as like they see, feel, and experience what the story tell. Description could briefly explain and evolve about process, compare, definitions, and other strategies.
Meanwhile, the generic structure of description is identification and description.
c. Argumentative writing
Argumentative writing is a kind of writing that aims to prove the truth or untruth of a statement or situations. The writer tries to show the empirical data
by giving a logical appeal, pathetic or affective appeals, such as authority, empirical data, logical appeals, and values or attitude.
d. Narrative writing
Narrative original from “to narrate” means to tell. This is the kind of writing that means to tell a story. It can be used to introduce or illustrate a
complicated subject wich writer often uses narration to provide a detailed, personal account of “what happened”. Narrative is about a chronological story
true or just a fictional. It deals with problematic events which lead to a crisis or turning point of some kind, which in turn finds a resolution.
From some texts mentioned above, the texts which are learned by the students at VIII grade are: descriptive text, recount text, and narrative text.
B. Descriptive Text
1. The Definition of Descriptive Text
Descriptive is an activity to describe something in detail interestingly. It is a verbal picture of a person, place, and object. When people describe something
or someone through essay writing, heshe tries to perform as real as possible that can attract the reader’s sense
8
. While according to Qofiah that sensory language include five senses; sight, smell, taste, and touch. People will describe through
sense of sight for the first time about the object that shehe seen
9
.
8
Donald Pharr, Writing Today: Context and Option for the Real World, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2005, p. 20.
9
Neneng Qofiah, Developing Students Writing Skill of Descriptive Text by Using Mind Mapping Strategy, Skripsi, Faculty of Tarbiyah and Teachers’ Training, Syarif Hidayatullah State
Islamic University, Jakarta, 2012, p.11.
In describing of something, the writer try to present the entire thing that you feel through the eyes, ear, nose, tounge, and skin. This statement is supported
by Betty opinion that “description is a recording of a concrete details that you see, hear, smell, taste or touch. To provide depth and understanding, authors often
include an impression of an experience and its significance”
10
. Visual people can automatically describe thing or someone when they are reading.This means that,
as the writer, you should perform the detail of the thing specifically about the object that you write. In order your audience can figure it out your word as real as
possible, you should observe the detail that appeal to your audience sense sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch. This statement is stated by John Langan
11
.
2. The Purposes of Descriptive Text
When we do something, it must have a purpose included in that activity. According to Barbara Fine Clouse, descriptive text has some purposes for
the reader, such as; to entertain, to express feeling, to inform to someone, to relate experience, etc. The detail of each is stated below:
a. To entertain, an amusing description of a teenager’s bedroom
b. To express feelings, a description of your favorite outdoor retreat so your
reader understands why you enjoy it so much. c.
To relate experience, a description of your childhood home to convey a sense of the poverty you grew up in.
d. To inform for a reader unfamiliar with the subject and to create a fresh
appreciation for the familiar, a description of a newborn calf for a reader who has never seen one and a description of an apple to help the reader
rediscover the joys of this simple fruit. e.
To persuade to convince the reader that some music videos degrade women, a description of a degrading music video
12
.
10
Betty Mattix Dietsch, op.cit.,p. 140.
11
Langan, op.cit., p. 243.
12
Barbara Fine Clouse, The Students’ Writer, New York: McGraw-Hill Companies, 2002, p. 143.
In brief, descriptive text helps the reader describing something clearly. It may inform the reader about something new to the reader in detail picture
through written form, hence the reader get the real picture of the object as vivid as the real.
3. Kinds of Descriptive Text
Based on Joolys opinion, descriptive paragraph consist of five components; description of a thing, description of a person, and description of a
place, description of process, and description of event. The detail of each is stated below
13
: a.
Description of a Thing Object The important thing in describing a thing is pay attention about its size,
shape, and color of the object
14
. The reader can easily describe the thing as vivid as a real if the writer can present component stated above in his wriitng.
b. Description of a Person
Description of people through biography and autobiographies is more complex because the whole characteristic about the person can’t found in entire
book. But actually there are some word and phrases that can paint of the person as detail. Those involve:
1 Height
: quite tall, rather short, average height. 2
Build : quite slim, thin average build, well build, rather heavy and fat.
3 Face
: small eyes, large eyes, round eyes, narrow eyes, brown eyes, blue eyes, black eyes.
4 Lips
: thick lips, thin lips, red lips, and sensual lips. 5
Mouth : small, round, thin, and large.
6 Nose
: flat nose, pointed nose, small button nose, and pug nose. 7
Skin : dark complexion, fair complexion, black, white, and a scar.
8 Age
: 17 years old, 18 years old. 9
Hair : thick hair, curly hair, wavy hair, straight hair.
13
Jooly in Siti Aisyah Ginting, loc. cit..
14
Sandra McKey in Arif Prayoga, op.cit., p. 36.
