Descriptive Text definition and example

Description Text
What is Descriptive Text?

1.      The Definition and Purpose of Descriptive Text
Descriptive text is a text which says what a person or a thing is like. Its purpose is to describe and reveal a particular person, place, or thing.

2.      The Generic Structure of Descriptive Text
Descriptive text has structure as below:

Identification; identifying the phenomenon to be described.
Description; describing the phenomenon in parts, qualities, or/and characteristics.
3.      The Language Feature of Descriptive Text
Using attributive and identifying process.
Using adjective and classifiers in nominal group.
Using simple present tense
4.      Examples and structures of the text

MacQuarie University

Identification Macquarie University is one of the largest universities in Australia. This year, in 2004, it celebrates its 40th anniversary.
Description The university is located at the North Ryde Greenbelt, Sydney, where the New South Wales government sets aside 135 hectares for the institution. In 1964, Macquarie area was a rural retreat on the city fringe, but today the campus and its surroundings have evolved beyond recognition. The North Ryde District has grown into a district of intensive occupation anchored by a vibrant and growing university.Blessed with a fortunate location and room to breathe, Macquarie can be proud of that careful planning that retains and enrich the university’s most attractive natural features. A pleasing balance between buildings and plating is evident across the campus. This emphasis on the importance of landscape has created images of Macquarie as a place that members of the university are most likely to pleasurably recollect.
One of the highlights of the landscape is the Mars Creek zone. It comprises landscaped creek sides and valley floor, a grass amphitheatre, and artificial lake… surrounded by rocks and pebbles, native plants and eucalypts.

Today, a railway station is under construction. In three years1 time, Macquarie will be the only university in Australia with a railway station on site. Macquarie is poised to be the most readily accessible in Sydney region by rail and motorway, yet retaining its beautiful site.

Example of Description

A.     My Friend’s New Shoes
I have a close Friend. She is beautiful, attractive and trendy. She always want to be a trend setter of the day. She always pays much attention on her appearance. Recently, she bought a new stylist foot legs from blowfish shoes products. This shoes really matches on her.

Her new blowfish women’s shoes are wonderful. When she are walking on that shoes, all her friends, including me watch and admire that she has the most suitable shoes on her physical appearance. The style, bright color, and brand represent her as a smart woman of the day. She really have perfect appearance.

She is really mad on that shoes. She said that the products covered all genders. The blowfish men’s shoes are as elegant as she has. The products provide varieties of choice. Ballet, casual, boot athletic shoes are designed in attractive way. The products are international trader mark and become the hottest trend.

B.      Borobudur Temple
Borobudur is Hindu – Budhist temple. It was build in the nineth century under Sailendra dynasty of ancient Mataram kingdom. Borobudur is located in Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia.

Borobudur is well-known all over the world. Its construction is influenced by the Gupta architecture of India. The temple is constructed on a hill 46 m high and consist of eight step like stone terrace. The first five terrace are square and surrounded by walls adorned with Budist sculpture in bas-relief. The upper three are circular. Each of them is with a circle of bell shape-stupa. The entire adifice is crowned by a large stupa at the centre at the centre of the top circle. The way to the summit extends through some 4.8 km of passage and starways. The design of borobudur which symbolizes the structure of universe influences

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Structure of Predication and Structure of Coordination

Structure of predication several of SUBJECT and PREDICATE.

A.    Subject

 Which often be Subject is Noun or Structure of Modification with Noun as Head.

Example;         Money talks

                        (Noun)

                        The weather has changed

                        (Noun)

Parts of speech beside Noun and also Structure of Modification to Head beside noun sometimes also can be subject.

Example;         Handsome is as handsome does

                        (Adjective)

                        Now is too soon

                        (Adverb)

                        Working there is pleasant

                        (Verb)

The other Structure sometimes can be subject;

Example;         To south America is a long trip

                        (Prepositional Phrase)

                        To make a good living takes hard work.

                        (Structure of Complementation)

                        Food and drink can be had here

                        (Structure of coordination)

                        That he did it all has not been proved

                        (Structure of predication)

When the subject organized pronoun, the form is sub-case, I, we, she, they, it.

Example; He called me in

In certain statement, pronoun which can be Subject can to form Objective.

Example; I asked him to call

                        (Subject)

Subject can be also after verb in sentence which uses there to explain “any….”

Example;         There are five children in this family

                        There was a test yesterday     

Subject can also don’t have mean as Subject in the general. Usually to do by;

Example;         It is hot today

                        It is Sunday

Subject it can be also to change subject which move behind verb.

