Descriptive writing is HUGE part of the GCSE English Language exams. These are three mistakes I see students making ALL THE TIME! If you’re unsure about descriptive writing, check out my guide to descriptive writing here!
Make sure you’re not making any of this mistakes in your work and shooting yourself in the foot!
Mistake No.1 – Not staying in the same tense
Okay…this is a biggie and a mistake I see A LOT!
What tense should your description stay in?
THE PAST TENSE
…and what tense should it stay in?
THE PAST TENSE
…there we go…easy!
Students often start out with the best of intentions, beginning firmly in the past tense. However, they end up sneaking into the present before they’ve even got to their second paragraph. Often, they end up sliding in between them both for the entire description!
Finally, no matter how good your description is…this is a huge element. It will cost you dearly if you make this mistake!
…and it’s amazing how many people do it without realising! Have a look over your work…have you been suspect to this one before?
Mistake No.2 – Writing a shopping list not a description
A shopping list? What does she even mean??!
In many of the GCSE language exams you are asked to write a description and you are often given an image to describe or a particular scenario. When we get that question, it can be so tempting to just dive right in and get going. I understand how nerve-wracking exams can be. There is nothing more frightening than a blank page and a clock counting down!
However, when we are in this situation we can often end up simply listing everything in the picture or the scene. We are eager to just get started and WRITE SOMETHING.
That’s when we end up writing a shopping list rather than a description!
When you come to the end of your description, you realise you haven’t actually explained what anything looks like, you’ve just written a long list of everything in the picture! No one wants that!
If you’re struggling with what to write, check out my post on how to structure your descriptive writing here!
Mistake No.3 – Putting yourself in the description
Putting yourself in the description and writing in the first person will not necessarily kill your essay but if you’re aiming for those top bands…it’s probably something you want to avoid!
WHY? Because writing from the first person is far easier than writing in the third. Writing in the third person takes more skill and thought, especially when it comes to sentence structures.
Also…traditional novels are all written in the third person unless they are in a diary form so writing in the third person is going to look more professional and formal!
Don’t forget…one of the best ways to improve your descriptive writing is to READ! Check out my blog post on why you should read!
And…that’s it! There we have it! Are you making any of these rookie errors in your work? Take some time to look back over your previous descriptions and double check you’re not falling prey to these deadly mistakes! Also, don’t forget to include language devices in there! Check out my free eBook on language devices here!