Description
Encyclopedia
Description is one of four rhetorical modes
(also known as modes of discourse), along with exposition
, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions
.
Description is also the fiction-writing mode
for transmitting a mental image
of the particulars of a story
.
is a form of narrative
, one of the four rhetorical modes
of discourse. Fiction-writing also has distinct forms of expression, or modes, each with its own purposes and conventions. Agent and author Evan Marshall (agent)
identifies five fiction-writing modes: action, summary, dialogue, feelings/thoughts, and background . Author and writing-instructor Jessica Page Morrell
lists six delivery modes for fiction-writing: action, exposition, description, dialogue, summary, and transition . Author Peter Selgin
refers to methods, including action, dialogue, thoughts, summary, scene, and description . Currently, there is no consensus within the writing community regarding the number and composition of fiction-writing modes and their uses.
Description is the fiction-writing mode for transmitting a mental image of the particulars of a story. Together with dialogue, narration, exposition, and summarization, description is one of the most widely recognized of the fiction-writing modes. As stated in Writing from A to Z, edited by Kirk Polking, description is more than the amassing of details; it is bringing something to life by carefully choosing and arranging words and phrases to produce the desired effect. The most appropriate and effective techniques for presenting description are a matter of ongoing discussion among writers and writing coaches.
is a term of literary criticism
used to describe passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose
so overly extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensually evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment
or pathos
in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response.
Rhetorical modes
Rhetorical modes describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing. Four of the most common rhetorical modes and their purpose are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration....
(also known as modes of discourse), along with exposition
Exposition (literary technique)
At the beginning of a narrative, the exposition is the author's providing of some background information to the audience about the plot, characters' histories, setting, and theme. Exposition is considered one of four rhetorical modes of discourse, along with argumentation, description, and narration...
, argumentation, and narration. Each of the rhetorical modes is present in a variety of forms and each has its own purpose and conventions
Convention (norm)
A convention is a set of agreed, stipulated or generally accepted standards, norms, social norms or criteria, often taking the form of a custom....
.
Description is also the fiction-writing mode
Fiction-writing modes
A fiction-writing mode is a manner of writing with its own set of conventions regarding how, when, and where it should be used.Fiction is a form of narrative, one of the four rhetorical modes of discourse. Fiction-writing also has distinct forms of expression, or modes, each with its own purposes...
for transmitting a mental image
Imagination
Imagination, also called the faculty of imagining, is the ability of forming mental images, sensations and concepts, in a moment when they are not perceived through sight, hearing or other senses...
of the particulars of a story
Story
Story or Stories may refer to:*Story, a recounting of a sequence of events* Narrative* Bedtime story, a traditional form of storytelling, told to children to prepare them for sleep* Organization story, a narrative used in organization studies...
.
Description as a fiction-writing mode
FictionFiction
Fiction is the form of any narrative or informative work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary—that is, invented by the author. Although fiction describes a major branch of literary work, it may also refer to theatrical,...
is a form of narrative
Narrative
A narrative is a constructive format that describes a sequence of non-fictional or fictional events. The word derives from the Latin verb narrare, "to recount", and is related to the adjective gnarus, "knowing" or "skilled"...
, one of the four rhetorical modes
Rhetorical modes
Rhetorical modes describe the variety, conventions, and purposes of the major kinds of writing. Four of the most common rhetorical modes and their purpose are exposition, argumentation, description, and narration....
of discourse. Fiction-writing also has distinct forms of expression, or modes, each with its own purposes and conventions. Agent and author Evan Marshall (agent)
Evan Marshall (agent)
Evan Marshall is a literary agent and an author.He is noteworthy for writing the book "The Marshall Plan for Novel Writing" . Software that assists in the process of writing fiction has been developed around his plan...
identifies five fiction-writing modes: action, summary, dialogue, feelings/thoughts, and background . Author and writing-instructor Jessica Page Morrell
Jessica Page Morrell
Jessica Page Morrell is an American author, writing coach, freelance editor, corporate trainer, and columnist. Her articles have been published in The Writer and Writer's Digest magazines. She is a former food-and-wine columnist, restaurant reviewer, and freelance journalist...
