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Writing A Characterization-1

To write a characterization, one must: 1) Study relevant passages about the character and highlight key details; 2) Organize findings into a grid with quotes and conclusions; 3) Consider if the character changes or remains stable; 4) Write an introduction stating the character's importance; 5) Include details in the body while backing statements with examples; and 6) Conclude by restating the main point and including a few final thoughts.

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139 views

Writing A Characterization-1

To write a characterization, one must: 1) Study relevant passages about the character and highlight key details; 2) Organize findings into a grid with quotes and conclusions; 3) Consider if the character changes or remains stable; 4) Write an introduction stating the character's importance; 5) Include details in the body while backing statements with examples; and 6) Conclude by restating the main point and including a few final thoughts.

Uploaded by

Marilene
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How to write a characterization

Before you can start writing your characterization, you need to do the following:
 study the text or relevant passage(s)
 highlight the passages that contain any information about your character; use the follow-
ing grid as a guideline

explanation
outward appear- What does the character look like?
ance
situation / posi- What does the character like?
tion What does he do? Where does he
live?
speech, dialect How does the character talk?
behaviour How does the character behave?
feelings / atti- How does the character feel? What
tudes are his thoughts? What are his
beliefs / opinions? Is it said explic-
itly or do you have to conclude it
from his actions?
interaction with How does the character treat oth-
others er characters?

 Draw a grid in which you insert your findings and your conclusions

quotes conclusions

 Ask yourself the following questions:


 Is he / she a main character (protagonist, hero/heroine) or a minor character?
 Does the character remain stable in the process of the story or does he / she change?
o Characters that change are called “round”, characters that do not change are
called “flat”; consider that in your characterization
 Write your characterization.
 Do not just list the various features, but also show their interrelations.
 Support your statements by referring to the text. This can also be done indirectly: (c.f.
line...)
 After finishing, check your language, content and completeness.
Writing the characterization:
Intro:
1. Start with your character’s name and general statement about him or her. The opening
paragraph should include a statement about why the character is important in the story.
Use the present tense.
Andy, one of the main characters and the narrator’s best friend in the story “Bread on the
Water” by David Lubar, is a teenage boy.
Body:
2. In the middle of your profile, add details about the character. This information should
support what you have said in your opening statement.
In church, Andy makes puns on the quotes from the Bible. This shows him to be a very clever
boy with a good sense of humour. But the fact that he does not stop, even after he and
Tommy are thrown out of the church indicates that …
3. Back up every statement you make about your character with examples/quotes.
Andy is caring and tries to help the homeless man by buying him something to eat.
Conclusion:
4. Finish by restating your main claim about the character followed by a few concluding sen-
tences. You can also include why or why not you like this character.
As we have seen, Andy is very generous and, although he misbehaves in church at the be-
ginning of the story, he is the only one who…

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