DESCRIPTIVE TEXT

CLASS X
MAIN ACTIVITY
A. Definition
Descriptive text is a text used to give a detailed information (description) about a particular object. It describes particular
object like things, animals, persons or places, for instance: pets or persons we know well. In this learning activity, we will
focus more on describing historical or famous places near us, for example: Tondano Lake, Sumaru Endo, etc. You
can find many examples of descriptive text in form of texts or videos in the internet or in

the books.
B. Social Function
Generally, the main function of a descriptive text is to describe an object. Specifically, a
descriptive text has these following functions:
1. Giving information about a particular object by describing its features dan special
characteristics;
2. Giving information about a particular object by describing its physical attributes,
behavior, functions, etc.
C. Generic Structure
The generic structure of a descriptive text consists of two main parts: identification or
general statement and description.
GENERIC STRUCTURE FUNCTION
Identification introduces and identifies
specific objects (a person, thing, place,
IDENTIFICATION animal, or event) intended to be
described. It is used to gives a general
idea about the
object we want to describe.
Description describes the intended
objects using descriptive details or
DESCRIPTION information about the objects’
characteristics, appearances, personality,
habits, or qualities.
To make your understanding about the social functions and generic structure of a descriptive text better, now
TEXT 1

TELAGA BIRU CICEREM

Nowadays many vacation places are
visited by tourists to relax themselves from

IDENTIFICATIO
the pressures of work or just for family
vacation. There are many places in
Kuningan city, West Java, one of all is
“Telaga Biru Cicerem” which is located in
Kaduela village, Pasawahan sub-district,
Kuningan city.
This place is suitable for family tours
because the entrance ticket is affordable, its
only Rp. 5,000,-/person and has a large parking area which also has a very

DESCRIPTION
cool atmosphere, because it is located at the foot of Mount Ciremai. This
tourist spot offers a very clean lake view so that the fish can be seen very
clearly. Not only that, this tour has several rides that you can try such as water
bikes, duck boats, diving with fish, relaxing while feeding fish in the lake,
even taking pictures with amazing results because here provides photo spots
and special photographers for tourists.
All rides at this place are paid separately from the price of admission.
Here are some cheap ticket prices that are quite affordable:
1. Rowing Boat (maximum 4 people) @ Rp. 35,000 DESCRIPTION
2. Double Swing @ Rp. 5,000, / person
3. Swing Cito @ Rp. 10,000, / person
4. Application Dock @ Rp. 2,000, / person, and
5. Custom Paddles @ Rp. 10,000, / person
On the other hand, for those who
want to try Kuningan food
DESCRIPTION

specialties, there are many vendors

providing varied food. Meanwhile,
we can see the beautiful colors of
the colorful KOI fish swimming
here and there. So, are you
interested in visiting this place?
TEXT 2
PANDA, THE CUTE ANIMAL
Panda is a bear native to south

IDENTIFICATIO
central China. It is easily recognized by
the large, distinctive black patches
around its eyes, over the ears, and
across its round body. Though it
belongs to the order Carnivora, Panda’s
diet is over 99% bamboo.

DESCRIPTION
Panda has luxuriant black-and-white fur. Adults measure around 1.2 to
1.9 m long, including a tail of about 10–15 cm, and 60 to 90 cm tall at the
shoulder. Males can weigh up to 160 kg, and Females (generally 10–20%
smaller than males) can weigh as little as 70 kg, but can also weigh up to 125
kg. Average adult weight is 100 to 115 kg.
Panda has a body shape typical of bears. It has black fur on its ears, eye

DESCRIPTION
patches, muzzle, legs, arms and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is
white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and
white, speculation suggests that the bold coloring provides effective
camouflage in their shade-dappled snowy and rocky habitat. Panda’s thick,
wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat.
TASK 3

Write down below the generic structure of those texts

Text 1 Text 2

Social function

Generic structure

Characteristic / language
feature

MAIN ACTIVITY

Just like any other texts, descriptive text also has its own language features. Here are the
language features used in a descriptive text:
a. Specific participant: has a certain object, is not common and unique (only one
character).
b. The use of simple present tense: The sentence pattern used is simple present because
it tells the fact of the object described.
Use linking verbs or relational process frequently (is, are, has, have, belongs to) in order to classify and describe appearance
Use action verbs or material process and behavioral process in giving additional description regarding and behavior done by
Use mental verb or mental process when describing feelings
Use nominal group frequently to describe
Using words explaining characteristics features (size, shape, location, color, etc.)
Use adjective and adverbs to add information to nouns and add information to verbs to provide more detailed description a
Use adverbial phrases to add more information about manner, place, or time and sometimes realized in embedded claus

SIMPLE PRESENT TENSE

Simple present tense is one of tenses in English. Simple present tense is used for following
functions:
a. Describing habits, general truth and unchanging situations
I live in Remboken (unchanging situation)
He likes volleyball (habits)
Jakarta is the capital of Indonesia
b. Giving directions
You walk for 200 meters and then you turn left at the end of the road
c. To express fixed arrangement
The class starts at 09.00 A.M.
The meeting finishes at 01.00 P.M
In constructing a sentence with simple present tense, you have to know the formula of
simple present tense:
Formula :
Subject + V1 + O
Subject (I, You, We, They) + V1 Subject (He, She, It) + V1S
Examples: Examples:
a) I go to school a) He goes to school
b) You write a letter b) He writes a letter
c) We eat banana c) It eats banana
d) You visit the museum d) The dog bites him
e) They learn English e) Andrew visits the museum
The examples above are in form of affirmative sentences. To change the sentences in
negative form you can use auxiliary verb “do not” or “does not”.
 a) I do not go to school a) He does not go to school b)
b) You do not write a letter He does not write a letter c)
c) We do not eat banana It does not eat banana
d) You do not visit the museum d) The dog does not bite him

Formula:
Subject + Tobe (is,am,are) + O
Subject (I) + am + O Subject (You, We, They) + are Subject (He, She, It) + is
a) I am a teacher a) You are beautiful a) He is my friend
b) I am handsome b) We are family b) She is smart
c) I am tall c) They are smart people c) It is a big wall

The examples above are in form of affirmative sentences. To change the sentences in
negative form you just put not after tobe ; “am not”, “are not” or “is not”.

