EBK-00032.pdf Process Writing - PDF

# Introduction: Process Writing - In this unit, you will learn about process writing, the writing method used in most English-speaking university classes. ## The Writing Process - These words are important for understanding the writing process. Match each word with the correct definition. - **...

# Introduction: Process Writing - In this unit, you will learn about process writing, the writing method used in most English-speaking university classes. ## The Writing Process - These words are important for understanding the writing process. Match each word with the correct definition. - **Step:** one thing in a series of things you do. - **Topic:** subject; what the piece of writing is about. - **Gather:** to find and collect together - **Organise:** to arrange in a clear, logical way - **Paragraph:** a short piece of writing, at least three paragraphs long. - **Essay:** a short piece of writing. - **Proofread:** to check a piece of writing for errors. - **Edit:** to change or correct a piece of writing. ## The Six Steps of the Writing Process - Read about the writing process. These are the six steps you will practise in this book: - **Choose a Topic:** The teacher gives you a specific assignment or some ideas of what to write about or you can choose your own topic. - **Gather Ideas:** After choosing a topic, think about what you will write about that topic. - **Organise:** Decide which of the ideas you want to use and where you want to use them. Choose which idea to talk about first, which to talk about next, and which to talk about last. - **Write:** Write from start to finish using your notes about your ideas and organisation. - **Review Structure and Content:** Read your writing silently or aloud. Look for places where you can add more information and check for unnecessary information. Ask a classmate to read and comment. - **Revise Structure and Content:** Use your ideas from step five to rewrite your text. You may need to explain something more clearly, or add details and change the organisation so that your text is more logical. Proofread and check spelling, grammar and word choice. Make any other changes you want to make. ## Review - Complete this chart, summarising the steps of the writing process. - **Pre-Writing** - **Step One: Choose a** topic - **Step Two: Gather** ideas - **Step Three: Decide** which ideas to use - **Drafting** - **Step Four: Write** your paragraph or essay from start to finish - **Reviewing and Revising** - **Step Five: Check** what you have written - **Rewriting** - **Step Six:** You may need to **explain**, **add** or **change** something. - **Steps Five and Six** may be repeated many times. # Pre-Writing: Getting Ready To Write - In this unit, you will learn how to choose and narrow a topic, gather ideas, and edit ideas. ## What Is Pre-Writing? - Before you begin writing, you decide what you are going to write about. Then you plan what you are going to write. This process is called pre-writing. ## Choosing and Narrowing a Topic - **How to Choose a Topic for a Paragraph:** A paragraph is a group of five to ten sentences that give information about a topic. Before you write, you must choose a topic for your paragraph. - **Choose a topic that isn't too narrow:** A narrow topic will not have enough ideas to write about. For example, "The ages of my brothers and sisters" is too narrow. - **Choose a topic that isn't too broad:** A broad topic will have too many ideas for just one paragraph. For example, "Schools" is too general. - **Narrow a topic:** To narrow a topic, choose one aspect of that topic to discuss. For example, a good way to narrow "schools" is to choose "secondary schools in my country". - **Choose three topics from this list and narrow each of them down to a paragraph topic. Then compare with a partner.** - Festivals - Friends - My country - Dancing - Cars # Brainstorming ## What Is Brainstorming? - Brainstorming is a way of gathering ideas about a topic. Write down every idea that comes to you, don't worry about whether the ideas are good or silly, useful or not. - **Making a List:** Write single words, phrases, or sentences that are connected to your topic. - **Freewriting:** Write whatever comes into your head about your topic without stopping. Don't worry about accuracy. - **Mapping:** Use a whole sheet of paper, and write your topic in the middle, with a circle around it. Put the next idea in a circle above or below your topic, and connect the circles with lines. ## Making a List - Look at this list a student made when brainstorming ideas to write about her topic, 'What should I study at university?' - History-learning about the past - Maths (too difficult, not interesting?) - What job do I want later? - English for work? Travel? - Writing? - Science-biology, chemistry - I don't like physics! - Journalism - I like reading-literature? - Art-drawing, painting, sculpture - Photography? - Studying / homework - Friends / social life ## Work with a partner or small group. Choose one of these topics and list as many ideas as you can in five minutes. - Teenage fashions - Things to do at the beach - Driving a motorbike ## Work alone. Choose a topic from exercise 1 on page 5, and list as many ideas as you can in five minutes. ## Freewriting - When you freewrite, you write whatever comes into your head about your topic without stopping. Most freewriting exercises are short—just five or ten minutes. - **Here is an example of a student's freewriting:** There are too so many subjects to study at university, it is difficult to choose one. I've always had good marks in maths, but I don't like it very much. I don't like physical physics or any science very much. Writing—I've always liked writing. Would journalism be a good course to take? Newspapers have pictures, too, so maybe photography would be good. I'm maybe definitely looking forward to meeting new friends at university. And what about reading? Reading is a part of any course, but literature includes a lot of reading and it probably includes a lot of writing, too. - **Notice how the writer's ideas jump around:** When she makes a mistake, she just crosses it out and continues writing. One thought (writing) leads to another (journalism), and then to another (photography). - **Practise freewriting for five minutes:** Choose one of the narrowed-down topics you thought of for exercise 1 on page 5. Remember, do not stop, erase, or go back. Just write as much as you can. ## Mapping - **To make a map:** Use a whole sheet of paper, and write your topic in the middle, with a circle around it. Then put the next idea in a circle above or below your topic, and connect the circles with lines. - **The example below shows a map of 'What should I study at university?'**: The writer connected favourite subjects to the main idea. Art and English are connected to favourite subjects to show that they are related. ## Choose another narrowed-down topic you thought of for exercise 1 on page 5. - Make a map in five minutes. Share your map with a partner. Explain how the circles are related to each other. ## What's The Best Way to Brainstorm? - There is no best method of brainstorming. Some writers like to use lists because they don't have to write complete sentences. Some writers like freewriting because they can write quickly and ideas come easily. Some writers prefer mapping because they can easily see the relationship between ideas. Experiment with all three methods, and then choose the one that works best for you. # Editing ## How To Edit - After you have gathered plenty of ideas, you will need to go back and edit them. This is the time to choose which ideas are the most interesting, and which are the most relevant to (important or necessary for) your topic. You can add new ideas if you think of something else while you are re-reading your list. - **For example, the student writing 'What should I study in college?' edited her list like this:** - History-learning about the past - Maths (too difficult, not interesting?) Not interesting to me. - What job do I want later? Describe more. - English for work? Travel? - Writing? Important in many subjects. - Science-biology, chemistry - I don't like physics! I don't want to study science! - Journalism - I like reading—literature? - Art—drawing, painting, sculpture - Photography? - Studying / homework What about it? - Friends/social life Not related. - **To edit freewriting, cross out sentences or parts of sentences that aren't related**:You can add more ideas in the margin or add more sentences at the bottom. - **To edit a map,** cross out circles that don't belong, and add new ones if you get more ideas. You might also change the lines you have drawn. ## Look at the list you made in exercise 3 on page 6, the freewriting you did in exercise 4 on page 7, or the map you made in exercise 5 on page 8. - Edit your brainstorming. Show your work to a partner. Explain how you edited your brainstorming. # Review - Complete the crossword puzzle. - **Across** - 1. **Narrow**: If the topic is too narrow, you will not be able to write enough about it. - 2. **Broad**: If the topic is too broad, you will have to many ideas for just one paragraph. - 3. **Brainstorm**: You need to brainstorm some ideas to write about in your paragraph. - 4. **List**: One way to make a list is to make a list. - 5. **Mind**: Another way of brainstorming is mind mapping. - 6. **Relevant**: Decide which ones are the most interesting and the most relevant to your topic. - 7. **Freewriting**: Freewriting is a useful way to help you write more easily and naturally. - 8. **Flow**: In this kind of writing, you are working on flow and not accuracy. - 9. **Accuracy**: In this kind of writing, you are working on flow and not accuracy. - **Brainstorm a list of pros (good things) and cons (bad things) about each of the three methods of brainstorming.