How can you best re-write this sentence in a descriptive way: "rita was happy when she received an a on her history paper."

D). "When Rita saw the bright red 'A' at the top of her paper, her heart leapt with joy."

Explanation:

A Descriptive statement is demonstrated as the statement that involves descriptions and details that possess the qualities to evoke the senses of the readers/audience and propose a sensory experience to them(through this description).

As per the question, option B best re-writes the given statement in a descriptive manner as the use of descriptive words like 'red', 'leapt' propose a sensory experience to the readers and elicit the senses (appeal to 'sight' through the description of 'bright red A') that lead to evoke her emotions(as reflected by the phrase 'heart leapt with joy'). Thus, option D is the correct answer.

the present continuous is a verb tense which is mainly used to indicates that an action is in progress at the moment of speaking.  

it is formed using: person + verb to be (am/is/are) +verb + - ing form  

example: i am studying at this moment .

in addition, the present continuous is also used in order to express things that will or will not happen in the near future.

example: i am having dinner with some friends tonight.

the speaker sometimes   uses it   to express that an action is repeated and it causes irritation on the part of the speaker

example: my sister is constantly complaining about everything.

"it's more of an essay than story, but perhaps it is best described as a mood-piece: it uses a lot of musical imagery, not to mention sea imagery, religious imagery, and any other imagery that suits his purpose."