Creativity is one thing that is common to all, and one thing that should be encouraged wherever it thrives. Creativity abounds in various fields, and can be found across all spheres. When writing a descriptive essay, the more creative and diverse your topic is, the better it is.
It is with this knowledge that the following lists of descriptive essay topics have been made, cutting across several spheres, and touching on several issues. If you’re wondering what to write a descriptive essay on, you only need to read on, and you will find well over 100 ideas for a descriptive essay.
Topics for Descriptive Essays
The following topics are ideal creative essay ideas that you can choose to write from, creative writing essay topics that challenge you to give your best. These topics were crafted to appeal to audiences across various walks of life and create a common ground between the writer and the reader.
Amongst these descriptive writing topics are descriptive essay ideas on fields ranging from random topics to biology topics, to general knowledge, to topics on famous people, and so on.
Random Descriptive Essay Topics
Here are 35 different creative essay topics that you can choose from, to help you create a good descriptive essay. These topics cover a wide range of issues, from instructions to descriptions of experiences, feelings, objects, and so on. Although random, these topics are limitless in the amount of ways you can write about them.
- Your house
- Your youngest sibling
- Your place of work
- An art exhibition you attended
- The game of cricket
- The Monarch butterfly
- The oldest school in your state
- Your experience at a haunted house
- A waterfall you’ve been to
- The scariest book you’ve ever read
- The worst thing you’ve ever tasted
- A hidden talent of yours
- Your favourite type of phone
- The most important gift you’ve received
- Getting a promotion at work
- How to apply for a job
- How to survive an earthquake
- How to crack an egg with one hand
- How to make your favourite dessert
- Describe a colour wheel
- How to clean a messy wardrobe
- Your school
- Your weekend routine
- Your ideal restaurant
- The perfect beach experience
- How to make your favourite homemade beverage
- A weekend spent indoors
- What you would do if school got cancelled
- What you would do if you were a famous painter
- The perfect getaway spot
- A long trip you went on with your family
- Getting a shot at the hospital
- The scariest movie you’ve watched
- A movie that made you cry
- Your favourite flower
Biology Ideas for Descriptive Essays
In the world of science, description also has an important place. Read on for a list of 15 different ideas to choose from. You can pick any of these topics for a descriptive essay in biology or in science related courses. Be sure to write in a way that your readers can see or picture just what it is you want to show. Spice up your paper by engaging your senses, and by extension, the senses of your readers.
Describe:
- How the cells of the body divide
- The life cycle of a beetle
- What a plant cell looks like
- How a flower buds
- How cells fight infection
- How vaccines work
- How a piece of food is broken down
- How the brain transfers information
- How the body produces happy hormones
- How proteins are broken down in the body
- How humans have remained on top of the food chain
- How children develop into adults
- The changes that happen during puberty
- How the tongue helps with speaking
- The life cycle of a butterfly
Narrative Descriptive Essay Topics on People
Here are 20 different topics to write a descriptive essay on popular people or people of importance to you. Be sure to use as many adjectives as possible to describe these people, clearly how important they are to you.
- Describe the King of Pop, Michael Jackson
- Describe your favourite music band
- Describe Martin Luther King Jr.
- Describe Margaret Thatcher
- Describe Mahatma Gandhi
- Describe Cleopatra based on what you’ve learnt about her
- Describe Caesar Augustus
- Describe the familial relationship between Romeo and Juliet
- Describe your high school principal
- Describe the current president of your country
- Describe Steve Jobs
- Describe a famous preacher in your region
- Describe a famous entrepreneur
- Describe the iconic actress, Marilyn Monroe
- Describe Dr. Ben Carson, the world-famous neurosurgeon
- Describe the football legend, Diego Maradona
- Describe the boxer Mike Tyson
- Describe the famous actor Morgan Freeman
- Describe the South African president Nelson Mandela
- Describe Marie Curie
Creative Descriptive Writing on Feelings
These descriptive essay topics list will help you translate your feelings into words, and help your readers relate to them.
Describe:
- How a piece of classical music made you feel
- How it feels to have a loyal pet
- How you get yourself to feel better during a thunderstorm
- How it feels to get exactly what you crave for
- The feeling of finding something you thought you lost forever
- How it feels to lose something important
- How an act of random kindness from a stranger made you feel
- How a cliff-hanger made you feel
- How the death of a well-known artist made you feel
- How to navigate the feelings that come with a breakup
- How an upbeat music makes you feel
- How a hobby helps you relax
- How to deal with the frustration of learning a new instrument
- How you felt during your first public speaking
- The feeling of winning an award
- Losing your best friend
- The joy of getting a new pet
- The feeling of forgetting something important
- The feeling of déjà vu
- The feeling of having a baby sibling
- The feeling of mending a broken relationship
- How you feel when holding your favourite toy
- The feeling of embarrassment
- The feeling of fulfilment
- How satisfied you were when you received your diploma
Other Topics for Descriptive Essays
If for some reason, you haven’t found a good descriptive essay topic you would like to write on, here are a few more inspirations for you. With these topics, hopefully you will be able to find a descriptive essay topic to write on: one that you will enjoy writing on, and that will help you create an impression on your readers.
- The scariest dream you’ve had
- A backstage experience at a concert
- The view of the sunset from your house
- Your favourite teacher
- An old watch
- Your favourite Halloween party
- Why you love the ocean
- A special gift that you have
- What a family meeting entails for you
- Things you always take on a journey
- A boring trip you took
- An eventful day
- How you prepare for work
- A tradition in your family
- A last-minute goal that saved your favourite football team
- The best place to get a tattoo
- A glass painting
- The most profound piece of artwork you can remember
- A candlelit dinner at your house
- Being stuck in an elevator
- A gramophone
- An old record player
- A children’s story book
- A crocheted top
- A friend from childhood
- Your most vivid memory from elementary school
- Your fondest memory with your family
- A tattoo design you love
- The wallpaper design in your room
- Your desktop background
- Your phone wallpaper
- An old photograph
- The newest item you acquired
- Your toothbrush
- A colourful hair tie
An important characteristic of a good descriptive essay topic is that it gives you enough inspiration to write a meaningful paper, whether you choose to use descriptive writing ideas or prompts or not. Hopefully, the descriptive topics above give you the right amount of inspiration you need, and enough ideas to make the best out of your paper.