** # The Structure of a Paragraph - In this unit, you will learn about the definition of a paragraph, the parts of a paragraph, and how to identify and write topic sentences. ## What Is a Paragraph? - A paragraph is a group of sentences about a single topic. Together, the sentences of the paragraph explain the writer's main idea (most important idea) about the topic. A paragraph is often between five and ten sentences long, but it can be longer or shorter. The first sentence of a paragraph is usually indented (moved in) a few spaces. ## Understanding a Paragraph - **Read this paragraph. It is the beginning of an article about Switzerland in a student newspaper. Then answer the questions.** - **Switzerland—Something Interesting at Every Turn** by Ken Jones - If you dream of travelling to a country with beautiful mountains, delicious food, wonderful places to go sightseeing and polite people, you should visit Switzerland. If you look at the map, the first thing you notice is that Switzerland has many mountains, including some of the highest in Europe. Climbing or skiing down the mountains is great fun. Another thing you will notice is that Switzerland shares its borders with five different countries: France, Germany, Italy, Austria and Liechtenstein. In fact, there are four official languages in Switzerland: German, French, Italian and Romansch. All these groups of people make Swiss culture very interesting. Finally, Switzerland has many cities and interesting places to visit. Cities such as Bern have modern buildings like the Paul Klee Zentrum, yet the traditional alpine refuges in the mountains show that the country's old traditions are still alive. All the people, places and things to see definitely make Switzerland a great place for a holiday. - **What is the topic of the paragraph?** - **What is the main idea about the topic?** - **What ideas help explain the main idea?** ## Paragraph Organisation - A paragraph has three basic parts: - **The Topic Sentence:** The main idea of the paragraph. It is usually the first sentence of the paragraph, and it is the most general sentence of the paragraph. - **The Supporting Sentences:** Sentences that talk about or explain the topic sentence. They are more detailed ideas that follow the topic sentence. - **The Concluding Sentence:** A sentence that may be found as the last sentence of a paragraph. It can finish a paragraph by repeating the main idea or just giving a final comment about the topic. - **Read the paragraph about Switzerland in exercise 1 on page 11 again.** Circle the topic sentence, put one line under the supporting sentences, and put two lines under the concluding sentence. - **Put a tick (✔) next to the group of sentences that makes a good paragraph. Why are the other groups of sentences not good paragraphs?** - My best friend has many different hobbies, such as skiing, cooking, and playing the piano, and she is very good at all of these activities. For example, she has played the piano for ten years and has won three piano competitions. She also likes to spend time travelling, and she has been to many different countries in the world. She grew up speaking Spanish and English, but now she can also speak French and Italian. I like my best friend very much. - Classes in literature are useful no matter what job you intend to have when you finish university. Books are about life. People who study literature learn the skill of reading carefully and understanding characters, situations, and relationships. This kind of understanding can be useful to teachers and business people alike. Literature classes also require a lot of writing, so they help students develop the skill of clear communication. Of course, a professional writer needs to have this skill, but it is an equally important skill for an engineer. Finally, reading literature helps develop an understanding of many different points of view. Reading a novel by a Russian author, for example, will help a reader learn more about Russian culture. For anyone whose job may bring them into contact with Russian colleagues, this insight can help encourage better cross-cultural understanding. Studying literature is studying life, so it is relevant to almost any job you can think of. - One good way to learn another language is to live in a country where that language is used. When you live in another country, the language is around you all the time, so you can learn to listen to and speak it more easily. ## The Topic and the Main Idea - **The Topic Sentence:** - Usually comes first in a paragraph. - Gives the writer's main idea or opinion about the topic and helps the reader understand what the paragraph is going to talk about. - **Circle the topic of the sentence. Underline the main idea about the topic.