IGCSE FIRST LANGUAGE ENGLISH PAPER 2: DESCRIPTIVE WRITING

The Cambridge IGCSE First Language English Paper 2 is title Directed Writing and Composition. Section A
tests both reading and writing skills.
Section B of Paper 2 gives the student four options to choose from: two descriptive prompts and two narrative
prompts.
Here are some suggestions for succeeding in the descriptive writing.

Sample descriptive prompts:

 Write a description with the title „The playground.‟
 Write a description with the title, „The factory‟.
 Write a description of a place where animals are kept in captivity, such as a zoo, wildlife park or sea-life centre.
 Describe the inside of an interesting shop.
 Describe waking up to find the scene around you has changed.
Describe a group of tourists outside an attraction.

Mark Scheme

24 marks are given for style and accuracy: Precise, well-chosen vocabulary and varied sentence structures,
chosen for effect; consistent well-chosen register suitable for the context; spelling, punctuation, and grammar
almost always accurate.
16 marks are given for content and structure: Many well-defined and developed ideas and images create a
convincing overall picture with varieties of focus.

Descriptive Skills
 Metaphors: Compares two dissimilar things saying it is something else
 “He was a beaten dog.”
 Similes: Directly compares two dissimilar things.
 “He looked the way a beaten dog might look.”
 Sensory details: words that stir any of the five senses: touch, taste, sound, smell, and sight.
 Personification: Speaks of concepts or objects as if they had life or human characteristics.
 “I saw a crowd, / A host, of golden daffodils; / Beside the lake, beneath the trees, / Fluttering and dancing in
the breeze.” -“I Wandered Lonely….”, Wordsworth
 “April is the cruellest month, breeding / Lilacs out of the dead land” -The Waste Land, by Eliot
 “Her heart was divided between concern for her sister, and resentment against all the others.” -Pride and
Prejudice, Austen
 Adjectives: words that describe the qualities or states of being of nouns (enormous, silly, yellow, fun, fast).
 Hyperbole: exaggerated statements or claims not meant to be taken literally.
Juxtaposition: placing two elements close together or side by side. This is often done in order to
compare/contrast the two, to show similarities or differences, etc.

Varied Sentence Structure

 Simple: has one independent clause.
 I read the novel.
 Compound: has two independent clauses.
 I read the novel, but I did not like it.
 I read the novel because it was homework.
 I read the novel; it was amazing.
 Complex: has one dependent clause joined to an independent clause.
 Because I was lucky, I did not get caught.
 Whenever I study, we don‟t have a pop quiz.
 Compound-Complex: has two independent clauses joined to one or more dependent clauses.
  While I was studying, Tom was gaming; however, he already knew the material.

 Variety of sentence openings:

 The biggest coincidence that day happened when John and I ended up seeing each other.
 Coincidentally, John and I ended up seeing each other that day.
 In an amazing coincidence, John and I ended up seeing each other that day.
 Guided by some bizarre coincidence, John and I ended up seeing each other that day.
 Short and long sentences

Some points to keep in mind

 Show; don‟t tell.
 Point of view movement; zoom in on different objects of focus.
 Think of a photograph.
 There will be some components of narration (action and movement), but avoid writing a narrative.
 Complex and effective, but not difficult for your reader; instead, it shows thought-out organization and
progression.
 Engaging and interesting.