Paper 1
Section 2
Descriptive essay
-By Aidah SMKTH
Points to consider
The message that you need to convey
– e.g. sad or tragic experiences
Get the feelings involved
-e.g. how you feel about the person,…..
The appropriate approach
-e.g. sadness, humour, romance, mystery…
Guidelines
• Read the question/topic
• Understand the task whether to describe
people, places, events
• Plan your essay
- Introduction
- List three descriptions with relevant,
interesting details & effective expressions
- conclusion
Important aspect of descriptive
writing
The use of details
(to help reader create a mental picture of
what is written)
– What you see
– How you feel
– How do people feel
– What you hear
– What you are thinking
TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE ESSAY
● Describing People
● Describing Place or scene
● Describing Event
● Combination
Describing people
Understand the needs of the title
1. My neighbour
2. My best friend
3. My teacher
A selfish neighbour
A well disciplined best
friend.
A great teacher
Describing people
1 If you were given a chance to be anybody,
who would you want to be and why?
2 Write about a person who has worked hard to
succeed in life.
3 Describe a few of your classmates.
Steps to describe people
• Decide on the characteristics that you want to
emphasize.
• Use descriptions, actions and emotions
• Concentrate on three traits and develop them
Steps to plan on describing
people
-Understand the question
-Think of possible people
-Make sure the details are sufficient
-Add personal responses and
emotion
-Structure ideas
-Write down
Sample descriptive writing
(intro) People
My grandmother is a sweet and cute old
lady. She is now sixty-six years old. She is
about five feet five inches tall. She is quite
plump compared to what was when she was
younger. Her face is round and wrinkled. She
has bright eyes. When she smiles, she looks
attractive. Her nose is slightly pointed like my
mum’s. Grandma’s cheeks are not rosy and
she has thin lips. Her hair is grey in colour.
2nd & 3rd para
Grandma has rather short limbs. They are flabby
and wrinkled. Her hands are rough because of the
hard work she did when she was young. She has a
gold necklace which she wears most of the time.
Grandma had a really tough life when she was
still young. Her father died tragically when she was
four years old. She had to struggle very hard to
support her family. After she got married she had to
look after her children all by herself. Now she is
quite fortunate for her children are very filial to her.
Sample descriptive writing
(short story)
She was old Mr. Banister’s secretary. Been
here forty-three years, girl, woman and old
misery. Sitting there where you’re sitting now,
her back straight as a ruler, and a chop-your
head-off ruler, too! Her stiff old fingers
tapping out the letters one by one, with her
nose nearly on the keyboard, so short-sighted
she’d become by then
Description of place
• Sample questions
1. Describe the night market in your town or
village.
2. Describe your school sports day.
3. The event that I will never forget.
Steps to plan on describing
places or scenes
-Understand the question/title
-Think of possible places/events
-Make sure the details are sufficient
-Add personal responses and
emotions
-Structure ideas
-Write down
Sample answer (intro)
Scene
Night markets or pasar malam can be
found everywhere in Malaysia, from big cities
like Kuala Lumpur to a small town, the night
market is held once a month along the street
in the middle of the town. The whole street is
closed to traffic on every Friday. This is the
only night when the town comes alive.
1st point - 2nd para
The first to arrive at the site are the
hawkers, stall owners and wholesalers who
come in lorries and vans to unload their
goods. The next hour is spent arranging their
wares on the makeshift stalls. Soon, the whole
place is transformed into a big shopping
centre, brightly illuminated by fluorescent
lamps and colourful bulbs.
2nd point – 3rd para
Many shoppers flock to the night market
to get their vegetables. There are a few
vegetable stalls offering fresh vegetables at
affordable prices. Housewives would quickly
snap up the fresh vegetables after some
bargaining. Later in the night, one can buy
these vegetables at discounted prices as
vendors try to finish their stock for the night.
It is funny to see them trying to outdo one
another, shouting at the top of their voices,
“Satu ringgit, dua ikat…….”
Past years questions
● SPM 2005
If you were given a chance to be anybody, who
would you want to be?
● SPM 2008
Describe a person you looked up to who has
has been working hard and attained success.
● SPM 2010
Write about a person who has worked hard to
succeed in life.
Happy Writing…….