Page 5 - describing tourist destination

A. Descriptive Text

A descriptive text is a text which contains description of a person, thing, or place. However, in
this chapter we only focus on describing places. The function describing a place is to inform, to
promote, or to introduce a particular place. In descriptive text, the writer should show the
details of the object being described rather than to tell and explain the object.

General Structure:
1. Identification: The initial part of the text, which contains general explanation of a thing, is
going to be discussed.
2. Description: The part contains special characters that the object, place, or person being
described. It can be the physical appearance, atmosphere, or other specific characters.

3. Language features
a. Use a specific participant/subject.
b. Use adjectives (wide, tiny, huge, grey, etc.).
c. Use descriptive language.
d. Use degree of comparison (wider, larger, more expensive, cheaper, fatter, etc).
e. Use simple present tense.

B. Let's Analyze

A descriptive text consists of three parts, they are introductory paragraph, supporting
paragraph, and concluding paragraph. The introductory paragraph is a part of identification,
while supporting and concluding paragraph belong to description.

Example:

T I T L E L O N D O N S I G H T S E E I N G

This is London a capital city of England and the United
Kingdom. The big wheel you can see is the Millennium Wheel
or London Eye as it is also known. It is one hundred and thirty-
five meters high with 32 glass capsules. The wheel was opened
in March 2000 to mark the end of the 20th century and the
Introductory Identification beginning of the new millennium. Opposite the Millennium
paragraph Wheel you can find Big Ben, the famous clock tower and the
Palace of Westminster, also known as the Houses of
Parliament. This is where the government meets.

One of the best things about London is its parks. In Regent's
Park you have the largest grass area for sports in Central
London and an Open-Air Theater. You can relax walk and run
in the parks but you cannot cycle-only the police can do that!
Supporting Description Horses are another good and ecological way of keeping order
paragraph
in London. This is Trafalgar Square with the National Gallery
art museum in the background. Nelson's column is a
monument

T E A C H I N G M O D U L F O R X G R A D E S T U D E N T S P A G E 4