Example;         It is good to stay here

                                    (Subject)

                        It is hard to get

                                    (Subject)

B.     Predicate

Predicate always consist of verb;

Example; Money talks

In the structure of modification verb can be also as head.

Example;         The sun sets in the west

Verb which can be the first section from predicate can be analysis from person, tense, phrase, aspect, mode, voice and status:

a.      Person

Exception use a modal (can, shall, will, must). Verbs always can be grouped to common or third singular. Third singular verbs have subject third singular person. Common verb can’t be subject third singular person.

Example;         Third singular verbs

                  The man walks

                  He feels …

                  Common verbs

                  The dogs bark

                  I come

b. Tense

All verbs, except uses modals, have two tenses. Common (present) tense and past (preterit) tense. Past tense is marked {-ed1} whereas common tense formed base or base + {-s}

Example;         past tense

                        We talked

                        They slept here

c.       Phrase

All verbs, except use modals, have two phrases, simple and perfect. Perfect phrase is marked by have/has/had + V + {-ed2}

Example;         He has spoken

                  We may have been …

The other had form resultative phrase where is marked by be + V + {-ed2}

Example;         He is gone

                        They are finished

Look at the different of perfect and resultative in the sentence example;

Example;         I have done my homework (saya sudah menyelesaikan …)

                        I am done now (saya sudah selesai)

d.   Aspect

Verbs have three aspects; simple, durative, and inchoative. Durative is marked by be + V {-ing 1}

Inchoative is marked by V {-ing 1}. Simple is no mark.

Example;         Durative

                        He is talking

                        She was swimming

                        Inchoative

                        We got talking

                        Let’s get going

e.       Mode

Verb in English have kinds of models. Models divide by two (1) modal auxiliaries and followed base verb. And (2) other auxiliaries and followed infinitive to + base verb. Modal auxiliaries include can, may, shall, will, must, dare, need, do. Other auxiliaries include have, be, be going to, be about, used, ought, have, got.

Example;         Modal Auxiliaries

                        He can go

                        We might see

                        Other Auxiliaries

                        They have to go

                        We are to see

Some auxiliaries can be grouped into certain sequence;

Example;         He would have to work

                        He could be about to work

But is no combination like this;

Example:         He has to can work

                        He is going to must work 

f.       Voice

Verb in English can be form active voice or passive voice. Passive voice consist of be + V+ {-ed2}. Can be also be is change get into certain sentence.

Example;         Active

                        He kills

                        They built a house

be- Passive/get-Passive

                        He is killed/He gets killed

                        The house was built/The house got built

Form be-Passive often trouble with form be + complement which form past participle.

Example;

            The house was built by experts

            Be + Complement: The house was built of wood

g.      Status

Verb in English choose four statuses: affirmative, interrogative, negative and negative-interrogative.

1.      Interrogative Status

Interrogative status is marked with change word sequence (word order), that is reversing subject place and auxiliary. To verb which don’t have auxiliary, is used help word do/does/did to form interrogative except verb be just only can be moved before object.

Example;         INVERTED FORMS/do-FORMS

                        Is he working?/Does he work?

                        Has he worked?/Did he work?

2.      Negative Status

Negative status is marked by word not where is mean after first auxiliary.

Example;         He is not working

                        He has not worked

Word of not is also separate verb from auxiliary. Verb work is separate from auxiliary does by not.

3.      Negative-Interrogative Status

Status negative interrogative are combination between negative and interrogative. Word not can be shorted n’t and any before subject or decide not after subject. Form of not after this verb more formal.

Example;         Isn’t he working?

                        Is he not working?

                        Hasn’t (Doesn’t he have) any money?

                        Has he not (Does he not have) any money

In uses seven qualities that each sentence verb can analyzed to be equivalent in the other.

Structure of Coordination

Structure of Coordination several of two or more unit which equivalent in syntax of manner is related by word of connects (coordination) and form of one of structure unit. Unit can be attributable to part of speech, function, word or structure. Coordination in contact with structure unit of coordination is;

And                 rather than                   not (only)…                but (also)…

But                  as well as                     either… or …

Nor                  together with               neither … nor …

Or                    along with                   both … and

More other problems appear in structure of coordination is that a unit be disappeared, because have been called by before unit. This form is called Elliptical structure of coordination.

Example:

1. I like fresh fish no salted.
2. He told John to come at ten and Bill at noon.

In example (a) word of fish must be appear after salted is not visible. In example (b) word of to come must be appear after Bill and before at noon is not visible. To analysis with Chinese boxes, form of this elliptic is with word appearing back is not visible.

The variation from connector is correlative form, which is several of more from a word and separated.

