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Descriptive Writing Activities

1. Choose a partner from among your classmates. Take a few moments to study him or her. Then, write a paragraph describing this person, incorporating two original similes and two original metaphors. Be kind!
2. Choose a location on campus and write a paragraph describing it in as much concrete detail as possible. 
   1. Do not directly name the location or provide obvious clues as to its identity. [ In other words, don't describe "a yellow sign reading 'Cafeteria'" if you describe that location.] 
   2. Exchange your work with another student, and ask him or her to point to details which could be more specific. 
   3. Revise your paragraph accordingly. 
   4. Share your description with the class. See if anyone can guess the location.
3. 3. Read the sample essay, "Love Among the Bookcases." 
   1. Locate any use of figurative language. 
   2. Point to two examples of concrete, specific details. 
   3. What is the message or purpose of the essay as a whole, beyond description of the room? 
   4. Where might the writer have incorporated use of the senses other than sight?

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