WRITING DESCRIPTIVELY

DESCRIBING PEOPLE
A. PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES
a) size/shape
tall /short /of about average height / well-built / shapely / chubby / fat / stout / lanky
b) arms / legs
long / short / skinny / muscular / flabby
c) shape of face
round / long / broad / oval/ heart-shaped / pointed-chin / double-chin / cleft chin
d) nose
big/flat/ long/crooked/hooked/pointed/flaring nostrils/turned up
e) eyes
big/small/slanting/bright/dull/warm/cold/boodshot/blue/dreamy/kind/round/like slits
f) cheeks
rosy/pale/sunken/dimples/grimy/drooping
g) mouth
thin lips/ full lips/yellow teeth/smiling/pouting/rosebud
h) ears
sticking out/very small/dangling earrings
i) hands
huge/tiny/broad/narrow/soft/rough palms(from hard work)/perfect nail-polish/diamond
rings/dirty nails/bitten nails
j) skin
dark/ fair/smooth/pale/healthy/tanned/freckles/pimples/scar(where)/ pock-marked
B. PERSONALITY, HABITS AND IDIOSYNCRASIES
i) Personality
- you can use single words to describe a persons character. It is better to use a
combination of both single words and examples
eg. She was a very generous girl.
Better to write She was always willing to lend us her money, her books and even her
clothes.

Or you can write :

Some descriptions of personality
Gentle, generous, understanding, firm, amusing, quiet, timid, snobbish, cruel, sociable,
hardworking, imaginative, mysterious, kind, friendly, polite, ambitious, brave, rude,
spineless, stingy, helpful, boring, unfriendly, selfish
Exercise
Make a pair of sentences (2 sentences) for each word in the list. The first sentence use the
word to describe someone. The second sentence should be an example, amplifying the
first sentence.
ii) Habits and Idiosyncrasies
- include a description of some of their habits / idiosyncrasies to tell your readers
something about the character of the person you are describing
(An idiosyncrasy is something that someone often does and that is very unusual.)
eg.1. Mr Lee Kim Sin was very stingy. Even though he was a millionaire, he preferred to
go to the public library to read the newspaper rather than buy himself a copy of his own.
2. Gee Meng always looked in his closet and under his bed before going to sleep.
(
)
3. Sally kept an account of every single cent that she spent every day. (

4. Zul gets up at 5 a.m. every day. He does an hour of weight lifting and then jogs for
another one hour before getting ready for work. Every evening, he spends two hours
playing squash of tennis. (
)
iii) Clothes and Hairstyles
- to provide realistic detail
- to show the personality of the character
- characters clothes should suit his/her personality
eg.1. An unsociable student (who is only interested in her studies)-dressed in a plain, light
blue blouse and a navy blue skirt
- a very sociable, outgoing girl (who is more interested in how she looks than in her
studies) dressed in a frilly, hot pink blouse and silver stiletto
2. Joe was always wearing shorts and a tee-shirt, no matter where he went, even to the
bank or to visit his girlfriend. (
)
3. She was dressed in a light blue baju kurung. Her head was enveloped in the
dakwah fashion so that only her face could be seen. She wore no make-up at all.
(
)

iv) Movement
- when you are writing a story, your characters will be doing things eg. moving about,
resting, talking, laughing and crying.
Eg. i) She left the room.
ii) She rushed out of the room
iii) She jumped up, knocking a chair over and rushed madly out of the room.
iv) At once, she jumped up, knocking a chair over in her haste and rushed madly out of
the room, slamming the door behind her.
v) Direct Speech
- when you write a story, try to write down the exact words that some of the characters
say. This will make your story more interesting.
- the speakers choice of words will also tell the reader :a) something about the personality of the speaker.
Eg. when an angry, an uneducated person or violent person may use abusive words
or violent threats.
b) the emotion of the speaker
Exercise
Study the situations & the utterances of each speaker carefully. Based on the speakers
choice of words, match each utterance with a character that fits the speaker.
a) X has been queueing for an hour at a post office. It is now his turn to be served.
Suddenly a lady pushes to get in front of him.
X says:i) Excuse me, I believe I was here first.
ii) Eh! Do you think this is your grandfathers post office.
iii) Err were all queueing up here, you know?
X is:
a) a rather rough-looking labourer
b) a very well-mannered university lecturer
c) a 30-year-old clerk
DESCRIBING PLACES
2 main ways to use descriptions of places
i) a composition topic that deals completely with describing a place
ii) a story include a short description of the places your characters live in or go to
eg. Rooms
Ah Muis room was very small and dark. Heng smelt cockroaches and urine. All the
windows were closed but some of the shutters were missing. The little baby was sleeping
semi-naked on the cold, bare concrete floor. Loud Chinese opera music was coming from
the next room.

Note:
2 purposes:i) to provide a real background for your story so that your readers can visualize clearly
the place your characters are in
ii) to tell your readers something more about
a) how your characters are feeling at that time
b) what kind of situation the characters are in
When you write a description, think of how a place looks, how it smells, what sounds you
can hear, and what the things feel like. You can also think about someone else being in
that place other than the main character in your story.
1. SHORT STORIES
i) a short story can be about
- an experience that you really went through
- something partly true and partly made up
(story must be original cannot copy from anywhere)
ii) a short story should have only a basic plot. Not too much can happen. Write only on
one main incident. You have to write about 350 words.