When describing the general drainage of an area.

• State the major drainage features i.e. rivers, lakes and swamps.
• State whether the place is drained by few or many rivers.
• Name the major rivers
• Describe the course of a river

When describing of the course of a river, the following should be mentioned

• State where it starts: state its height.
• State the general direction of the flow
• State whether it is flowing fast (look for the closeness of the contour.
• State whether it is flowing slowly: Check whether the contours are far a part. Also check whether there are evidences of waterfalls, meander, braiding and ox-bow lakes along it.
• State the nature of the valleys in which it is flowing i.e. youthful valley /mature valley and flood plain / old valley.