help me with descriptive essay (on society or culture)

I have to describe a personal experience that comments on society or culture.

For example, Joan Didion wrote about marriage in las vegas after she saw one and EB white wrote about his trip to the lake with his son where he noticed that the generation changed.

Also, i have to use a lot of description and have historical/cultural references to help the reader understand the context.

Im going to write about my parents divorce over religion and comment about how religion can make people act a certain way but i have no idea how to write a thesis and make the whole essay descriptive.

However, i'm considering scrapping this idea and thinking of something else. I can't think of many experiences in my life that i could comment on society about. Maybe i'm trying to hard to think of a big event in my life, so if anyone has any ideas of like an experience most people go through please suggest some cause i'm stumped!

I think your topic is good.

Begin with a personal anecdote to get started like an attention-getter. While you may decide to trash this later, it's good to get something down to get started. Plus, if you decide to keep it, the reader will want to keep reading your story. Also, the anecdote will remind you of your own feelings you had during the divorce so it'll be easier to be descriptive.

You can try mapping out where you want to take your topic in a graphic organizer. That way, you can organize your thoughts and see your topic better.

I think the religious conflict is very interesting. Where do you stand on this? Were you on a side too? Write about that and gradually ease into the bigger picture: society and culture.

My best advice is just to start writing. Anything you write can be fixed later, but you just need to start putting your ideas down.

thanks buglady, but ive been sitting at my computer for hours and only have a horrible paragraph. Anyone got any other ideas?