Descriptive Writing: Victorian London

Curriculum support • 20 mins • free.

Kitan Cox

What paints a better picture: "walking" or "striding"? Descriptive writing can make all the difference!  In this class, students will be given an overview of how to write descriptively for a specific descriptive  writing assignment: ‘Describe a street in Victorian London.’ They will also be shown how to use a range  of descriptive techniques as well as how to adopt an effective structure to engage and entertain  readers. This class is great for students in Year 9 or above who want to improve their writing!

Like this? Try:  Descriptive Writing: Playground Scene ,  Descriptive Writing: Crime Scene ,  How to Become a Freelance Writer ,  Getting a Book Published

#writingskills

Safeguarding reminder: The safety of your child is of the utmost importance. All of our classes are pre-recorded to remove any concerns around live participation. For reruns of our past live classes, students' webcams and microphones were disabled and only the chat history, if participation was requested, is visible.

This class is suitable for students in Year 9/ S3 or above.

  • This class will take place online via a Zoom webinar.
  • For live classes, please arrive promptly. Students' cameras and microphones are disabled by default.
  • For on demand classes, students will be watching a recording of a previous live class.
  • Once you have signed up, you will be taken to your dashboard where you can view details of the class, and re-watch it in the future.
  • Students will be sent confirmation of the class to their email address if provided.

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All questions on English literature

Describing the Atmosphere in Victorian London

Does anyone know how to write A Descriptive Paragraph about Victorian London ?

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Emily Dikinson

Could someone be able to give any examples of liminality in any of her work. Cheers.

How does Joyce create symbolic meaning out of natural imagery in Dubliners 'The Dead'?

Liminality in 'Dracula' and 'The Goblin Market'

Could someone explain what liminality is and what are some examples of it in these texts. Thanks.

The role of a coach

This isn't specific to English lit. but does anyone know any real life examples of the voice coach in the film, 'The King's Speech'?

What is juxtaposition, and in what way is it important in the text(s) that you are studying?

GCSE or A level. Remember to quote from the text you are studying, and give detailed explanation. No more than 500-1000 words

which type of narration is used in the short story the secret life of waltermitty by James Thurber

Explain each peragraph with paraphrase

What can I write instead of "this makes the reader..."?

How to avoid always writing " this makes the reader" all the time.

This is a phrase that all too often slips out without much thought and it is one that teachers are sick of seeing in essays. The reason for that is writing "this makes the reader..." makes it look like you haven't put much thought into your writing and shows a lack of analysis of the text. Here are some better phrases to use instead of "makes the reader":

  • This invokes feelings of X in the reader.
  • This brings about the emotion of…. in the reader.
  • This further elucidates (disconsolate, sad, melancholic) emotions to the reader
  • This connotes a sense of (melancholy, sorrowful) feelings for the reader
  • This results in the reader experiencing…
  • This creates a sad, joyful, frightening... atmosphere
  • This moves the reader
  • This provokes the reader to believe/think/feel…
  • The reader is compelled
  • The reader is therefore made to feel sad, happy, stressed, anxious...
  • This entices the reader
  • This causes a sense of sadness, joy, bewilderment... in the reader etc…
  • The writer is trying to infer that…
  • The reader deduces from this that…
  • The use of the (metaphor/repetition/syntax etc.) demonstrates/ establishes/ highlights/ reinforces that…

It is also a good idea to consider the various interpretations of different readers, as they will differ depending on their social and historical context. As such, you could say: A female reader in the 19th Century may respond to this by feeling…

Academic Phrases to Use in Your Essays

What is academic writing.

essay_types

In modern terms, the academic writing style is better known as an essay. While you may think that the essay dates back to the early stages of human writing, the essay is actually a relatively modern writing technique. The work below is widely considered to be the first essay.

When Montaigne wrote this new style, it was starkly different from the rigidly structured essay we think of today. Montaigne wrote freely about topics, often citing ancient Greek and Latin texts for support. So, what exactly is academic writing today? While there are many different types of essays today, there are 4 main categories you are likely to encounter today.

