Direct: a trait is stated. Indirect: we conclude it from actions.
a)Tom is a shy boy.
b)Tom looked at his shoes when the teacher called his name.
c)Everyone said that Tom was kind.
d)Tom gave his last sandwich to the new student.
e)The narrator calls Tom „a quiet, careful child".
2Which trait fits the action? Write the adjective.
careful, proud, sociable, generous
a)She checks her homework three times.
b)He never says sorry.
c)She talks to everyone at the party.
d)He gives half his pocket money to charity.
3Useful words: Sort into positive and negative traits.
Write P or N.
a)honest
b)arrogant
c)loyal
d)selfish
e)patient
f)cruel
4Describe a character from a book or film in three sentences: one trait, one piece of evidence, one sentence on how others see the character.
X is … For example, … Other characters think …
a)Character:
1Direct or indirect? Write D or I.
Direct: a trait is stated. Indirect: we conclude it from actions.
a)Tom is a shy boy.D
b)Tom looked at his shoes when the teacher called his name.I
c)Everyone said that Tom was kind.D
d)Tom gave his last sandwich to the new student.I
e)The narrator calls Tom „a quiet, careful child".D
2Which trait fits the action? Write the adjective.
careful, proud, sociable, generous
a)She checks her homework three times.careful
b)He never says sorry.proud
c)She talks to everyone at the party.sociable
d)He gives half his pocket money to charity.generous
3Useful words: Sort into positive and negative traits.
Write P or N.
a)honestP
b)arrogantN
c)loyalP
d)selfishN
e)patientP
f)cruelN
4Describe a character from a book or film in three sentences: one trait, one piece of evidence, one sentence on how others see the character.
X is … For example, … Other characters think …
a)Character:Own answer with trait, evidence and others' view.
Excerpt (invented, for practice): Mrs Adeyemi never raised her voice. She didn't need to. When the class grew loud, she simply stopped talking and looked at the clock until the silence returned, and then she said, „Thank you," as if they had done her a favour. Her desk was bare except for a single photograph, turned away from the students. Nobody had ever seen it. Jamie thought she was cold. Priya said she was the only teacher who had ever read her essays twice.
1Direct or indirect characterisation? Sort the information and write D or I.
Direct: the narrator or a character states a trait. Indirect: we conclude the trait from actions, speech, appearance or surroundings.
a)She never raised her voice.
b)Jamie thought she was cold.
c)The photograph is turned away from the students.
d)She says „Thank you" as if they had done her a favour.
e)Priya said she read essays twice.
2Character traits: Name three traits of Mrs Adeyemi and give the evidence for each.
Trait: an adjective (calm, private, authoritative …). Evidence: a short quote.
a)Trait 1 — evidence:
b)Trait 2 — evidence:
c)Trait 3 — evidence:
3Perspective: How do the two students see her, and what does the difference tell us?
Two views of the same person — which one does the text seem to support, and how?
a)Jamie:
b)Priya:
c)What the contrast suggests:
4Write a characterisation of Mrs Adeyemi (120 to 150 words).
Present tense. Adjective + quote + explanation. No retelling.
a)Introduction (role in the text), traits with evidence, the two perspectives, conclusion: what kind of character is she (flat/round, static/dynamic)?
Excerpt (invented, for practice): Mrs Adeyemi never raised her voice. She didn't need to. When the class grew loud, she simply stopped talking and looked at the clock until the silence returned, and then she said, „Thank you," as if they had done her a favour. Her desk was bare except for a single photograph, turned away from the students. Nobody had ever seen it. Jamie thought she was cold. Priya said she was the only teacher who had ever read her essays twice.
1Direct or indirect characterisation? Sort the information and write D or I.
Direct: the narrator or a character states a trait. Indirect: we conclude the trait from actions, speech, appearance or surroundings.
a)She never raised her voice.I
b)Jamie thought she was cold.D
c)The photograph is turned away from the students.I
d)She says „Thank you" as if they had done her a favour.I
e)Priya said she read essays twice.D (through a character)
2Character traits: Name three traits of Mrs Adeyemi and give the evidence for each.
Trait: an adjective (calm, private, authoritative …). Evidence: a short quote.
b)Trait 2 — evidence:private / reserved — the photograph „turned away", „Nobody had ever seen it"
c)Trait 3 — evidence:conscientious / caring in her own way — „read her essays twice"; also authoritative: „until the silence returned"
3Perspective: How do the two students see her, and what does the difference tell us?
Two views of the same person — which one does the text seem to support, and how?
a)Jamie:Jamie sees her as cold — he reads her reserve as lack of feeling.
b)Priya:Priya sees her as caring — she judges by what the teacher does for her work.
c)What the contrast suggests:The text shows that her reserve hides attention and care; the reader is led to trust Priya's view, because it is based on an action, not an impression.
