Writing School

Describing people
• A descriptive composition about a person
should consist of:

– An introduction
– A main body
– A conclusion
 Introduction
Paragraph 1
name of the person: time you met/saw
him/her

Mavis has been my neighbour for six

years. I first met her when she knocked
on my door and asked for a spade
because she hadn’t yet unpacked hers.
She had only moved in two days before.
 Main Body
Paragraph 2
Physical appearance

Physically, Mavis looks younger than most other

women in their late sixties. She is of average
height, neither fat nor thin. Her plump round face
is framed by a mass of wavy white hair and her
sparkling blue eyes show her humour and
friendliness. She prefers wearing casual,
comfortable clothes. I don’t think I have ever seen
her in a perfectly ironed suit.
Description of physical appearance should move from
the most general aspects to the most specific details:

details
• height/build John is a tall, slim man
• age in his mid forties.
• facial features He has a thin face, blue
eyes and a large nose.
• hair His short hair is greying at
the temples.
• clothes
He is usually casually
dressed.
 Identify the details above in
Mavis’s description
HEIGHT:

BUILD:

AGE:

COMPLEXION:

FACE:

HAIR:

EYES:

NOSE:

LIPS:

SPECIAL FEATURES:
round, oval, slanted, ginger, of medium
height, middle-aged, mole, teenaged,
curly, blond, tall, wrinkled, thick, balding,
just over six foot, tanned, slim, thin, scar,
elderly, muscular, in his teens, well-built,
in his mod-forties, overweight, curved,
wavy, pale, crooked, freckled, dimples,
straight, skinny, beard, shoulder-length,
almond-shaped, short, moustache, long-
legged, round-shouldered, in his late
forties, full
HEIGHT: of medium height, tall, just over six foot, short

BUILD: slim, thin, muscular, well-built, overweight, skinny, long-legged, round-

shouldered
AGE: middle-aged, teenaged, elderly, in his teens, in his mid-forties, in his late
forties
COMPLEXION: wrinkled, tanned, pale, freckled,

FACE: round, oval, wrinkled, tanned, thin, pale, freckled

HAIR: ginger, curly, blond, thick, balding, thin, wavy, straight, shoulder-length,
short
EYES: slanted, almond-shaped

NOSE: thin, curved, crooked,freckled, straight

LIPS: thin, full

SPECIAL FEATURES: mole, scar, dimples, beard, moustache, long-legged, round-

shouldered
 Avoid beginning all sentences in the same way
as this will make your composition boring. Use a
variety of structures, trying to link the sentences
together.

Instead of writing:
She is a pretty girl. She has an oval face.
You can write:
She is a pretty girl with an oval face.
He has wrinkles. They make him look older.
He has wrinkles which make him look older.
She is a beautiful woman. She wears designer
clothes.
She is a beatiful woman who wears designer
clothes.
She has long hair. She wears her hair in a pony-tail.
She wears her long hair in a pony tail.
He has a big garden. He grows vegetables in the
garden.
He has a big garden where he grows vegetables.
 Paragraph 3 Personality
Main Body

characteristics and justification

• To describe character and behaviour you can
support your description with examples:
Sally is very sociable. She loves going to parties and dances.
• If you want to mention any negative qualities,
use mild language
Sally is arrogant.
Sally is rather arrogant.
Sally tends to be rather arrogant.
Sally seems to be rather arrogant.
Sally can occassionally be rather arrogant.
Revise personality adjectives
Positive Qualities Negative Qualities
Revise personality adjectives
Positive Qualities Negative Qualities
patient boring
ambitious pessimistic
generous mean
mature hostile
interesting immature
friendly impatient
tactful short-tempered
good-natured deceitful
thick-skinned shy
easy-going aggressive
hard-working reserved
fair
helpful
outgoing
polite
cheerful
Sentences can be linked together in a variety of
ways.
SIMILAR QUALITIES (BOTH POSITIVE OR BOTH
NEGATIVE)
She is kind-hearted. She is cooperative.
She is kind-hearted and also cooperative.
She is kind-hearted and cooperative as well.
She is kind-hearted, as well as (being) cooperative.
In addition to being kind-hearted, she is also
cooperative.
She is both kind-hearted and cooperative.
 OPPOSING QUALITIES (ONE POSITIVE AND ONE
NEGATIVE)
He is usually well-behaved. He can be naughty at
times.
He is usually well-behaved but he can be
naughty at times.
He is usually well-behaved; in spite of
this/nevertheless/however, he can be naughty
at times.
Although/In spite of the fact that he is usually
well-behaved, he can be naughty at times.
 Manner and mannerism
Instead of only using adjectives to describe a
person’s character, you can also include examples of
the way they speak/look/smile, etc. in order to give
a clearer picture and to make the description more
lively and vivid.
e.g. Instead of simply writing:
He is kind and affectionate.
You can also write:
His blue eyes light up whenever he sees his
grandchild.
 Read the following descriptions of mannerisms and say which quality each
one describes.
• When little Tommy wants a new toy, he screams until
his parents buy it for him.
 SPOILT
• Whenever Roger got involved in an argument, he
would shout and become quite violent.
 AGGRESSIVE
• When Sarah listens to sad music her eyes fill with tears.
 SENTIMENTAL/SENSITIVE/EMOTIONAL
• She always runs her fingers through her golden hair
and admires her reflection in the mirror.
 VAIN
• Jerry is always ready with a smile and a good joke. I’ve
never seen him cross or sad.
 CHEERFUL/GOOD-HUMOURED
 Useful phrases for describing people
• We have similar taste in clothes.
• She looks Spanish.
• She looks like a model.
• She’s the most considerate and unselfish
person I know.
• She has a worried expression on her face
 She looks worried
• People think I’m intelligent because I wear glasses!
 I look intelligent because I wear glasses!
• We like the same kind of music.
 We have similar taste in music.
• Can you tell me about her appearance?
 Can you tell me what she looks like?
• I don’t know anyone more talented than Paul.
 Paul is the most talented person I know.
• Jean and Kate enjoy the same type of films.
 Jean and Kate have the same taste in films.
• I have a similar face to my sister.
 I look like my sister.
• I don’t know anyone worse at driving than him.
 He’s the worst driver I know.
 To recap:
• Paragraph 1: Introduction
• In the Main Body:
– Paragraph 2: Physical appearance
– Paragraph 3: Personality characteristics
– Paragraph 4: You can also include hobbies,
interests or any activities he/she takes part in.
• In the final paragraph: Conclusion: comments
& feelings about the person.