LEARNING ACTIVITY 1

EXPLORING DESCRIPTIVE TEXT 1

(Person & Animal)

A. INTRODUCTION
In Leaning Activity 1, you are going to learn descriptive texts that describes the
particular objects in relation to person and animals. The texts are made available
to public to inform readers or viewers about the characteristics of a specific
person/family or animals, the visual experience related to the sense, shapes,
sounds, etc. You will be exposed to some examples of descriptive texts about
person/family and animals. From the examples you have to read with a good
understanding of the contents and analyse the elements that make up descriptive
texts and see how different language features are employed to meet certain
purposes from the texts.

1. Short Description
Descriptive Text is a text that explains about what a person or an animal, is
like. It is about sensory experience, how something looks, sounds, shapes.
Mostly it is about visual experience, but description also deals with other
kinds of perception. It can be said that the descriptive text is a meaningful text
that describes particular person or animals. It reveals the experience related to
the sense, such as appearance, shape, sound, taste is. In particular, it is a text
which says what a person or an animal is. Its purpose is to give a visual
picture of person, or animal being described, such as My favourite teacher;
Cockatoo (a specific bird) by explaining the characteristics, appearance,
physical features, or anything relate to what the writer describes.

2. Relevance
The main objective of Learning Activity 1 is to assist you in understanding the
definition of descriptive text, specifically in describing what people and
animals look like. You should also know the benefit of the text as its social
function. Beside that you, are expected to identify the language features
 (words, phrases, sentences) that are mostly applied in this kind of text. Having
such knowledge you will be able to write descriptive texts meaningfully. This
module tries to meld theory and practice with clear pedagogic intent of
equipping you with a generative set of knowledge of descriptive text.

3. Learning Guide
The Learning Activity 1 is divided in three sections. Those are : (A)
Introduction that introduces the topic, (B) Main section that leads readers to
observe and study: 1. learning outcomes, 2. learning material and learning
activities, and 3. discussion. (C) Closing section that expects the readers to
make summary of material and make reflection, then do formative test as an
exercise after doing each activity.

B. MAIN SECTION
1. Learning Outcomes

Attitude
To internalize, uphold, and put into action religious, moral, and ethical values,
integrity, accountability, independence, tolerance, care, mutual respect, peace,
collaboration, and nationalism.

Knowledge
a. To analyse the contextual differences and similarities between a number of
descriptive texts in regard to the social functions, by showing the evidence
from the texts (expressions, sentences, paragraphs, etc) in fluent and
lexicogrammatically accurate spoken and written English.
b. To analyse the contextual differences and similarities between a number of
descriptive texts in regard to the text structures, by showing the evidence
from the texts (expression, sentences, paragraphs, etc) in fluent and
lexicogrammatically accurate spoken and written English

Skill
a. To get detailed information of the descriptive texts with contextually
 different social functions, text structures, and lexico-grammatical features b.
To make inferences of the descriptive texts with contextually different
social functions, text structures, and lexico-grammatical features c. To
evaluate the descriptive texts with contextually different social functions, text
structures, and lexico-grammatical features
d. To construct the descriptive texts with contextually different social
functions, text structures, and lexico-grammatical features.

2. Learning Material and Learning Activities

a. Definition.

What is the definition of descriptive text ? Where can you usually find such
texts ? Do you think descriptive texts are in spoken or written forms?

Now , the following videos will give you some information and clarification
about descriptive texts.
Task 1

Watch video 1 below. What are being described in the video?

Video 1

Source: [Link]

Task 2
Watch video 2 below. What is being described in the video?
Video 2

Source: [Link]

Please identify the difference and the similarity between the first two and
the last two descriptions of animals based on the video 2:

Spoken text 1 & 2 Spoken text 3 & 4

Similarity

Difference

b. Social Function
∙ To give information about a particular entity by describing its features,
history, and special characteristics.
∙ To give information about things by describing physical attributes,
behaviors, uses, etc.

c. Generic Structure
The generic structure of this text consists of :
∙ Identification or general statements. It introduces or identifies specific
 object (a person and animal).
∙ Descriptions: The parts of a text describe the object characteristics,
appearances, personality, habits or qualities (Derewianka, 2004; Butt
[Link]., 2000; Gerot & Wignell, 1994; Knapp and Watkins, 2005, p. 149;
Emilia & Christie, 2013)

Generic Structure Function

Identification Identifies phenomenon to be

described

Description Describes or explains personality,

qualities, or characteristics

Examples of Descriptive Texts about People

Text 1
Read the text below!
 THE CHANGING FAMILY

ource: Richards, J.C., Hull, J., Proctor, S. (35)

Task 3
Which paragraph that identifies the topic of Text 1 ?
Mention the paragraphs that describe the characteristics of the family?

