When someone asks you to describe something in a descriptive essay, the first step you might take is to jot down the first words that come to you. If I say “egg,” for instance, you might write down the following string of associations: “round, white, brown, fresh, scrambled, farmer, chicken, goose, over-easy.” But another student might write down “ostrich,” while yet another chooses “dinosaur.” Then a medical student might chime in with “ovulation, zygote, baby.” At some point, someone else may take it a step further and mention “fragility.” The point is that the one little word “egg” can conjure up a number of associations, all coming at the subject in a different way. So when you are asked to describe an event or a person, start with the obvious, but don’t stay there.