Dunearn Secondary School

Secondary 1 G2/G3 n

Term 3 2024

Name: _________________ Class: _________

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What is a descriptive reflective essay?
➢ Sample Questions

People
1. Which person has had the most positive impact on your life? Describe this
individual’s personality and in what ways he or she has influenced you. (2019
O Level)

2. Some people enjoy being in a crowded place, while others prefer somewhere
quieter with fewer people. Describe your perfect place when you want to relax.
(2022 O Level)

3. Describe a television programme which is interesting to teenagers and explain

why you think so. (2017 N(A) Level)

4. Describe someone you admire and explain what makes this person special to
you. (2021 N(A) Level)

➢ A descriptive reflective essay is one where you describe a place/ object/ or

person from your personal experience and point of view.
➢ Apart from describing in detail, you will also need to include your thoughts,
feelings and what you took away from it (reflect).
➢ The reflective element can be in the form of lessons learned, what will remain
with you, hopes for the future, resolutions etc.

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➢ A simple way to remember what to include in descriptive reflective essays is
RAFTS:

o R__________________ – afterthoughts, decisions, resolutions etc.

o A_______________ – what happened, when, who was involved, where it
took place. (5W1H)

o F_____________ – What emotions do you have towards what you are

describing?

o T____________ – what was going through your MIND. i.e. the way you
were processing the incident, the reasons why you decided to act the way
you did

o S_______________– this refers to descriptions of place, people etc.,

which add colour and detail to your writing (Show not Tell, 5 Senses,
figurative language, vivid vocabulary)

A. S. R. F. T

Descriptive Reflective

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 I. Descriptive Writing

1. 5 Senses (____________ , ____________ , ____________ , ____________ ,

____________ )

2. Figurative Language (____________ , ____________ , ____________ )

The attribution of a human
characteristics to something
3. Vivid Supporting Details (______________________________)
non-human.

Why is this important?

Let’s compare the following sentences:
Which of the following helps you picture the sunset? (tick the box)
The sun is setting.
The sun was like a glowing medallion that shone brightly through the
cloudless sky.

Which of the following help you visualise how unwell grandma is? (tick the box)
Grandma is weak and sick.
The lady on the bed gave a feeble smile. With a pale complexion and
weather-beaten hands, she reached out and clasped the tender little hands of
her granddaughter.

Which of the following help you to feel what the writer is feeling? (tick the box)
Suzie tried but failed.
Not one to be trampled on, Suzie refused to give up without a good fight. As
long as there was still time, she was going to try everything in her power to
get him to listen to her proposal. Finally, after half an hour, Raymond
appeared. Suzie’s heart skipped a beat when she realized he was alone.

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 in a nutshell
That is the heart of descriptive writing.
It is showing through precise words how people act, speak, and feel in ways that
make them believable and real to the readers.

Descriptive writing…

can be about a
person can be about a place

Descriptive

Creates a mental can be about an

image in a reader’s object
mind

can be about a
feeling

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 What can I focus on when describing…

A Person A Place An Object

• Physical • Setting (weather/ • Appearance (size/

hair appearance Time of day) shape/ colours/
complexion condition)
• Personality • Physical details
skin
(buildings/ natural • Function (purpose/
build • Actions (habits/ past environment) how does it work)
height interactions)
interatction • Atmosphere (people • Significance
• Background - excited, peaceful,
(relationship to you/ chaotic) • Context (where is it
personal history) from/ history of the
• Historical/ Cultural object)
Significance

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 II. The 5 Senses

Look at the image below.

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Describe the scene using the five senses (sight, sound, smell, touch and taste).
You are allowed to add in details that are not in the image but are associated with the
scene.

Coral reef - colorful

Water - bubbly, bright, blue, beautiful, vivid People talking, soft chatter
endless ,footsteps,water waving
Blue. Phones clicking
Fish - yellow, colorful, thousands, swimming Children screaming, laughing
freely, shimmering, rare, never seen, Splashing water
Lights - neon, dim Camera shutters
Seaweed - floating, swaying Calm background music
Sign - bold words Filters making bubbling noises
Fish tank - cylinder shaped, glowing dark blue, similie ??
clear glass, fingerprint,
smilier: like a brightly lit city at night,
Busy, under the cloak of a dark star-lit sky,
decorated with rocks, gray and huge
As big as a castle.
Background -darkens,
People - admiring marine life, eager, babies,
Crowded parents, happy, surprised, stars, only
Protector, taking pictures.

fresh cold air

slightly musky and fishy
light scent of sea water ocean
overpowering perfume :expensive
and thick
weird smell from children
body odour

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Once you are done, your teacher will gather you into groups.
Read what your groupmates have written and select the most effective description for
each of the senses.

Check if the vocabulary used is effective and vivid. If not, refer to pg. 9-10 or look
online for suitable words/phrases to swap into your group’s response.
Write your group’s perfected response in the space below.

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List of Sensory Words

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 III. Vivid Supporting Details
In Descriptive Reflective writing, the focus is on going into detail.
As such, avoid vague descriptions or simply listing things that are present.
Instead, focus on a detailed description for one specific object using these simple steps!
1) What should I focus on?
2) What are its characteristics?
3) How can I describe it in a way that highlights these characteristics?

X She was a small woman.

Vague

Physically, Mavis looks younger than most other women in their late sixties. Her

✔
thick, wavy, long white hair falls gracefully down to her shoulders and encircles
her diamond-shaped face. Her wrinkled skin is blessed with good complexion.
Concrete Her petite frame affords her the luxury of donning clothes fitted for a primary
school student, and she enjoys buying her shoes from the downtown children’s
department store.

X I bought a bag.
Vague

It was a black ladies’ document bag which I bought from Isetan Orchard. I made

✔
sure it was capacious enough to take the weight of all my files and books.
There was a front zipped compartment with smart vertical lines. The main
Concrete compartments were divided into two, one broader and the other narrower.
Another section secured by Velcro and a zip could be found at the back. The
leather handles gave a good, smooth feel, and very importantly, there was a
nicely contoured shoulder piece for the long black straps.

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Now it is your turn to try it out! Your teacher will assign you to work on one of the
following questions.
Use what you have learned above to turn the sentences below into a detailed and
descriptive paragraph (at least 3 sentences). You may work in pairs.
1)

X The man in the train smelt really bad.

Vague

The man Sat next to me and I thought i smelt Rotton eggs mixed

✔ with the most foul smelling ingredients in the world he was a

Concrete mixture of all of those things I can see that the people around were
all looking at him at the corner of their eys ,at the next stop I
sprinted out of there and till this day i still remembered the smell

2)

X The bus was relatively empty.

Vague

It was peak hours and was ready to cramp in with all the

✔ other people but when I saw the amount of people i was

surprised as every other day there would be lots of
Concrete
people squeezed together but today it was empty it was
rather odd then strange

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