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Descriptive
This is the next level of 4 articulation skills after mastering narrative.
The primary objective of descriptive is to provide a vivid picture of the place, people or thing in the reader’s mind.
Unlike a narrative, which reveals meaning through a personal story, the purpose of a descriptive is to reveal the meaning of a subject through detailed, sensory observation. It employs the power of language and all the human senses to bring a subject to life for the reader.
An effective and straightforward way of describing is by concentrating on how the students describe appeals to the different senses.
In ICAN, we focus on teaching descriptive adjectives to the students to build up their descriptive skills.
DESCRIPTIVE
Detailed
Adjective
Describe
Pictorial
5 Senses
Visualizing
Lively
The POWER of Describing
Descriptive speaking and writing has a unique power and appeal, as it evokes sights, smells, sounds, textures, and tastes. Using description in your writing and speaking brings the world within your text to your reader and listener.
In ICAN, we practice students to give more details whenever they speak or write. This encourages them to become an eloquent communicator!
A. Visual Analysis
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Are usually written for Art History, History or English courses.
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Describe the image and discuss how the way it is put together (the composition).
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Analyze the meaning of the image for the artist.
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Consider the historical meaning of the image.
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Evaluate the effectiveness of the image for today.
Visual Analysis Essay
Everyone Can Analyze Images
Even if you don't know the terms of how people analyze art, you will be familiar with many of the tricks that artists use to create a reaction in the reader, such as making the most critical images larger and light, and the less important ones in the background or fading darker. You can also easily recognize symbolic colors, such as red means emergency or blood or danger; green means safe and close to nature, and blue means cool and relaxed.
Start by Looking Closely
Most Visual Analysis Papers will require a bright and vivid description of the image along with an analysis of the visual composition of the picture to explain how the artist put the image together to create meaning. Just describe the image you see and use the chart below to help you use the right terms.
Trust Your Own Eyes
You may want to do your study of the image before you research the history of the picture so that you can write out your thoughts without being influenced by other people.
Use Chart and Questions for Help
Start your visual analysis description by getting an excellent copy of the image and looking at it carefully. Look at the chart below and answer the critical questions to help you see the different visual elements.
B. Describe A Picture
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Look at your picture carefully and take a few moments to think before you start talking.
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Talk for all the time you are given. If you have one minute to do the task, use every second.
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Practice the useful language below so you can explain which part of the picture you are talking about.
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Panic if you don’t know the words for all the things in the picture. You don’t need to know all the words for everything in the picture if you know what to say when you don't know an exact word.
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Get distracted and start talking about something else. Focus on the photo or picture.
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Panic if your mind goes blank. Take a deep breath, look at the picture and start again.
If you are asked to describe a photo or a picture in the exam, here is some language you can use:
WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE PICTURE?
In the picture I can see ...
There’s / There are ...
There isn’t a ... / There aren’t any ...
Say what is happening with the present continuous
The man is ...ing
The people are ...ing
It’s raining.
Where in the picture?
At the top/bottom of the picture ...
In the middle of the picture ...
On the left/right of the picture ...
next to
in front of
behind
near
on top of
under
If something isn’t clear
It looks like a ...
It might be a ...
He could be ...ing
Maybe it’s a ...
C. Descriptive Writing
Descriptive writing has a unique power and appeal, as it evokes sights, smells, sounds, textures, and tastes. Using description in your writing brings the world within your text to your reader.
The first step in using effective description is to focus on a dominant impression. A dominant impression creates a mood or atmosphere in your paper. This mood can be conveyed through effective descriptive writing. For example, pay attention to the mood in the following paragraph.<