DESCRIBE A VISUAL DOCUMENT Present / Describe / Analyse:

P: title/author/date/source/ type of document

D: from obvious elements to details: scan the picture from left to right or top to bottom or middle to sides.

A: link elements to the topic studied/ message of the artist….

Remember the vocabulary: complete the schema

When describing a visual we must use the continuous present/simple present. Try to organise your
description and BE PRECISE! The more you say, the better your work is.

Ex: The woman WHO is next to the president is wearing a black dress. She looks like a lawyer/ She MAY be
a lawyer.

We can see three persons IN FRONT OF the building. They MUST be students as there is a school bus
nearby.

Make hypotheses to step towards the analysis of the document using MUST/MAY/CAN/MIGHT or
equivalent expressions.

Say what the message/meaning of the document is; it will certainly be focusing on an issue linked to the
topic studied in class.

Ex: The man is a demonstrator, we can see many signs where are written slogans to fight against global
warming. The document means that if we don’t make our voice heard, governments will continue ignoring
the issue of climate change…