Writing to describe

S M A R T – This acronym works quite well even in learning. Read and write even at whatever age. What do these letters mean? S stands for Specific. M stands for measurable. A stands for achievable. R stands for Relevant and T stands for time frame – when are you likely to achieve your set targets?

This also applies even when you set your target of reading. Specify what you are reading. How long is your reading going to last? A few hours, a day or a week et cetera.
Make your target realistic; be clear on what you want to achieve. Is it achievable? Be clear on the time frame. How long are you going to take to achieve your set targets?

Talking about reading, it is pertinent at this juncture to emphasise the importance of reading to both the young and the old. I read and came across a sad conclusion where one said: “You want to hide something from an African write it in a book”.

I know this is going to make sad reading for many people. But the emphasis here was that we are not interested in reading. Surely, in such a scenario, how can you find something written in a book?

To be a really good writer, you have to be able to put yourself in someone else’s shoes and imagine exactly what they are thinking, feeling and experiencing.

Think about the viewpoint you are going to write from. The viewpoint you write from can make your description more interesting.

If you are asked to describe a tourist resort, the way you describe it will be different depending on whether it is from your viewpoint, or tourist guide’s.

If you write as a visitor, you may want to create a sense of fun or curiosity.

If you choose to write as an elephant, you could create a sense of tedious boredom, another forgettable hour of being watched or touched.

If you are a tourist guide you could create a feeling of stress though it is part of your job – you are surrounded by an excited group of people including children who continuously ask you questions about the various animals. And you have got too much to do.

Use the senses to improve your description. Try to use the senses of sound, sight and smell in your description. All that could be heard outside were the whistling sounds of birds as they woke up in that early morning.

Early morning light was unable to make one see clearly as the sky was overcast. But as they walked along the road they felt a pungent smell of rotten meat from piles and piles of uncollected garbage.

For an even better description, you could also have a go at using senses of touch and taste. The floor was smooth beneath my probing fingers, as the bitterness of bile rose to my mouth. When you describe using the senses, do not do go for the obvious.

Instead of just saying the sky was blue with white clouds, you could say the sky was a shimmering blue and so on.
Think about all the senses when you are describing something. Picture yourself in the situation you are describing – what you can see, hear, smell?

If you can do this, that is half the battle won – now you just need to learn some clever ways to describe what you are imagining. Using imagery is a great way of making your writing interesting, which means higher marks. Two of the main types of imagery you might use are similes and metaphors.

Use of imagery develops your descriptions. These will always come up in our discussions. Remember we have explained these before on these pages: Imagery is writing that creates a picture in the reader’s mind – good writers often use imagery to develop their writing. Similes and metaphors are two types of imagery you could use. Similes and metaphors are comparisons – they compare one thing to another. They are really useful for spicing up your descriptions.

These are similes . . . Similes describe something by saying that it is like something else. They usually use the words “as” or “like”. For example: “The sound of a fire cracker is like that of a gun”.

The crocodile’s teeth as sharp as razors. . . and these are metaphors. Metaphors describe something by saying that it is something else. “Her promises were the sweetest honey, soothing his troubled mind.”

Like similes and metaphors, personification paints a picture in the reader’s mind by comparing one thing to another.
It can be a really effective way of creating atmosphere.

Personification is where a non-living object is given human or animal features. Like this: “The wind was a wolf, howling through the alleyways.” Note this example can be broken down to a number of images. Saying the wind is wolf is a metaphor.

There is onomatopoeia too – howling . . . imitates the noise of the wind to help create the sound in the reader’s mind.
For views link with [email protected] or sms to 0772113207