personal description
A description of a person is the description of a person's peculiarities (appearance and behavior) , which is intended to be recognized as unequivocally as possible.
Such a description is always structured according to a certain pattern and follows a certain sequence, which enables the reader to imagine the person and, if necessary, to recognize them again without "jumps" in the process.
The first place is the name, first name, age and gender of the person, as far as this is known. Origin and occupation are also characteristics that can be important for a person.
Characteristics that can be detected visually (with the eyes) are particularly important. The person is described from head to toe, starting with height and shape. Immediately recognizable features are in the foreground. They are supplemented by features that can be determined through closer examination / observation (e.g. features that are hidden by clothing).
In addition to visual features, audible features (language, speech defects, dialects, language features, vocabulary, use of slang ) are also important for a description in individual cases .
A personal description must be factual, assumptions or imaginative embellishments do not belong in it.
Structure of a person description
| feature | example |
|---|---|
| First name and surname | |
| Age | |
| gender | female Male |
| origin | |
| job | |
| Body stature | muscular, thin, slim, overweight |
| Size of the person | small, big, huge |
| Skin color | brown, white, black |
| limbs | Arms (short, long, scarred, prostheses) Legs (strong, thick, thin, toned) Feet (small, tiny, spread, lowered) |
| dress | Headgear (hat, cylinder, diadem, baseball cap) Outerwear (shirt, longsleeve, undershirt, jacket, coat) Underwear (corduroy pants, dungarees, jeans, skirt, dress, mini) Shoes (sneakers, boots, sandals, barefoot) |
| Other special characteristics of the person | Scars, burns, wounds, piercings or jewelry, tattoos, henna, body painting, body art, language and smell |
| Head and face | hair Hair color (blonde, brunette, black) |
| eyes | Eye color (green, brown, blue)
Eye shape and type (large, almond-shaped, small, oval, round) |
| nose | wide, narrow, thick, thin, crooked |
| Ears | close fitting, protruding, small, large |
| Mouth and lips | narrow, small, large, bulging, fleshy |
| teeth | Texture, tooth gaps, color |
| chin | Double chin, narrow, fleeting |
| neck | muscular, short, long, delicate |
All the adjectives listed are examples.
Tense
The description is written in the present tense.