Though you have been instructed in class about how to do the paper, I have included some ideas here to help you further:

You are to use all 5 of your senses, if at all possible. You might want to make up 5 lists (one for each sense), prior to doing the project, that you can fill in after or during the project -- this will help you remember to use all 5. Any sense that you can not use -perhaps you did not have a chance to taste anything- still needs to be reported on.

 You might put your paper in chronological order -- most students find that the easiest way. But remember: NO judgments, comments, opinion (yours), or conclusions are allowed in the paper. You might want to have a separate page to list your feelings about the project --IT WILL NOT BE A PART OF THE PAPER YOU TURN IN (it is just a help to you to have an opportunity to express yourself).

In class I mentioned that you need to be a "human camcorder." The idea is to record EVERYTHING that you can bring to your consciousness from your 5 senses. NOTHING is unimportant. In descriptive research, we want to have great detail on everything we noticed -- that is one reason why I give you a minimum required number of pages: a LEAST 8. I have had students turn in 20-30 pages on this project. As a student, I did this project and turned in over 40 pages. The more detailed you get, the more pages you will have. Since I AM looking for detail, I usually give the highest grades to the longest papers.

WARNING: Even though longer papers are prized, they still have to say something! AND they need to avoid BIAS. A paper with bias, is NOT a good paper for descriptive research. I have listed here some actual student work that is NOT ACCEPTABLE (this is not a comprehensive list):

"...what was I doing?"  (we are NOT looking at how the situation affected you)
"...I was in the presence of some of the most amazing people" (that is a judgment by the student -- NOT ALLOWED)
"...I learned how much more I was getting out of it then (sic) they were." (NOT ALLOWED -- student comment)
"...I had no idea what I was doing or what I was about to learn" (NOT ALLOWED -- NOT a study about the student)
"...and thinking what a neat lady she was and how much I could probably learn from her." (NOT ALLOWED)
"...I remember thinking" (NOT ALLOWED)

Get the idea? The more you use the word "I," the more likely you are not doing the right paper. Yes, the things you want to say about "I" may be true and even very powerful -- but they do not belong in our descriptive paper. Think of it like this: the more you use the word "I," the more BIASED the paper is likely to be.

Another issue that needs to be included in your paper: descriptions! Some time I get papers that say:

"couch"
"door"
"carpet"

While these are things that the student did indeed observe, there is too little description to be useful to research.
Describe the couch -- in as clear imagery. For an example: what was the color of the couch, the size (large enough for 4 persons to sit on?), where was it found in the room, and what room was that. What was obvious conditions of the couch (was it accessible or did you have to climb over other furniture to reach it? etc. etc.

Your objective is to give detail on all you noticed. Years from now you should be able to read this paper and "relive" (not just remember) the project. Someone else reading your paper should be influenced by the detail and understand how the project was at that time in that place. They will draw their OWN conclusions -- that is one reason you must avoid any judgments, comments, conclusions, etc.

If you feel that the paper is not "finished," you probably did it correctly. Since it can not have a conclusion, it feels funny to simply stop writing. But that is exactly what you are to do; just stop describing and quit writing. Some students have such a hard time doing this that I suggest they fill out another page - NOT TO BE TURNED IN - in which they make all the "conclusions" that they want.  On that page -- which is NOT TURNED IN -- go ahead and express feelings, judgments, and the like -- just DON'T TURN IT IN!

That is all for now on this subject. Good learning, good observing, good writing! -- Dwight

PS: Some students have asked to see good examples:

"There are four people outside the building in wheel chairs, three of them are smoking cigarettes."

"On the left is a dresser. Attached to the dresser is a mirror and above that a black television set. The television set is off."

"Straight ahead (as you enter the room) is the bed and to the left of the bed is a window."

"On the left side as you enter, there is an open doorway leading into the dining area."

"Just to my left I see Jean, she is sitting on a couch that is a Victorian style couch. It has a tan flowered pattern with lots of stains on it. Jean asks me if I am a doctor, I reply 'No," and ask again what is wrong. She asks, 'did I have breakfast?' I reply,'Would you like some breakfast?' 'I don't feel good,' says Jean. I reply, "Jean would you like some breakfast? Here, take my hand and let's go have some breakfast.' She tells me again that she doesn't feel good."

Again, I hope these good examples help you! -Dwight