Writing Tips For Students: An Outline For A Descriptive Essay

Writing a descriptive essay involves many topics and discusses about different areas of life. You can write about almost anything that caught your attention and inspired you to share that experience with others:

• Someone that you have just met on the bus / train / street


• An unpleasant situation


• A happy occasion (celebration, birthday, anniversary)


• Unforgettable memories


• Traumatic experiences etc.

There are some guidelines that are commonly used for the creation of a descriptive essay outline. Everything, of course, is subject to change but the general guidelines mostly remain the same. There are some substantial differences to be found in approaches to writing. The differences all depend on your age and whether you are a primary school/ secondary school / or a college student.

Guidelines for elementary school students

The draft in this case is focused on maintaining a clear and simple structure that can be easily traced and later used as a useful template.

• Write the complete name of the person that is being described and the basic info (age, place of birth, place of residence).


• Provide detailed descriptions of the person - include the physical characteristics of an individual. This is a core part of the description and it is extremely important for beginners.


• Explain why you love this particular person and why did you choose to describe her.

Guidelines for secondary school students

Frames for high school essays are set to a wider range and they allow more inventiveness and freedom. The structure is basically the same, but the styles start to differ in order to produce a more mature message.

Introduction follows a brief presentation of the person who is in focus. It is important to state only relevant information and to reduce trivial enumeration.

Teenagers mainly associate the description with a particular event which demonstrates the given person in the desired light. These are the beginnings of a quality description that can provide a true context.

Pupils share their views on the value of that person on the personal impression basis.

Guidelines for college students

By college-going age are moving on to the best and broadest range or writing. Young adults are not required to blindly follow the structure, but it is important to connect their interpretation with the analysis of life and interpersonal relationships. Students at this level can analyze whether the existence of the subject person has an influence on certain events around them.