Text 2
Read the text below!
 My Favourite Teacher

My favorite teacher is my history teacher, and he is by far the best teacher

that I have ever had. He has the ability to make a subject that many students
find incredibly boring come to life through his enthusiasm and passion for
history, and his love of being a teacher. Going to his lessons is something we
look forward to, not dread, like we do with most other lessons.

It’s ever so funny to watch him get excited about something, which happens
in every lesson. It’s easy to know that he’s getting excited because he begins
bouncing up and down slightly in a way that no other sixty-something year
old would ever managed without looking completely ridiculous. He has this
dark (with more and more grey streaks these days), springy hair that lines the
edge of his growing bald patch, and the hair bounces up and down with him
like thousands of tiny little springs. Then, he takes on his whole new person,
often going into role and becoming the character or figure he is talking
about, doing the voices, the actions, and parading up and down the room
gesticulating wildly, but all the while there’s a gentle ‘bounce, bounce,
bounce’, as though the springs are not just on his head but on the soles of his

shoes too.
 A teacher that doesn’t take himself too seriously always will be a big hit
with teenagers, although he’s not afraid to impose his authority if he has to.
I’ve only ever heard him properly shout once (although thankfully it wasn’t
me), but it isn’t an experience that I would like to repeat. When he lost it, the
room suddenly became more silent than I’d ever known it to be before. We
all sat slightly paralyzed, not even anting to breathe too loudly, because
hearing such a jovial and jolly little man lose his temper was a huge shock. It
certainly had the right kind of impact though, because he’s never needed to
shout since.

It is actually this teacher that I have to thank for my love of history. In his
lessons, history does not mean copying out of textbooks and writing pages
and pages of notes. History is alive; history is something tangible, that you
can see, hear and feel, and we can live it through dressing up and acting out
scenes or taking trips to important places of historical interest. And although
he’s getting on in years and may not be teaching for much longer, he will
have an important place in history for many of his students, because there
has never been a teacher able to bring a subject to life in quite the same way
he does.

Source : “Descriptive Essay My Favorite Teacher” [Link]. 27

April 2015. [Link]
essay-my-favorite-teacher

Task 4
Fill in the table with suitable information from the text 2!
Part of text Purpose Details from the text

General Identification ................................ ...............................

................................ ...............................
................................ ...............................
......... .........
Description ................................ ...............................
................................ ...............................
................................ ...............................
......... .........

Task 5 (Tidak perlu dikerjakan)

Complete the gaps in these police pictures!

WANTED!. MISSING!.

Follow up:
Make a collection of descriptions of people from newspapers and magazines.
Court/crime reports, celebrity and gossip pages, and the personal columns
where people are seeking partners are good places to start!

Examples of Describing Animal

Descriptive texts are used to describe animals with their characteristics,
qualities, and other phenomena that can be explained. Observe the following
examples of Descriptive texts.
Text 3
Read the text carefully and analyze the text structure !
Cockatoo

Do you like birds?. Do you have one at home?. I have one. It’s a
cockatoo. It’s the most beautiful bird I have ever had. I call it BB.O
Well, BB is originally native to the Philippines. BB has a stiff
feathered crest and powerful hooked beak. Her body size lies between
30 and 32 centimeters. You see, BB is a clever cockatoo. She is clever
at mimicking a human’s speech. She can say, “Good morning, how
are you today?” or sing “Twinkle, twinkle little star.”. She whistles
very loudly when she is cheerful. Everybody finds her amusing. BB
has wonderful feathers. She has blue feathers with bright markings.
The combination of blue, orange, and pink makes her look cute. You
know what, she can finish up two wars of corn everyday and she
drinks a lot of water.