lists six delivery modes for fiction-writing: action, exposition, description, dialogue, summary, and transition . Author Peter Selgin
Peter Selgin
Peter Selgin is an American novelist, short story writer, playwright, essayist, editor, and illustrator. Selgin is currently the at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York.-Biography:...
refers to methods, including action, dialogue, thoughts, summary, scene, and description . Currently, there is no consensus within the writing community regarding the number and composition of fiction-writing modes and their uses.
Description is the fiction-writing mode for transmitting a mental image of the particulars of a story. Together with dialogue, narration, exposition, and summarization, description is one of the most widely recognized of the fiction-writing modes. As stated in Writing from A to Z, edited by Kirk Polking, description is more than the amassing of details; it is bringing something to life by carefully choosing and arranging words and phrases to produce the desired effect. The most appropriate and effective techniques for presenting description are a matter of ongoing discussion among writers and writing coaches.
Purple prose
Purple prosePurple prose
Purple prose is a term of literary criticism used to describe passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose so extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensually evocative beyond the requirements of its context...
is a term of literary criticism
Literary criticism
Literary criticism is the study, evaluation, and interpretation of literature. Modern literary criticism is often informed by literary theory, which is the philosophical discussion of its methods and goals...
used to describe passages, or sometimes entire literary works, written in prose
Prose
Prose is the most typical form of written language, applying ordinary grammatical structure and natural flow of speech rather than rhythmic structure...
so overly extravagant, ornate, or flowery as to break the flow and draw attention to itself. Purple prose is sensually evocative beyond the requirements of its context. It also refers to writing that employs certain rhetorical effects such as exaggerated sentiment
Sentiment
Sentiment can refer to activity of five material senses mistaking them as transcendental:*Feelings and emotions...
or pathos
Pathos
Pathos represents an appeal to the audience's emotions. Pathos is a communication technique used most often in rhetoric , and in literature, film and other narrative art....
in an attempt to manipulate a reader's response.
Philosophy
In philosophy has the nature of description been an important question since Bertrand Russels classical texts (cf. Ludlow, 2007).Physics
The word description can be used interchangeably with the word theoryScientific theory
A scientific theory comprises a collection of concepts, including abstractions of observable phenomena expressed as quantifiable properties, together with rules that express relationships between observations of such concepts...
See also
- AnthropomorphismAnthropomorphismAnthropomorphism is any attribution of human characteristics to animals, non-living things, phenomena, material states, objects or abstract concepts, such as organizations, governments, spirits or deities. The term was coined in the mid 1700s...
- ClichéClichéA cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
- DictionDictionDiction , in its original, primary meaning, refers to the writer's or the speaker's distinctive vocabulary choices and style of expression in a poem or story...
- Grammatical modifierGrammatical modifierIn grammar, a modifier is an optional element in phrase structure or clause structure; the removal of the modifier typically doesn't affect the grammaticality of the sentence....
- Grammatical voice
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- Metaphors
- Narrative mode
- Nouns
- ObjectificationObjectificationObjectification is the process by which an abstract concept is made as objective as possible in the purest sense of the term. It is also treated as if it is a concrete thing or physical object...
- Personification
- RelevanceRelevance-Introduction:The concept of relevance is studied in many different fields, including cognitive sciences, logic and library and information science. Most fundamentally, however, it is studied in epistemology...
- Rhetorical devices
- SimileSimileA simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two different things, usually by employing the words "like", "as". Even though both similes and metaphors are forms of comparison, similes indirectly compare the two ideas and allow them to remain distinct in spite of their similarities, whereas...
- VerisimilitudeVerisimilitudeVerisimilitude is the quality of realism in something .-Competing ideas:The problem of verisimilitude is the problem of articulating what it takes for one false theory to be closer to the truth than another false theory...
- Word choice