BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 6 ( Descriptive Text ) Reading And Speaking Skills

BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 6- Descriptive Text-  Reading And Speaking Skills IGNOU Subject

 INTRODUCTION 

• The word descriptive has been derived from the term 'describe'.

• Descriptive text gives a detailed description of a place, person or a thing. 

• This kind of writing differs from others as it enables a picture being formed in the mind of the reader of the thing being described. 

• Reading descriptive text provides the picture of the thing described. 

• According to Janeen Lewis, descriptive writing describes a person, place or thing in such a way that the reader feels she is experiencing what is being described. 

• In this chapter, we will study the features of descriptive texts and how to comprehend such writings.

FEATURES OF DESCRIPTIVE TEXTS

Some of the features of descriptive texts are given below

To Show or to Tell 

• Descriptive writing relies on appealing to the sensory system and makes us experience the writing through senses instead of direct thoughts.

• Descriptive writing makes us understand than telling us directly what we need to think is the process of 'showing' instead of 'telling'. 

• It is an indirect method of telling something.

• The following examples can be considered:

(a) Telling

• "The room was empty and smelled exceptionally stale.

• There was no furniture or any kind of living presence.

 

(b) Showing

• "The apartment smelled of stale food, cabbage, wet waste; mixed with old sweaty socks.

• Dust strewn everywhere, I could see a bit around the room due to the sunlight seeping in from a broken curtain less window."

Figurative Language

• Figurative language means the language that has figures of speech and allusions.

• Such writing is used to create images in the mind of the reader.

• It does not allude to the literal meaning of words for the reader to infer meaning out of them and ignite a creative thought process which comes from the process 'showing' and not 'telling'.

• Descriptive writing uses figurative language to give a vivid picture of the thing it is describing.

READING STRATEGIES

• Good readers think aloud when they read.

• Before reading, good readers set goals for their reading.

• They note the structure or organization of the text and create a mental overview of the text to help them decide whether it is relevant to their goals.

• If something is confusing to them, they use their background knowledge to try to clarify the meanings of words and phrases.

The Following Points Show what the act of Reading Entails

(1) Think Aloud

• The first step should be to try and understand the text.

• After having understood it, the reader can then explain it back to himself.

(ii) Set goals before reading

• Before beginning to read, the reader should know the purpose of reading.

• Goal will help the reader to focus on the things he is looking for in the text.

• Keeping that goal in mind, the reader can start reading the passage.

(iii) Structure

• If the reader is able to identify the type of essay, he can predict what he might find in the essay.

(iv) Mental Overview

• The techniques of skimming can be used for thus.

• When the reader starts reading, he should begin to make mental notes of certain keywords and lines that give him an overall gist of the passage.

(v) Connection between sentences

• The reader should connect sentences in the next.

• If the sentences are not linked, it will affect in understanding.

(vi) Predict and Revise

• This strategy allows the reader to read faster. If the reader understands what the passage is about, he knows what it might be saying. 

• This will allow him to predict what to expect and hence he can understand the passage quickly.

vii) Be Selective

• The reader has to decide and select the things which he believes are important.

Viii) Summarize

• Making a summary of each paragraph in about two to three lines will help the reader comprehend the given passage.

READ MORE- BEGLA- 138- UNIT- 5 ( Expository Text )