UNIT 33.

DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS: STRUCTURE AND CHARACTERISTICS

The topic selected for this official competitive exam is topic number 33. In order to provide a
coherent development of its content, we have adhered faithfully to the name of the topic and
have divided it into four sections. The first one deals with some key definitions for the analysis of
descriptive texts, and what to take into account in order to make good descriptive writing.
Secondly, we will be looking at the characteristics of descriptive texts and its textual features. Next,
we will go knee-deep into the general structure of descriptive texts. And finally, we will offer a
differentiation between objective and subjective texts. We will put an end to this topic with a
conclusion, the didactic implications that this topic has in the secondary classroom, and the
bibliography consulted for its elaboration.
Before starting to analyse the most relevant concepts in this topic, we would like to justify why it is
worth writing and reading. In this paper we will see the importance of this area in the teaching of a
foreign language, highlighting the significance of language as communication. If we follow the
current legislation, we are told through the objectives for the stage that the ability to learn a foreign
language is paramount in today’s society. As teachers it is our duty to ensure that our methodology
achieves this objective. This topic is connected with the functional contents of any lesson plan,
mainly dealing with the description of objects, people, places, and situations. Therefore, the
students will have to face and master the use of adjectives, word order, the structure ‘what is
something/somebody like?’ or ‘what does something/somebody look like?’, to describe physical
appearance or feelings at higher levels. Some activities can imply any sort of description of pictures,
photos, images, masks, physical features…, where the use of visual material will be especially
highlighted.
Bearing in mind that this topic deals with text and discourse and the different features that can be
found in a text, the content of this topic is closely related to topics 31, 32, 34, 35 and 36, and it also
connects with other units in the set that deal with aspects used in description such as topic 14 and
15, where we deal with the adjective and the adverb, two very powerful tools in the descriptive text
and concepts that are eligible for the practical exam.

1. INTRODUCTION

Firstly, let’s take a look of what in linguistics is referred to as a ‘text’. The term ‘text’ is used to refer to
any passage, spoken or written, of whatever length, which forms a unified whole. There are certain
features which distinguish a text from a disconnected sequence of sentences, that is, it has to
function as a unity with respect to its environment. There are features which are characteristic of
descriptive texts and not found otherwise, such as the use of adjectives, adverbs, or figurative
language, that we shall attempt to identify in order to establish what the properties of descriptive
texts are.
Before defining the term ‘descriptive’ it must be borne in mind that descriptive texts are closely
related to the category of narrative since both of them appeal to the reader’s imagination through
his senses. Yet, the key difference is for descriptive texts to focus on image and for narratives is to
focus on actions. A descriptive text is usually defined as a type of discourse concerned with the
representation of people, animals, objects, atmospheres, landscapes, actions, and feelings by
means of words. As stated before, the purpose of a descriptive text is to create a mental image in
the reader’s mind by answering the question ‘What is it like?’ in order to describe something or
someone (Brooks and Warren, 1979)
In everyday life, we describe by means of giving information about something or someone. The
genres that fit the descriptive text structure are similar to those of narrative since the former are
considered to be subordinated to the textual structures of the latter, and other text types such as
expositions or instructions, folktales, contemporary fiction, mysteries, science fiction, fantasy,
historical fiction, etc. in addition, although the descriptive type rarely appears by itself, poetry is the
only literary type which can include whole descriptive texts.
In descriptive writing, the author describes something from their own experience and, through
careful choice of words and phrasing, makes it seem real. Good descriptive writing creates an
impression in the reader's mind setting a mood or describing something in such detail that if the
reader saw it, they would recognize it. To be good, descriptive writing has to be concrete,
evocative, and plausible.
- To be concrete, descriptive writing has to offer information that the reader can envision.
Rather than “Her eyes were the colour of blue rocks”, try instead, “Her eyes sparkled like
sapphires in the dark.”
- To be evocative, descriptive writing has to unite the concrete image with phrasing that
evokes the impression the writer wants the reader to have. Consider “Her eyes sparkled like
sapphires in the dark, bright and hard.”
- To be plausible, the descriptive writer has to express a evocative image to suit the reader’s
knowledge and attention span. For instance, the description “Her eyes sparkled like
sapphires in the armrests of the Sultan’s golden throne, yet sharper than his cruellest
executioners” will have the reader checking their phone halfway through. Instead, the
previous example creates the same effect in a fraction of the reading time. As always in the
craft of writing: when in doubt, write less.
In a nutshell, description, as explained by Kane (2000: 352), is defined as “a sensory experience, how
something looks, sounds, tastes. Mostly it is about visual experience, but description also deals with
other kinds of perception.” Thus, the descriptive text is a meaningful text that describes the
experience related to the senses.
 2. CHARACTERISTICS OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

