adj · neutral
descriptive
/dɪˈskrɪptɪv/de·SCRIP·tive
giving details about how something looks, sounds, or happens; serving to describe
Examples
“In Task 1 you should use descriptive language to explain the trends.”
“The report includes descriptive statistics for each region.”
“Her essay was more descriptive than analytical.”
Band 8 sentence
“In Task 1 it is important to balance descriptive language with concise interpretation to avoid mere reporting of figures.”
Collocations
- descriptive language
- descriptive statistics
- descriptive detail
Word family
Common mistakes
Use descriptive to describe the chart.→Use descriptive language to describe the chart.
The statistics are descriptive and show exactly why.→The statistics are descriptive and show general trends, not causes.
Say it for a higher band
5describing→6illustrative→7+descriptive
Synonyms
illustrative
narrative
Easily confused
analytical
“Her paper was highly analytical, focusing on causes rather than just descriptions.”
Related words
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In -ive
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