using the Turn It In upload button/drop box under the Lessons tab for this assignment. You are responsible for submitting the work before the deadline, making sure that it was received, and making sure that the Similarity Report percentage is between 0% and 10%.

• Your first paragraph is the introduction. Provide background and present a thesis as the last sentence in the introductory paragraph. (5 sentences)
• Your next three paragraphs are the body or supporting paragraphs. Develop the writing based on an appropriate method of organization. (7 to 10 sentences for each paragraph)
• The conclusion wraps things up. You might have a final remark or suggestion. You could end with a clever exclamation. (3 sentences)

Topics:

Have a dominant impression for your topic. Refer to the PowerPoint presented in class for more help with organization, tenses, and POV. Choose one of these four topics and write the topic as your title on your essay.

• A Famous Person Having Dinner at My House
(fiction, past tense – the only topic using the past tense, 1st person POV, organization based on narrative, dominant emotion involved based on your main feeling about/impression of the person; order of body paragraphs: meet and greet at foyer, dinner, after-dinner time)
• My Favorite Room
[nonfiction, present tense, organization based on special order such as space order (left, right, in front of you), main areas or clusters in the room, or sensory details; dominant impression needed, such as an adjective or theme for the room,(example, neat, messy)]
• The Way I Study
(present tense, 1st person POV, process paper (1st, 2nd, 3rd)or three techniques detailed (emphatic order-best technique mentioned last), all based on the theme of being a successful student or unsuccessful student)
• An Expensive Object I Would Love to Have

[present tense, 1st person POV; instead of merely giving three reasons why you want the object, I want you to include a dominant quality, feature, or aspect of the object (such as majestic, romantic, OR glamorous); you might feature three senses to describe it, all while having that dominant quality in mind]

Editing Checklist:
Make sure the assignment meets the requirements.

• Follow the paragraph and essay length requirements (5-7-7-7-3).
• Use the rubric as a guideline.
• Use the MLA guidelines.
• Make sure the thesis is the last sentence of the introductory paragraph.
• Use an order that makes sense. Refer to the PowerPoint presentation.
• For the first topic about someone at your home, do NOT use expository order with three points; use a narrative format. You feel one dominant emotion about having that person at your house.
• Use first-person point of view (I, me).
• Use the past tense for the first topic but present tense for the other three.
• Use action verbs as much as possible.
• Use sensory appeal (see, hear, smell, taste, feel/feelings)
• Have a dominant impression or dominant mood/quality to center the essay.
• Edit for grammar, wording, organization, length, etc.

MLA Checklist:
You, the student, are the “my” in this checklist.

1. The heading is in the upper left corner and includes these items in this order:
   • My name
   • My teacher’s name
   • The course name
   • The due date of the assignment (day month year)
2. The paper has a capitalized title.
   • The title is the same 12-point font (Times New Roman) as the rest of the paper.
   • It has not been bolded, italicized, or placed in quotation marks.
3. The paper has one-inch margins on all sides.
4. The entire essay is double-spaced, including each line in the heading.
5. The paper is written in a standard font: Times New Roman
6. My last name (i.e. student’s last name) and page number are in the upper right corner of each page, ½ inch from the top. Instructions for doing this are in the MLA Format for Essays document.

Essays that are not received by the deadline and essays that exceed the acceptable Similarity percentage receive an automatic zero and will not be read. That means a 100-point deduction from your overall points in the class.

You have received Word documents on the following topics to help you with this assignment:
• Rhetorical Modes – Description
• Rubric for ENC 1101
• MLA Format for Essays
• Looking at Turn It In and Submission of Work