Descriptive Essay Topics

What if your writing could engage all of the senses of your readers — sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste? Good news: this dream can actually become real with the help of a descriptive essay, which is an excellent tool for bringing any subject to life. Every student should write this type of essay at least once. A descriptive essay may seem like a difficult task at first, but if you choose the right topic and put enough efforts into writing, you will succeed. However, if you are not sure what to write about, don’t give up! There are some interesting descriptive essay topics in this article prepared by our paper writing service.

How to write a descriptive essay

Start with choosing a subject, event, or emotion you want to describe. You may also refer to our descriptive essay topics list to find the topic you like. Then collect the necessary information and make a list of sensory details about it. To simplify the process, make 5 columns: “touch,” “sound,” “smell,” “taste,” and “sight” and fill up all of them with as many points as possible.

Before writing your essay, you should also think about your thesis statement, which is a single sentence that presents the main idea of an essay. Remember that it should be concise and convincing.

The introduction should set the scene and context for the subject you are going to describe. Your opening sentence should draw your readers’ attention and make them want to keep reading your paper. For example, you can use an interesting metaphor or description of a feeling. Be creative! You can also ask your readers a rhetorical question, encouraging them to use their imagination. For instance, if you are writing an essay about nature, you could ask your readers to imagine how it feels like to wake up in the woods, breathe fresh air, and hear the birds singing. Such a technique will definitely leave a good impression on your readers. Moreover, if you have chosen your topic among funny descriptive essay topics, you can start your essay with a joke or a funny story.

In body paragraphs, you elaborate on the idea stated in the introduction. To make them more informative, use topic sentences at the beginning of each section. It is best to present an idea first, and then back it up with some evidence. Make sure to use smooth transitions; this way, your essay will sound better. Finally, don’t make your paragraphs too long; the standard length is about 5-6 sentences. 

In the conclusion part, try to rewrite your thesis statement and the main argument highlighting the key points. The goal of a conclusion is to sum up the whole essay, but it should not repeat the ideas word to word. To leave a lasting impression, you may also tell your readers a short story, a joke, or make a call to action.

Descriptive essay topics for high school students

There is always a chance that teachers will decide to give their students a descriptive essay as an assignment. If you are in high school, do your best to learn as much as possible about this task, and don’t forget to follow the instructions given by your teacher. However, if you don’t know what to write about, there are a few ideas in this article.

Here are some good descriptive essay topics for high school students:

• Describe how it feels to come to high school for the first time and meet your new classmates
• How do you imagine yourself in 5 years: how will your appearance change, are you at university or do you have a job?
• Describe the best book you have ever read that influenced your views
• Describe a classroom of your favorite teacher
• What is the best gift that you have ever received in your life?
• Describe your daily routine and what you do before and after school
• What would your ideal weekend look like?
• Describe your friends. Are they your age? Do you go to school together? How do they look like? Do you share the same interests?
• Describe your childhood and toys you liked to play with

Descriptive essay topics for college students

College students might get a descriptive essay as an assignment as well. Even if young people do not like writing, such paper is a great chance for them to review their experience, remember some moments, and just reflect on important things in their lives. Get the most out of your college assignments because they might bring surprising results! But don’t forget about the essay instructions if there are any! And if you don’t know what to write about, here is a list of topics for descriptive essay writing for college students:

• Describe an event that has changed your life
• What are you doing during your working day? Do you make a specific list of tasks or just do everything that comes to mind?
• Describe your first day as a student. What were your expectations from college and what turned out to be true?
• Describe a hobby you enjoy in your free time. Why do you like it and how much time do you dedicate to it?
• What is the most embarrassing day of your life? How did you feel that day?
• Describe the food that you love the most. Is it sweet or spicy? How does it make you feel?
• Think of a moment when you met someone you have not seen for a long time, for example, a friend or a family member. How did you feel about meeting them again?
• Describe your dormitory. Do you like living there and do you have good roommates?
• Describe a music genre you like. Does it inspire and motivate you?
• Describe the first year at college. What are the most important things you learned, and what can be done to make the most out of it?
• What kind of job would you like to get after graduation?

Best descriptive essay topics about memories and associations

Memories are sometimes the most precious thing we have, and they bring us happiness as well as sadness. Memories help us learn from our past, as we can ponder over the things we have done or situations that have happened to us so that we won't make the same mistakes again.

