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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
Table of Contents
Brief Chapter Outline...........................................................................2
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes.......................................................4
Vocabulary Review..............................................................................7
Class Activities and Sample Assignments..............................................8
Connect Resources............................................................................11
Discussion Questions for Online/Hybrid Classes...................................13
Graphic Organizers............................................................................14
Organizing Your Ideas........................................................................14
Details and More Details....................................................................15
Similies and Metaphors......................................................................16
Teaching Tools...................................................................................17
Grading Rubric for Descriptive Essays.................................................17
Descriptive Peer Review Worksheet....................................................18
Writing Topics....................................................................................19
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution
without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
IM-6|1
Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
Brief Chapter Outline
I. Learning Outcomes
In this chapter you will learn techniques for achieving these learning outcomes:
Identify real-world applications for writing a description.
Understand the qualities of effective description.
Interpret images and descriptive readings about media and popular culture.
Analyze the rhetorical star for description.
Apply the qualities of descriptive writing.
II. Real-World Applications for Describing
Learning Outcome 6-1: Identify real-world applications for writing a
description.
a. Writing descriptions in college
b. Writing descriptions in your daily life
c. Writing descriptions in your career
III. Qualities of Effective Description
Learning Outcome 6-2: Understand the qualities of effective description.
a. Begin by creating a dominant impression.
b. Use an objective or subjective approach.
c. Appeal to the senses.
d. Include similes and metaphors.
e. Organize your description logically.
f. End on a memorable note.
IV. Describing in the Context of Media and Popular Culture
Learning Outcome 6-3: Interpret images and descriptive readings about
media and popular culture.
a. Writing assignment options
b. Interpreting advertisements
c. Writing about an image
d. Media connection for describing
V. Analyzing the Rhetorical Star for Writing a Description
Learning Outcome 6-4: Analyze the rhetorical star for description.
Copyright © 2016 McGraw-Hill Education. All rights reserved. No reproduction or distribution
without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
IM-6|2
Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
a. Subject
b. Audience
c. Purpose
d. Strategy
e. Design
VI. Applying the Writing Process for Describing
Learning Outcome 6–5: Apply the qualities of descriptive writing.
a. Discovering
b. Planning
c. Composing
d. Getting feedback
e. Revising
f. Editing
g. Proofreading
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without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Descriptive Writing in the Chapter
Career-Based Descriptive Writing:
“Exercise-Induced Asthma,” Source: Mayo Clinic (page 121)
School Discipline Form (page 122)
Reading and Reflection Descriptive Writing:
“How Urban Myths Reveal Society’s Fears” by Neal Gabler (pages 123-125)
“Rudeness at the Movies” by Bill Wine (pages 125-127)
“My Creature from the Black Lagoon” by Stephen King (pages 128-132)
“High Street: Hip Hop’s Boldest Choreographer” by Joan Acocella (pages 133-134)
“We Real Cool” by Gwendolyn Brooks (pages 134-135)
Student Writing:
“The Ring” by Danielle Malico (pages 135-136)
Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
Chapter Outline and Lecture Notes
I. Learning Outcomes
In this chapter you will learn techniques for achieving these learning outcomes:
Identify real-world applications for writing a description.
Understand the qualities of effective description.
Interpret images and descriptive readings about media and popular culture.
Analyze the rhetorical star for description.
Apply the qualities of descriptive writing.
II. Real-World Applications for Describing (pages 117-119)
Learning Outcome 6-1: Identify real-world applications for writing a
description.
a. In college, you may be required to describe an experiment, detail a field
trip in a journal, or create a written image for a psychology course.
b. In your daily life, you may need to describe your ideal home, medical
symptoms, or a product you wish to sell.
c. In your career, you may need to describe your accomplishments, write a
field observation, or describe a product or service.
III. Steps for Writing a Description (pages 119-122)
Learning Outcome 6-2: Understand the qualities of effective description.
a. Begin by creating a dominant impression.
i. Every detail should support the dominant impression.
ii. The dominant impression should remain consistent.
b. Use an objective or subjective approach.
i. Objective descriptions contain facts and no opinions or emotions.
ii. Subjective descriptions are sometimes imaginative and include the
writer’s interpretations and feelings.
iii. Subjective descriptions stir the reader’s emotions.
c. Appeal to the senses.
i. Capture the reader’s attention.
ii. Make the readers feel as if they are observing firsthand what is
being described.
iii. Avoid vague words by using precise terms to create strong images.
d. Include similes and metaphors.