** - **Switzerland** is a very interesting country to visit. - Dogs make excellent pets. - A really good place to study is the library at my school. - Learning a foreign language creates job opportunities. - Football is my favourite sport because it is exciting to watch. - One of the most valuable tools for students is the computer. - My sister and I have very different personalities. - Summer is the best time to travel in my country. - My hometown is a friendly place to live. - **For each of these paragraphs, choose the sentence from the list below that would make the best topic sentence.** - When Ken wanted to enter a good university, he studied hard to pass the examination. The first time he took the exam, he did not do well, and he felt very discouraged. But he knew he wanted to study at that university, so he studied more. The next year, he tried taking the exam again. The second time, he did very well, and now he is studying engineering. I believe Ken is a good role model for me, and he has taught me that never giving up is the best way to succeed. 1. One of my closest friends, named Ken, is a person I can trust. 2. My friend Ken is a very successful student. 3. I admire my friend Ken because he doesn't give up. - Many children begin learning to play football when they are very young. You can often see them playing at school or in the streets around their houses. At secondary school, students may play football in a team and compete in championships. If a player is very good, he might go on to play for a professional team. People in my country love watching football on television and also go to matches whenever they can. Many people have a favourite team or player, and everyone loves to talk about matches and competitions. Football is really like a national sport in my country. 1. I love playing football, and I hope I can become a professional player one day. 2. There are many popular sports in my country, but the most popular sport is football. 3. Football is a difficult sport to learn to play well. - **Write a topic sentence for three of these topics.** - A favourite place to relax - A grandparent - A pet I have known - A favourite food to eat - Playing a musical instrument # The Development of a Paragraph - In this unit, you will learn about methods of paragraph support and development, how to write concluding sentences, and how to do peer editing. ## Paragraph Development - After you have chosen a topic and written a topic sentence, you develop your main idea by adding more information to explain what you mean. - This unit will explain three common ways to develop a paragraph: giving details, giving an explanation, and giving an example. ## Details - **Details are specific points that tell more about a general statement.** - **Read this brochure from a health club. Notice the details that help develop the paragraph.** - **Atlas Health Centre**: You'll love working out at the Atlas Health Centre, and you'll love what it does for you! We have state-of-the-art exercise equipment in large, air-conditioned rooms. You can work out alone or with the help of one of our professional personal trainers. If you like exercising with friends, join an aerobics or swimming class—or even try kickboxing! Our staff nutrition experts are always on hand to talk with you about health issues. When you've finished, you can relax with a whirlpool bath or a sauna. Come and exercise with us at Atlas, and you'll soon be feeling strong and looking good. - **In the paragraph above, underline the topic sentence. Below, list the details used to support the topic sentence. Compare your answers with a partner.** ## Explanation - **An explanation tells the reader what something means or how something works.** -**Read this paragraph, underline the topic sentence. Then answer the questions.** - 'A stitch in time saves nine.' My mother, who likes sewing, used this simple saying to teach me the value of working on problems when they are still small. Originally, the saying referred to sewing—if you have a small hole in a shirt, you can repair it with one stitch. But if you wait, the hole will get larger, and it will take you nine stitches. This simple sentence reminds me to take care of small problems before they become big problems. - **What is the writer trying to explain?** - **Is she successful? Do you understand the explanation? yes / no** ## Example - **An example is a specific person, place, thing, or event that supports an idea or statement.** - **This paragraph includes an example from the writer's own experience. Underline the topic sentence.** - Even when a first date is a disaster, a couple can still become good friends. For example, my first date with Greg was terrible. I thought he was coming to pick me up at 6.30, but instead he came at 6.00. I didn't have time to do my hair, and my make-up looked messy. When I got into his car, I scraped my leg against the car door and tore my tights. Next, he took me to an Italian restaurant for dinner, and I accidentally dropped some spaghetti on my shirt. Then we went to a film. Greg asked me which film I wanted to see, and I chose a romantic comedy. He fell asleep during the film, and I got angry. Now that Greg and I are good friends, we can look back and laugh at how terrible that first date was! - **Why do you think the writer chose to use an example to develop the paragraph in exercise 4 above? Write your reason here, and then compare with a partner.