IGCSE Language A

Descriptive writing

Descriptive writing is not about lots of adjectives - it is about selecting the right details and layering them so the reader can step into the scene. Worth 40 marks in Section B.

How the 40 marks split

Content & structure - 16

Originality of content, progression of ideas, sense of atmosphere and shape of the composition as a whole.

Style & accuracy - 24

Range of vocabulary, precision of word choice, varied sentence structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Using sensory detail

Sight

Beyond colours and shapes, describe light, angle and movement. What is bright? What is hidden in shadow?

A single shaft of grey light angled across the counter, picking out the dust that drifted up from the newspapers.

Sound

Noise OR its absence. A detail like a clock ticking tells the reader the space is empty.

Somewhere behind the walls a radiator clanked, the only sound in a house that had forgotten how to speak.

Smell

Often the most neglected sense, so the most original. Use it to anchor memory and mood.

The air smelt of rust and rain, the sharp mineral tang of wet railings after a long winter.

Touch

Temperature, texture, air pressure. Let the reader feel the scene on their skin.

The bannister was warm where the morning sun had found it, worn smooth by a hundred reluctant descents.

Taste

Use sparingly - even air has a taste. Try it only when it fits the scene.

The cold air had a metallic taste, like biting on a coin.

Five-stage structure

1. Establish

Open with a wide angle - set the time of day, weather and mood in two or three sentences. Do not over-explain.

2. Zoom in

Move from the panoramic to the particular. Pick ONE object or figure and describe it in close detail.

3. Shift

Introduce a slight change - a sound, a movement, a change in light. This stops the description feeling static.

4. Reframe

Pull back slightly to reveal something unexpected - a new figure, a missing detail, a reversal of mood.

5. Linger

Close with a final image that captures the atmosphere. Avoid "and then I woke up" endings.

Worked opening - "Describe a busy marketplace"

By mid-morning the square has already forgotten the cool of dawn. Heat rises from the cobbles in visible ripples, distorting the line of awnings and the colours underneath them: bruised purples of aubergines, the soft yellow of split melons, crates of limes so bright they look wet. A woman in a grey headscarf arranges figs in perfect ranks, her fingers darkened by the fruit's sticky skin. Somewhere behind her, a radio mutters a football commentary nobody is listening to. Children weave between shoppers at knee-height, their laughter sharp against the steady hum of bargaining, and the air carries a heavy, complicated sweetness of cumin, warm bread and petrol fumes.

Notice: wide opening, then zoom to the woman, then shift to sound, then another sense. Five lines, five moves.

Common mistakes

Telling a story instead of describing - plot is the enemy here
Listing every sense in every paragraph - feels mechanical
Using every literary device at once - pick two or three per paragraph
Ending with a sudden twist or action scene
Writing in the past tense when present tense would feel more immediate

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IGCSE Language A

Descriptive writing

Descriptive writing is not about lots of adjectives - it is about selecting the right details and layering them so the reader can step into the scene. Worth 40 marks in Section B.

How the 40 marks split

Content & structure - 16

Originality of content, progression of ideas, sense of atmosphere and shape of the composition as a whole.

Style & accuracy - 24

Range of vocabulary, precision of word choice, varied sentence structure, grammar, spelling and punctuation.

Using sensory detail

Sight

Beyond colours and shapes, describe light, angle and movement. What is bright? What is hidden in shadow?

A single shaft of grey light angled across the counter, picking out the dust that drifted up from the newspapers.

Sound

Noise OR its absence. A detail like a clock ticking tells the reader the space is empty.

Somewhere behind the walls a radiator clanked, the only sound in a house that had forgotten how to speak.

Smell

Often the most neglected sense, so the most original. Use it to anchor memory and mood.

The air smelt of rust and rain, the sharp mineral tang of wet railings after a long winter.

Touch

Temperature, texture, air pressure. Let the reader feel the scene on their skin.

The bannister was warm where the morning sun had found it, worn smooth by a hundred reluctant descents.

Taste

Use sparingly - even air has a taste. Try it only when it fits the scene.

The cold air had a metallic taste, like biting on a coin.

Five-stage structure

1. Establish

Open with a wide angle - set the time of day, weather and mood in two or three sentences. Do not over-explain.

2. Zoom in

Move from the panoramic to the particular. Pick ONE object or figure and describe it in close detail.

3. Shift

Introduce a slight change - a sound, a movement, a change in light. This stops the description feeling static.

4. Reframe

Pull back slightly to reveal something unexpected - a new figure, a missing detail, a reversal of mood.

5. Linger

Close with a final image that captures the atmosphere. Avoid "and then I woke up" endings.

Worked opening - "Describe a busy marketplace"

Notice: wide opening, then zoom to the woman, then shift to sound, then another sense. Five lines, five moves.

Common mistakes

Telling a story instead of describing - plot is the enemy here
Listing every sense in every paragraph - feels mechanical
Using every literary device at once - pick two or three per paragraph
Ending with a sudden twist or action scene
Writing in the past tense when present tense would feel more immediate

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Descriptive writing

How the 40 marks split

Using sensory detail

Five-stage structure

1. Establish

2. Zoom in

3. Shift

4. Reframe

5. Linger

Worked opening - "Describe a busy marketplace"

Common mistakes

Descriptive writing

How the 40 marks split

Using sensory detail

Five-stage structure

1. Establish

2. Zoom in

3. Shift

4. Reframe

5. Linger

Worked opening - "Describe a busy marketplace"

Common mistakes