4 Descriptive and Process Paragraphs In this unit, you will learn about ... = descriptive paragraphs and reasons for writing them. m= organising and writing descriptive paragraphs using adjectives and prepositions. m process paragraphs and reasons for writing them. ™ using transition words to write a process paragraph. D_ Describing people, places, and processes A descriptive paragraph explains how someone or something looks or feels. A process paragraph explains how something is done. Descriptive paragraphs D_ Using adjectives Adjectives are words that tell us how things look, feel, taste, sound, or smell. Adjectives also describe how you feel about something. Here are a few common adjectives. shape and size atmosphere how you feel appearance large / small cosy amazed colourful wide/ narrow comfortable _surprised unforgettable round warm / cool happy beautiful rectangular cold / hot nostalgic unattractive A description of a place may answer some of these questions: Where is the place? How big is it? How warm or cold is the placo? How does the place make you feel? Why? What things can you see in this place? What colours do you soe? I List some words to describe these places. DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHS 252 Read this description from a travel brochure. Circle the adjectives. iagara Falls, a popular destination for thousands of visitors each year, is a beautiful place. When you stand at the edge and look down at the 188 feet of white waterfalls, you feel amazed at the power of nature. The treetined river that leads into the falls is fast- moving, pouring over the edge of the falls and crashing to the bottom in a loud roar. f you want to experience the falls close up, go for a boat ride. You'll come near enough to look up at the roaring streams of water flowing over the edge and feel ‘the cool mist that rises as the water hits the rocks below. Seeing Niagara Falls is an unforgettable experience! a ee Describing the place around you D> Using prepositions Prepositions tell us how a space is organised. These are some common and useful prepositions: in front of / behind to the right of / to the left of on top of / on the bottom of in the middle of next to around above / below, underneath between Read this paragraph that describes someone's favourite place. Underline the prepositions. z down the ite place to relax isa small café ee Live. This cafe is on a smal side street and as 500" 1rd idow's on for, rh ean winds wth bey vslared flowers. Thee is small wooden door that capens into the: café, and as you 90 in, you cant rd -, , dozen ‘gmail tables all around the roo. Even a ‘ba big place, its size makes ik VOry cO8y and Se rae ie st ato tbe te omer near the front windows. From here, 1can ie the artwork on the walls and at epg i ing. With a strong CHP ¢ hanging from the ceiling. Wi i an fel very happy and relened mY favourite café. 26 DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHSNA MAB) 4 Write six sentences to describe the place where you are right now. Try to answer some of the questions under ‘Using adjectives’ on page 25. Use adjectives and prepositions. Describing a character > Describing people Here are some common adjectives for describing people: Personality Physical characteristics happy, satisfied big, large, tall relaxed small, tiny, short exciting thin nervous heavy angry strong serious weak sad, deprossed _-brown-, black-, blond-, red-haired outgoing light-, dark-skinned A description of a person may answer some of the following questions: © Who is the person? ‘© What does the person do? ‘© What does he or she look like? © How does the person act—what is his or her personality like? © How does he or she make others feel? 5 With a partner, add at least two other adjectives to the two lists above. DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHS 276 Read this descripti it s jption written by a youn; i the adjectives that describe the grandmother ga When I was young, | admired my grandmother for her strength and kindness. She was not very big. Infact, she was tiny and very thin. She was strong, ‘though. She lived by herself and etl did a lot of the chores around her house. When | was a child, | eaw her almost every day, and she and | would talk about everything. She was a very happy person and was always Smiling and joking, and she often made me laugh. My grandmother wae also very patient, and che would listen to all of my problems She fave me very good advice whenever | needed it. | didn't need to be afraid to tell her anything, because she never got annoyed with me. She just listened and tried to help jaleo liked to spend time with her because she had interesting stories to tell me about her own childhood and life experiences. When I was young, my grandmother was my best friend. 