** ## Choosing a Means of Support - **Would you develop each of these topics with details, an explanation, or an example? Explain your choices to a partner. (More than one answer is possible.)** - What freedom means to me - An unusual holiday - Weddings in my country - Why I don't like swimming - The ideal job ## Develop Your Own Paragraph - **Look back at the topic sentences you wrote in Unit 2, exercise 6 on page 15. Follow these steps.** - **Step One:** Choose one that you would like to develop into a paragraph. - **Step Two:** Brainstorm some ideas using any method you like. - **Step Three:** Develop your paragraph with supporting sentences. - **Step Four:** Exchange paragraphs with a partner. Say what kind of support your partner used. Could your partner tell what kind of support you used? ## Concluding Sentences - **How To End A Paragraph:** The final sentence of a paragraph is called the concluding sentence. It sums up the main points or restates the main idea in a different way. - **A sentence that sums up the paragraph reminds the reader of what the writer's main idea and supporting points were.** - **A sentence that restates the main idea should give the same information in a slightly different way.** Perhaps by using different words or by using different word order. A concluding sentence should not introduce a new point. - Read the example paragraphs in exercises 3 and 4 on page 18 again. Underline the concluding sentences. Do the concluding sentences sum up the information in the paragraph or restate the main idea? ## Work with a partner. Take turns reading these paragraphs aloud. Is the main idea developed by details, an explanation, or an example? Is there a concluding sentence? Circle yes or no. If there is no concluding sentence, write one with your partner. - **Even simple study habits can improve your marks.** At university I learned how important it is to get enough sleep. When you are well-rested, it is easier to learn. Research shows that when people don't get enough sleep, their memories aren't as effective. If students are really tired, they might even fall asleep in class! It's easy to see how getting enough sleep can improve your performance at university. - **Means of support:** - **Concluding sentence? yes / no** - **My favourite subject is psychology.** I enjoy learning about the ways people think and behave. I am also interested in learning about the way children's minds develop. - **Means of support:** - **Concluding sentence? yes / no** - **I am too nervous to sing karaoke songs with my friends.** The last time I tried was on my birthday, when my friends took me to a karaoke club. I told my friends I didn't want to sing, but they encouraged me until I said yes. When I stood up in front of the microphone, I was so scared, I felt dizzy. It was hard to hear the music, and my mouth was too dry to make a sound. I just stood there until a friend jumped up next to me and finished the song. - **Means of support:** - **Concluding sentence? yes / no** - **I will never eat dinner at The Little French Bistro again**. The restaurant is not very clean. You can see dust in the corners and on the shelves. The food is expensive, but the portions are small. I never feel full after I've finished eating. In addition, the waiters are not very friendly. For these reasons, I will not visit that restaurant again. - **Means of support:** - **Concluding sentence? yes / no** - **For me, a friend is someone who accepts you the way you are.** A friend doesn't want you to change your personality or your style. I like people who don't care if the people they are with are wearing popular clothes or listening to trendy music. - **Means of support:** - **Concluding sentence? yes / no** ## Peer Editing - **What is peer editing?** Showing your work to another student is a very useful way to improve your writing. - **You read your partner's writing and your partner comments on yours.** You might talk together, write comments on a sheet that your instructor gives you, or write directly on your partner's work. - **Here is the first draft of the paragraph about the writer's first date with Greg. The writer has shown the paragraph to another student, who wrote some comments.** - **Topic sentence:** Even when a first date is a disaster, a couple can still become good friends. **For example**, my first date with Greg wasn't very good. I thought he was coming to pick me up at 6.30, but he didn't. When I got into his car, I tore my tights. Next, I accidentally got some spaghetti on my shirt. Then we went to a film. He fell asleep during the film. **Now that Greg and I are good friends, we can look back and laugh because even when a first date is a disaster, a couple can still become good friends**. - **Look at the handwritten comments on the paragraph above, and answer these questions with a partner.