Descriptive Memoir Essay
Devil’s Elbow Beach on the central Oregon coast.
Once you’ve found your topic, make a list of its qualities/characteristics and your feelings about the place/event:
Steps in the Description Writing Process
Characteristics/Emotions:
Ragged
Stony
Bleak
Cold
Beautiful
Grey
Windy
Austere
Fun
Pleasant
Only use the qualities that help support a central impression. Then, express your feelings about the place/event and its qualities/characteristics in a thesis statement:
Thesis:
The cold, stony shoreline of Devil’s Elbow Beach can be bleak, but it has a ragged beauty.
Notice I’ve used specific words from my brainstorm in my thesis.
Organize your ideas into separate paragraphs and add details for the body of the essay. Each body paragraph should have a topic sentence followed by a list of details to include. The outline should not look like a rough draft:
Body:
1. The craggy cliff overlooked the beach and closed it off from the world.
a. lighthouse
i. color--weathered white with a red top
ii. field-grassy, well kept with a white fence
b. Trail
i. Giant Trees
ii. muddy path
1. The trail leading up the cliff to the lighthouse was like a scary witch beckoning me to come into her dark cottage.
iii. cold shadows
Continue until you’ve outlined the entire essay.