DESCRIBING PEOPLE

When describing a person/a group of people, you should give enough details about the person/people.

GUIDELINES IN WRITING DESCRIPTIONS OF PEOPLE

 Be clear about who you are describing

 If he/she is a famous person, mention why is he/she famous
 If it is about a group, some knowledge about them is important
 Your description must be interesting and lively
 Mention the special features why that person is outstanding
 Use present tense if the person is still alive

DO’S DON’T’S
 Write a clear description about the  Give a poor description of the person

person or group of people or group of people

 Highlight his/her/their qualities  Leave out his/her/their qualities

 Describe his/her/their interests clearly  Leave out his/her/their interests

 Describe the lifestyle of that  Forget to mention about the lifestyle of

person/group correctly the person/group

 Conclude the description orderly  End the description abruptly

SELECT ONLY SIGNIFICANT DETAILS

For the weak students, here are three aspects that you can use as a guideline to describe people in
your writing.

 Physical appearance
 Characters / personality.
 What they do or have done and how they have influenced you

When describing a person, follow the guideline given below.

Introduction  Who the person is?

 How do you know the person?

Body  1- What the person is like? – physical appearance / characters

 2- Why do you love/like/admire him/her?
 3- Relationship with you and him/her
 4- Important incidents

Conclusion  What the person means to you / How grateful I am to this person /
How they have influenced you

You are encouraged to include the descriptive elements provided below, which will help you toward
bringing their subject to life.
 DESCRIBING PEOPLE'S PHYSICAL APPEARANCE NOTE 1

You are encouraged to include the descriptive elements provided below, which will help you toward bringing their subject to life.
Here are some suggested sentences, containing descriptive elements of people’s appearance, which students
can use to describe people in their writing.
DESCRIBING PEOPLE'S CHARACTERS NOTE 2
 LETS START WRITING

Topic 1: The Person I Admire The Most

Fill in the blanks with the words given. You may use a word more than once.

rubber tapper selfless pretty black cares

rubber estate look after brown wrinkles pleasures
fair hard work dreams protective goes
cooking corrects betterment courage decent
sacrifices friend designing understanding cooks
guardian

There are quite a lot of people I admire but the person I admire the most is my

mom. She is fifty years old. She is a ___________________. She works at the

________________________near my house. Every early morning, she ______________to

the ________________. My mom is very _________ and she ___________ a lot about me,

which is why I admire her the most.

My mom is tall and has _____________ hair. She has dark________eyes

and____________ skin. She has a lot of ______________on her face. Therefore, she looks

old for her age. My mom has a very ____________ and friendly personality.

Being ___________is a great quality that my mom has because whenever I am

sick, she stays up all night to __________me. She ____________her own needs for my

requirements. My mom is also very__________ about me. She gives away all her

____________for my sake and wants me to be happy all the time.

My mom does a lot of ____________with me with my school's work because

she __________of me being the top student in my class. She also _________the best food

for me.

My first and best teacher and __________is also my mom because she taught

me when I was small and still teaches me and works very hard with me. She ________me
where I am wrong and also scolds me sometimes for my__________. She is very

___________and knows everything in and out of me. There is no generation gap between me

and my mother. My mom is also the best __________I ever had.

My mom does not have many habits. She is very good at doing Arts and also

has some interest in ____________clothes. She also loves __________and baking things

with me and my brother.

I love my mom very much and she also loves me. Ten maids cannot even

do as much work as my mom does. Mostly every woman can be a mom but it takes a lot

of___________ and ___________ to be like my mom.

Topic 2 : The Most Interesting Person In My Class

Fill in the blanks with the words given in the box. Then, rewrite the paragraphs into a
complete essay.

mistaken heard interesting notice

mischievous solemn passes humble
sound observe laughter mimic
historical dull peep fortunate

Everyone in my school has __________of Five Kenari or 5K, my class. There thirty-
five of us - boys and girls who are very different in appearance and character. But 5K is
famous because of one of my classmates, Sara, who is the most _____________person in
my class.

People do not usually__________Sara when they first enter our class. She has very
short, dark brown hair that is styled like a boy’s. She is Eurasian but she is often_________
for Chinese. She looks_____________most of the time but she has a beautiful smile. Her
eyes are striking feature. They are bright and inquisitive and make her look______________.

In fact, Sara is very intelligent. She_____________ easily every test without seeming
to study very hard. She is likeable because she is ______________, helpful and kind.
Whenever anyone needs help, for example with a Mathematics problem, we would ask Sara.
She is such a patient teacher. She also has a good sense of humour. Her_____________ is
infectious. When she laughs, the whole class also bursts into laughter.

Sara has a special talent. She can___________ anyone. It could be a teacher,

another student, a famous singer or even a cartoon character. She only needs
to____________ the target for a short while and she can act and sound exactly like that
person or character. She can even change her voice to_____________ like a man! Our
history lessons are never boring because Sara can act like any_____________ figure. Other
classes are simple jealous. Students often_____________ through our window to try and see
Sara in action.

To conclude, there is never a____________ moment when Sara is around. Class 5K

is the most interesting class in the school because of her. Not only is she talented but she is
also wonderful person. I am so______________ to be in the same class as Sara.
Topic 3 : A Person Who Influenced Me

1. When describing a person, you should follow the outline given below. Please refer to
the Note 1 and Note 2 on the previous page to help you to include a good descriptive
element in your composition.
.

Introduction  Who is the person influenced me?

Body  1- What the person is like? – physical appearance and character.

 2- How he/she influenced me?
 3- The outcome of this person’s influence

Conclusion  How grateful I am to this person

Practice A
Write a composition on a person who influenced you based on the notes given below. Add
any relevant details. Then, rewrite the paragraphs into a complete essay.

When - I - small - difficulty - Mathematic -

often failed - test - Fortunately - Puan Nori-
Mathematic teacher - helped - never forget
her.

remembered - first day - she - walked into

classroom - tall and slim - strict - did not smile
at all - introduced herself - class - announced
- giving us Mathematic test - nervous -
questions hard - did not answer

Next day - she - returned - papers - scored 40

percent - see her after class – asked me –
wanted to improve - nodded
She - coached - after school - gave - tons of
exercises - practice - whenever - she - saw -
frustrated - motivated - me - gradually -
improved - passed my test - scored A -
Mathematic exam - everyone - astonished

Puan Nori - influenced me - keep trying - not

to give up - showed - if - determined enough -
achieve - whatever I want - whenever - face
difficulties - remind - myself - never give up -
Thank you, Puan Nori.