What is a factual description?
A factual description describes a particular, place or thing. Its purpose is to tell about the subject by describing its features without including personal opinions. A factual description differs from an information report because it describes a specific subject rather than a general group.
Examples of factual description texts include:
1. Descriptions of a particular building
2. Descriptions of a specific animal
3. Descriptions of a particular place.
4. Descriptions of a specific person.
Features of A Factual Description
Constructing features of a factual description
A typical description has an opening paragraph including the subject of the description, followed by a series of paragraphs each describing one feature of the subject. There can also be a final concluding section that signals the end of the description.
Grammatical features of a factual description
Factual description usually include the following grammatical features:
1. verbs in the present tense
2. adjectives to describe the features of the subject
3. topic sentences to begin paragraphs and organise the various aspects of description.
The factual description scaffold:
1. A general opening statement in the first paragraph
a. This statement introduces the subject of the description to the audience.
b. It can give the audience brief details about the when, where, who,or what of the subject.
2. A series of paragraphs about the subject:
a. Each paragraph usually begins with a topic sentence.
b. The topic sentence previews the details that will be contained in the remainder of the paragraph.
c. Each paragraph should describe one feature of the subject.
d. These paragraphs build the description of the subject.
3. A conclusion paragraph ( optional )
The concluding pargraph signals the end of the text.