4Write a characterisation of Mrs Adeyemi (120 to 150 words).
Present tense. Adjective + quote + explanation. No retelling.
a)Introduction (role in the text), traits with evidence, the two perspectives, conclusion: what kind of character is she (flat/round, static/dynamic)?Own text. Check: introduction, three traits with quotes, both perspectives, conclusion (a round, static character with hidden depth), present tense.
Excerpt (invented, for practice): Everyone liked Marcus. He remembered birthdays, he laughed at the right moments, he lent money and never mentioned it again. At parties he was always at the centre of the room, and always the first to leave. His flat, which nobody had visited more than once, had bare walls and a single chair. When his sister called, he let it ring. „He's just busy," his friends said, and it was true that he was always busy, though none of them could have said with what.
1Analyse the technique.
Look for the gap between surface and depth, and for what is not there.
a)The excerpt begins with a direct characterisation. How does the rest of the text qualify or undermine it?
b)Identify three pieces of indirect characterisation and say what each reveals.
c)How does the narrator use the friends' view („He's just busy") and what is the effect of „though none of them could have said with what"?
2Round or flat, static or dynamic? Decide and justify with evidence.
Round = complex, contradictory; flat = one dominant trait. Dynamic = changes in the course of the text.
a)Type:
b)Justification:
3Compare Marcus with Mrs Adeyemi (the reserved teacher from the level „mittel" sheet, or any reserved character you know): How do the two texts create sympathy or distance differently?
Consider whose perspective we share and whether the reserve hides care or emptiness.
a)Six to eight sentences.
4Write a characterisation of Marcus (200 to 240 words).
Present tense. Adjective – quote – explanation. Address the contradiction.
a)Introduction, surface traits with evidence, hidden traits with evidence, the narrator's technique, conclusion on the type of character.
Excerpt (invented, for practice): Everyone liked Marcus. He remembered birthdays, he laughed at the right moments, he lent money and never mentioned it again. At parties he was always at the centre of the room, and always the first to leave. His flat, which nobody had visited more than once, had bare walls and a single chair. When his sister called, he let it ring. „He's just busy," his friends said, and it was true that he was always busy, though none of them could have said with what.
1Analyse the technique.
Look for the gap between surface and depth, and for what is not there.
a)The excerpt begins with a direct characterisation. How does the rest of the text qualify or undermine it?(text)
b)Identify three pieces of indirect characterisation and say what each reveals.„Everyone liked Marcus" is confirmed by his behaviour but hollowed out by the details: he is liked for what he does, not for what he shares; „always the first to leave", the empty flat and the unanswered call show that the likeable surface hides isolation.
c)How does the narrator use the friends' view („He's just busy") and what is the effect of „though none of them could have said with what"?e.g. „never mentioned it again" — tact, or a wish to owe nobody anything; „first to leave" — avoidance of closeness; „bare walls and a single chair" — a life without guests or attachments; „let it ring" — withdrawal even from family.
2Round or flat, static or dynamic? Decide and justify with evidence.
Round = complex, contradictory; flat = one dominant trait. Dynamic = changes in the course of the text.
a)Type:Round and (within the excerpt) static: he is contradictory — generous and distant, popular and alone — but does not change; the text describes a condition, not a development.
b)Justification:
3Compare Marcus with Mrs Adeyemi (the reserved teacher from the level „mittel" sheet, or any reserved character you know): How do the two texts create sympathy or distance differently?
Consider whose perspective we share and whether the reserve hides care or emptiness.
a)Six to eight sentences.e.g. Both are reserved, but Mrs Adeyemi's reserve is shown through one student's positive experience, so the reader trusts that care lies behind it; Marcus's reserve is shown through absences (bare walls, unanswered call), so the reader feels unease rather than sympathy; Adeyemi is seen from outside by two students, Marcus by a narrator who knows more than his friends.
4Write a characterisation of Marcus (200 to 240 words).
Present tense. Adjective – quote – explanation. Address the contradiction.
a)Introduction, surface traits with evidence, hidden traits with evidence, the narrator's technique, conclusion on the type of character.Own text. Check: surface vs. hidden traits, at least four quotes, narrator's irony, conclusion (round, static), present tense, 200 to 240 words.
Direct and indirect
Direct: the narrator or a character states a trait („She was cold"). Indirect: you conclude the trait from actions, speech, appearance, surroundings, or how others react. Indirect evidence is usually more reliable — and more interesting to analyse.
Trait – evidence – explanation
Every trait needs an adjective, a short quote and one sentence that connects them.
Mrs Adeyemi is reserved: her only photograph is „turned away from the students", which shows that she keeps her private life out of the classroom.
Types of character
Round (complex, contradictory) or flat (one trait). Dynamic (changes during the text) or static. Say which and why.