Example;

Not (only) … but (also)

Either … or

Neither … nor

Sometimes connector either… or neither … nor be repeated until to produce structure of long coordination.

Example;

Neither joy, nor love, nor light,

Nor certitude, nor peace,

Nor help, nor pain

The structure of long coordination is called correlative series.

*Summary:

1.   Structure of coordination several of two or more parallel unit of form the syntax and be related by word of connector.

2.   Coordination can be several from two or more and is called correlatives.

3.    In correlatives coordinator, the first section appear in beginning and the second in the central or in the finally structure.

4.   If be find section from structure which is disappeared because avoid of repeating. So, this structure is called elliptical structure of coordination.

5.   Correlative can be repeated to one series structure of  long coordination.   

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Nouns and Pronouns

A noun is a word describing who or what in a sentence—it can be a person, place or thing. Remember, a “thing” can be anything—an animal, a device, a point, an object, an event, and so on. A noun is usually an essential part of any basic sentence. It’s typically who or what the sentence is about, but other nouns are often also included in longer or more complex sentences.

Noun Examples:
o Larry smiled.
o Larry smiled at Isabel, Kevin, and their two dogs, Trevor and Lance.
o Trevor and Lance were watching a show on Animal Planet.
o Alaska is home to many interesting creatures.
o That plain red wooden chair in the corner is a priceless antique.
o The iceberg was massive underneath the water.
o Austin, Texas is known as the “Live Music Capital of the World,”i but the New York Times created controversy when it referred to it as the “Live Music Capital of the South.”ii
• A proper noun names a particular person, place or thing, and the first letter of a proper noun is always capitalized. From the examples listed above, Larry, Isabel, Kevin, Trevor, Lance, Animal Planet, Alaska, Austin, Texas, “Live Music Capital of the World,” New York Times, and “Live Music Capital of the South” are all proper nouns.
• Common nouns are not specific and don’t require capitalization. From the examples listed above, dogs, show, creatures, chair, corner, antique, iceberg, and water are all common nouns.

Pronouns

Pronouns can be used in place of nouns (when appropriate), and a pronoun operates just like a noun in a sentence. It’s important to remember, however, to use pronouns carefully. Often times, writers make the mistake of referring to a noun with a pronoun without first providing and introducing the actual noun a pronoun is replacing. This creates confusion for readers since it’s then not clear who or what a pronoun is referring to. Also, once introduced, nouns should be mentioned again here and there throughout a paragraph to remind readers of the name or title of a noun (or noun phrase) even if it’s only a common noun, such as “philosophy student” or “kitten.” Nouns should be renamed even more often when many different nouns are being talked about in the same paragraph, especially when writers are describing interaction between characters or objects…e.g., He swore to her he would never deceive her again even though she was the one who had first lied to him about it after he told her what the other man told him she said. How many people are being referred to in the previous sentence? When starting a new paragraph, it’s also a good idea to re-introduce a noun in the first sentence since readers typically look for a change in thought or direction in a new paragraph. On the other hand, it is a good idea to use plenty of pronouns intermittently throughout paragraphs to replace nouns (once they’ve been introduced) so that all sentences don’t begin exactly the same or follow the exact same pattern each time. Sentences may start to sound redundant or choppy (and sometimes boring) when they’re all the same and become very predictable to readers. Without sacrificing meaning and direction in your paragraphs, it’s good to mix it up a bit with sentences.

Personal pronouns tend to come to mind first when we think about pronouns. It’s because most people use them a lot in their writing, and most writers instinctively know to use personal pronouns when referring to people or things even if they’re not always sure when or how often to use them. The main thing to remember about personal pronoun usage is that it is based on number, person and gender. However, with the factor, gender, a lot has changed over the years in English language usage when it comes to the political correctness (PC) of referring to a person by their gender. It’s something to keep in mind when writing since the main change has to do with writers no longer automatically referring to an anonymous someone as “he” or “him.” For instance: “A baseball pitcher must work constantly on the accuracy of his pitch.” How do we know the pitcher isn’t female? So, it’s better to replace the word “his” with either “his or her” or with the word “their.” Even though “their” is typically known as a plural to refer to someone: “A baseball pitcher must work constantly on their pitch.” (More information on gender can be found in the Sexist Language section under Word Choice in this handbook.) Another thing to remember about personal pronouns is that when writers use certain statements or commands, such as “Stop!’ or “Listen to me!” the personal pronoun “you” is implied… “You stop!” or “You listen to me!”