** - How many of the comments are statements? How many are questions? - Why do you think the peer editor sometimes wrote questions instead of statements? For example, why did she write 'Can you make this stronger?' instead of 'Please make this stronger'? - Why do you think the peer editor marked the topic sentence and the concluding sentence? - Do you agree with the peer editor's comments? - What do you think the writer will do next? - Go back to exercise 4 on page 18 and read the paragraph about the date again. Did the writer use the reader's suggestions? ## Why Do Writers Use Peer Editing? - **There are two reasons for peer editing:** - The first is to get a reader's opinion about your writing. A reader can tell you: - You should add more details or explanation. - Something is not organised clearly. - You have some information that is not relevant. - There is something that is hard to understand. - The second reason to share writing with others is for you to read more examples of writing. Other people will have had experiences that you haven't. They may show you fresh ways of writing about experiences. Reading their paragraphs and essays can give you good ideas to use yourself in the future. ## How Do I Peer Edit? - **Read your partner's work several times.** The first time, just read from the beginning to the end. Ask yourself, 'What is it about? What is the writer's purpose?' - **On your second reading, go more slowly and look at specific parts of the writing and make notes.** - Look for topic sentences and concluding sentences. - Note places where you have trouble understanding something, where there seems to be unnecessary information, or where there is not enough information. - Let the writer know which parts of the text are especially strong or interesting. - Ask questions. This is a good way to let the writer know where he or she could add more information. - Circle or underline words, phrases, and sentences that you wish to comment on. - **Don't look for grammar or spelling mistakes.** Pay attention just to the content and organisation of the work ## Giving Constructive Suggestions - **For each pair of sentences, check (✔) the one that you feel would be most helpful to the writer.** - Share your answers with a partner, and explain your choices. - **This is a weak topic sentence.** - **Can you make this topic sentence stronger?** - **Did you remember a concluding sentence?** - **Why didn't you write a concluding sentence?** - **You didn't write enough.** - **Please explain more about your holiday. Where did you stay? What did you do during the day?** - **I'm not sure what this part means.** - **This must be wrong. I can't understand it.** - **I think this sentence should come before the next one.** - **Your organisation is pretty bad. You'd better change it.** - **Why do you keep saying the same thing over and over again?** - **I think these two sentences are really saying the same thing.** - **I can't understand why you're talking about your sister.** - **Your paragraph is about your brother, but this sentence is about your sister. Are you sure it's relevant?** - **This is a good paragraph. Nice work! I wish I could write as well as you.** - **I like your topic sentence because it has a strong main idea. Your example is funny. I wish I could meet your brother!** - **Read this paragraph aloud with a partner.** Then peer edit it together. Then join another pair and share your comments. - **My father is a teacher.** I admire him a lot. I am considering becoming a teacher, too. My older brother works for a big company. My father really loves learning, so he is a natural teacher. My father always helped me with my homework. I think I will become a teacher. - **Write a second draft of the paragraph in exercise 12 on page 23.** Use the comments you and your partner made. Then exchange paragraphs with your partner. Discuss how your versions are different from the original. Do you think the second drafts are better? Why or why not? ## Review - **Read these statements. Write T (true) or F (false).** If the statement is false, change it to make it true. Then compare your answers with a partner. - Details give more specific information than the topic sentence. - An explanation tells the reader what something is or how it works. - A detail is usually a short, personal story. - The concluding sentence uses the same words as the topic sentence. - The concluding sentence should finish the with a new idea. - A peer editor should mark any spelling and grammatical mistakes carelessly. - A peer editor should give some positive comments. - Peer editing helps the writer, not the reader. - If a peer editor can't understand something that you wrote, then you know he or she isn't a very good reader. - A peer editor should be able to identify your topic sentence, main idea, and concluding sentence easily. # Descriptive and Process Paragraphs - In this unit, you will learn about descriptive paragraphs and reasons for writing them, organising and writing descriptive paragraphs using adjectives and prepositions, process paragraphs and reasons for writing them, and using transition words to write a process paragraph. ## Describing People, Places, and Processes - **A descriptive paragraph explains how someone or something looks or feels.