Structure of a Descriptive Essay

The descriptive essay can be arranged in one of many organization patterns, and you will soon find that one style is best for your particular topic. Some effective organization patterns for a descriptive essay are spatial, which is best used when you are describing a location; chronological organization, which is best used when you are describing an event; and functional organization, which is best used when you are describing how a device or process works. Start with a Mind Dump Before you can begin writing your essay or deciding upon an organizational pattern, you should put everything you know about your subject on a piece of paper in a mind dump. In this first stage of information gathering, you should not worry about organizing your information. To start out, simply write down every item, characteristic, or feature that you can think of, allowing your thoughts to flow onto the paper. Note: A giant sticky note is a fun tool for mind dumping. Once your paper is filled with bits of information, you can use a simple numbering system to begin identifying topics and subtopics. Simply look over your items and â€Å"clump† them together in logical groups. Your groups will become major topics that you address in body paragraphs. Come Up with an Overall Impression The next step is to read over your information to come up with one major impression that you get from it all. Ponder the information for a few moments and see if you can boil it all down to one thought. Sound difficult? This list below shows three imaginary topics (in bold) followed by examples of a few thoughts that might be generated about each topic. You will see that the thoughts lead to an overall impression (in italics). 1. Your City Zoo - The animals were arranged by continents. Each area featured interesting plants and flowers from the continents. There were beautiful murals painted everywhere. Impression: the visual elements make this a more interesting zoo. Structure: Since a zoo is a place, the best structure for the city zoo essay is likely to be spatial. As a writer, you would begin with an introductory paragraph that ends with a thesis statement based on your impression. A sample thesis state would be While the animals were fascinating, the visual elements made this zoo most interesting. You could write your essay as a walking tour, visiting (describing) one area at a time.Each area would be described in your body paragraphs.You would use descriptive language to convey the striking visual elements of each area. 2. A Birthday Party - The birthday boy cried when we sang to him. He was too young to know what was happening. The cake was too sweet. The sun was hot. Impression: this party was a disaster! Structure: Since this is an event in time, the best structure would likely be chronological. Your introductory paragraph would build up to the conclusion (your impression) that this party was not a success!Each disastrous event would be described in individual body paragraphs. 3. Making a Cake from Scratch - I learned what sifting was, and it was messy. Creaming butter and sugar takes time. It’s hard to pick slippery egg shell bits out of flour. We really take box mixes for granted! Structure: The best structure would be functional. You would build up to the (surprising) complexity of making a cake from scratch.Body paragraphs would address the difficulty you encountered at each turn. End with a Conclusion Every essay requires a good conclusion to tie things up and make a tidy and complete package. In your concluding paragraph for a descriptive essay, you should summarize your main points and explain your overall impression or thesis in new words.

The Medieval Era Essay example - 1014 Words

The Medieval Era The Medieval era is so easily generalized into the three orders of those who fight, those who work, and those who pray, or even simply divided into the privileged and unprivileged. These distinctions are important, for the ability of the church and manor to influence a peasants actions and to take a peasants earnings was obviously a central component of a peasants life. However, when peasants constituted such a sizable majority of the population (over 90 percent), it is also important to recognize the distinctions among them. Some peasants were free and some were serfs. Some peasants were well off and some were barely subsisting. Some peasants held manorial offices and some†¦show more content†¦Through recording land sales and inheritances, the courts rolls explain the economic status of certain peasants, and through recording contracts and crimes committed, they can describe relationships between peasants. For example, Bennett writes, Cecilia illegally took hay off the l and of Richard Everard; she let her animals trespass onto the property of others; she argued with Alice Baker, (103). Again, the records are factual but anything that goes beyond the written word is an inference subject to interpretation and generalization. Bennett also uses poems and songs throughout the text. Clues about how privileged people regarded peasants can be found in their courtly songs, sarcastic proverbs, nasty jokes, and pious sermons, writes Bennett (3). However, these only tell about the generalized negative opinions of elites regarding peasants. Personal diaries and letters are missing from the book because almost all peasants were illiterate. Therefore, sources used are for the most part objective and lack emotion. This takes away from the readers ability to connect with Cecilia as a person. The reader knows that Cecilia was allowed many more rights since she never married, but they do not know if she enjoyed her individuality orShow MoreRelatedThe Medieval Era1778 Words   |  8 PagesTyler Sun December 14, 2014 Prof. Sparks HUMN 220 Chartres Cathedral The Medieval Era was one with explosive cultural and architectural growth across almost all of Europe. One of the places that experienced this the most was in France. With all of the radical changes happening in France, there was a huge emphasis on religion and as a result the Chartres Cathedral was created. The town of Chartres officially became a bishopric in the 4th century, and as with any bishopric the cathedral was the mostRead MoreMedieval Vs. Medieval Era1506 Words   |  7 PagesThe Medieval, or Middle, Ages in Europe have often been called the Dark Ages, since they seem to have been lacking in many ways. 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During the Medieval Era, there was a difference in food that was consumed by the rich and poor. The dietRead MoreThe Age Of Europe During The Medieval Era1717 Words   |  7 PagesBetween the years 500 A.D. and 1400 A.D., a time referred to as the Middle Ages occurred in Europe. This era began as the Roman Empire collapsed, following the disorder that occurred because of the destruction of the Romans. During this dark time, there was much disorder. Eventually, this time period led to the rise of feudalism, the immense power of the Roman Catholic Church, and many advancements in architecture, literacy, and art. The variety of events that occurred in this period allowed historiansRead MoreEssay Islamic Science in the Medieval Era2580 Words   |  11 PagesThere are many terms used to describe the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance, three main terms being the Middle, Medieval, and Dark Ages. 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How to Implement Direct Elections free essay sample

