Picture Description Reason A picture description is an ideal way of practising your English vocabulary in all sorts of fields.

And there's also a benefit for everyday life imagine you want to show pictures of your family or home to your foreign friends. Describing paintings or other art pictures (e. g. caricatures) is something for the advanced learner of English as you also have to talk about the artists intention and the impression on the viewer. Preparation Have a close look at the picture and decide on how to structure your picture description. What is important or special? What should the viewer pay attention to? Structure and Content It's not easy to follow a picture description if the writer jumps randomly from one point to another. Therefore, make sure that your picture description is logically structured, for example:

from left to right (or from right to left) from the background to the foreground (or from the foreground to the background) from the middle to the sides (or from the sides to the middle) from details to general impressions (or from general impressions to details) Which structure you finally choose depends on your taste and the picture you want to describe. Pictures in General

short description of the scene (e. g. place, event) details (who / what can you see) background information (if necessary) on place, important persons or event Paintings

name of artist and picture, year of origin (if known) short description of the scene (e. g. place, event) details (who / what can you see) impression on the viewer artist's intention perspective, colours, forms, proportions etc. Important Tenses

Simple Present Present Progressive

both tenses also in Passive Voice Tips If you want to practise describing paintings, check out the websites of some galleries and write down expresssions that might be useful for your descriptions. On the website of the National Gallery in London for example you'll find lots of interesting paintings with descriptions. The website of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (MET) provides a detailled description of a painting with interesting background information, e. g. how to use colours, how to give the impression of movement or perspective etc. An English glossary on art can be found on the website of the Tate Gallery London. Word Lists

Useful Words for Picture Descriptions Useful Phrases for Picture Descriptions Examples of Passive Tense Subject Verb Object

Simple Present

Active:

Rita

writes

a letter.

Passive:
Simple Past

A letter

is written

by Rita.

Active: Passive:

Rita

wrote

a letter.

A letter

was written

by Rita.

Present Perfect

Active: Passive:

Rita

has written

a letter.

A letter

has been written

by Rita.

Future I

Active: Passive:

Rita

will write

a letter.

A letter

will be written

by Rita.

Hilfsverben

Active: Passive:

Rita

can write

a letter.

A letter

can be written

by Rita.

Examples of Passive

Tense

Subject

Verb

Object

Present Progressive

Active:

Rita

is writing

a letter.

Passive:
Past Progressive

A letter

is being written

by Rita.

Active: Passive:

Rita

was writing

a letter.

A letter

was being written

by Rita.

Past Perfect

Active: Passive:

Rita

had written

a letter.

A letter

had been written

by Rita.

Future II

Active: Passive:

Rita

will have written

a letter.

A letter

will have been written

by Rita.

Conditional I

Active: Passive:

Rita

would write

a letter.

A letter

would be written

by Rita.

Conditional II

Active: Passive:

Rita

would have written

a letter.

A letter

would have been written

by Rita.

Word List on Picture Description Kinds of pictures and perspectives viewer picture, image painting photograph / photo portrait landscape painting worm's eye view bird's eye view

Structure foreground background in the upper part in the lower part in the left part in the right part in the central part in front of behind next to on the right on the left in the middle from front from behind from above from below the second from left/right Others artificial light daylight subdued light light colours dark colours loud colours contrasty vanishing point vanishing line

Word List on Picture Description Information on artist and year of origin (image) is a painting by (artist), painted in (year). (image), painted in (year), is a work by (artist) (artist) painted (image) in (year). (image) is a famous painting by (artist).

Describing the scene The picture was taken in (place). The photo was taken at (party). The picture shows a scene from It's an image of (place, person, scene). The picture describes (scene). The picture shows (place, person, scene) from a distance. (place, person, scene) is shown from (a bird's eye view/). You look at (place, person, scene) from (above/behind/). What can you see? In the picture you can see (position: on the left/right/) there is / are (position: on the left/right/) you can see is (position: on the left/right/) Impression gives the impression of depth. (person) seems to look at the viewer. His / Her eyes seem to follow the viewer. The figures look as if they exist in three dimensions. The viewer has the impression that the people in the picture are alive. The viewer's attention is focused on To the alert eye it will become apparent The viewer finds it difficult to withdraw his eyes from The painting is vivid / happy / expressive. The picture makes the viewer feel (sad/happy) The picture inspires the viewer to think about Intention The artist mainly uses (colours/forms/) Important elements are highlighted. The artist / photographer / painter uses to express He / She (probably) wants to criticise / express / show It is obvious that the artist wants to criticise / express / show What the artist / photographer / painter wants to criticise / express / show is What the artist / photographer / painter wants to point out is I think / believe / am sure that

It seems / appears to me that The problem illustrated here is symbolises is typical of In just about every interview, the interviewer asks the question, How would you describe yourself? While this is something that should be anticipated and practiced, many job seekers overlook the importance of this question and fail to take the time to formulate the right answers. Moreover, when describing ourselves, we should approach our answers in an honest, candid manner. Even though some answers are laid out below, always ensure that you phrase these in our own words; authenticity is important. To better give you some guidance, here are 15 ways to describe yourself for your next interview: I would say Im 1. Someone who has high expectations for my results. I am confident in my ability to produce, and while I prepare for the worst, I do the work necessary to tilt the odds so that the best will happen. 2. Someone who wants to be judged by individual performance and rewarded for my efforts based on my abilit y to execute. 3. Someone who wants to work for a successful company with strong leadership and vision, one that recognizes and rewards performers. 4. Someone who is consistently growing and takes the time to continue learning even though its not a direct requirement of the job. I find that many times, my professional growth is based on what I study, both directly and indirectly related to work. 5. Someone who is modest, hard-working and consistently sets firm goals for myself. Then, once Ive defined my benchmarks, I take the necessary steps to achieve those milestones. 6. Someone who aims to keep lines of communication open and is concerned with clients needsconsistently asking questions to uncover the what the client truly wants and then making sure Im able to meet those requirements. 7. Someone who thinks positively and can execute difficult tasks. Im not an individual who needs to be micromanaged. Rather, when given a specific task, I can figure out the best ways to solve the problem in an autonomous manner. 8. Someone who is able to control a situation rather than allow a situation to control me. 9. Someone who has an unwavering resolve. I am determined to do well in my job and have a successful career, as well as to make the company I work for more competitive. 10. Someone with a need to produce results. I am the type of person who meets challenges head -on rather than sweeping them under the rug and hoping they go away. While Im an optimistic person, I am also realistic about the current situation and how satisfactory or unsatisfactory it is.

11. Someone who has been able to not only meet my employers expectations, but has consistently exceeded th ose markers. 12. Someone who takes responsibility for their actions when things go wrong. I dont look for outside forces to blame; rather, Im someone who looks at what I can improve upon the next time around. Pointing fingers solves nothing. 13. Someone who demonstrates an unwavering resolve to do whatever must be done to produce the best long -term results, no matter how difficult. 14. Someone who is committed to building something larger and puts aside personal gain for the well-being of the group. 15. Someone who is mature, candid and believes in integrity. Every day I work to improve myself and my skills thats part of becoming better at what I do. How would you describe yourself in an interview?

Ken Sundheim is the CEO of KAS Placement Recruitment, an executive search firm specializing in sales and marketing staffing throughout the U.S. Brazen Life is a lifestyle and career blog for ambitious young professionals. Hosted by Brazen Careerist, we offer edgy and fun ideas for navigating the changing world of work. Be Brazen!