Descriptive texts consist of a series of elements grouped around a keyword or title which may be
explicit, such as in dictionaries, or implicit as in the case of riddles; these sets a frame and establishes
what may be expected about the constituent parts, functioning as a device of cohesion.
In descriptions, information progresses linearly, there are neither a central o secondary information,
but they appear simultaneously in the text. The relationship between them is given by a spatial
arrangement of the information carried out through the use of connectives.
The most used connectives in descriptive texts are spatial (up, down, on the right…), temporal, or
focalisation (proximity, distance, …). The writer/speaker will make use of connectives depending on
this point of view about the subject and his purpose in writing the text.
There are some features that a text needs to suit in order to be considered as descriptive:
- Precision: pays attention to the object being characterized without the need to add external
or indirect relationship elements. Therefore, the technical or scientific files represent a good
example of precision in the descriptive text. For example: “The Dalmatian dog breed has
short white fur with black spots, a long tail and a slender figure”. In this case, questions
concerning the Croatian origin of Dalmatian dogs are dispensable.
- Clarity: it is very important to know how to use a language and a vocabulary that is
sufficiently related to the object described. In this point, the intention of the sender is relevant
along with the type of description (technical or literary). For example: if you want to describe
the sunset, the most appropriate thing is to use words referring to colours, time, and place.
Likewise, if the writing carries a subjective charge, it is possible to speak of the memories or
feelings transmitted by the scene.
- Coherence: a valid description defines the qualities of a person, animal or thing achieved
through a sequence of words or sentences that help their understanding. For this reason, the
distinctive features of the detailed element require a specific order or meaning. In other
words, the disorganization of ideas undermines the consistency of the representation, but
science fiction novels and fantasy stories often incorporate segments with incoherent frames
with the aim of immersing readers in an unlikely universe.
2.1. Textual features

