Descriptive Text (Update)

Teks descriptive adalah teks yang bertujuan untuk mendeskripsikan suatu benda, tempat, atau orang tertentu.

Struktur teks descriptive:

1. Identification (identifikasi): pendahuluan tentang apa dan siapa yang akan dideskripsi­kan.

2. Description (deskripsi): berisi ciri-ciri khusus yang dimiliki benda, tempat, atau orang yang dideskripsikan.

Ciri-ciri teks descriptive:

·  menggunakan the simple present tense

·  menggunakan attribute verb, seperti be (am, is, are)

Contoh:

My house is on Jalan Kartini. It is big and nice.

It has two floors. It has a living room, a small kitchen and a bathroom on the first floor. On the second floor there are three bedrooms and a bathroom. My parents' bedroom is big. My brother's room is next to my room. My room is small but I like it.

It has light green wall. There is a desk with a computer on it. I do homework there. There is also a nice garden in front of my house and I often play in the garden. We love our house.

Source: Scaffolding English for Junior High School Students Grade VII

Contoh Soal

Read the text and answer questions I and 2.

"The Earth's greatest gorge", the Grand Canyon is located in northwestern Arizona. Its vastness is 217 miles long, and its widest spans over 17 miles across. It is not surprising that it has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the World.

The walls of the canyon are made of limestone, sandstone, lava and other rocks. As the day passes, the rocks reflect different colors. Many tourists come to the canyon just to watch the rocks change color.

Cottonwood and willow trees grow at the bottom of the canyon. Many varieties of cacti grow here as well. The canyon is also home to many animals, such as bobcats, coyotes, kangaroo rats and deer.

Today about 4 million visitors come, to Grand Canyon each year. Seeing the Grand Canyon is always a breathtaking and unforgettable experience.

1. What makes the visitors feel interested watching the rocks?

A. They have different sizes.

B. They reflect human's life.

C. They can change into different colour.

D. They can change its form.

(Ujian Nasional 2008/2009)

2. ". . . Grand Canyon is always a breathtaking and unforgettable experience." (Last paragraph) The underlined word has the same meaning as ...

A. strong emotional

B. available

C. amazing

D. unbelievable

(Ujian Nasional 2008/2009)

Read the text below and answer questions 3 and 4.

The Eka Karya Botanical Garden is a unique place to visit in Bali. There, visitors can stroll through cool and tranquil gardens, visit temples and traditional Balinese buildings, and learn about Balinese botany and traditional. The gardens combine scientific and conservation goals in a cool, mountainous setting; with adjacent forests and lakes, wildlife such as birds and monkeys, and the attractive landscaping all joined in harmony. With a rich collection of 1,187 species, the Eka Karya Botanical Garden is not only a forerunner in conserving Indonesia's flora, but also one of the most beautiful gardens of its kind in the world.

The primary task of the Botanical Garden is to conduct research, inventory and protect Indonesian plant species, native to moist upland areas, particularly from eastern Indonesia, also to provide useful scientific services and to increase public appreciation for conservation.

3. What is the Eka Karya Botanical Garden like?

A. Kind.

B. Useful.

C. Unique.

D. Harmony.

(Ujian Nasional 2008/2009)

4. "There, visitors can stroll through cool. (Paragraph 1) What does the underlined word mean?

A. Walk slowly.

B. Examine carefully.

C. Observe seriously.

D. Stay temporarily.

(Ujian Nasional 2008/2009)

Read the text and answer questions 5 to 8.

Vanessa Mae Vanakorn Nicholson is a musician.

She is only nineteen years old, but she is a world-famous violinist. When she plays classical violin concerts on her electric violin, the world listens.

Vanessa Mae is Thai-Chinese. Her mother is Chinese and her father is Thai. She is from Singapore, but she now lives in London with her mother and her English stepfather. She's got cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents in Thailand, Singapore, China and England.

Adapted from: Snapshot, Starter

5. What is the text about?

A. A violinist.

B. A musician.

C. A pianist.

D. An artist.

(Ujian Nasional 2007/2008)

6. Vanessa plays violin : . . .

A. badly

B. carefully

C. classically

D. wonderfully

(Ujian Nasional 2007/2008)

7. From the text we know that people ....

A. in the world are interested in all violinists

B. like to listen to Vanessa playing violin

C. are eager to play the violin with Vanessa

D. play the violin very well in a concert

(Ujian Nasional 2007/2008)

8. ". .., but she now lives in London with her mother and her English stepfather." (Paragraph 3) The word "stepfather" means a male who's married to ....

A. one's aunt

B. one's sister

C. one's mother

D. one's daughter

(Ujian Nasional 2007/2008)

Tips :

Kunci keberhasilan memahami sebuah teks adalah memahami makna kata atau kalimat dalam teks.

Dalam teks ini disebutkan dua macam profesi/ pekerjaan, yaitu musician (pemain musik) dan violinist (pemain biola).

Dalam bahasa Inggris, kata-kata yang mengacu pada nama suatu pekerjaan dapat dibentuk dari :

1. verb + -or

Contoh:

- constructor (perancang bangunan)

- sailor (pelaut)

- advisor (penasihat)

- editor (pemeriksa naskah)

2. verb + -er

Contoh:

- writer (penulis)

- teacher (guru/pengajar)

- speaker (juru bicara)

- announcer (orang yang membacakan pengumuman)

3. noun + -ist

Contoh:

- pianist (pemain piano)

- guitarist (pemain gitar)

- novelist (penulis novel)

.

4. man/-woman

Contoh:

- businessman / woman (pengusaha)

- policeman / woman (police officer = polisi)

Soal di atas merupakan contoh soal tentang, gambaran umum. Gambaran umum bacaan bisa merupakan topik utama atau ide pokok. Soal-soal yang menanyakan gambaran umum biasanya menggunakan kalimat "What is the text about?" atau "What does the text tell you about?".

Untuk mengefahui gambaran umum teks descriptive kalian dapat melakukan kegiatan sebagai berikut.

1. Perhatikan subjek kalimat pertama dalam paragaf satu. Biasanya subjek kalimat pertama merupakan hal utama yang akan dideskripsikan. Sebagai contoh subjek kalimat pertama paragraf satu adalah Vanesa Mae. Jadi, isi teks tersebut adalah Vanessa Mae.

2. Perhatikan kata ganti orang atau benda (pronouns) yang sering muncul. Saat mendeskripsikan tentang ciri-ciri sesuatu atau seseorang, penulis pasti mengulang-ulang subjek yang dideskripsikan dengan pronouns. Sebagai contoh, saat mendeskripsikan Vanesa Mae, penulis menggunakan pronouns 'she ataupun possessive pronoun 'her'.

3. Perhatikan bagian identification teks descriptive yang biasanya terdapat dalam paragraf satu. Dalam identification dijelaskan tentang apa dan bagaimana sebuah subjek secara umum. Hal ini setidaknya membantu kalian mengetahui hal yang akan dideskripsikan. Namun, kalian juga perlu memahami bagian teks selanjutnya, yaitu bagian description karena penjelasan tentang subjeknya biasanya lebih rinci.

4. Catat gagasan utama setiap paragraf dan simpulkan gambaran umum teks tersebut.

Salah satu hal yang perlu kalian kuasai saat memahami teks adalah mengetahui makna kata. Dalam teks ini disebutkan salah satu jenis alat musik, yaitu violin (biola). Berikut ini merupakan nama-nama alat musik dalam bahasa Inggris.

- guitar (gitar)

- piano (piano)

- drum (drum)

- violin (biola)

- flute (seruling)

- saxophone (saksofon)

- trumpet (terompet)

- keyboard (keyboard)