Writing an essay on an unfamiliar topic is always hard; it is doubly hard when it comes to a descriptive essay. By definition, a descriptive essay is supposed to recount your own experience, perception or memory – and when you don’t have anything in your life to base the description on, the problem is obvious.

What are you supposed to do in such a situation? Imagine or make things up as you go along? Probably not – there is always an opportunity to say something silly, even if you do your research.

No, in this case it is better to stick to the facts and avoid talking as if you actually experienced what you are describing. Let’s take an example – you have to write a descriptive essay about Canadian food but you have never been to Canada, eaten any Canadian dishes, or given these dishes any thought whatsoever (that’s not a problem if you’ve already seen our interesting facts on Canadian