Source: [Link]

Task 6
1. Which one is the general identification of the text 3 above!
2. Which part belongs to description. Please identify it!
Task 7
Look at the poster for a lost cat below and write a complete description of
the lost cat
Source: [Link]
LOST CAT REPORT

Cat’s name : __________

Date cat was lost : __________
Time cat was lost : __________
Place cat was lost : __________
Description cat was lost : __________
Money offered for finding cat : __________

Task 8
Watch the video below, then answer the following questions!
Video 3
Source: [Link]
1) What is being described?
described is a cat
2) What are the specific features of cat being described in the video?
 Has white fur with black stripes
 Soft fur
 Yellow eyes
 Like to drink milk, especially pure cow’s milk
 Really like to take a rest on a table
 Like to eat fresh beef and fish
3) What is the generic structure of the video 3?
 Identification
I have a cat, his name is nino.
 Description
Nino has white fur with black stripes.
His eye is yellow colored. His fur is soft. I like to
rub his fur. Nino likes to drink milk, especially pure
cow’s milk. Nino really likes to take a rest on a
table. Sometimes, he sleep on my wardrobe. He just
like to eat fresh beef and fish.

d. Language Features
1. Focus on specific participants as the main character;
2. Use present tense as dominant tenses;
3. Use linking verbs or relational process frequently (is, are, has, have,
belongs to) in order to classify and describe appearance or qualities
and parts or functions of phenomena;
 4. Use action verbs or material process and behavioural process in giving
additional description regarding action and behaviour done by the
participants in text;
5. Use mental verb or mental process when describing feelings;
6. Use nominal group frequently to describe;
7. Use adjective and adverbs to add information to nouns and add
information to verbs to provide more detailed description about the
topic;
8. Use adverbial phrases to add more information about manner, place, or
time and sometimes realized in embedded clause which functions as
circumstances

Task 9
Now, identify the language features used in text 2 and text 3 above by
giving some examples from both texts !

Task 10
Watch the video below. Compare your answer in task 10 with the
explanation from the video.

Video 4

Source: [Link]
 3. Discussion Forum
Dear participants, you have learned the materials in L.A.1. Please give your own
ideas to response on the topics / threads given in this Discussion Forum. You are
also expected to comment on other participants’ responses. 1) How will you
teach your students about descriptive text (describing people and animal)?
Feel free to create the process of teaching and the reasons why you have the
idea
2) What did you learn in L.A.1?
Feel free to give response to your friends’ answer

C. CLOSING SECTION

1. Summary
In this Learning Activity, we have learned how to identify descriptive text
(describing people and animal). We also have identified stages and language
features of descriptive text. In discussion forum, we have learned how to
explore descriptive text (describing people and animal) in the classroom
context..
2. Reflection

Please write your reflective summary below!

a) In this Learning Activity 1, I have learned
.....................................................................................................................
.....................................................................................................................
..........................................................................................
b) The key features of descriptive text (describing things and places) are
................................................................................................................... .
.................................................................................................................. ..
............................................................................................
c) What I like most about Learning Activity 1 is/are
................................................................................................................... .
.................................................................................................................. ..
...........................................................................................
d) I like it because
 ................................................................................................................... .
.................................................................................................................. ..
...........................................................................................
e) What I need to improve or learn more is/are
................................................................................................................... .
.................................................................................................................. ..
............................................................................................
3. Formative Test
Read the text below and answer the correct answer
The following text is for questions number 1-5!
Someone I Admire

Someone I admire is my cousin, Laura. She is five years older than me, so
she’s 19 now and she lives in Bristol. She is very friendly and confident
and she’s got long, wavy, brown hair and greeny-brown eyes. She is
medium height, slim, and very fit because she is dancer.
She’s been dancing since she was six years old and trains every day at her
dance school. She wants to be a professional dancer, but it’s a very difficult
profession because it’s so competitive. She often dances in shows and I’ve
been to watch her several times. Her favourite type of dance is modern,
which is sometimes a bit strange, but I love watching her dance.
Laura is very busy because she also studies photography at university. She’s
a really good photographer and has taken lots of amazing photos of me and
 my family. Her photos have won a few prizes and last year one of her photos
was in an exhibition at an art gallery in London.

Laura doesn’t have a lot of free time and she’s also trying to learn German
because she wants to go to Germany next year to do a photography course. I
think Laura is very hard-working and she deserves to become a professional
dancer one day.