Examines the politics behind electoral college reform. This paper addresses the question of how to effectively implement electoral reform in favor of direct election with a runoff contingent. The author addresses the complexities of the amendment process, the general reluctance to tamper with the Constitution, the multiplicity of reform proposals that abound, and the difficulty in countering the opposition of those groups who benefit under the status quo. How to cultivate national interest and support from an array of interest groups and the government is also discussed. Constitutional amendments regarding electoral college reform have been offered in almost every single session of Congress, leading many to believe that more proposals have been offered for electoral reform than for any other single part of the Constitution (Longley and Braun 42). Oddly enough, rectification has proven remarkably challenging despite a history of electoral upheavals and insistent criticism. This difficulty arises from the numerous obstacles that hinder electoral reform. We will write a custom essay sample on How to Implement Direct Elections or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page To begin with, the amendment process itself is rather arduous and requires substantial support within both chambers of Congress and individual state legislatures. Moreover, there is an overall reluctance to tamper with the Constitution in general. Additionally, the existence of a multiplicity of reform proposals- automatic, proportional, district, direct vote, and an array of hybrid plans- diminishes the strength of any reform movement by dividing its supporters.

Tools to assess curriculum free essay sample

Essay is a pencil-and-paper assessment where a student constructs response to a question, or brief statement. Select response is pencil-and-paper assessment in which the student is to identify the correct answer. B. PERFORMANCE-BASED STRATEGY is an assessment which requires students to demonstrate a skill or proficiency by asking them to create. Demonstration is used to assess progress in tasks that require students to be actively engaged in an activity. C. OBSERVATIONAL STRATEGY is a process of systematically viewing and recording student’s behavior for the purpose of making programming decisions.   Conference – is a formal or informal meeting between/among the teacher and student and/or parents. Interview – a form of conversation among/between the teachers, parents, and students. E. ORAL STRATEGY often used by the teacher inside the classroom, a question and answer portion where in students develop their verbal skill on how he/she response to the question given by the teacher. We will write a custom essay sample on Tools to assess curriculum or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page F. REFLECTIVE STRATEGY is a form of metacognition, a concept that is growing in popularity in educational circles—and with good reason. Simply put, metacognition is â€Å"thinking about thinking† or what we know about what we know. G. COMBINATION OF STRATEGIES used by the teacher to enhance students creativeness of answering questions. Portfolio is a purposeful collection of samples of a student’s work that is selected, reflected, and collaborative. TYPES OF ASSESSMENT Educational Assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes, and beliefs. Assessment can focus on the individual learner, the learning community (class, workshop, or other organized group of learners), the institution, or the educational system as a whole (also known as granularity). The final purpose of assessment practices in education depends on the theoretical framework of the practitioners and researchers, their assumptions and beliefs about the nature of human mind, the origin of knowledge, and the process of learning. Three types of Assessment A. FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT occurs in the short term, as learners are in the process of making meaning of new content and of integrating it into what they already know. Feedback to the learner is immediate (or nearly so), to enable the learner to change his/her behavior and understandings right away. Formative Assessment also enables the teacher to turn on a dime and rethink instructional strategies, activities, and content based on student understanding and performance. His/her role here is comparable to that of a coach. Formative Assessment can be as informal as observing the learners work or as formal as a written test. Formative Assessment is the most powerful type of assessment for improving student understanding and performance. a very interactive class discussion; a warm-up, closure, or exit slip; a on-the-spot performance; a quiz. B. INTERIM ASSESSMENT  takes place occasionally throughout a larger time period. Feedback to the learner is still quick, but may not be immediate. Interim Assessments tend to be more formal, using tools such as projects, written assignments, and tests. The learner should be given the opportunity to re-demonstrate his/her understanding once the feedback has been digested and acted upon. Interim Assessments can help teachers identify gaps in student understanding and instruction, and ideally teachers address these before moving on or by weaving remedies into upcoming instruction and activities. Chapter test; extended essay; a project scored with a rubric. C. SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENT takes place at the end of a large chunk of learning, with the results being primarily for the teachers or schools use. Results may take time to be returned to the student/parent, feedback to the student is usually very limited, and the student usually has no opportunity to be reassessed. Thus, Summative Assessment tends to have the least impact on improving an individual students understanding or performance. Students/parents can use the results of Summative Assessments to see where the students performance lies compared to either a standard (MEAP/MME) or to a group of students (usually a grade-level group, such as all 6th graders nationally, such as Iowa Tests or ACT). Teachers/schools can use these assessments to identify strengths and weaknesses of curriculum and instruction, with improvements affecting the next years/terms students. Standardized testing (MEAP, MME, ACT, WorkKeys, Terra Nova, etc. ); Final exams; Major cumulative projects, research projects, and performances.