Personal Pronoun Examples:
o He smiled at them, but I wish he would also smile at me.
o You gave me your new recipe, so of course my lasagna tastes great.
o Today, they watched it until she arrived; you will have to watch it all day tomorrow.
o A philosophy student spends a lot of time writing papers for his or her courses.
o A law student spends hours studying their law books. (gender-neutral)
o They gave him to us yesterday, and we are really enjoying our new kitten.
o Its name is Sunflower.
Note: In most of the examples above, it’s not always clear who or what the sentence is about (besides a pronoun of some type). That’s why it’s important for a writer to make sure readers always know who or what is being referred to before using a huge splattering of personal pronouns to replace nouns in a paragraph.

Personal pronouns and slang go together like…well, a lot of people use slang pronouns. And in common everyday conversation, it’s usually very acceptable; however, as most academic writers probably know, words like “y’all” aren’t used in scholarly writing unless a writer is directly quoting someone else using such a word. Depending on various cultures and regions, different versions of the plural form of the pronoun “you” are used. Other slang personal pronouns include but are not limited to “you guys” (referring to males and females), or “yous guys” and “yous.” It’s only

(The word “dude”iv or “dudes” has been used as a personal pronoun recently too, but it’s also slang and shouldn’t be used in academic, business or formal writing.)
•
Pronoun confusion is common with certain personal pronouns:














































note :
 Confusion often occurs also around the words “your” and “you’re.” The word “your” is a personal pronoun (refer to the Personal Pronouns chart in this section), and the word “you’re” is the contraction for the words “you are.” Unfortunately, technology and computers have not helped us any with word confusion. Many a person has recently sent an email or instant message (IM) reply to someone across the Internet cloud saying, “Your welcome!” Whose welcome?
•
The possessive form of a personal pronoun is not punctuated with an apostrophe. For instance, many people get the words “its” and “it’s” mixed up. However, the word “its” is the possessive form of the pronoun “it,” whereas the word “it’s” is a contraction for the words “it is.”
Possessive Personal Pronoun Examples:
o Is that hamburger yours? (NOT: “your’s”)
o Where is hers? (NOT: “her’s”)
o Theirs was the first to compete in the race. (NOT: Their’s)
o His is the book next to hers. (NOT: “her’s”)
o Its characteristics are similar to the other dated sample’s characteristics. (NOT: “It’s”)
o Ours is much bigger than yours. (NOT: “your’s”)
o It’s sad that Harry’s transferring to another university. (CONTRACTION)
• Reflexive pronouns are used only to reflect or refer back to the main noun of a sentence or the subject—who or what the sentence is about. Reflexive Pronoun Examples:
o Jerome hurt himself playing tennis. (Jerome)
o Michelle struggled with herself over the issue. (Michelle)
o I said to myself I would never get behind on my studies. (I)
o The couple enjoyed themselves on vacation in Norway. (The couple)
o We set ourselves on the right course and never looked back. (We)
o You should prepare yourselves for a wonderful experience at the restaurant. (You)
o It duplicated itself after a massive exposure to radiation and chemicals. (It)
o NOT: The meeting will be attended by Miguel and myself. (The meeting?)
o NOT: It’s only Cecilia and myself going. (It’s?)

Intensive reflexive pronouns are used to emphasize the subject of a sentence.
Examples:
o He himself will be the first to admit he was wrong.
o I like chocolate cake with chocolate icing myself!
• Reciprocal pronouns include “each other,” which refers to two nouns, and “one another,” which refers to more than two nouns.
Examples:
o Trevor and Rover always hurt each other when they play too rough.
o Participants in the group support one another.
• Demonstrative pronouns are used to determine “number” and proximity.”vii
Examples:
o This latte’ is yours, and that one is mine.
o These shoes will be okay for hiking the low trail today, but you will need those boots for hiking the higher trail tomorrow.









Demonstrative pronouns may also be used to replace a common noun (or noun phrase) in a sentence as long as it’s first clear to readers who or what the pronoun is referring to. It’s not accurate to refer to a human as “that” or “this”
unless it precedes a noun: “That belongs to “this” man.” However, it is okay to refer to a group of humans as “those” or “these.”
Examples:
o The fast roller coaster caused my stomach to ache.
That caused my stomach to ache.
o Which kids knocked over the table?
Oh, those.
• Indefinite pronouns are used to replace universal groups and general quantities or parts of groups or things. (They are also used as adjectives, which describe nouns.)
Examples:
o Many people joined the organization after the meeting.
o One will know when it’s the right time.













References
American Psychological Association. Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (5th ed.). (2001). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Strunk, William, Jr. “III. Elementary Principles of Composition: 9. Make the paragraph the unit of composition: one paragraph to each topic.” The Elements of Style. (1999). http://www.bartleby.com/141/strunk5.html

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