How to describe an object

How to describe objects

Learning English means hearing many new words you’ve never come across before. When you talking to someone and say a word you don’t know it’s important for you to find out what it is. Here’s how we can ask for the meaning of a noun and how we can describe objects. This exercise will help you learn a few useful expressions as well as reviewing your vocabulary. How many of these objects do you know?

What’s a pen? It’s something we use to write with.

What’s a balloon? It’s a brightly coloured rubber bag that gets bigger when filled with air or gas. They are used as party decorations.

What’s a spoon? It’s the thing we use to stir your coffee / it’s the thing we use to eat soup with.

What’s a telescope? It’s the tube shaped object we use to see the stars or things that are far away.

What’s a lawn-mover? It’s the thing we use to cut grass.

What’s a giraffe? It’s an African animal that has a very long neck.

Is there an objects that is unique to your country or culture that native English-speakers might not know. What is it’s name and what is it used for? Write a sentence describing this object in the comments area.

Now read through these questions and decide which objects are being described:

It’s the thing you wear around our waists to keep our trousers up.
It’s the object you wear on your wrist that shows you the time.
It’s the small piece of paper we put on letters before we send them.

What’s salt?
What’s pepper?
What’s sugar

What’s geography?
What’s biology
What’s history?

It’s the flying vehicle that has an engine and wings.
It’s the coloured liquid we use to change the colour of walls.
It’s the flat round object we put food on.

cut paper
fold paper
glue paper

snake
spider
shark
snail

listen to your heart
look inside your ears
check your weight

Writing for design students, part 2: Describing things

In Part 1 of this series I outlined a structure that can be used as a starting point for pretty much any text in a design education environment, regardless of its length. This means that the structure will be less explicit in a shorter text, and expanded in a longer one. In a short essay (say, 1,000 words) each section might correspond to one or two or three paragraphs, with no separate headings. On the other hand, a dissertation or thesis will need to expand some of the sections into more than one, in order to go into the required depth of discussion.

At the heart of a good structure is the section describing the subject matter — be it one or more artefacts, an act of making, or a series of ideas (section 3 in the framework). A well-done description:

and generally puts things in the right place for your reader to engage with the core arguments in your text.

So, here’s some pointers for this section of your work. I write referring to artefacts, since they are likely to be the most common case for design students, but you can apply this approach to an essay on other people’s texts, for example.

View things at multiple scales

Start by describing an object at the scale that connects the object to its context: the overall physical properties, and its position within its environment of use. Foreground any aspects relevant to your subject, and downplay peripheral information. (For example, describe the book as if you are viewing it closed, noting its dimensions, and any notable features of the binding. Note its format and physical properties.) Draw on your research to connect the object to the period and place of its making, and the technological environment. This scale enables you to place it in a cultural, business, geographic, technological, and user context.

Move your scale closer to the scale at which a user interacts with the object. (In the case of a book, the layout of its spreads.) This level represents the design decisions embodied by the object, and provides insights into the agents of its making (authors, clients, editors, typesetters, and so on). It is the level which reflects the conventions that apply at the time and place of its making, and any departure from these that the object represents. This scale makes connections to genres, and enables a description of several items across specific features, rather than serially, one after the other (more on this later).

Lastly, describe the object at the scale that reveals its construction as a product of identifiable, discreet actions. (In the case of a book: the types or fonts used, the effects of the typesetting methods employed, the manner of making and placing illustrations, and so on.) This level reveals the potential and limitations in the decisions of makers. It is a scale often invisible to the user, but it is the foundation for any narrative focusing on the making of objects.

To summarise: describe for context, for meaning, and for making.

Expand into wider meaning

Especially when examining several objects, this structure will allow you to avoid a linear description (“this thing, that thing, then the other thing”) and create a thematic description: “this aspect in all of the objects, then that aspect in all of the objects, then the other aspect in all of the objects”. (For example, you could be looking at text areas across many books to identify the bias towards justified setting in hot-metal systems; then connect this to the typesetting of list-like matter, like contents pages, that do not really need to be typeset justified, and highlight the dot leaders spanning the page.)

By separating out aspects across objects, a thematic description allows you to make connections between objects and the notions that drive your subject, or the research questions you are investigating. It allows you to identify technological or other factors that underscore whole categories of work, and make connections to the ideas that might be driving the makers of the objects. You can distinguish between trends (the patterns of action by many) and exceptional narratives, which signpost decisions by individuals who redefine ideas in our field.

Thematic descriptions form the basis of a reflective discussion of subjects relating to design. This is because they enable you to write about objects within a network of makers situated in wider communities, the conditions prescribing their actions, and the knowledge they draw on and generate.

In other words, thematic descriptions help you write about design as a cultural enterprise.

First things first

Before you start, familiarise yourself with the general context of your subject: what’s the culture, the economy, and the professional norms in the society in which your objects exit? What are the relevant technologies? (For books: understand the technologies of typesetting, how publishing finances and distributes titles, and the different roles in the chain: authors, editors, production managers, and so on.)

Then, use the process above to make observations about objects, in a loosely structured system. This should allow you to rearrange snippets of information according to the themes you identify. You can use any system that works for you (and there are several suitable software-based tools) as long as you can relate discreet elements — imagine rearranging Post-Its on a wall. for many subjects, starting with a timeline is an easy way in.

Arrange your observations in a manner that allows your themes to emerge, and you can start writing your text following the structure in front of you.

Part 1 is about giving structure to your writing.

Part 3 covers three key areas in essay writing.

Descriptive Writing Task: How To Describe an Object

Descriptive Writing Task: How To Describe an Object

In this mini-lesson, I’ll go through the basics of how to describe an object in detail – and not just in a boring way! Many of the creative writing and descriptive writing questions in exams require you to focus on an object, person, place or thing.

Thanks for reading! If you find this useful, take a look at our full Basic Descriptive Writing and Advanced Descriptive Writing courses.

Lots of my students get stuck on description; they tell me that they can’t think of anything to write. Or they feel like they can only just list details or features of the object without being ‘creative’. So, if this is relatable for you then keep reading as we’ll be breaking down how to go beyond basic descriptions and transform them into something personal, powerful and meaningful.

Descriptive Writing Task:

My Answer:

When doing this task with a student, I chose a candlestick that was on my desk. I decided to structure my paragraphs so that one was about the physical description of the candlestick, and the other was about its history and how it might have been made. Here’s my piece below:

A wax cylinder emerges from this candlestick, grey and ghostly – strange implacable colour; neither brown, nor black, nor white. Its burnt black wick curves slightly to the right, emerging out of a smoky pool of wax that has softened, melted and solidified again, into a curve – warped by the concentrated heat of a long snuffed-out flame. The monochromatic of the candle is directly opposed to the candlestick itself, which is awash with swirling patterns and colours, hand-painted onto a dark background and finished with a reflective gloss. Dust, however, has settled over its base and dulled the sheen to a milky pall over the bright colours below.

Far off, in an ancient land, I can imagine an old woman, sitting at her table in a village somewhere – perhaps in Siberia, Sweden or Finland. Wrapped in a patterned shawl to shelter herself from the biting Winter cold, she has only her fingerprints exposed, for dexterity, and in them, she holds an elegantly small paintbrush. The candlestick has been carved, turned and polished by her neighbour, and it is her task to transform it from a dull wooden object into something magical: a work of art. She paints luxurious crimson plums, bulbous yellow grapes (all perfectly circular) and intricate, swirling foliage that finishes off the folk art design. She will likely sell this object to a trader for a few pennies, perhaps enough to afford a measly potato soup for supper. Years later, I will purchase it as a fine antique in a high-end gallery, in an upmarket quarter of Harrogate, North Yorkshire.

Daniel von Appen on Unsplash

Final Task: Review your work

Take a look back over your written piece, and do a short analysis of it – you can either write this out or just think about it. How successfully do you think the piece was? Are you happy with it? Why/why not?

Find three details that you are most proud of in your piece. Why are they great?

Find three details that could be improved. How would you improve them?

Thanks for reading! If you found this useful, take a look at our full Basic Descriptive Writing and Advanced Descriptive Writing courses, as well as other English Language and Literature courses.

IELTS Simon

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August 13, 2010

IELTS Speaking Part 2: describe an object

In IELTS speaking part 2, you might be asked to describe an object. For example:

Choose something easy, like a mobile phone:

I’m going to describe my mobile phone. I bought it online / in a mobile phone shop / it was a present from.

I use the phone to keep in touch with friends and family, for communication by voice, text and email. It has various features like video, MP3 player, wireless Internet, digital camera and games. It’s easy to share photos and music. I use it for almost everything, it even has a calendar that reminds me about appointments.

Note:
I’ve underlined the best phrases for IELTS band 7 or higher.

Comments

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One of my friend got a topic which i think its hard to answer under exam pressure:

Explain about one thing that could change your life.

How to answer this question?

Hi,
I’m no Simon, but I want to try this one. I will probably talk about my mobile phone because it is something I am familiar with. However, I will emphasise on how it would change my daily life. I will mention some unique functions that are not available with my previous phones. I think it won’t be wrong as long as I justify why I think it could change my life.

I also think I can talk about something I don’t have but want to have. I can talk about anything which could potentially change my life, such as a car, a video game console and even a house.

Hi Felora and Jack,

I think this is one of those questions that seems difficult when you first look at it. But when you think about it more, it’s actually a great question to get.

Hi Simon and Jack,

Thanks for ideas.

Hi Simon,
Is it because of the word «could», the answer should be something I don’t have?

No problem Felora.

Yes Jack. It’s because of the word ‘could’.

To get a band 7 or higher you need to use correct collocations (i.e. use words together correctly) and some «less common» vocabulary. I think the words and phrases underlined in this lesson are examples of both of these things.

I suppose the decision about what language is «less common» is a bit subjective, but examiners have all had many years of teaching experience, and they will notice when you say/write something that most students don’t use (or that most students don’t use correctly).

I can’t remember how many 8-9 scores I gave, quite a lot of 8s and a few 9s I think.

Pronunciation is part of your speaking score, and correct use of weak/strong forms will make your English sound clearer and more natural. However, you could still get a 9 if you only used strong forms because this is not a big consideration for examiners. Clear speech and good intonation are more important.

Hope this helps

Hi simon,
I don’t know how to answer these questions as follow. Please give me some suggestion.

Some people cannot keep up with the development of science and technology. What should they do?

Do you think it is important to develop science and technology?

How does scientific research benefit our life, education and so on?

What do you think is the most significant/important scientific achievement in recent 50 years?

What scientific research should be made in future?

You´ve given me too much to answer in a comment, but I´ll try to look at these questions in a lesson soon.

Thanks for the useful questions.

Hi Simon,
Can you suggest some ideas to answer this question,plz : how important is it to make a good first impression?why?

Maybe you could think about what you would say in your own language to answer this question.

My advice is to think of some example situations like a job interview, meeting a new colleague/customer/boss, or meeting a friend of your parents. Why is it important to make a good impression on the other person in these situations?

Hope this helps

«Target Band 7» is not my book. I think you are confusing me with the people at ielts-blog.com

I would like to talk about a mobile phone my dad purchased it for me as a gift 2 months ago. It is an HTC HD 2 smartphone with lots of capabilities including 5 MP Camera, integrated WIFI, big storage and over 3 hours’ time of battery life.

My phone is becoming an essential part of my life. It actually holds all my contacts, my photos, my music collection, my recorded videos. I also got an instant access to my favorite websites. It is like having my whole life in my pocket.

I simply can’t live without it.

Posted by: Joseph Ghassan | May 09, 2011 at 19:08

Great preparation Joseph!

Rocking Answer boss.

hi simon
it is possible most of student speak about mobile phone.is it no problem?
thanks

No, that’s not a problem.

Talk about a possession that you used to have you should explain:
how log you had it
what you used to use it for
how often you used to use it

sir,can i use this mobile phone topic for the above mentioned «possession» task?

Yes, use the mobile phone topic.

I’m facing a big trouble in reading test. I have given my exam three time but never score more than 5.5 bands. Can you suggest me good tips for reading test, especially for the matching paragraph and True/False questions. I have my exam on this 1st of sept.
Thanks for your help.

Hi Simone,
Can you please advice what can be said in these topics
— Describe somthing that you owned for a long time
— Describe a peace of you music you like

hi simon,
can u give me some tips of how to brainstorm ideas as fast as possible in writing task 2?
tks a lot 🙂
Linh Nguyeen

hai sir,
i am sankar actually i am from telugu medium,
i have a technical knowledge about my graduation but in gds,describe an object such kind of quetions raised i am not performing well.
so please consider me and give some valuable instruction regarding to how to say some thing fluent in english
thanks

I purchased a laptop through Amazon website one month ago. I received it recently because it took fortnight to be delivered.
My laptop made my life very cozy and colorful because it has lots of essential features that I need to use every day, such as staying in touch with my friends through social networks, talking with my sister who lives abroad and doing my daily assignments. It also gave me wide opportunities in preparing IELTS successfully surfing in the internet and recording my progress in documents.
When I haven’t got my laptop it was difficult for me to deal with my tasks so fast and successfully. Its speedy work allows me to gain lots of achievements in my career. I think my life and welfare is wholly depend on this laptop. So it manages to deal with all my problems.

Mr Simon
I am very grateful to you for this web-site. You really are a great man.

Thanks to everyone

Thank you Fira it was very helpful for me

My exam next saturday and iam guite confusing. I feel there is many subject. In speaking still i donot read it yet

is pet condsidered?

hi Simon, here’s my describe

I am going to describe my ipad 2. I bought it from a local Apple Store in Shanghai last year.

It’s a very useful device with a beautifully sleek apple design. It has various functions and features, powered by its hundreds of thousands of apps. I can use it to play games, to read my favorite books, to listen to the music, and of course to surf the internet. Also it’s a efficient assistant in my business related jobs, like giving presentations, taking meeting notes, receiving and replying emails, for example. Most importantly, it’s very light and amazingly portable. I use it almost every day.

I can’t be more satisfied with my ipad 2. It makes my life and work much easier than I have ever imagined. It allows me to share my articles and photos in a simple and easy way. It’s like having my whole life just under my fingertips. I couldn’t live without it.

please help me in ielts speaking partner my skype id is mudasar.rehman55

I do want a band 7 and actually I think I know how to use some uncommon expressions, but sometimes I cannot well organize them, maybe a sentence would sound okay, but it’s hard to connect them together. I mean my cohesion and logic are quite poor.

can we speak about a pair of glasses? it does hold importance in some people’s life

Is this enough for 2 minutes talking in part 2, Mr.Simon?

I purchased an android phone last week via online. It is quite helpful for me to keep in touch myself with my friends, family, relatives, near and dear ones.
It is of black colour with 8 megapixel camera. It is slim n light in weight. It feel like having an entire world in my fist because it comprises of many features like camera,google, contacts, music,applications downloader n many more.
I can save picture,Videos, movies for longer duration as long as i wish to. I love my phone not only due to its features bt also a lot of memories are related to it as i purchased it on my marriage anniversary.
With a single click i can have the information what i search for.
I can not even think my life without it. I can give/sell it to anybody but i need another one.