The main textual features are given by textual and lexical items, that is, literary devices which are
words used to enrich the understanding of the story (adjectives, verbs, nouns, adverbs, and
syntactic structures). Yet, these devices are quite similar of those of narrative texts since the author
may use a wide range of word choice for different purposes, thus for writing objective and
subjective descriptions, and for making the text vivid or precise by using brief descriptive
paragraphs.
Now we are going to analyse the basic language structures in descriptive texts:
From a morphosyntactic perspective, descriptions are characterized by the use of adjectives,
which bear the burden in descriptive texts. They are an essential part of the writer’s main devices
to evoke an image in the reader’s mind. They can be condensed (specific) or expanded (general).
Moreover, the notion of vividness is also achieved by the use of:
- Nouns: concrete (abundant because of their interpreting capacity) or abstract (less
abundant and function to heighten the vividness)
- Verbs: which may imply something about the nature of the person or item to be described,
for instance: “shouted, whispered, screamed”. They are usually non-perfective verbs, in
present and past simple.
- Adverbs: which enable the producer to get an effect with great economy but fusing the
quality of a thing with its action: “Mr Chadban moves softly and cumbrously, nout unlike a
bear who has been caught to walk upright” (Charles Dickens).
Semantically speaking, the term ‘cohesion’ concerns the ways in which the component of the
surface text is mutually connected within a sequence of utterances (Beaugrande & Dressler, 1988).
This notion is expressed through an organization of language which can be explained as a multiple
coding comprising three systems: semantic (meanings), lexico-grammatical (grammar and
vocabulary), and phonological and orthographic (sounding and writing). Since cohesion is
expressed partly through the grammar and vocabulary, we find two main types of cohesive
devices:
- Grammatical cohesion: substitution (the replacement of one item by another – “cumbrously”
by “slowly”), ellipsis (the omission of an item – “laughing girls” by “the girls that laugh”),
conjunction (the linking of sentences – “because, since, thus, therefore”), and reference
(referential meaning, the identity of the particular thing that is being referred to – “the
walking boy is the one who is walking”)
- Lexical cohesion is achieved by selection of vocabulary, using semantically close items, and
it requires reference to the text, to some lexical item to be interpreted correctly.
o The process of reification whereby an adjective s turned into an abstract noun in order
to get a more impressive and communicative capacity of description: “black eyes”
vs “the blackness of his eyes”
o Thematic preferences deal with the purpose of the author and the receiver
characteristics, for instance, the preference for adjectives of colours when describing
a field at the sunset.
o The scenic loads refer to the features in the same nominal group or sentences so as
to obtain a special effect, for instance: “with a hoarse cry of pain and anger”
o The articulation of experience which are words that are repeated throughout the text
representing then an axis (sense of defeat, liberation, having won). This is linked to the
representation of experience, which is used to quantify the items described, for
 instance, nouns preceded by one or more adjectives: “that air of positive calm, a
ludicrous injured air”
o Stylistic repetition produces aesthetic functions such as the systematic presence of
partial synonyms, for instance in Virginia Woolf’s “Mrs Dalloway”, so as to get the
feeling of ‘quietness’: “calm, still, hush, silence, loneliness, solemn”.
- Graphological devices deal with visual devices as we make reference to:
o Orthography, which is related to a correct spelling and in relation to this term. This
device, according to Byrne (1979) covers different word categories: suffixation,
prefixation, and addition of verbal markers as gerund, past tenses or third person
singular in present tenses.
o Punctuation serves, in the words of Quirk et al (1972), two main functions: the
separation of successive units (periods and comas), and the specification of
language function (an apostrophe in the inflected genitive). Moreover, punctuation
is concerned with purely visual devices, such as capital letters, full stops, commas,
semicolons, brackets, interrogative marks, etc.
3. Structure of descriptive texts

The key to descriptive texts lies in how we organise the information, that is the introduction of the
topic by means of a keyword/title, and the offering of information about it in what we call
‘extension’. The description will be structured into one or various paragraphs dealing with the parts
or qualities of the item being described.
Works or texts that use description as the main resource stand out for detailing the parts of an object
or place in a meticulous way. This can be appreciated, for example, when in a story the physical
appearance of the character is exposed, then his way of dressing, finally his attitude and beliefs. In
conclusion, descriptive texts represent both minimal gestures and general features.

There are two forms of structures in descriptive texts: linear and circular structure.

- Linear structure: the descriptions usually follow a chronological order in order to show a
simple and definite story. This structure stands out in scientific writings and some novels, where
the following organization is observed:
o Presentation of the theme: the author states what his work is about; for example: “The
Congress meeting in Angostura dictates the Fundamental Law of Colombia in1819.”
From the beginning it is observed that the subject is objective and that it will be
explained how Gran Colombia was formed.
o Characterization of the theme or character: the qualities of the character are
detailed, or it is said why the academic subject is important, as seen below: “This law
caused the Republic of Venezuela to cease to exist and to be incorporated into a
larger political project, since it joined with Colombia.” It portrays how Venezuela
stopped being an independent country.
 o Linking the subject with external reality: this happens when the environment of the
work is described, or the final purpose of the project is revealed. This is exemplified in
the following fragment: “However, the new Republic did not last long because the
ideals of Colombians and Venezuelans were different. That is why the states
separated”. In this text it is said that the idea of uniting these nations was never going
to work.
- Circular structure: the descriptive texts that have a circular structure are those of fiction (such
as novels or stories) and are characterized by altering both the time and the space of the
narrative. That is, a story can start at the end, or it can start and end with the same sentence.
This is how it is perceived in the novel The obscene bird of the night by José Donoso, which
begins with the description of the end.

4. MAIN TYPES OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

According to Brooks & Warren (xxxx), a descriptive text is concerned with the creation of a mental
image of what is described in the reader’s mind. This kind of description is called ‘subjective’ and
must be distinguished from the objective one which is a form of exposition.

