Guidelines

for Writing Good Descriptions

Organization

OVERVIEW. Begin with a brief overview that reveals the object's

(a) overall framework, arrangement, or shape, and
(b) purpose or function.

PARTS. Divide the object into parts and describe each part
(a) in enough detail to use, make, or draw it, and
(b) in a way that reveals its role, its relation to other parts.

ORDER. Organize the part descriptions to help your reader:

(a) spatial order (top to bottom, outside to inside), or
(b) priority order (most to least important), or
(c) chronological order (order of [dis]assembly).

Content

SPECIFICS.
o Include relevant specific features (such as size, shape, color, material, technical
names).
o Omit irrelevant background, confusing details, and needless words.

COMPARISON. Compare features or parts with other things already familiar.

CONTRAST. Contrast properties with different ones to reveal their significance.

Signals for Your Reader

FORMAT. Clarify your text with:

o Heads. Identify topics with clear, nested section headings.
o Lists. Itemize related features with indenting and marks.
o Figures. Integrate figures and text with labels and references.

VERBAL CUES. Guide your reader's expectations with:

o Parallelism. Use parallel words and phrases for parallel ideas.

o Proleptics. Use verbal links (also, but, however, etc.) to signal how your description
fits together.

Exercise 1: Paper Clip

Description Case 1:

Paper Clip

Description
A "Gem-style" paper clip is a
length of stiff steel wire bent
into three flat, nested loops
(Fig. 1) to hold sheets of paper
together when they are inserted
between the loops.
The wire is a 1-mm-diameter
steel cylinder that is 10 cm
long. It is bendable in the
fingers but stiff.

FEATURE:
WHY:

FEATURE:
WHY:

The first loop (a) is a smooth,

U-shaped turn to the right
that starts 2 cm from the
outermost end of the wire.
The second loop (b) is a
U-shaped turn to the left
that starts 3 cm farther
along the wire and has a
diameter just small enough
to fit snugly within the
first loop.

FEATURE:
WHY:
FEATURE:
WHY:

The third loop (c) is another

U-shaped turn to the right
that starts 2 cm beyond (b)
and has a diameter just small
enough to fit snugly within
the second loop (as well as
the first).
The wire in each inner loop

FEATURE:

touches and runs parallel to

the outer loop that wraps
around it. All three loops
lie in the same plane, and
pushing them out of that
plane just enough to slide
several sheets of paper
between them makes the paper
clip act like a spring and
squeeze the sheets together.

WHY:

FEATURE:
WHY:

Exercise 2: Nail Clippers

Description Case 2:

Nail Clippers

Description

Analysis

Nail clippers combine two steel

levers to make a strong, stable
tool that clips off the end of a
finger nail with little applied
force and much control.

FEATURE:
WHY:

Clippers consist of three steel

strips about 1 cm wide, 5 cm
long, and 1 mm thick.
A steel post (3 mm in diameter
and 1 cm long) connects all
these strips (Fig. 1).
The bottom strip is riveted
to the post at right angles;
the other two strips fit over
the post through a circular
hole in each that lets them
move freely along its length.

FEATURE:
WHY:

The top strip forms the handle

of the clippers. It bends
upward at a 45-degree angle
about one fifth of the way
from the end that passes over
the post, against which the
the handle's short end pivots.
The bottom strip is straight,
with a short 90-degree bend and
beveled cutting edge on the end
nearest the post.
The middle strip gently
bends upward about 10 degrees
near the end away from the post.

FEATURE:
WHY:

FEATURE:
WHY:

It is welded at that end to the

bottom strip (below it).
At the other end, which is free
to move, it has a short vertical
section (bent toward the lower
strip), also with a beveled
cutting edge.
The handle (top strip) forms a
second-class lever, with its
fulcrum at the post (F in
Fig. 2). Gentle force moves
the long end through a long
distance, applying high force
(at the bend) to the middle
of the strip below it.

