Whenever the writer paints a picture of a place in speech or in written forms that aims to make listeners or readers (audience) see, smell, hear, taste, and feel the thing, or the place we are describing.
The Concept of Descriptive Essays
A descriptive essay is a piece of composition in which the writer describes an object, a person, a place, or an incident. Mostly, the writer paints a vivid picture of what he or she knows to the readers. In a descriptive essay, there are three aspects to describe. They are listed below.
- Description of a person;
- Description of a town; and
- Description of an object or a thing.
Our priority is to describe the place or town in this lesson. When you are describing a school, market, house, pen, hometown, etc, you are describing the place or the thing. All you have to do is to focus on the attributes to describe.
Description of a Place/Town
A description of a place is a type of descriptive essay that paints a vivid picture of a particular place, town, city, environment, or country. It will describe the particular place or the town. For example, if you are writing about a particular village or a particular hometown, you are describing the town or village.
If you are describing a place, it is important to take cognizance of the following features: appearance, location, type, size, special attributes, activities associated with it, and your final reaction to the place. What is the name of the town or village, what does the place look like, what is special about the place, when is the place located? You will tell about the type, size, and other important features of those towns, cities, or villages. Apart from all these attributes, you will try to explain the processes or steps to take in describing a town or place. The following are steps or processes.
Processes in Describing a Town/Place
There are certain steps to take in writing a good descriptive essay (of a place). Learn the step-by-step below.
Step one: Write a title.
A VISIT TO MY HOME TOWN
or
A Visit to My Home Town
Step two: Write an introduction.
After the title, the next step is an opening/introductory paragraph. Generally, you start with the name of the place and bring out its location.
If you describe the title: ‘A Visit to My Hometown’, the following questions must come to your memory to answer.
‘What is the name of the town you visited? When? To whom did you go there? What was the first thing you observed as you got to the town?’ Learn from the paragraphs below.
The name of my hometown was Agunpopo Island. It was the official name. However, we indigenes of the town had christened it ‘Agunpopo city’. It was located in the riverine area of our state, Oyo State. It lies 50 kilometers from the state capital, Ibadan. My elder brother and I (Mr. Bayo) took off to Agunpopo Island by 4 pm. Before we got there, it was dark. Our parents had almost slept. What I first observed was the bad situation of Agunpopo Island in terms of basic amenities.
Agunpopo Island is the name of the writer’s hometown. He and his elder brother got to the town very late in the evening and he first observed the bad situation of basic amenities in the town.
Step three: Write the body of the description.
After the introduction, the next step is to develop descriptive paragraphs where the information about what you saw, felt, smelt, and heard will be discussed. The writer should focus on the points below.
- physical structures like buildings, parks, churches, street lights, etc.;
- road network;
- schools ;
- transportation system; and
- hospitals, as you get to the town, should be described by using appropriate words.
Learn from the following paragraphs:
As we got to our hometown, the first striking feature we observed was the houses in our town which were old, unpainted, and dilapidated. Indeed, the only modern structure was the General Hospital built by our local government, and St David Primary School built by the state government.
The main road into the town divides the town into two. As one gets to the only roundabout in the town, there is a newly constructed public part-Kokoro Playground behind Fatia College, Ilaju near our town – Agunpopo.
Apart from this major road, none of the other roads is tarred. Thus, in the dry season, the whole town is covered in dust. One could hardly step out in the afternoon because of the dust. Because of the bad roads, there was scarcely any taxi in town. We were, therefore, forced to use motorcycles as taxis. It was common, therefore, to see motorcycles ferrying farm products as well as human cargo from one part of the town to another.
The itemized features are described with appropriate words in good sentences in the paragraphs above.
Step four: Write a conclusion.
After the development of the body, the concluding paragraph should be developed where you will divulge your impression of the town you visited. The following three features are to be considered:
- Mention the time you left the town;
- Is the town a place you would like to visit again?
- Has it left a distasteful impression on you?
Learn from the paragraph below.
For almost four weeks we spent at Agunpopo Island, we enjoyed ourselves. Although the environment was strange, we were treated well. So, I would like to visit the place if I also had time and I believe that before then, there would have been developments in terms of social amenities. My brother and I left the town by 10 am for Ibadan – our residence.
Format for Describing a Place or a Town
A VISIT TO MY HOMETOWN
The name of my hometown was Agunpopo Island. It was
the official name…
As we got to our hometown, the first striking feature we
observed was…
The main road into the town divides the town into two…
Apart from this major road, none of the other roads is
tarred. Thus, in the dry season
For almost four weeks we spent at Agunpopo Island, we enjoyed
ourselves. Although the environment was strange, we were
Practice question
Your teacher has asked you to describe to him what a mansion is. Write out your description.
You have attended a seminar in which steps on how to describe a local village were taught. With your experience in describing the local village, write a description of how to describe the local village.
Write a good descriptive essay on “Ajelanwa Town”.
Describe your school and hometown.
Author: Deola Adelakun
Editors
