essay about my character sketch

Writing a Character Analysis Essay | Step-by-Step Guide

I’m also going to give you a ton of examples.

This post is split into four parts for easy navigation:

What is a Character Analysis Essay?
What is the best Format to Use?
11 Character Analysis Example Ideas
Template, Checklist and Outline for Your own Piece

In this post, I’m going to explain to you clearly and in a step-by-step way how to conduct a character analysis.

1. What is a Character Analysis Essay?

Let’s get you started with some really simple details about what a character analysis is:

A Quick Definition: A character analysis essay zooms-in on a character in a book, movie or even real life. It provides what we sometimes call a ‘sketch’ of a character.
The Purpose of a Character Analysis: The purpose of a character analysis is to reveal interesting details about the character that might contain a broader moral message about the human condition. For example, Atticus Finch is not just a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird. Rather, he provides us with a moral message about the importance of doing what you believe is right even though you know you will likely fail.

2. What is the best Character Analysis Essay Format?

Character analysis essays do not have just one format.

However, let me offer some advice that might act as a character analysis essay outline or ‘checklist’ of possible things you could discuss:

1. Start with the Simple Details.

You can start a character analysis by providing a simple, clear description of who your character is. Look at some basic identity traits such as:

Race (if relevant)
Social class (if relevant)
Protagonist or Antagonist? A protagonist is the character who is our central character in the plot; the antagonist is often the protagonist’s opponent or challenger.
Major or minor character?

2. What are the character’s distinctive personality features?

Your character might have some really clearly identifiable character traits. It’s best to highlight in your character analysis the exact traits that this character possesses. Some common character traits include:

I recommend you take a moment to write down what you think the top 3 to 5 words are that you’d use to explain your character’s personality traits. These will be important to discuss throughout your character analysis.

Sometimes a character may start out with some personality traits, but change over the course of the text. This is quite common; and one clear example of this is Lady Macbeth she deteriorates from a cutthroat power player to a guilt ridden shell of a person roaming the halls of the castle. This dramatic character change is something that makes her very interesting, and is worthy of discussion!

3. What are the character’s key relationships?

Does your character have a close relationship with a certain person in the storyline?

You might want to discuss the character’s relationships as a part of your character analysis. These relationships may reveal some key personality traits of your character.

For example, in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Horatio is the loyal offsider to Hamlet. Through his actions in staying by Hamlet through thick and thin, we learn that he is a deeply loyal character.

Examining the character’s relationships with their friends and foes therefore is very useful for digging deeper into who this character actually is, and what personality traits they have when they are put to the test within the narrative.

4. What are the character’s motivations?

Another thing you might want to examine are the character’s motivations . What do they desire most in the world? Some common motivations for characters in stories are:

A simple life
To serve others

This list really could be endless, but I hope the above examples give you a bit of an idea of the sorts of traits to look out for. By mentioning and examining the motivations of the character, we will come closer and closer to learning exactly what moral message this character might be able to tell us.

5. What are the character’s key conflicts?

Stories tend to have a beginning, a complication, and a resolution.

The complication involves conflicts and challenges that need to be overcome. For Edmund in Narnia, it’s cowardice. For Romeo and Juliet, it’s the conflict between love and family loyalty. Here’s some other common conflicts for characters:

Whether to stay loyal to a friend;
To overcome obstacles to love;
To seek a way out of a challenging situation;
To escape war or poverty;
To persevere through imprisonment;
To overcome personal fear

Again, this list is endless.

Knowing the character’s core conflict gets us even closer to knowing the moral that the character is trying to teach us.

For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the challenge of Romeo and Juliet being together despite their families’ objections teaches us something. Personally, I believe it teaches us the importance of letting go of old grudges in order to let love bloom.

This moral lesson was taught to us through conflict: namely, the conflict that Romeo and Juliet were right in the center of.

6. What are the character’s epiphanies?

Sometimes a character has an epiphany. This often happens towards the end of the story and helps the character overcome the challenge or conflict that we discussed in the point above.

Here’s an example of an epiphany:

In the Lion King, Simba runs away from his tribe to live in exile. After a chance encounter with his childhood friend Nala, he has an epiphany that he has a duty to his tribe. This leads him back home to fight Scar and return freedom to Pride Rock.

Not all characters have an epiphany. But, if they do, I strongly encourage you to write about it in your character analysis.

7. Examine the moral message the character teaches us.

Finally, conclude by examining the moral message behind the character. Nearly every character has something to teach the reader. Authors put a lot of thought into creating complex characters with whom we can relate. We relate to the character and say “wow, they taught me a lesson about something!”

The lesson might be something like:

Money doesn’t buy happiness;
Loyalty to family comes above all else;
Love gives life meaning;
Honesty is always the best policy

This is the core of your character analysis essay. If you can pick out exactly what moral message the character teaches you, you’ll be well on your way to writing a strong character analysis.

Below I’m going to give you some examples to help you out. I know it can be hard to really get your head around a character, so sometimes the best thing is to look at some samples!

