Are you a college student in love with butterflies? Even if your major has nothing to do with biology or other corresponding fields, you can make the most out of this interest for your academic success.
More than that, you can promote love and knowledge of butterflies to a broader audience. How?
Write descriptive essays about these unique and beautiful creatures to inform the world about them!
You can also write about butterfly species when crafting a field trip report or sharing your emotions and experiences in personal essays. Feel free to tell about them in your narratives, admission essays, blogs, and social media posts. Student years bring tons of opportunities to communicate your passions and mission.
And the below tips will help you do it better.
How to Write a Descriptive Essay About Butterflies
First, the question:
What is a Descriptive Essay?
A descriptive essay is a short academic (or less formal) paper that portrays something through naming, detailing, and comparing so readers can visualize and understand it. Such papers educate and inform but also evoke emotions so the audience can better remember the description.
That’s how three core techniques of descriptive writing work:
- Names identify the subject and its features (characteristics).
- Details elaborate on those characteristics, providing more specifics on the subject.
- Comparisons enhance descriptions with literary techniques like metaphors, synesthesia, and similes to make them more vivid and understandable.
Perfect for writing about butterfly spices and comparing them for people to understand their symbolism and life cycle.
That’s the Purpose:
- Help readers visualize the subject (it’s butterflies in our case) and give them a vivid impression of it.
- Clarify abstract ideas with specific images and examples.
- Make information memorable: When you describe in detail, it’s more likely to engage, evoke emotions, and stick in the reader’s mind.
- Inform the audience about your subject and arguments, supporting them with concrete evidence.
How can You do that Through Descriptive Essays?
Tip 1: Be Specific
Stay focused on your topic and the purpose of your essay. Before outlining and writing your paper, decide on butterfly species and the characteristics you’ll describe and compare.
What will be the core idea of your descriptive essay? Summarize it in a thesis statement: Point it toward the dominant information that should impress readers and stick to their minds.
Now, it’s time to gather details:
Research your chosen butterfly species. Observe them closely, and pay attention to their appearance, characteristics, and any unique features you’ll describe. Organize all the information in the outline.
Tip 2: Make an Outline Before Writing
An outline is a roadmap for your future paper. It’s a paragraph-by-paragraph plan to ensure you remember to mention everything while writing. So, organize your descriptive writing by grouping all the points into paragraphs, each of which will be a subcategory of your main topic.
When structuring your descriptive paper about butterflies, you have several options: from top to bottom, general to specific, or chronologically. A standard structure for descriptive essays is as follows:
- Introduction: A brief overview of your topic + your thesis statement
- Body Paragraph: Butterfly 1 + its characteristics, supporting details, and examples
- Body Paragraph: Butterfly 2 + its characteristics, supporting details, and examples + comparing it to those of Butterfly 1
- Body Paragraph: Butterfly 3 + its characteristics, supporting details, and examples + comparing it to those of Butterfly 1 and Butterfly 2
- Conclusion: A summary of the described butterflies and their characteristics + final thoughts and reflections
Tip 3: Watch Your Words
When writing about butterflies, choose the right words: descriptive adjectives, power (active) verbs, and strong adverbs (eliminate those redundant!).
Do your best to avoid clichéd phrases like “free as a bird.” They are overused and don’t tell your readers anything unique or concrete. Consider synonyms or unusual (unexpected) comparisons that will surprise the audience yet help them better imagine what you mean.
But know your limit:
There’s no need to look for a sophisticated synonym for every word in your essay. Stick to your writing voice, and mind the authenticity and readability of your paper.
Tip 4: Use Figurative Language
Figurative language stands for literary devices like metaphors, analogies, contrast, or similes you use in writing to create a memorable effect. Just as in the case of synonyms, there is no need to fill every sentence with figurative language:
Put them now and then (when relevant!) throughout your essay to keep readers engaged and convey your perspective on your topic.
Tip 5: Appeal to Senses
Another aspect of descriptive writing that helps evoke emotions and “draw” pictures in the reader’s mind is the use of sensory details. Sensory language refers to the human five senses, allowing the audience to “see, smell, taste, touch, and hear” the information from your text.
As a rule, these words are descriptive adjectives for readers to paint scenes in their imagination:
- Words of sight include colors, shape, and appearance. (Examples: dazzling, foggy, gloomy)
- Words of hearing represent sounds. (Examples: crashing, piercing, squeaky)
- Words of touch describe textures, abstract concepts, and feelings. (Examples: slimy, sticky, creepy)
- Words of taste and smell communicate the corresponding senses. (Examples: stinky, sweet, irresistible)
It’s Your Turn:
Visit our guide on identifying butterflies, choose a few to describe in your essay, and write a compelling story to tell the world about these beautiful creatures.
Now you know how to make it engaging and worth their attention.
