One way of improving your letters and documents is to write descriptive sentences. Descriptive sentences provide more information and help you express your ideas more clearly.
There are several ways to write descriptive sentences.
Use Adjectives
One way of writing descriptive sentences is to place adjectives before nouns. It is possible to use more than one adjective to describe a noun.
Some examples are given below.
She is a student.
She is a brilliant student.
She is a brilliant and hardworking student.
By simply placing one or two adjectives before the noun, we manage to provide more information.
Adjectives can also go after linking verbs. Common linking verbs include: is, am, are, was, were, appear, seem, turn etc.
That is an interesting novel.
That novel is interesting.
She is upset.
He is tired.
Note that in the last example, we used the past participle form ‘tired’ as an adjective. Participles are often used to describe nouns. In this case, they serve the same purpose as adjectives.
- A rolling stone gathers no moss.
Here the present participle ‘rolling’ modifies the noun ‘stone’.
Use precise vocabulary
If you only use basic verbs such as go, get, talk and walk, your writing will become monotonous. There is no harm in using these verbs but there is a limit to what they can express. Therefore, use more expressive verbs.
Study the examples given below.
- He earns $300 a week. (This sentence sounds much better than ‘He gets $300 a week.)
- I received the parcel this morning. (Better than ‘I got the parcel this morning’.)
Use a thesaurus to find verbs that express closely related ideas.