3. Here’s 13 Example Character Analysis Essay Ideas.

Most times when we create a character analysis, we’re exploring the deeper moral stories / aspects of humanity. Here’s some example ideas. I’ve tried to outline in less than a paragraph exactly what your key point will be about each character:

Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird: A character who teaches us a lesson about standing up for what’s right, even if you know you’re likely to lose.
Huckleberry Finn from Huckleberry Finn: A character who reveals our inner desire for freedom from the elements of society that constrain us.
Dudley from Harry Potter: A character whose personality tells us a cautionary tale of the perils of middle-class narcissism, parents’ desire to wrap their children in cotton wool, and the lack of discipline we perceive in contemporary childhoods.
Jack from Lord of the Flies: A character who represents the innate desire for power that seems to lurk not too far from the surface of the human condition. When social structures are stripped away, he quickly reverts to violence and superstition to assert control over his peers.
Lady Macbeth from Macbeth: Lady Macbeth teaches us a valuable lesson about the perils of contravening our own morality. She starts out a cutthroat killer but is increasingly consumed by the guilt of her own actions. While we may be able to escape full punishment from outside forces, it is the inner guilt that might eat us away to our last.
The Boy who Cried Wolf: The boy who cried wolf is a character whose fatal flaw is his desire for attention and adulation. His repeated attempts at gaining the attention of others leads the townspeople to no longer take him seriously, which causes him harm when he actually needs the villagers to take him seriously to save his life. He teaches us the virtue of honest and humility.
Nick Carraway from the Great Gatsby: Nick shows us all the inner conflict between the trappings of wealth, glamor and spectacle; and the desire for simplicity, honesty and community. He is drawn by the dazzling world of East Egg, New York, but by the end of the novel sees live in East Egg as shallow and lacking the moral depth of his former life in small town Minnesota.
Alice from Alice in Wonderland: In many ways, Alice represents the child within all of us. She is a character of goodwill to all and who looks upon the world (or, rather, Wonderland) with awe. Travelling with a cadre of flawed characters, she learns with them the importance of seeking strength from within.
The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet: Like many Shakespearian characters, the nurse’s role is both as loyal confidante to a central character and comic relief. Shakespeare uses minor characters to regale his crowd and sustain viewer interest between scenes.
Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Lucy represents a surprising character whose youthfulness and small stature make her an underrated character by all around her. Nonetheless, she possesses within the bravery and loyalty necessary to carry out the quest for Aslan. Lucy represents the goodness in children and, by extension, all of mankind.
Anne in Anne of Green Gables: Anne occupies the typical literary role of young girls in many classical novels: she represents innocence and wonder, and her contraventions of rules are seen through a prism of childhood innocence. This frames Anne not as a deviant but as a precious soul.
Simba from The Lion King: Simba’s story follows his struggle with growing up, embracing his destiny and duty to his family, or fleeing towards freedom and a ‘no worries’ lifestyle. Simba flees Pride Rock and goes through an existential crisis with his existentialist friends Timon and Pumba. When he runs into an old childhood friend, he realizes how shallow his new carefree life has become and reflects upon his obligation to his community back home.
Woody from Toy Story: Woody starts out Andy’s favorite toy, but when Andy gets a new flashier toy, Woody’s status amongst the toys falls apart. Woody’s key character challenge is to learn to be humble and inclusive living within the group. By the end of the movie, Woody realizes his duty to love and serve Andy is more important than his own status within the group.

4. Here’s an Example Template for your own Character Analysis Essay

Feel free to use this brainstorming template to get you started with your character analysis essay. I recommend filling out as many of these key points as you can, but remember sometimes you might have to skip some of these points if they’re not relevant to your character.

Once you’ve brainstormed the ideas in Table 1, follow the character analysis essay outline in Table 2 to stay on track for your character analysis essay. Do remember though that each assignment will be different and you should adjust it based on your teacher’s requirements.

Here’s Table 1, which is a brainstorming template for your character analysis essay:

And here’s Table 2, which is an example character analysis essay outline. This is for a 1500 word character analysis essay. Change the word count according to how long your essay should be:

Read Also: 39 Better Ways to Write ‘In Conclusion’ in an Essay

Character analyses can be really tough. You need to know your character really well. You might even need to re-read (or watch) your book or movie a few times over to get to know the character really well.

I recommend when you re-read or re-watch the text before you write your character analysis, have the checklist I provided above handy and take notes. Then, use the essay outline I provided above to put all of those notes together into a clear and thorough final character analysis essay.

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay

A character analysis essay is a challenging type of essay students usually write for literature or English courses. In this article, we will explain the definition of character analysis and how to approach it. We will also touch on how to analyze characters and guide you through writing character analysis essays.

Typically, this kind of writing requires students to describe the character in the story's context. This can be fulfilled by analyzing the relationship between the character in question and other personas. Although, sometimes, giving your personal opinion and analysis of a specific character is also appropriate.

Let's explain the specifics of how to do a character analysis by getting straight to defining what is a character analysis. Our term paper writers will have you covered with a thorough guide!

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

The character analysis definition explains the in-depth personality traits and analyzes characteristics of a certain hero. Mostly, the characters are from literature, but sometimes other art forms, such as cinematography. In a character analysis essay, your main job is to tell the reader who the character is and what role they play in the story. Therefore, despite your personal opinion and preferences, it is really important to use your critical thinking skills and be objective toward the character you are analyzing. A character analysis essay usually involves the character's relationship with others, their behavior, manner of speaking, how they look, and many other characteristics.

Although it's not a section about your job experience or education on a resume, sometimes it is appropriate to give your personal opinion and analysis of a particular character.

What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay

More than fulfilling a requirement, this type of essay mainly helps the reader understand the character and their world. One of the essential purposes of a character analysis essay is to look at the anatomy of a character in the story and dissect who they are. We must be able to study how the character was shaped and then learn from their life.

A good example of a character for a character analysis essay is Daisy Buchanan from 'The Great Gatsby.' The essay starts off by explaining who Daisy is and how she relates to the main character, