Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira - Licenciatura en Lengua Inglesa Course: Basic English – Writing Project

Descriptive Paragraphs Descriptive paragraphs explain how something is (a person, a place, an animal, an object…) and provides the reader with detailed information about it. A descriptive paragraph consists of three basic parts: the topic sentence (It usually is the most general sentence and has the main idea of the paragraph), the supporting sentences (these are sentences that talk about or explain the topic sentence), and the concluding sentence (this is the last sentence of the paragraph that repeats the main idea or just gives a final comment about the topic).

Description of a place: “Welcome to Barcelona”

Barcelona, Spain’s second biggest city and the capital of Catalonia, is a popular tourist

attraction for its landscapes and traditional places. The city is ideally located for both the mountains and the beach. Although, it is on the coast, it is only a few hours away from the Pyrenees. Barcelona is both modern and historic. It has an efficient underground system and visitors can find a variety of stylish hotels, shops and restaurants where you can eat exotic and local food. In addition, there are many prestigious museums, extraordinary buildings and remarkable monuments. The oldest area of the city, the Barrio Gótico, is an amazing place to sightsee because of its old buildings and outstanding architecture. Barcelona definitely has beautiful scenery and a great number of sites any visitor could enjoy.

On the other hand, the most interesting thing about Barcelona may be the Catalan

heritage and its wonderful festivities. Approximately 70% of the people living in and around Barcelona speak Catalan, a Romance language related to Spanish. However, both Catalan and Spanish are both official languages and are widely spoken. Large groups of people who originally come from other parts of Spain reside in Barcelona and tourists are welcomed with their kind hospitality and generosity. Catalans have an enthusiasm for a range of traditional festivals, religious and modern celebrations. Festes de la Mercé is one of the key annual events and takes place in September in honor of Barcelona’s patron saint. In addition to local traditions, some of Europe’s biggest music festivals attract people from all over the world each year. All of this cultural background makes Barcelona a great place to visit.

TOPIC SENTENCE

CONCLUDING SENTENCE

SUPPORTING SENTENCES

My City Project

1. Think of an imaginary place and write two (2) short descriptive paragraphs which must include a topic sentence, supporting sentences and a concluding sentence. You could give detailed information of your city around some of the following topics:

Name, location, geographical description.

Lifestyle and People.

Weather and transport.

Tourist places. Don’t forget to make use of adjectives when making the descriptions and let your creativity flow in your writing.

2. Send your writing drafts to the teacher’s e-mail for correction. In the meantime, look for pictures or make drawings on your own which will appear on the poster.

3. Read the following tips in order to make your poster:

Use nice bright colors and contrast to get attention. Black on white or white on black or dark blue look great. Avoid bright letters on bright backgrounds like yellow letters on white paper.

Show the two paragraphs in clear understandable font and include pictures, images or drawings according to the description of your city.

Take time to organize the poster to effectively present your ideas, pictures and drawings. Remember that the more creative you become in the making of the poster the better.

4. The poster of your imaginary city will be exhibited on April 30th (Cultural Day).

“Where there is a will there is a way”