A descriptive essay tests your observation skills. It also wants to determine how well you can create an account of an experience, object, place, person, or situation, among other subjects. The details of the subject you will be describing matter in your essay.
When asked to write about a dusty bookshop, your attention should shift to the experiences you have had at such a spot. Descriptive writing offers room for a personalized perspective. It makes the essay unique and enjoyable to read.
Here are tips on how to write a perfect bookstore essay
- Draft a title
An old bookstore is just the subject. It says nothing about your perspective in the essay. Craft a title that will indicate the angle you wish to explore in your story about the bookstore.
A title must make the story of the bookstore interesting to read. For instance, you may talk about the bookstore employee little old lady or the dusty old books on the shelves. Make the discussion interesting for your readers. You should also use the title to set a boundary on the issues you will cover in the essay. With an interesting title, more people will want to enjoy your essay.
- Read about book stores
Book stores are unique features in every neighborhood. Read about the experiences of other people at an old bookshop. Notice how the writers describe their encounters with books, attendants, and other people patronizing the facility. It gives you an idea of how to approach your writing as well.
- Check any writing or materials about the book store
Do you have a particular bookstore in mind? It is time to know it better. Other people in the neighborhood could have written about it. Their writing helps you to draft a better essay on the bookstore. The story of the store may have been captured in news items or an autobiography by a person who lived in the area. Check such materials to enrich your ideas.
- Visit the bookstore
Is the bookstore still there? You will write a better essay by visiting the store. Talk to the owner or a person who has worked at the store for a while. Learn about its history and achievements. It is also a chance to refresh your idea of the old bookstore. Observe the store from a distance. Walk into the lobby and feel the ambiance. Visit the shelves and remind yourself of the experience of being inside the store. It gives you a more vivid feeling of being in the store. You can describe the store better.
- Make your essay unique
What will make your essay unique? Is it the experience of being in a bookshop? Is it your encounter with a person? Is it a book you almost did not pick but it changed your life forever? Readers will be looking for that unique story.
Sample descriptive essay about a bookstore
The old golden bookstore
I never paid much attention to the bookstore at the corner. Everything I needed had moved to the internet. However, something was pulling me to the store this Saturday morning.
The attendant looked bored, though a few people occupied the tables. I passed my hand over the spine of the books, not sure what to pick. My finger stopped at a book entitled Clearing the Bushes. It was dusty, just like the store.
I flipped a few pages and a name caught my attention. Chriptunesius. I had heard my grandfather mention the name several times. Now I was curious what it meant. Reading the book felt like a family meeting bringing together several generations.