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without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
i. Use figurative language to enhance your descriptions.
ii. Avoid clichés.
e. Organize your description logically.
f. End with something memorable.
i. Remind your reader of the dominant impression you created.
ii. Close with a vivid image.
IV. Describing in the Context of Media and Popular Culture (pages 122-138)
Learning Outcome 6-3: Interpret images and descriptive readings about
media and popular culture.
a. Writing assignment options
i. Choose a topic and write a descriptive essay.
ii. Consider your rhetorical star and the qualities of an effective
narration.
b. Interpreting an advertisement
i. Determine the message of the advertisement.
ii. Write a descriptive essay about this ad.
c. Writing about an image
i. Describe the image.
ii. Explain the connection to popular culture.
iii. Make personal connections.
d. Media connection for describing
i. Explore different media to help better understand methods for
describing.
ii. Consider writing about one or more of the media suggestions.
V. Analyzing the Rhetorical Star for Writing a Description (page 139)
Learning Outcome 6-4: Analyze the rhetorical star for description.
a. Choose a subject that catches your attention and can be observed
firsthand.
b. Consider your audience when selecting your subject and details.
c. Remain focused on your purpose as you write your description.
d. Choose your strategy or strategies carefully.
e. Have a clear design in mind that won’t overshadow your words.
VI. Applying the Writing Process for Describing (pages 140-141)
Learning Outcome 6–5: Apply the qualities of descriptive writing.
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without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
a. During the discovering step, consider finding ideas in the chapter or from
scenic locations.
b. During the planning step, create a list of adjectives you would like to use,
and determine the order you want to use to present the details.
c. During the composing step, keep in mind the six steps for writing a
descriptive essay.
d. Make sure to get feedback from at least one individual.
e. During the revising stage, use the feedback you received, and check to
make sure your dominant impression is maintained throughout the essay.
f. During the editing stage, read your description again, and focus on
grammar, punctuation, and mechanics.
g. During the proofreading stage, read your essay one last time, checking
carefully for any missed errors.
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without the prior written consent of McGraw-Hill Education.
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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
Vocabulary Review
Dominant impression: the overall mood or feeling you want your readers to
experience (LO 6.2)
Objective description: a factual approach to descriptive writing, without emotion or
personal opinion (LO 6.2)
Subjective description: descriptive writing that includes the writer’s feelings and
interpretations with a creative approach (LO 6.2)
Vivid description: a description that evokes an image in the readers’ minds (LO 6.5)
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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
Class Activities and Sample Assignments
1. As a class, talk about current popular culture. Next, break into groups. Have each
group investigate the popular culture of various time periods (e.g., 60’s, 70’s, 80’s,
and 90’s). You may want to send the groups to the library to find specific details. Tell
students to consider clothing and hair styles, media choices, games, and other
trends. Have each group describe their findings to the class. Encourage students to
use visual aids while sharing their findings. (LO 6.1 and LO 6.3)
2. With students working in pairs, take each vague word below and write two examples
of more vivid words that would create a stronger image for a reader. Try to select
words different from those used by other classmates. Compare answers and
consider compiling a list to use in future writing assignments. (LO 6.2)
1. pretty
2. nice
3. strong
4. happy
5. like
6. good
7. kind
8. said
9. walk
10. big
11. small
12. mad
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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
3. Write new versions of each clichéd expression in the list below. (LO 6.2)
Cliché New Version
Smart as a whip
Hot as fire
Pretty as a picture
Quick as a flash
Dumb as a doornail
Hold your horses
Sly as a fox
Faster than a speeding bullet
Hard as a rock
Light as a feather
Good as gold
Cold as ice
A chip off the old block
Cool as a cucumber
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Chapter Six
Describing: Media and Popular Culture
4. Label each statement as objective (O) or subjective (S). Rewrite the objective
statements by turning them into subjective statements.
1. _____ According to Mom, Michelle did not clean the kitchen very well.
2. _____ The new medical assistant must take accurate vital signs for all patients.
3. _____ The moon is full, so people are acting very strangely tonight!
4. _____ The scenic mountain trail curled through the silent forest and ended by a
glittering stream.
5. _____ My friend Robin is a paralegal, and she was totally drowning in her paperwork
last week.
6. _____ It must be 100 degrees in this room, and I feel like I’m wilting!
7. _____ The fresh salad contained vibrantly colored vegetables.
8. _____ The criminal justice student spent the week shadowing a police officer on
patrol for a class assignment.
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