Master's Reading and Writing, Descriptive Essay, The Library

 By Nate Feldman

The Library 

When I was young, the public library was one of my favorite places to visit.  Unfortunately, the last time I went, the place was in a state of complete ruin.  The windows on the outside were covered with dust, so you couldn’t see anything on the inside.  There were even some of them with small cracks.  The paint on the walls was chipping away, and you could see little white flakes on the ground.  Then, when I went inside, it got worse.  It was the middle of the day, but it felt like it was almost night because of the poor lighting system.  There was only a dim glow from the lamps above.  It was so quiet because almost no one was in there, so I could hear the loud stomping of my feet as I went around the place.  Most of the books were old.  Some even had brown stains on the pages.  I don’t know why people let this treasured part of our town become like this, but it showed why we must continue to update things before that happens.  

Vocabulary:

1. A state of: something’s condition 

2. Ruin: something destroyed or in a very bad condition 

3. Covered with: on top of something 

4. Dust: particles of dirt 

5. Cracks: lines forming on walls or windows

6. Chipping away: when paint begins to fall off

7. Flakes: little pieces of something that floats in the air 

8. Dim: light that is very low 

9. Stomping: loud sound of walking 

10. Stains: a dirt mark on something 

11. Treasured: something very valuable 

12. Update: make something modern 

Questions:

1. How does the writer describe the library?  What is the dominant impression you have of his library?  What words does the writer use to describe this?

This lobby is paradise on Earth.  The lobby of this hotel is so gorgeous, it’s like you are walking through the halls of an amazing palace.  The bright chandeliers glow across the room, making everything as bright as the sun.  The beautiful, marble floors are as white as fresh snow on the ground.  There is a beautiful, white light slanting through the windows. 

 

Alumni hall is a dark dungeon (metaphor)

The rooms in Alumni hall are as dark as night (simile)

 

I went to the LTC room.  The computers are ancient relics.  They are as old as the pyramids and as slow as a turtle.  It’s very dark in there.  It’s as dark as the night.  The LTC is a black hole.