Personal Life: Describe Someone You Know
Describe the appearance and personality of someone important to you, with examples that show what they are like.
- Time
- 25 min
- Length
- 110-140 words
Writadia · B1 · Descriptions
NameClassDate
The situation
An English-language website for teenagers runs a monthly feature called "Someone I Look Up To". Readers send in short descriptions of people who are important to them.
Your task
Write a description of someone you know well. Include:
- what they look like
- what their personality is like, with examples
- why they are important to you
Writing toolkit
Open these only when you need them. Try the first draft on your own.
Plan it in steps
- Start with who the person is and how you know them.
- Describe appearance in one or two sentences: height, hair, style.
- Choose two personality adjectives and give an example for each.
- End with why this person matters to you.
Useful phrases
Appearance
Personality with examples
Importance
Tap a phrase to add it to your text. Gaps (…) are selected so you can type over them.
Vocabulary
- look up to
- admire and respectI look up to my grandmother.
- patient
- calm when things take a long timeShe's very patient with children.
- generous
- happy to give to othersHe's generous with his time.
- determined
- does not give upShe's determined to succeed.
- cheerful
- happy and positiveHe's always cheerful.
Model answer (118 words)
Read it after you’ve written your own version. Notice the highlighted parts. The numbers explain why they work.
The person I look up to most is my aunt Selma, who is a nurse in Ankara.1
She's quite short, with curly grey hair and bright brown eyes, and she always wears comfortable shoes because she spends all day on her feet.2
Selma is incredibly patient. When I was learning to ride a bike, she spent a whole summer running behind me, and she never once got angry.3 She's also very determined. She started university at the age of thirty-five, while working full-time, and finished with excellent grades. Nobody in our family thought she could do it, except her.
I look up to her because she has taught me that it's never too late to start something new.
- Who the person is.
- Appearance, with one detail that also tells us about her life.
- An example shows the adjective instead of just saying it.
Teacher notes
Theme link: Personal Life: physical appearance and personality (Theme 3).
Focus: adjective order and with for features (with curly grey hair). Show → don't just tell: an example for every adjective.
Extra challenge
Describe yourself in 50 words as your best friend would describe you.
Lesson plan
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: look up to, patient, generous, determined, cheerful.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “She's quite tall, with short dark hair and glasses.”, “He usually wears ... and always looks ...”, “She's incredibly patient. For example, ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (110-140 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
Assessment rubric
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | All points covered in detail; purpose and reader clear. | All points there, one is thin. | One point missing or some off-topic content. | Task mostly not met. | |
| Organisation and flow | Clear paragraphs; varied linking words. | Paragraphs present; linkers repetitive. | No paragraphs or jumpy flow. | Ideas scattered. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic-specific, varied vocabulary. | Adequate; some repetition. | Limited; some wrong word choices. | Very limited. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Range of structures, few errors. | Some errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors affect meaning. | Errors block understanding. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I described appearance.
- I used at least two personality adjectives.
- I gave an example for each adjective.
- I explained why the person is important to me.
Teacher comment
Peer-review sheet
Students swap texts and give each other feedback with this sheet.
Before you finish
Before you finish
- I described appearance.
- I used at least two personality adjectives.
- I gave an example for each adjective.
- I explained why the person is important to me.
Writadia · B1 · Descriptions
Assessment rubric: Personal Life: Describe Someone You Know
| Criterion | 4 · Excellent | 3 · Good | 2 · Developing | 1 · Beginning | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Task and content | All points covered in detail; purpose and reader clear. | All points there, one is thin. | One point missing or some off-topic content. | Task mostly not met. | |
| Organisation and flow | Clear paragraphs; varied linking words. | Paragraphs present; linkers repetitive. | No paragraphs or jumpy flow. | Ideas scattered. | |
| Vocabulary | Topic-specific, varied vocabulary. | Adequate; some repetition. | Limited; some wrong word choices. | Very limited. | |
| Grammar and accuracy | Range of structures, few errors. | Some errors, meaning clear. | Frequent errors affect meaning. | Errors block understanding. | |
| Total | / 16 | ||||
Each criterion scores 1–4 (total 16). Use the task checklist below to tick what the student actually did.
Task checklist
- I described appearance.
- I used at least two personality adjectives.
- I gave an example for each adjective.
- I explained why the person is important to me.
Teacher comment
Writadia · B1 · Descriptions
Peer-review sheet: Personal Life: Describe Someone You Know
WriterReviewer
Read your partner’s text carefully. Be kind and specific: say why, not just “good”.
Task checklist
| Yes | Partly | No | |
|---|---|---|---|
| I described appearance. | |||
| I used at least two personality adjectives. | |||
| I gave an example for each adjective. | |||
| I explained why the person is important to me. |
Questions
- Does the text cover every point in the task?
- Are there paragraphs? What is each one about?
- Write two linking words the writer used.
- Is there a sentence you had to read twice?
Two stars and a wish
★ Something I liked
★ Another thing I liked
→ One suggestion
Writadia · B1 · Descriptions
Lesson plan: Personal Life: Describe Someone You Know
- 5 minWarm-up
Show the situation on the classroom screen and ask: “What would you write in this situation?” Take two or three quick answers.
- 10 minWord pool
Open “Word pool” on the classroom screen. Students make one sentence each with: look up to, patient, generous, determined, cheerful.
- 12 minModel text
Reveal the model sentence by sentence in “Model text” mode. At each sentence ask: “What job does this sentence do?” Write these phrases on the board: “She's quite tall, with short dark hair and glasses.”, “He usually wears ... and always looks ...”, “She's incredibly patient. For example, ...”.
- 38 minWriting
Start the timer. Students write their own text; anyone stuck can use the plan in the toolkit. (110-140 words)
- 10 minPeer review
Students swap texts and fill in the peer-review sheet.
- 5 minWrap-up
Set the extra challenge as homework.
The task’s own teacher notes give extra ideas for the warm-up and focus.
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