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what you see, hear, smell, and touch. The key to a good walking description is knowing what details to include and what details to omit. "[Flneurs] are opening their eyes and ears to the scene around them. They are not treating the street as an obstacle course to be negotiated; they are opening themselves up to it. They are wondering about the lives of those they pass, constructing narratives for them, they are eavesdropping on conversations, they are studying how people dress and what new shops and products there are (not in order to buy anything just in order to reflect on them as important pieces of evidence of what human beings are about)... While cities bring together huge numbers of people, paradoxically they also separate them from each other. The goal of flneur[s] is to recover a sense of community... To do this, they let down their guard, they empathize with every situation they see. There's a constant risk they will be moved, saddened, excited - and fall in love. -Alain de Botton The translation of the French word flneur means stroller, loafer, lounger, or saunterer. Poet Charles Baudelaire embraced the word, using it to describe a person who wanders the city, living in the moment, simultaneously observing and partaking in the action. For this paper, you like Baudelaire, will wander through a neighborhood, viewing it not only as a means to an end but also as a space for observation, contemplation, and reflection. You will write a descriptive essay that vividly captures your walk or stroll through this place. Observe The first step towards a strong descriptive essay is keen observation. Jot down some notes about the neighborhood as you walk through it. Pay special attention to what is unique or distinct about this neighborhood. What makes this neighborhood different from all other neighborhoods? Note the noise the level, the types of businesses, the natural landscape. What types of houses line the streets? Are they apartment buildings or single family homes? What type of architecture do you observe? What do you notice that you have never noticed before? Is your neighborhood crowded and busy, or are the streets quiet and tree-lined? Describes the businesses, the trains, the sky. What kinds of birds do you see? Can you name them? What types of trees line your street? Consider bringing a tree or bird guide along with you on your walk. Draft Create a narrative of your walk that combines both your observations and your reflections on your observations. Use vivid language that allows the reader to see the neighborhood as if he or she were there walking with you. Appeal to the readers senses of sight, sound, touch, and smell. You can organize the paper chronologically, following your walking pattern, or topically, focusing each paragraph around a different sense. Be sure to include a thesis sentence that serves as a foundation of your paper and guides the writer through your walk. Revise
Tighten your draft not just by editing it for grammatical errors. Mark spaces where you need to develop your description further. Highlight the strong points and the draft. What makes these strong? How can you strengthen the rest of the paper so that Print out a hard copy