Essays in which 40 freshman composition students described unusual or extraordinary persons were analyzed for the charcteristic choices that males and females made and for the typical ways men and women were described. The analysis yielded seven findings with social implications. Both males and females tended to choose males as objects for description. Male writers were more likely than female writers to describe middle-aged and older subjects, but both males and females avoided describing older women. Male writers wrote significantly more concrete descriptions than females. Both males and females were more concrete when describing persons of the opposite sex. Both sexes also used a broader range of descriptors and used them more frequently when describing males than females. Females tended to reserve some descriptors exclusively for males, the most frequent ones emphasizing activity. Females used descriptors pertaining to interpersonal relationships more frequently than males. (RL)