Why does the descriptive text use simple present tense? Because descriptive
describes facts and habit of a particular object

TASK 2

To assess your understanding about the language features of descriptive text, read the
text below and highlight or underline the sentences with Simple Present tense.

TANJUNG SETIA BEACH

Lampung is not only famous for its Way Kambas National Park. One of the best tourist
attractions of this province is Tanjung Setia Beach. This beach is located in the village of
Tanjung Setia, West Lampung district, Lampung province. It is about 273 km or about six to
seven hour driving from Bandar Lampung, the capital city of Lampung province.
This beach has not been well known by the citizens of Indonesia yet, but for the world surfers this beach is a hidden paradise
In addition to perfect waves for surfing, the beach also has an ambience which is quite natural with white sand along the bea
Source https://

TASK 3
To assess your understanding about the language features of descriptive text, there is a
simple test for you. Just click the link and do your own test.
https://forms.gle/u9gVvKiAYugTR6DE7

IT’S TIME TO DISUCUSSION

If you get trouble to understanding the material, please write your question in your Google
Classrom, and we will discuss about it. Attention to the teacher instruction for all of the
students join in google meet, just click this link https://meet.google.com/gof-yrrb-wvg

POST ACTIVITY

Arrange the jumbled texts bellow into the correct order and determine the generic
structure of the texts, underline the language feature and tell the reader about their
social function.
TEXT 1

GENERIC
No. PARAGRAPH
STRUCTURE
1 In addition to perfect waves for surfing, the beach also has an
ambience which is quite natural with white sand along the beach. ………………..
Rows of palm tree which grow also adorn this beach. For local
people, the beach area is also an ideal place for fishing. Some fish
which are often obtained by the fisherman are blue marlin which
is so big enough that its weight can reach up to 70 kilograms. By
local residents this fish is known by the name of Iwa Tuhuk.
2 Lampung is not only famous for its Way Kambas National
Park. One of the best tourist attractions of this province is ………………..
Tanjung Setia Beach. This beach is located in the village of
Tanjung Setia, West Lampung district, Lampung province. It is
about 273 km or about six to seven hour driving from Bandar
Lampung, the capital city of Lampung province.
 3 This beach has not been well known by the citizens of
Indonesia yet, but for the world surfers this beach is a ………………..
hidden paradise for surfing. This beach is exactly laid on the track
of large Indian Ocean currents that make this beach have waves
which are quite perfect for surfing. The perfect wave of this
beach usually lasts from June to August with the height which
can reach up to six to seven meters with a 200 meters length.

The social function of the text is ......................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

TEXT 2
GENERIC
No. PARAGRAPH
STRUCTURE
1 Lembah Pelangi Waterfall has two levels where the waterfall
on the second level has two branches. The height of the first level ………………..
waterfall is about 100 meters, while the second level waterfall is
about dozens of meters. The best enchantment of this waterfall is
the rainbow which appears between the valley and the waterfall as
the name suggests. The soft flowing gurgling waterfall sounds is
like a chant of nature which can remove the tiredness of the long
trip to go there. Under the waterfall, there are several spots of
warm water which can be an interesting spot for bathing
2 In this place, you will be shown a panorama of natural beauty
which is very interesting for every pair of eyes seeing it. ………………..
Rocky hills accompanied by leafy trees will actually soothe both
your eyes.
3 Lembah Pelangi Waterfall sounds unfamiliar for either local or
foreign tourists. Lembah Pelangi Waterfall is located in ………………..
Sukamaju village, Ulubelu sub district, Tanggamus district,
Lampung province, Indonesia. The access to this place is
quite difficult because Ulu Belu sub district is a remote area in
Lampung with its hilly contours which make this tourist spot

The social fungtion of the text is ......................................................................................

...........................................................................................................................................

INDIVUAL ASSIGNMENT
Please Create a resume as a learning conclusion from this module. And send it to this link.
https://forms.gle/vvFSMex2BpEC4Ng19
 IT’S TIME TO DISUCUSSION
If you get trouble to understanding the material, please write your question in your Google
Classrom, and we will discuss about it. Attention to the teacher instruction for all of the
students join in google meet, just click this link https://meet.google.com/gof-yrrb-wvg

the place / building?

POST ACTIVITY feature(s) the place /

Before construct your own descriptive text, it is better to make a draft about the place
you want to describe. You can make your draft in form of chart or in form of list of
questions to help you. You can use one of the following charts and questions to help you
in making your own draft
 DESCRIPTION 1 DESCRIPTION 2

Why
Can you give a short description about the history of the place do you want to describe the place / buildin
/ building?

MAIN TOPIC
What place / tourism place
/ historical building do you want to describe?

DESCRIPTION 4 DESCRIPTION 3
What is / are the attractive point(s) of What is / are the distinctive