Technical or objective description arises from the demand for information about the thing being
described, offering a systematic and accurate depiction of the object by giving facts and
information about the qualities or characteristics. This kind of description may be considered to be
expository because it is conceived as an account of something where reactions and emotions are
refused. Technical description tends to be enumerative, and it is not only found in scientific works
but also in a letter, an essay, a guidebook, or a real state add.

Suggestive or subjective description aims to give us an experience through imagination. For

- An appeal to senses whose climax is reached with the combination of sensations. It is a

- The careful selection of words so as to give a much more vivid and immediate effect.
Sometimes, making a good description implies that suggestion is better than enumeration,
and that the mere listing of qualities is not the best method of evoking an image. Although
adjectives are an essential part, also nouns, adverbs and verbs can be used to get greater
vividness.
 - The use of figurative language devices such as personification (the attribute ‘human’ is
applied to objects and animals), dehumanization (humans are perceived as deprived of
their human attributes), hyperboles (reality is exaggerated), and images and metaphors
(comparison between two unlike items or beings by using ‘like’ or ‘as’).

5. CONCLUSION

In this paper, descriptive texts have been approached in terms of characteristics, textual features,
and structure so that we can see that dealing with descriptions is not just a linguistic matter but one
to be developed in the classroom.
Conn (1995) considers that descriptions offer us images to think about, other words to describe, and
the capacity to deal with images since the symbol is at the heart of being human. For this reason,
telling stories which include many descriptions satisfies the psychological need of the
reader/listener. The role of describing in present society is emphasized as we need to communicate
with other countries at oral and written levels. Writing gives students the task of acquiring not only
new vocabulary, syntactic patterns, and phonology, but also discourse, sociolinguistic, strategic,
and interactional competences.

6. DIDACTIC IMPLICATIONS

According to LOMLOE 3/2020 and (autonomous community decree), the content of this topic
highlights textual aspects and would be of great support in order to help students with the processes
of understanding and producing texts. In that sense. It is also connected with the content blocks of
‘communication’ and ‘multilingualism’ mentioned in Royal Decree 217/2022. Moreover, the
content of this topic promotes the Linguistic Communication Competence, and it is connected
with its descriptors CCL1, CCL2 and CCL3, following the aforementioned RD, and the competence
of learning to Learn, an essential element in the modern classroom, and one that will hopefully
encourage our students to continue with their program of lifelong learning.

The way to work on descriptive texts in the classroom could be as follows:

• warm-up: different images will be projected to the students together with an audio track to
evoke sensations. Individually, they will have the chance to describe what they see, hear, or
feel.
• presentation: students will be provided with an infographic about the characteristics of this
type of text and its structure. Here they will also learn about adjectives, nouns, verbs, and
adverbs that they can use for describing. We will also take a look at the different connectors
and other devices to promote the cohesion and coherence of the text. Finally, we'll look at
the most basic literary figures of speech to give their descriptions a vivid feel.
 • practice: the ‘Matchy-Matchy’ game consists of finding a robot's flat. To do this, we will hand
out cards with flats, houses, or rooms providing descriptions of each one, its colour, metres,
price, habitability, etc. Afterwards, we project an image of a robot, including a description
of this character, his age, tastes, passions, etc. The task is that the student who thinks that
he/she has the ideal home for this robot must ask for a turn, read the description and
comment on why he/she thinks it is the best place. There is no single valid answer, the
important thing is that the students can express themselves orally after having made an
analysis of the descriptions on both cards.
• production: in groups, the students are going to use their imagination because as a final
'project' they have to invent a robot that makes our life easier in the aspect they consider.
To do this they will first have to look for a real-world problem, for example: dirt in the streets.
Then it will be time to choose their character, characteristics, materials, powers, price,
everything they consider that will make us have a clearer idea of their robot and why it is
going to fix that problem. This final product will be presented in class in front of the whole
group, and, by voting, the students will choose the super robot of the class.

It is worth mentioning that all the activities can be adapted to different levels and to different
specific needs.

7. BIBLIOGRAPHY

Beaugrande and Dressler. 1994. Introduction to Text Linguistics. Longman.

Halliday and Hasan. 1976. Cohesion in English. Longman.

Brooks & Warren. 1970. Modern Rhetoric. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt P.

Ullman S. 1978 Semantics. An Introduction to the Science of Meaning.. Barnes and Noble.