** - **A process paragraph explains how something is done.** ## Descriptive Paragraphs - **Using adjectives**: Adjectives are words that tell us how things look, feel, taste, sound, or smell. Adjectives also describe how you feel about something. - **Shape and size:** large / small, wide / narrow, round, rectangular. - **Atmosphere:** cosy, comfortable, warm / cool, cold / hot. - **How you feel:** amazed, surprised, happy, nostalgic. - **Appearance:** colourful, unforgettable, beautiful, unattractive. - **A description of a place may answer some of these questions:** - Where is the place? - How big is it? - How warm or cold is the place? - How does the place make you feel? Why? - What things can you see in this place? - What colours do you see? - **List some words to describe these places.** - **Read this description from a travel brochure. Circle the adjectives.** - **Niagara Falls**, a popular destination for thousands of visitors each year, is a **beautiful** place. When you stand at the edge and look down at the 188 feet of **white** waterfalls, you feel **amazed** at the power of nature. The **tree-lined** river that leads into the falls is **fast-moving**, pouring over the edge of the falls and crashing to the bottom in a **loud** roar. If you want to experience the falls close up, go for a **boat** ride. You'll come near enough to look up at the **roaring** streams of water flowing over the edge and feel the **cool** mist that rises as the water hits the rocks below. Seeing Niagara Falls is an **unforgettable** experience! ## Describing the Place Around You - **Using Prepositions**: Prepositions tell us how a space is organised. - **In front of / behind** - **On top of/ on the bottom of** - **Next to** - **Above/ below, underneath** - **To the right of/ to the left of** - **In the middle of** - **Around** - **Between** - **Read this paragraph that describes someone's favourite place. Underline the prepositions.** - My favourite place to relax is a **small** café **down the street from where I live.** This café is **on a small side street** and as soon as you see it, you feel like going in. There are three windows **on either side of the door,** and **each window has a small window box with brightly coloured flowers.** There is a small wooden door that opens into the café, and as you go in, you can see a dozen small tables all **around the room.** Even though it isn't a big place, its size makes it very **cosy** and **comfortable**. I always like to sit at a **small table** in the corner near the front windows. From here, I can look at the artwork on the walls and at the **pretty** green plants hanging from the ceiling. With a **strong** cup of coffee and a **good** book, I feel very **happy** and **relaxed** in my favourite café. - **Write six sentences to describe the place where you are right now.** Try to answer some of the questions under 'Using adjectives' on page 25. Use adjectives and prepositions. ## Describing a Character - **Describing people:** Here are some common adjectives for describing people: - **Personality:** happy, satisfied, relaxed, exciting, nervous, angry, serious, sad, depressed, outgoing. - **Physical characteristics:** big, large, tall, small, tiny, short, thin, heavy, strong, weak, brown, black, blond, red-haired, light, dark-skinned. - **A description of a person may answer some of these questions:** - Who is the person? - What does the person do? - What does he or she look like? - How does the person act—what is his or her personality like? - How does he or she make others feel? - **With a partner, add at least two other adjectives to the two lists above.** - **Read this description written by a young woman about her grandmother. Circle the adjectives that describe the grandmother**. - When I was young, I admired my grandmother for her strength and kindness. She was not very big. **In fact**, she was **tiny** and very **thin**. She was **strong**, though. She lived by herself and **still** did a lot of the chores **around her house**. When I was a child, I saw her **almost every day**, and she and I would talk about everything. She was a **very** happy person and was **always** smiling and joking, and she **often** made me laugh. My grandmother was **also very patient**, and she would listen to all of my problems. She **gave me very good advice whenever I needed it.** I didn't need to be afraid to tell her anything, because she **never** got annoyed with me. She **just listened** and tried to help. I **also liked to spend time with her because she had interesting stories to tell me about her own childhood and life experiences**. When