Definition of Descriptive Text
Descriptive Text is a text which tells us what a person or a thing is like. Like, describes the character of a person, animal, place, or thing.
Generic Structures of Descriptive Text
• Identification or General Statements. It introduces or identifies specific object.
• Descriptions: The parts of a text describe the object characteristics, appearances, personality, habits or qualities.
Social Functions of Descriptive Text
• To give information about a particular entity by describing its features, history, and special characteristics.
• To give information about things by describing physical attributes, behaviours, uses, etc.
Language Features of Descriptive Text
• Specific participant : it has a certain object, is not common and unique (only one). for example: Bandengan beach, my house, Borobudur temple.
• The use of the adjective (an adjective) to clarify the noun, for example: a beautiful beach, the famous place in Jepara, etc.
• The use of simple present tense: The sentence pattern used is simple present because it tells the fact of the object described.
Example of Descriptive Text
I have roommate named Chyintya.
She is beautiful, tall, and slim. She is so smart and friendly that she has many friends. She is younger than me. She is wise and patient. I often share problems with her to find good solutions. She often amuses and cheers me when I am in bad mood.
Chintya likes singing very much. She has a beautiful voice. She always sings every time and everywhere. She told me that she’d like to attend a singing contest on television.
Practice
Choose the best answer A, B, C, or D!
The following text is for questions 1 to 4.
I have roommate named Chyintya.
She is beautiful, tall, and slim. She is so smart and friendly that she has many friends. She is younger than me. She is wise and patient. I often share problems with her to find good solutions. She often amuses and cheers me when I am in bad mood.
Chintya likes singing very much. She has a beautiful voice. She always sings every time and everywhere. She told me that she’d like to attend a singing contest on television.
1. What is the writer’s purposes to write the text?
A. To get attention from her roommate.
B. To show her gratitude to her roommate.
C. To make readers impressed by her roommate.
D. To make readers know her roommate’s.
2. Why does the writer like to share her problem with Chintya?
A. Chintya has a good personality.
B. Chintya understands her well.
C. Chintya always gives her a good solution.
D. She doesn’t have a good friend like Chintya.
3. The writer can tell readers about Chintya’s characters precisely because . . .
A. they share one room together.
B. Chintya is the writer’s classmate.
C. she is fond of Chintya’s characters.
D. they always do everything together.
4. We can infer that Chintya wants to be a . . .
A. writer
B. singer
C. dancer
D. actress
The following text is for questions 5 – 8
Raffa and his family live on a hill. It is far from the city, so that they are still able to enjoy fresh air. They often enjoy spare time at home by sitting at the veranda and seeing a mountain view. If they want to see the green rice fields, they go to backyard.
Raffa’s house is designed with classic “panggung” design from Padang. All of the materials are made of wood. It has two small stairs, i.e. in front of and behind the house. It doesn’t have a living room, but it has a veranda that is full of wooden furniture decorations. The decorations make people wondered and relaxed every time they see them.
There is a big room in Raffa’s house. It is usually used as Raffa’s family room. There is a TV set and carpet, where they usually watch TV programmes.
5. The text tells the readers about . . .
A. Raffa’s family
B. Raffa’s house
C. A “panggung” house
D. Raffa’s favorite room
6. What is the veranda like?
A. Artistic.
B. Colorful.
C. Enormous.
D. Comfortable.
7. Why the house look natural?
A. It is made of wood.
B. It is located on a hill.
C. Many trees grow around the house.
D. It is completed with furniture decoration.
8. “It is far from the city . . .” (Paragraph 1)
The underlined word can be replaced by . . .
A. near
B. distant
C. separate
D. accessible
The following text is for questions 9 – 12
Occupying much of the western extremity of Bali Barat National Park is one of Indonesia’s best bird watching spots. The park’s rarest bird id the gorgeous Bali starling, with its brilliant silver-white feathers and striking eye markings. A victim of rampant poaching since the turn of the century, the starling now clings to the threads of existence in the wild. In 1989, about 30 individuals were tallied in the park, compared to over 700 in captivity across the globe.
Despite the starling’s rarity, the Bali Barat is rich in over 160 other species. Yellow-vented bulbuls are everywhere, as well as white-bellied swiftlets, sacred and javan kingfishers, and drongos. On the north coast are a colony of silvered leaf monkeys and Menjangan Island, which offers a rich variety of marine life for snorkelers and divers. Dolphin watching is also a highlight of Bali, as large, playful schools thrive off the north coast.
There are a number of good guided treks through Bali Barat’s jungles, though because of the starling’s fragile existence, no trekking is permitted on the Prapat Peninsula and Menjangan Island.
9. What is described in the text?
A. A town park.
B. A conservation park.
C. Beautiful landscape.
D. Endangered bird species.
10. The place is significant for nature because it protects . . .
A. environment
B. rare mammals
C. endangered birds
D. underwater species
11. Who will be more interested in visiting the place?
A. Politicians.
B. Bird lovers.
C. Bird breeders.
D. Observers.
12. What color are the Bali starling’s feathers?
A. Silver-white.
B. Red-yellow.
C. Green-white.
D. Yellow-silver.