Sorry!
Its I* not it* in second line of second paragraph

Tht gud am gng 2 wrte a gd assy

My name is Mary and I’m interested in taking the IELTS exam this summer, so I’m preparing for it.
I’m working on a subject, could you be so kind in offering a feedback to a speaking subject, please?
The subject is about describing a historical place that you know about

I have a special interest in visiting famous places and on my list historical places always get preferences. I have visited many historical places like castles, museums and many others. Such historical places and site attractions mesmerized me. The historical place that I would like to talk about is the Peles Castle, which is situated in Sinaia, on Prahova’s Valley and 44 km from Brasov, Romania. It is basically one of the most important historical monuments from our country. It has a unique feature and both a historical and artistic significance. The construction of the castle began in 1873 and ended 10 years later.
The historical meaning of this place is connected to king Carol the first, king of Romania, who reigned from 1866 to 1914. Interestingly, the king visited first time Sinaia in the summer of 1866. He was deeply impressed about the beauty of those places so he decided the construction of the castle. Arguably, the location of the castle wasn’t a coincidence as at that time it was close to the Romanian border with Austro-Hungary.
Its historical importance grew throughout time as it became the summer residence of the royal family. Here were also held important political meetings, like deciding Romania’s neutrality from the First World War.
Clearly, the castle also housed many important people, like writers, musicians, but also kings and queens, such as Franz Joseph.
In this place took place different events, such as the birth of the future king Carol the second and of Michael the first, not to mention the wedding of Princess Ileana.
Personally, I have heard and seen this famous place and when I witnessed it for the first time, I became speechless. I was impressed about the beauty of the place, the way the castle was decorated, about its historical objects such as coins, money, the room in which the Royal family dined or signed treaties, about its jewellery, pottery, the architecture of the castle and last but not least its unique style.

Looking forward to hearing from you soon

Hello simon
I recently took place in a free discussion class
for this week we are going to talk about an object and I really prefer not to talk about my phone!
Do you have any other objects in your mind that is easy to talk about?

Hi Here is my answer
I am going to describe phone. I bought new phone in a mobile phone shop when Screen of my old phone broken

I use the phone to study english material for improve my english skill by reading,listening etc. It has various features like big screen, wireless, video player. It is simple to read a news, listen to podcast, take to photos. I use it for almost everything it even has notebook that forget what ı want to remember.

My phone is essential part of my life. İt holds my contact list, my photos that ı dont want to lose. But ı can live without it because if ı dont have phone, ı can use computer.

How to describe «object» arguments in jsdoc?

But how do I describe how the parameters object should be structured? For example it should be something like:

6 Answers 6

Trending sort

Trending sort is based off of the default sorting method — by highest score — but it boosts votes that have happened recently, helping to surface more up-to-date answers.

It falls back to sorting by highest score if no posts are trending.

Switch to Trending sort

Parameters With Properties

If a parameter is expected to have a particular property, you can document that immediately after the @param tag for that parameter, like so:

There used to be a @config tag which immediately followed the corresponding @param, but it appears to have been deprecated (example here).

By now there are 4 different ways to document objects as parameters/types. Each has its own uses. Only 3 of them can be used to document return values, though.

For objects with a known set of properties (Variant A)

This syntax is ideal for objects that are used only as parameters for this function and don’t require further description of each property. It can be used for @returns as well.

For objects with a known set of properties (Variant B)

For objects that will be used at more than one point in source

In this case a @typedef comes in very handy. You can define the type at one point in your source and use it as a type for @param or @returns or other JSDoc tags that can make use of a type.

You can then use this in a @param tag:

Or in a @returns :

For objects whose values are all the same type

The first type (string) documents the type of the keys which in JavaScript is always a string or at least will always be coerced to a string. The second type (number) is the type of the value; this can be any type. This syntax can be used for @returns as well.

Resources

Useful information about documenting types can be found here:

PS:

to document an optional value you can use [] :