🟦 Introduction
Hello sharp observer! 👋🖼️
Today we are exploring descriptive passages — writings that paint pictures with words! 🎨✍️
In your BECE exam, you might meet passages that describe a place, a person, an object, or an event.
Your job is to picture it clearly in your mind and understand the small details.
In this lesson, you’ll learn to:
Visualize what you read 🧠👀
Pick out important details quickly 🔍
Understand how description creates feeling and meaning 🎭
Answer BECE-style descriptive comprehension questions confidently! 🎯
Let’s sharpen your “mental camera”! 📸🚀
🟩 Key concepts and explanations
⭐ What is a descriptive passage?
A descriptive passage uses words to create vivid pictures in your mind.
It focuses on what something looks like, feels like, smells like, sounds like, or tastes like.
🖼️ Think of it as painting a beautiful scene — but using words instead of colours!
Descriptive passages often:
Focus on places 🌄 (e.g., a busy market, a forest at night)
Describe people 👩🦰 (e.g., a smiling grandmother)
Show objects 📦 (e.g., an ancient drum)
Capture events 🎉 (e.g., a colourful festival)
⭐ Important features of description
| 🎯 Feature | ✍️ What It Means | 🧠 Tip |
|---|---|---|
| Sensory details | Descriptions that appeal to your senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, taste. | Imagine you are there! |
| Adjectives | Words that describe (e.g., bright, dusty, sweet-smelling). | Pay attention to describing words. |
| Imagery | Strong word pictures (e.g., “The sun melted like butter on the horizon”). | Visualize the scene. |
| Mood and atmosphere | Feelings created (e.g., peaceful, scary, joyful). | Ask: How does this passage make me feel? |
⭐ Strategy for understanding descriptive passages
Follow these steps:
🧠 Read slowly and picture each sentence in your mind.
👀 Look for describing words and sensory language.
🖼️ Imagine the whole scene: What does it look like? How does it feel?
🔍 Pay attention to small but important details.
📝 Answer questions based only on what is described — not what you imagine extra.
🟨 Step-by-step walkthroughs
🔎 Example 1: Short description
Passage:
The garden was bursting with colour. Red roses, yellow sunflowers, and purple daisies swayed gently in the breeze. A faint scent of fresh earth filled the air, and bees buzzed lazily among the blossoms.
✅ Step 1: What do you see?
A colourful, lively garden with different flowers.
✅ Step 2: Which senses are used?
Sight (colours), smell (earthy scent), hearing (buzzing bees), touch (gentle breeze).
✅ Step 3: What is the mood?
Calm, peaceful, happy.
✅ Sample question:
Q: What three colours are mentioned in the garden?
A: Red, yellow, and purple.
🔎 Example 2: Person description
Passage:
Grandma Ama had silver hair tied neatly in a bun. Her bright eyes twinkled with kindness, and her wrinkled hands moved swiftly as she baked sweet-smelling bread.
✅ Main features:
Hair: silver, neat bun.
Eyes: bright, kind.
Hands: wrinkled, active.
Action: baking delicious bread.
✅ Mood created:
Warmth, love, homeliness.
🟨 Practice exercises
📝 Part 1: Fill in the missing sense
In each sentence, which sense is being used (sight, sound, smell, touch, or taste)?
The thunder roared loudly in the night. → ____________
The velvet cloth felt smooth under her fingers. → ____________
The aroma of roasted corn filled the market. → ____________
The mango tasted sweet and juicy. → ____________
📝 Part 2: Multiple-choice questions (MCQ)
Read the passage and answer:
Passage:
The village square was crowded with dancers dressed in shimmering costumes. The drums beat fiercely, and the air smelled of roasted meat and sweet herbs.
Question 1: What sense is mostly used in “drums beat fiercely”?
A. Sight
B. Touch
C. Sound
D. Smell
Question 2: What creates the festive mood in the passage?
A. Quiet music and empty streets
B. Colourful costumes and lively drumming
C. Shouts of angry villagers
D. The smell of burning tyres
📝 Part 3: Short descriptive writing
Imagine you are at a football match.
In 3–4 sentences, describe the scene using at least three senses.
Example starter:
The stadium roared with excitement as fans waved colourful flags…
(Write your own after the starter.)
✅ Answers and explanations
| 🧠 Part 1 Answers | |
|---|---|
| 1. Sound | Thunder roaring. |
| 2. Touch | Feeling the smooth cloth. |
| 3. Smell | Aroma of roasted corn. |
| 4. Taste | Sweet, juicy mango. |
| 🧠 Part 2 Answers | Explanation |
|---|---|
| 1. C (Sound) | “Drums beat fiercely” relates to hearing. |
| 2. B (Colourful costumes and lively drumming) | Creates lively, joyful mood. |
| 🧠 Part 3 Sample | |
|---|---|
| (Example) The stadium roared with excitement as fans waved colourful flags. The smell of popcorn filled the air, and the cold metal seat pressed against my legs. |
🔁 Recap
Today, you mastered:
🌈 How to see with your mind when reading descriptive passages
🎯 How to find sensory details, mood, and adjectives
🧠 How to answer BECE questions about visual and feeling details
💬 Descriptive reading helps you enjoy the beauty hidden in words — and score higher too!
🪞 Reflection prompt
Reflect and write:
Think of a place you love (a park, a beach, your school compound).
Describe it using your five senses in a short paragraph.
Try to paint a picture with your words! 🎨✨
