Paper 1

Section 2

Descriptive ess
-By Aidah SMKTH
 Points to consider
The message that you need to convey
e.g. sad or tragic experiences

Get the feelings involved

-e.g. how you feel about the person,..

The appropriate approach

-e.g. sadness, humour, romance,
mystery
 Guidelines
Read the question/topic
Understand the task whether to
describe people, places, events
Plan your essay
- Introduction
- List three descriptions with
relevant,
interesting details & effective
expressions
- conclusion
Important aspect of descriptive
writing
The use of details
(to help reader create a mental
picture of what is written)
What you see
How you feel
How do people feel
What you hear
What you are thinking
TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE
ESSAY
Describing People
Describing Place or
scene
Describing Event
Combination
 Describing people
Understand the needs of the title

1. My neighbour A selfish
neighbour
2. My best friend A well
disciplined best
friend.
3. My teacher A great teacher
 Describing people
1 If you were given a chance to be
anybody, who would you want to be
and why?

2 Write about a person who has

worked hard to succeed in life.

3 Describe a few of your classmates.

Steps to describe people
Decide on the characteristics that
you want to emphasize.

Use descriptions, actions and

emotions

Concentrate on three traits and

 Steps to plan on
describing
people
-Understand the question
-Think of possible people
-Make sure the details are
sufficient
-Add personal responses and
emotion
-Structure ideas
-Write down
 Sample descriptive writing
(intro) People
My grandmother is a sweet
and cute old lady. She is now
sixty-six years old. She is about
five feet five inches tall. She is
quite plump compared to what
was when she was younger. Her
face is round and wrinkled. She
has bright eyes. When she
smiles, she looks attractive. Her
nose is slightly pointed like my
 2nd & 3rd para
Grandma has rather short limbs. They are
flabby and wrinkled. Her hands are rough
because of the hard work she did when she
was young. She has a gold necklace which she
wears most of the time.
Grandma had a really tough life when she
was still young. Her father died tragically when
she was four years old. She had to struggle
very hard to support her family. After she got
married she had to look after her children all
by herself. Now she is quite fortunate for her
children are very filial to her.
 Sample descriptive writing
(short story)
She was old Mr. Banisters secretary.
Been here forty-three years, girl,
woman and old misery. Sitting there
where youre sitting now, her back
straight as a ruler, and a chop-your
head-off ruler, too! Her stiff old
fingers tapping out the letters one by
one, with her nose nearly on the
keyboard, so short-sighted shed
become by then
 Description of place
Sample questions
1. Describe the night market in your
town or village.

2. Describe your school sports day.

3. The event that I will never forget.

 Steps to plan on
describing
places or scenes
-Understand the question/title
-Think of possible places/events
-Make sure the details are
sufficient
-Add personal responses and
emotions
-Structure ideas
-Write down
 Sample answer (intro)
Scene

Night markets or pasar

malam can be found everywhere in
Malaysia, from big cities like Kuala
Lumpur to a small town, the night
market is held once a month along
the street in the middle of the town.
The whole street is closed to traffic
on every Friday. This is the only night
when the town comes alive.
 1 point - 2
st nd
para
The first to arrive at the site are
the hawkers, stall owners and
wholesalers who come in lorries and
vans to unload their goods. The next
hour is spent arranging their wares
on the makeshift stalls. Soon, the
whole place is transformed into a big
shopping centre, brightly illuminated
by fluorescent lamps and colourful
bulbs.
 2nd point 3rd para
Many shoppers flock to the night
market to get their vegetables. There are a
few vegetable stalls offering fresh
vegetables at affordable prices. Housewives
would quickly snap up the fresh vegetables
after some bargaining. Later in the night,
one can buy these vegetables at discounted
prices as vendors try to finish their stock for
the night. It is funny to see them trying to
outdo one another, shouting at the top of
their voices,
Satu ringgit, dua ikat.
 Past years questions
SPM 2005
If you were given a chance to be anybody, who
would you want to be?
SPM 2008
Describe a person you looked up to who has
has been working hard and attained success.
SPM 2010
Write about a person who has worked hard to
succeed in life.
Happy Writing.