FEATURE:
WHY:

The middle strip forms a

third-class lever, with its
fulcrum (F) at the welded
end. High force applied to
its middle by the handle bend
(above it) moves the cutting
edge gently through enough
distance to meet the facing
edge below it, carefully
cutting any finger nail
inserted between the beveled
edges.

FEATURE(S):
WHY:

The information in DNA can be used for many purposes. Read the following passage to see how the
information can be useful.
DNA fingerprinting and DNA typing
Southern Blots are not just a research tool. They are widely used in forensic laboratories to identify
individuals who have left blood or other DNA- containing tissues at the scenes of crimes. Such DNA
typing has its roots in a discovery by Alec Jeffreys and his colleagues in 1985. These workers were
investigating a DNA fragment from a gene of a human blood protein, -globin, when they discovered
that this fragment contained a sequence of bases repeated several times. This kind of repeated DNA is
called minisatellite. More interestingly, they found similar minisatellite sequences in other places in the
human genome, again repeated several times. This simple finding turned out to have far-reaching
consequences, because individuals differ in the pattern of repeats of the basic sequence. In fact, two
individuals have only a remote chance of having exactly the same pattern. That means that these patterns
are like fingerprints; indeed they are called DNA fingerprints.

A DNA fingerprint is actually a southern blot. To make one, investigators first cut out the DNA under
study with a restriction enzyme such as HaeIII. Jeffreys chose this enzyme because the sequence he had
found did not contain a HaeIII recognition site. That means HeaIII will cut on either side of the
minisatellite regions, but not inside. In this case, the DNA has three sets of repeated regions, containing
four, three, and two repeats, respectively (some regions containing unrelated DNA sequences). Thus,
three different size fragments bearing these repeated regions will be produced.
Next, the fragments are electrophoresed, denatured, and blotted. The blot is then probed with a labeled
minisatellite DNA, and the labeled bands are detected with X ray film, or by phosphor imaging. In this
case, three labeled bands occur, so three dark bands will appear on the film.
Real animals have more complex genome than the simple piece of DNA in this example, so they will
have many more than three fragments that contain a minisatellite sequence that will react with the probe.
As we have already mentioned, this is such a complex pattern of fragments that the patterns for two
individuals are extremely unlikely to be identical, unless they come from monozygotic twins. This
complexity makes DNA fingerprinting a very powerful identification technique.

DNA fingerprinting and DNA typing

True and false statements

1 Southern blot is an identification technique in the police work.

True
False

2 Alec Jeffreys and his colleagues in 1985 discovered Southern blots.

False
True

3 Generally, individuals differ in the pattern of repeats of the basic sequences in DNA
False
True

4 DNA fingerprinting is the most widely used identification technique for criminal identification.
True
False

5 Police can identify a criminal from his identical twin using DNA fingerprinting.
True
False

6 A restriction enzyme such as HaeIII will cut on inside the minisatellite regions.
True
False
Multiple-choice questions
Repeated
DNA
in
a
gene
fragment
is called ..
1
globin
minisatellite
genome
bands

2 DNA fingerprints are similar to ordinary fingerprints in that they are ..

basic
unique
repeated
sequential

3 DNA fingerprinting is a very powerful identification technique because the patterns of fragments
are

repeated
identical
complicated
divided in 3 parts
Table completion

*Three dark bands appear on the film.

*The sequence chosen does not contain a Hae III recognition site.

*Detected by X-ray film or by phosphor imaging.

*Electrophoresed, denatured and blotted.
*The DNA has three sets of repeated regions.
*Three different size fragment bearing repeated regions are produced.
*The blot is probed with a labeled minisatellite DNA.

1
2
3
4

Vocabulary

If the molecules are moved through a liquid or gel

under the influence of an electric field, then the
molecules are ..
The complete set of genes present in a cell is
called
Detection of crime by DNA fingerprinting is done
by . scientists.

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A group of cells making animal or plant body parts

or organs is called
A .divides DNA molecules at
specific sequences of nucleotides.
Changing the properties of a molecule by
disruption of its conformation is called
.
Twins from a single ovum are called
.twins.
A ... finding can be widely
applicable and carries many consequences.

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