DESCRIPTIONS OF PLACES

(Factual texts: Reports)

YOUR HOMETOWN
Answer the following questions about your hometown:

General statement
What’s the name of the place?
Where is it?
What’s the population?
What are the main geographical features? (rivers, mountains, deserts)

Description: Feature 1
What’s the climate like?

Description: Feature 2
What is the main source of living?

Description: Feature 3
Is there any special event specific to this place? (Festival, etc)

Description: Feature 4
What are the people like?

Now you can write a report about it. Remember the following :
1. General statement (location, population, geographical features)
2. Description: Feature 1 : three sentences about the main attractions of the city
3. Description: Feature 2: two or three sentences about its people
4. Description: Feature 3: Three or four sentences about a special event.

Complete the following exercise:

Name the different parts of this report:

· General statement
· Description & details (1,2, 3,…)
Highlight the verbs: mostly present tense
Underline the generic participants: groups of people not individuals
Circle the adjectives: Are there any comparatives or superlatives?
Noun groups : article+adjective+noun
Vocab: geographical, climate, people, customs, special events
Use logical order
Conjunctions to link sentences
Check spelling
EXAMPLE:

My hometown is Huesca. I was born and brought up there.

HUESCA
Huesca is a small city of about 45,000 inhabitants, located in the northern part of the area
called Aragon, in north-eastern Spain. The mountain range of the Pyrenees forms a natural border between
Huesca and France.

Like most of Spain, Huesca’s climate is continental, which means very hot summers and very cold winters.
In summer many people enjoy the beautiful National Parks scattered along the mountains. There are many
camping areas, hotels and rural accommodation for those who want to enjoy nature and the many activities
available in the area. There is camping, trekking, fishing, horse riding and swimming in the clear rivers,
filled with cold water from the melting snow that still covers the high peaks of the majestic Pyrenees. In
winter Huesca is well known all through Spain for its fantastic skiing fields.

Huesca is the capital of a big but mostly uninhabited province, also called Huesca. As the capital city, it
provides most of the services for the province. There are hospitals, schools, university, art galleries and a
museum. The province of Huesca does not have big manufacturing industries; it lives mainly on agriculture,
cattle in the Pyrenees and tourism.

The 10th of August is the day of San Lorenzo (St Laurence), the city’s saint patron. For two weeks the city
becomes a huge party for every one, young and all. There are religious celebrations, concerts, music and
dancing on the streets, markets, fireworks and even bullfights. Everybody dresses in white with green
scarves around the neck and a sprig of basil pinned to their clothes. Celebrations start early in the morning
and last till very late at night. Some people stay up all night and go home to have breakfast the next day!

The people of Huesca are warm and friendly. Visitors come from all over Spain to stay in Huesca.