The feeling inside a description
Original practice source: a commentary about descriptive writing.
A word naming a feeling can orient a reader quickly: the room is cheerful, the silence uncomfortable, the view disappointing. Such guidance may be useful when it belongs to a clear perspective rather than claims to settle every possible response.
A description can also create an experience through selected details and leave readers room to interpret it. An instruction to feel uneasy does not necessarily supply the conditions which make unease convincing. The writer needs to consider how the judgement and the observed scene support one another, not simply choose between naming every feeling and naming none.
A national newspaper is running an essay competition on the statement: “A good description should tell readers exactly what to feel.”
Write an essay for the competition arguing your view. You may use ideas from the source and your own ideas.
60 exam-style questions on Oxford AQA IGCSE English Language 2.2.1 Writing for audience and purpose. Each one has a worked solution and a mark scheme showing where the marks go.