Descriptive Essays & Nominalization of Adjectives – SS1 English Lesson Note (First Term)

What is a descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay is an essay that gives a vivid description of an object, a person, an animal, a place or a process.

• Aim: to help the reader see, hear, smell, taste or feel what is described.
• Method: the writer uses clear details and good word choice to build a mental picture.

Behavioural objectives

By the end of the lesson, students should be able to:

1. define a descriptive essay and state its features;
2. write a descriptive essay with a title, good paragraphs and a clear mental picture;
3. explain what nominalisation is;
4. form nouns from given adjectives and verbs by using suffixes.

What are the features of a descriptive essay?

A descriptive essay has five main features.

1. Title: it must have a title that tells the reader what is being described.
2. Good paragraphs: it must be written in well-organised paragraphs.
3. Simple present tense: the verbs are written in the simple present form, for example “The market is busy.”
4. Figures of speech: the use of good figures of speech is allowed.
5. Clear and logical order: the essay must be clear enough to give the reader a mental picture of what is described.

What are the kinds of descriptive essay?

There are six common kinds of descriptive essay: person, animal, object, place, event and process.

• Person: describes looks, dress, character and habits, as in “My Grandmother”.
• Animal: describes size, colour, movement and sound, as in “A Goat”.
• Object: describes shape, size, colour, parts and use, as in “A Mobile Phone”.
• Place: describes what is seen and heard in a location, as in “A Busy Motor Park”.
• Event: describes what happens and how it feels, as in “A Wedding Ceremony”.
• Process: describes the steps of how something is done, as in “How to Cook Jollof Rice”.

How do you write a descriptive essay?

You write a descriptive essay by planning, organising details in paragraphs and checking your work.

1. Read the topic and decide what you are describing.
2. Write a title.
3. List the details you want to include.
4. Arrange the details in a logical order, such as top to bottom or near to far.
5. Write an introduction that names what you are describing.
6. Write body paragraphs, one main idea in each.
7. Write a short conclusion that rounds off the description.
8. Read through to correct spelling, tenses and punctuation.

What is the structure of a descriptive essay?

Which senses help to make a description vivid?

Good descriptions use the five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

Which figures of speech are used in descriptive essays?

A figure of speech is a word or phrase used in a special way to make a description more striking.

• Simile: compares two things with “like” or “as”, for example “as black as coal”.
• Metaphor: says one thing is another, for example “The road was a river of cars.”
• Personification: gives human qualities to a thing, for example “The wind whispered.”
• Hyperbole: uses deliberate exaggeration, for example “The queue was a mile long.”
• Onomatopoeia: uses words that imitate sounds, for example “buzz” and “bang”.

What is nominalisation?

Nominalisation is the process of turning adjectives or verbs into nouns, usually by adding suffixes.

• Noun: a word that names a person, place, thing, quality or action.
• Suffix: a group of letters added to the end of a word to form a new word.
• Scope at this level: in this lesson we nominalise adjectives and verbs.
• Use in essays: nouns formed this way let a writer name qualities, such as “the darkness of the night”.

Which suffixes form nouns?

How are adjectives changed to nouns?

An adjective is changed to a noun by adding or changing a suffix, as the table shows.

How are verbs changed to nouns?

A verb is changed to a noun by adding a suffix, most often -ment.

What spelling changes can happen?

• Ending changes: submissive becomes submission, as -ive is replaced by -ion.
• Vowel changes: strong becomes strength, as the vowel changes and -th is added.
• Final e dropped: appraise becomes appraisal.
• y changes to i: happy becomes happiness.

How are the nouns used in sentences?

• Adjective: The room was dark. Noun: The darkness frightened the child.
• Verb: They agreed on the price. Noun: They reached an agreement on the price.

Evaluation

1. What is a descriptive essay?
2. State four features of a descriptive essay.
3. What is nominalisation?
4. Write the noun form of each word and name the suffix used: dark, strong, wise, immoral.
5. Write the noun form of each verb: agree, appoint, amuse, achieve.

Assignment

Write a descriptive essay on the topic: The Petrol Station in times of fuel scarcity. Use a title, an introduction, body paragraphs and a conclusion. Include at least two figures of speech and two nouns formed from adjectives or verbs.