Writing Worksheet · 2nd Year Bac

Unit 1: The Gifts of Youth — Writing a Descriptive Paragraph

A complete descriptive-writing worksheet with a model text, a mind-map planning diagram, an appearance vocabulary table, and a gap-fill paragraph — ready to print or project.

Unit 1 Gifts of Youth Descriptive Paragraph Worksheet Cover TeachersMap

Descriptive writing is one of the hardest skills to teach in 2nd Year Bac classes: students know the vocabulary in isolation but struggle to organize it into a coherent paragraph about a real person. Unit 1, “The Gifts of Youth”, is the natural place to build this skill, since students are already talking about people they admire.

This Unit 1 descriptive paragraph worksheet walks students from a model text to independent writing in four clear steps: read a sample paragraph about a person the writer admires, break it down into a mind-map (general information, appearance, personality, talents), sort appearance vocabulary into categories, then apply that language in a gap-fill paragraph before writing their own. The full worksheet is available to download below.

Level

2nd Year Baccalaureate

Unit

Unit 1: The Gifts of Youth

Skill Focus

Writing — Descriptive Paragraph

Format

Printable Worksheet (Word)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this worksheet, students will be able to identify the organizing categories of a descriptive paragraph (general information, appearance, personality, talents), use appropriate vocabulary to describe a person’s physical appearance and character, and independently write a well-structured descriptive paragraph about someone they admire.

What’s Inside This Worksheet

1. Model Text: “Someone I Admire”

A sample descriptive paragraph about a friend, with key descriptive phrases in italics, for students to notice before they write.

2. Mind-Map Diagram

Students fill in a four-branch diagram (general information, appearance, personality/character, abilities/talents/interests) based on the model text — a reusable planning tool for any descriptive paragraph.

3. Vocabulary Grouping Table

A word bank of appearance and personality adjectives (intelligent, obese, well-built, wrinkled, optimistic…) for students to sort into categories: hair, eyes, face, build, height, personality.

4. Gap-Fill Paragraph

A paragraph about grandparents with 12 missing words (stubborn-minded, lazy, moustache, wavy…) for students to complete, reinforcing the target vocabulary in context before independent writing.

5. Independent Writing Task

Students choose a person they admire, complete the mind-map for that person, then write and share their own descriptive paragraph.

Delivery Tips

💡 Use the Model Text as a Noticing Task First: Before filling in the mind-map, have students underline every descriptive phrase in the model paragraph. It primes them to spot which details belong in which branch.

💡 Keep the Mind-Map as a Reusable Planning Tool: The four-branch diagram works for any descriptive paragraph topic, not just “someone I admire.” Have students keep a blank copy for future writing tasks (school buildings, activities, etc. as suggested in the gap-fill prompt).

💡 Do the Gap-Fill Before the Free Writing: The grandparents gap-fill forces correct usage of the target adjectives in context, which noticeably reduces vocabulary errors once students move to writing their own paragraph.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I edit the worksheet before giving it to my students?

Yes. The worksheet is delivered in Microsoft Word (.docx) format, so you can adjust the model text, vocabulary list, or gap-fill paragraph to fit your class.

Is this worksheet only for 2nd Year Bac?

It’s written for the 2nd Year Bac “Gifts of Youth” unit, but the mind-map diagram and vocabulary grouping table work equally well as a general descriptive-writing lesson for upper-level classes.

Is this worksheet completely free?

Yes, all downloadable documents and worksheets on TeachersMap are freely accessible for instructional use.