READING AND WRITING SKILLS

DESCRIPTION
According to Dayagbil & et al (2016), the use of description plays an important role to elucidate the nature of
people, places and things. A series of detailed observations about the subject can help you create a good descriptive
paragraph. This involves the use of adjectives and adverbs in the paragraph.

Description basically provides details on the idea by using either a sensory or spatial pattern. Through a
sensory pattern, ideas are arranged based on one or all of the five senses. A spatial pattern, on the other hand,
arranges ideas by location or physical space. The most important elements of this pattern are the types of description
used, the clustering of details, and the progression of description.

The kind of words we used to describe how your subject looks, sounds, feels, smells or even tastes are called
sensory languages. It also concerns how you will arrange the details to provide an image of the scene, the person or
the object you are trying to describe in your text.

There are two types of description. First is objective description, where the writer presents impartial and
actual picture of the subject without biases and excluding personal impression of the subject just like when you give
your description of an experiment in class. Second is subjective description, where the writer gives personal
impression of what is observed. This is often used in making fiction stories. For instance, when you are asked to write
about a place you visit during summer vacation, you tend to give your personal judgment of how you experience the
place.

SIGNAL WORDS FOR SPATIAL PATTERN OR VISUAL DESCRIPTION

Above Around Between In front of Onto
Across Away from Beyond Inside Opposite to
Adjacent Back of By Into Outside
Against Behind Down Near Over
Along Below Farther Off Throughout
Alongside Beneath Here On To the right
amidst Beside in On top of Under

Example 1:

The tarsier has soft, grayish fur. It has bat-like ears and a long, rat-like tail. It only stands about 100
millimeters. It feeds on insects like crickets, beetles, and termites; and on small animals, too, like lizards, frogs, and
small birds. Also, it is capable of turning its head 180 degrees and jumping backward with accuracy.

Example 2:

A laptop is one of the greatest inventions of the modern era. It is a lightweight device that can save a vast
amount of information. The screen, touchpad, speakers, keyboard, battery and AC adapter are the basic parts of a
laptop. The most noticeable part of a laptop is its screen, which is responsible for displaying information. Another
major component is the keyboard. On it are the keys needed to enter data into the computer. Near the keyboard you
will find a smooth, rectangular surface which acts like a desktop computer mouse – this is the touchpad. At the bottom
part of this rectangular surface, you will see buttons that operate like a mouse button. Below the keyboard and
touchpad, built into the laptop itself are the speakers which allow you to hear sounds and music. Found at the back of
the keyboard is its battery, it serves as the lifeline of the computer. Finally, a laptop also comes with an AC adapter
which charges the battery and serves as the source of electric power when it is plugged.

Sai Gonzaga RWS 2023