Language features for describing place and envioronments

Language features: describing place and environments in geography

NSW Coasts

In this revision activity you will:

​1. Review the language techniques used when describing places and environments in geography.

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​​2. Identify language techniques used in a student sample.

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3.Complete the quizziz activities.

Read the annotated sample showing language features used to describe place and environments in geography

Question: Describe Australia's coastal zone

Language Features:

• ​technical (geographic) terms

• present tense

• directional terms

• group nouns

• clear subject verb agreement

• third person

• pronouns for subjects already introduced

• connectives to sequence ideas

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Multiple Choice

Which of the following sentences contains a group noun?

• The coastal zone is the area where the land meets the sea.

• It includes the land that boarders the coast and extends to Australia’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (the seaward boundary)

• To the east of this area, is the coastal vulnerability area, places subject to coastal erosion and tidal inundation.

• The NSW Government includes four coastal management areas in their definition of the coastal zone (Coastal Management Act 2016).

Fill in the Blank

Complete the sentence with the correct verb subject agreement.

Thirdly, is the main coastal environment area which [is or are]__________ characterised by natural coastal features such as beaches, marine and estuarine waters, and undeveloped headlands.

Fill in the Blank

Complete the sentence with the correct verb subject agreement.

Finally, the land adjacent to coastal waters _______termed the coastal use area.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT a directional term that could be used to describe estuaries (see the image).

The estuary is located ________ to/of the ocean. 

• adjacent

• west

• in 

• landward

Multiple Select

The coastal zone was the area where our land met the sea. It included the land that bordered the coast and extended to our 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (the seaward boundary).  

What technique should the writer have used?

• present tense

• technical words (geographical terms)

• directional terms  

• third person

​Describe estuaries.

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​Read the student sample below and look for the the language techniques used.

​Language techniques used:​

• ​Directional terms

• ​Technical words

• ​The present tense (when writing descriptions

• ​The third person

• ​Pronouns

Multiple Choice

What language technique has been used and highlighted light blue? 

• directional terms to describe place

• present tense 

• third person

• connectives to sequence ideas

Multiple Choice

What language technique has been used and highlighted purple (the colour used for coastal environments in the first line)? 

• directional terms to describe place

• technical (geographcial) terms

• third person

• connectives to sequence ideas

Poll

How confident are you in using the following language features in your writing? 

-Directional terms to describe place

-Group nouns

-Subject verb agreement

-Connectives to sequence ideas

-Technical words

-The third person

-The present tense (when writing descriptions)

• Very confident. I can use all of the language features taught to write coherent (clear) responses. 

• Moderately confident. I can use most of the language features taught in my writing. 

• I still need a lot of practise using these language features and find some of them confusing. 

• I understand very few of the language features above and find it very hard to include them in my writing.