Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Descriptive
Descriptive
A descriptive text is a text which lists the characteristics of something. Take an example, the
following is one of the text belongs to the descriptive text.
Prambanan Temple
Prambanan is the largest Hindu temple compound in Central Java in Indonesia, located
approximately 18 km east of Yogyakarta.
The temple is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is one of the largest Hindu temples in south-
east Asia. It is characterised by its tall and pointed architecture, typical of Hindu temple
architecture, and by the 47m high central building inside a large complex of individual temples.
It was built around 850 CE by either Rakai Pikatan, king of the second Mataram dynasty, or
Balitung Maha Sambu, during the Sanjaya Dynasty. Not long after its construction, the temple
was abandoned and began to deteriorate. Reconstruction of the compound began in 1918. The
main building was completed in around 1953. Much of the original stonework has been stolen
and reused at remote construction sites. A temple will only be rebuilt if at least 75% of the
original stones are available, and therefore only the foundation walls of most of the smaller
shrines are now visible and with no plans for their reconstruction.
The temple was damaged during the earthquake in Java in 2006. Early photos suggest that
although the complex appears to be structurally intact, damage is significant. Large pieces of
debris, including carvings, were scattered over the ground. The temple has been closed to the
public until damage can be fully assessed. The head of Yogyakarta Archaeological Conservation
Agency stated that: “it will take months to identify the precise damage”. However, some weeks
later in 2006 the site re-opened for visitors. The immediate surroundings of the Hindu temples
remain off-limits for safety reasons.
We get the purpose from the text above that description is used in all forms of writing to create a
vivid impression of a person, place, object or event e.g. to: ·
As a feature, description is a style of writing which can be useful for other variety of purposes as:
Aims to show rather than tell the reader what something/someone is like
Relies on precisely chosen vocabulary with carefully chosen adjectives and adverbs.
Is focused and concentrates only on the aspects that add something to the main purpose
of the description.
Sensory description-what is heard, seen, smelt, felt, tasted.Precise use of adjectives,
similes, metaphors to create images/pictures in the mind e.g. their noses were met with
the acrid smell of rotting flesh.
Strong development of the experience that “put the reader there” focuses on key details,
powerful verbs and precise nouns.
Beyond the characteristics stated on, descriptive writing also consists of generic structure in
range as:
1. General statement
2. Explanation
3. Closing
Purpose:
Text Organization:
Language Features:
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