Descriptive Writing

By Neeraj
Where it is in the IGCSE exam
Paper 2

Task 2 : Composition

40 marks(16 for content and structure 24 for style and accuracy of writing)

350 - 450 words

Writing objectives
W1 articulate experience and express what is thought, felt and imagined

W2 organise and structure ideas and opinions for deliberate effects

W3 use a range of vocabulary and sentence structures appropriate to context

W4 use register appropriate to context

W5 make accurate use of spelling, punctuation and grammar

Tips for descriptive writing
1. Show. Don’t tell - Use language that helps the reader experience it. Don’t say ‘it was cold’, instead
say ‘the frigidity cut through the air like shards of glass’
2. Use figures of speech - use personifications, metaphors and similes.Try to avoid cliches and come
up with your own.
3. Stick to the right tense - We tend to change tenses while writing. Always stick to one tense.
4. Use your 5 senses - We often only write about sight and smell. We should use all senses.
5. 5 snapshots - think about five different scenes or images and describe each of them.
6. Read the question properly - if the question asks you to describe the colours and sounds make sure
you use a lot of visual and auditory imagery.
7. Make your setting as vivid and extreme as you can - make sure you have a unique setting that is not
a cliche and boring. Originality is very important.
8. Imagine a place you’ve been to, just amplified - you can take inspiration from incidents that
happened to you but just remember to exaggerate it and not keep it boring.