Here are great descriptive essay topics about memories and associations:

• Describe the most memorable concert that you have attended.
• How many times have you traveled around the country or abroad? What is your most memorable trip?
• Who is your favorite teacher, and why? What is the best lesson you have ever had with that teacher?
• Describe a special moment that you had with your family. What did you do and how did you feel?
• Describe the time when you met someone famous. Did you enjoy meeting that person?
• Describe a moment when you felt sad. What made you feel that way?
• Describe a moment when you were happy.
• Describe your best summer vacation. Where have you spent it and how?
• Describe the oldest memory you have. How old were you?
• Which associations do you have with Christmas? Do you celebrate it? If you do, tell about the best Christmas you had
• Remember the time when you spoke in front of a crowd. How did you feel: nervous or excited?

Common descriptive essay topics about daily life

You may not find your daily routine interesting because you are used to it, but actually, it may turn out that your day-to-day activities hide more great moments than you thought. Writing about your daily and weekly routine will help you take a look on your life from another perspective and start enjoying every moment of it, even if it's just a morning coffee or a conversation with your friends. Here is a list of descriptive essay topics about daily life:

• Describe your morning routine before school, college, or work. What do you usually do and how long does it take you to get ready?
• What do you cook for yourself during the day? What foods do you eat most often?
• How do you get to your school, college, or workplace? What do you think about on the way there?
• What is your favorite sport? How often do you participate in any sports activity?
• How do you spend time with your friends? How often do you meet and what places do you visit together?
• How do you spend time with your significant other? How often do you see each other, and what are you doing together?
• How often do you go grocery shopping? What do you usually get?
• How often do you read? Which genres of books do you prefer?
• Do you watch movies and TV shows and how often? What is your favorite genre?
• Describe your room.
• Do you like your neighbors? How often do you visit each other? How do you spend time together?
• How often do you go out? Where do you like to spend your time? Describe your favorite place.
• How often do you talk to your classmates or colleagues? Do you spend your free time together?

Easy descriptive essay topics

Sometimes you understand that you feel tired or exhausted and have no desire to write about anything complicated. And the only thing you want is to ask for homework help online. If that is your case, don’t worry! Writing can be a form of relaxation too. If you want to write about something nice and not complicated, here is a list of descriptive essay topics for those who need some time to relieve stress. These ideas can also be used as short descriptive essay topics:

• Describe the best dream you ever had. How did you feel after you woke up?
• Describe your worst nightmare. Were you scared? How did you feel after you woke up?
• Describe your pet, its habits and favorite toys
• Describe your favorite restaurant. What kind of food is served there?
• Do you like art? What is your favorite painting, sculpture, or another piece of art? Describe it in details
• Are you into photography? What is the best photo you have taken?
• Describe your favorite bookstore. Is it big or small? How often do you visit it?
• Do you like picnics? Describe a picnic you had. What food did you prepare? Where did you go?
• Do you like camping? Describe your best camping trip
• Have you ever traveled by plane? Describe the feelings you had

Descriptive essay topics to write about places and objects

Sometimes things that can inspire us are just in front of our eyes. They can be next to us, and we won’t even notice it. It can be a book or a place where we are at the moment… literally anything. Just look around, and you will see that inspiration is everywhere. Here are some descriptive essay topics ideas about places and objects that surround you:

• Describe a park in the middle of the day. How many people are there, and what are they doing? What is the weather like?
• Describe an art exhibition. What did you see, and what did you like?
• Describe a house in which you spent your childhood. How many rooms were there and which furniture was there?
• Describe a garden full of flowers, plants, and trees. How does it smell there?
• Describe a beautiful landscape. How does it look like? How does it make you feel?
• Describe the house of your dream. How does it look inside and outside?
• Describe the most beautiful place that you have ever visited. Which feelings did you have?
• Describe a school or college where you studied. What atmosphere was there? How many people were studying with you?
• Describe a perfect place for vacation. Is it in a hot or cold country? Do you want to spend your time in natural surroundings or go to a big city?
• Describe any mode of transport you often use. It can be a car, a train, and even a plane
• Describe a thing that is very special to you. What is it? Why is it special?
• Describe a room you are in and tell about a few pieces of furniture that you can see
• Describe your favorite childhood toy
• Describe your favorite outfit. How often do you wear it and for which occasions?