Source:
[Link]
b1- writing/someone-i-admire

1) What is the social function of the text above?

a. To give information about someone by describing physical attributes and
behaviors
b. To entertain the readers about the story
c. To tell the readers how to make friend
d. To report someone’s behaviors
2) The language feature used in the text above is, EXCEPT
a. Present tense
b. Mental verbs
c. Adjectives
d. Past tense
3) Laura currently lives in .....
a. London
b. Bristol
c. Germany
d. America
4) Laura started dancing when she was ....
a. 5
b. 6
c. 19
d. 20
5) Laura goes to university and studies .....
a. German
b. Dance
c. Language
d. Photography
The following text is for questions number 6-10!

I have a Persian cat as a pet. We call it Molly. I had seen one such cat
at my neighbour’s place and just loved the way it looked. I also wanted to
pet one. I told my father about the same and he agreed to bring one home.
Molly is 5 years old and has been with us since it was just 2 months. We are
all extremely fond of her and she loves us all too. She is particularly fond of
me.
Molly is pure white in colour. It has long hair that are super soft and a
delight to touch. However, its furry hair requires a lot of grooming. It needs
to be combed gently every day. It has a small, round face and a snub nose. Its
cheeks are chubby and it has small rounded ears. Its eyes are big and full of
innocence. It is generally quiet however it also enjoys playing.
Persian cats are considered to be the most beautiful cats in the world
and Molly is no exception. It is a treat for the eyes. Her behaviour is as good
as her looks. She is very warm and friendly. She did not take long to mingle
with me and my family members. She does not detest the entry of anyone in
the home. However, she is often quite indifferent towards our guests. She
 creeps into a quiet corner in our house when some unfamiliar person arrives.
My mother never wanted to keep a cat as a pet however she is glad that we
brought Molly home. She has grown quite fond of this tiny little creature
over the time just like my father and grandparents. She takes care of all her
needs.
Molly has long white hair which make her look beautiful but we also
require taking care of it. We make sure we bathe her once a week to keep her
hair clean and tidy. I love shopping for Molly’s bathing products. My mother
conducts her bathing sessions and I also love helping her with it. Molly
remains quiet during this time and lets us clean it thoroughly. We comb its
hair everyday to keep them smooth. It is done with the help of a special
wide-tooth comb. Molly loves it when my mother runs comb through her
hair. It sits in her lap to get it done. Molly loves eating fish. We give her fish
twice a week. On other days, my mother gives her cat food. We have fixed
her lunch and dinner time and serve her food at the same time every day.
Molly also loves having milk. She finishes her bowl of milk very quickly
and often demands for more.
Molly is an inseparable part of our family. I love spending time with
it. We also take her along on outings. She is well-behaved and thus it doesn’t
seem difficult to take her along on holidays.
Source: [Link]

6) What is described in the text above?

a. Persian cat
b. Molly, Persian cat
c. The writer’s neighbour
d. The writer’s experience
7) The second paragraph describes about .....
a. Molly’s grooming and feeding
b. Molly has a pleasant disposition
c. The features of Molly
d. General identification
8) The third paragraph describes about .....
a. The features of Molly
b. General identification
c. Molly has a pleasant disposition
 d. Molly’s grooming and feeding

9) The fourth paragraph describes about .....

a. Molly’s grooming and feeding
b. General identification
c. The features of Molly
d. Molly has a pleasant disposition

10) These are the characteristics of Molly, EXCEPT .....

a. She enjoys playing
b. The cheeks are chubby
c. It has short hair
d. It has furry hair

4. References
Derewianka, B. & Jones, P. (2016). Teaching Language in Context. Australia:
Oxford University Press.

Gerot, L. and Wignell, P. (1994). Making Sense of Functional Grammar.

Australia: Gerd Stabler.

Knapp, P. & Watkins, M. (2005). Genre, Text, Grammar: Technologies for

Teaching and Assessing Writing. Australia: University of New South Wales
Press Ltd.
Richards, J.C., Hull, J., Proctor, S. Interchange: Student’s Book. Cambridge
Oshima, Alice, and Ann Hogue. (2006). Writing Academic English. Longman:
Peason
Descriptive Text Challenge
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