7 Describe one of th it ‘ ese people. Write eight sentences. Try to the questions at the bottom of page 27. Use your imagination! —_— 8 Think ofa person or place you know well. Then braii i your topic, and write a descriptive paragraph. rainstorm your ideas, narrow down 28 DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHSProcess paragraphs 9 A process paragraph is a description of how to do something. It explains the steps you need to follow to complete an activity. Read this recipe and do the exercises below. Lngredients two cups of brown rice one tablespoon of cooking oil three tablespoons of chilli sauce three cloves of garlic one green pepper one red pepper one onion two tomatoes two spring onions salt Pepper mM rown Rice and Vegetables Brown rice and vegetables is a simple and delicious meal to make, First, cook the rice, following the directions on the packet. Then, cut the vegetables into one-inch picces. Next, heat the oil, chilli sauce, and garlic in a frying pan. After that, ada the vegetables and fry them until they are soft but still a little bit cranchy. Now it's time to stir in the cooked rice. After stirving the vice and vegetables together, add salt and pepper to your own taste. Finally, put the rice and vegetables into «large bowl and serve it with freshly chopped tomatoes and spring onions on tep. Now you are ready to enjoy your delicious brown rice and vegetables! a, Underline the topic sentence and the concluding sentence of the paragraph. b. List the steps for making brown rice and vegetables in the order you find them. 1. Gook the sice. ¢. How are the steps in the paragraph connected together? What words do you see that help show the sequence to follow? Underline them. DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHS 29Transitions D_ What are transitions? ‘Transitions are words that connect the steps in a paragraph, Transition words and phrasos show the relationships botween the ideas in a paragraph. They are not used between every sentence, but are used often enough to make the order clear. Here are some common transition words and phrases that show time order or the order of stops: first, second, third, etc. __ finally next the last step then before after, after that while 10 Add other transition words you know to the list above. 11 Choose appropriate transition words to connect the steps in this paragraph about preparing for a trip. Planning @ holiday abroad? Here are some suggestions to make your trip successful. sesso find OUtif YOU need a visa for the country that you want to visit, ! Make sure you have enough time to apply for it ‘you buy your ticket. e sue you've found out about visas, you should research airfares and timetables. 4 , look for the best flight for you. Remember, the cheapest flight may stop cover in several cities and reduce the amount of time you have to spend at your } destination. You might want 10 fly direct. © ....unmmnnnm YOU'TS researching flights, you ccan also ask your travel agent about getting a good deal on a hotel. It's @ good idea to ‘book your flight and hotel early if you're sure of your destination. If you haven't already ff done it, the fn. St@D iS to learn about places to visit, the weather, the food, and other details about the country. The Internet can be very useful source of ; information. 9 ssn ON the day Of your flight, make sure you go to the airport at least two hours before your flight. Now you are ready to start enjoying your holiday! 30 DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHSOrdering sentences 12 Order the steps to form a process paragraph. Write 1 next to the first step, 2 for the second step, and so on. Introduction to linguistics: language-learning research project Conduct an experiment to find out whether learners of English use English more correctly in a written test or in informal conversation, a. sume Next, make a written test that checks the grammar point you are researching, This could be a fill-in-the-blanks test, a correct-the-errors test, or another style. Ie should have at least cen questions, but it should not be too long. After giving the written test, interview each learner individually for about ten minutes. Try to make the interviews informal and friendly. Be sure to ask guestions that will encourage learners to use the grammar point you are researching, Record the interviews. (Ask for learners’ permission first!) . After you have counted the errors, calculate the score as a percentage. Do this for the written test and the spoken inteview. . Next, read the tests and listen to the recordings. Make a note of how many nes your chosen grammar point was used, and how ntany times it was used incorrectly. Do this for both the written test and the recorded conversation, . Third, find about ten intermediate-level English learners who will agree to take your test. Arrange a time to give the test to each learner. £. se Finally, prepare two graphs to compare your results. Did learners make more maistakes on the written test or while they were speaking? g First, choose a common English grammar point you would like to use in your research, Ask your teacher for a suggestion if you need help choosing, one. 13. Write a process paragraph about a topic that you know well. First, brainstorm all the steps that need to be followed. Then write the paragraph. Remember to use transitions. DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHS 31Review 14 This paragraph d ve lescriptive details. Daren Fi ‘ iph describes a city park, but it doesn't have enough de ‘ptt Fi Imagine that you li n you live next t " So ee hd A ann 2 * ription, to T live next to 4 park, The park is large and has trees and grass. There is 4 lake in the park where you con See people enjoying many activities. There are a lot of places fo vi _and relax. There are 4 [ot of paths that you can walk on, and everywhere you walk you can see flowers. I really enjoy spending time in this park 32 DESCRIPTIVE AND PROCESS PARAGRAPHS