WRITING: DESCRIBING A PERSON

Remember you have homework, you have to write an email describing a person.

These are some tips to help you with your writing. If you want to get the whole task as a document, go to 'Writing' to see, download and/or print it.

PLANNING

Paragraph 1    age, family background, work/study

Paragraph 2    personality (good side), any negative things?

Paragraph 3    hobbies and interests

Paragraph 4    your recomendation


Useful language:

• He's quite/ very + adjective (friendly, extrovert, etc.)

• She's a bit + negative adjective (untidy, talkative, etc.)

• He likes/loves/ doesn't mind + verb+ -ing (he loves reading, he doesn't mind doing housework...)

• He's good at + verb + -ing (he's good at making new friends...)

When you describe someone's personal qualities you should support your description with examples and/or justifications. e.g.  

          Wayne is very shy - he finds it difficult to make new friends.

You can also describe someone's personality through their mannerisms by:

·          a) referring to the way they speak e.g. 

          He speaks in a soft voice as if he were whispering.

·         b) describing the gestures they use e.g. 

          She constantly uses her hands when she speaks.

·         b) mentioning a particular habit they have. e.g.

  

                Jason always bites his nails when he is nervous.

 

When you mention someone's negative qualities you should use mild language (seems to, can be rather,  a bit etc).For example, instead of saying Paul is lazy, it is better to say 

Paul can be lazy at times

 

Paul is a bit lazy

Paul can be rather lazy