Argumentative Essay 

Critical essay , expository essay , persuasive essay , how can i make my essay sound better.

categories_tones

If you make sure to at least have the basics listed above, your essay will already sound a lot better. So, what are some common academic writing phrases or words?

What are introductory phrases examples?

introductions_literature

If you’re wondering what introductory phrases you should use, you should think about what type of introduction you’re doing. Let’s take a look at some examples of either of the two types of introducing.

What are some good linking words?

linking_words

What words are not used in academic writing?

There are many different words you should avoid when writing academic papers. When it comes to phrases and words to avoid, you will get many differing opinions from teachers and academic writing services alike. However, here are some general words and phrases to avoid.

  • Contractions
  • Place-holders
  • Passive verbs

avoid_in_essays

How can you describe a fairground?

What would you describe a fun fair.

reasons_for_writings

You will most likely be writing a description of a fair ground for creative writing purposes, so let’s start with some descriptive writing examples for creative writing. Take a look at some of the qualities you should describe.

If your carnival description will be geared towards promotional material, your description will be a lot different than that of a story. You won’t need any characters or plot - you will need informational descriptions.

Finally, if you’re interested in professional descriptions of a fair, you will need different types of descriptions as well. Take a look at some examples below.

What can you smell at a fairground?

five_senses

As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can start to describe a carnival just by thinking of these five senses. Let’s start with the first one: what can you usually smell at a fairground?

What can you hear at a fair?

Let’s move on to another sense. What does one usually hear at a carnival? Let’s take a look at some of the things you might hear at a fair.

What can make your story or promotional material more unique is to think of a word that describes an object, then think of another object that can have the same description using another sense. This is actually a literary device called synaesthesia.

synesthesia_example

What are some descriptive words?

three_principles_story

Creative Writing Club - members' area

Creative Writing Club – members' area

² navigation, write your own story – victorians.

Queen Victoria’s reign was an age of inventions and inequality, railways and rat pits, soldiers and suffragettes, Christmas trees and criminals… you get the picture. Let’s write a Victorian epic.

Victorian gent

⊕ Go through the steps below to create your story...

1. Choose two Victorian locations:

  • gentleman’s club
  • Whitechapel High Street
  • Fleet Street
  • match factory
  • the workhouse
  • the baby farm

The workhouse was a place where people too sick or poor to support themselves went to work (in return for food and a place to sleep). A 'baby farm' was a place where unmarried mothers send their babies - so they could go out and work.

2. Choose two characters to be in the story:

  • Jack the Ripper
  • Sherlock Holmes
  • Sweeny Todd (the demon barber)
  • Florence Nightingale
  • Amelia Dyer (the baby farmer)
  • the ‘peelers’ (policemen)
  • a rat catcher
  • a match girl (factory worker)

The first three names - Sherlock, Jack and Sweeny - are fictional characters..

3. Choose two objects for your story...

  • secret letter
  • poison (arsenic)
  • bottle of medicine
  • gold sovereigns
  • Choose your own idea

4. Write the story from the most exciting part.

If you are working with a partner - write one line each.

IMAGES

  1. Creative Writing Victorian London

    description of victorian london creative writing

  2. Creative Writing Victorian London by Jim Johns Resources

    description of victorian london creative writing

  3. Creative Writing Victorian London

    description of victorian london creative writing

  4. Victorian London at Christmas (Descriptive Writing) KS3 KS4

    description of victorian london creative writing

  5. Victorian London at Christmas (Descriptive Writing) KS3 KS4

    description of victorian london creative writing

  6. Creative Writing Victorian London by Jim Johns Resources

    description of victorian london creative writing

VIDEO

  1. The Best Places In London For Victorian Vibes

  2. Victorian London in Photographs 1839 to 1901 #london #oldlondon #london1800s #historicengland

  3. Victorian London Riverside #fyp #fy #poetry #youtubeshorts

  4. Victorian Scene

  5. London Low Life: A Brief Overview

  6. Amazing Historical Photos of Victorian London!