Academic Writing: Description

Their capital city; the municipal swimming-pool; their home; objects in the room; Tanazania; The North Pole.

Typical language items needed are: prepositions and prepositional phrases; adverbs of place; geographical placements.

4. Function

Function may be an important part of a description:

A camera is equipment used in photography for recording images on a light-sensitive plate or film.

A Bunsen burner is laboratory apparatus using gas to heat liquids, gases or chemicals in a test tube or other container.

An electric kettle is a piece of kitchen equipment used for heating water.

Put different items of equipment on to slips of paper and ask students to select one at random and describe its function:

Electric iron, hairdryer, test tube, fertiliser, pencil, radio, telephone, bed, wardrobe, vacuum cleaner, bicycle, tent, scalpel, spade, tractor, etc.

Typical language structures: X is used for/to; X works by Y to produce Z;

5. Processes

Describing a process is involves selecting and sequencing actions correctly, e.g.
Latex is tapped from rubber trees. Once collected it is sampled in the factory to assess its ammonium content. If necessary, this is adjusted before the latex is left in settling tanks for any sediment to be deposited. Centrifuging takes place with equipment like that used for milk separation in dairies. Once the dry rubber content has been obtained the ammonium content is adjusted again. The latex is then treated with stabilizing agents and stored in tanks.

This can be practised by asking students to give written reports of flowchart diagrams for such processes as milk production, paper-making, beer-making, bread-making. Make it more interactive by dividing them into groups to produce flow charts for other groups to interpret.

The key language items are sequencing adverbs and passive forms.

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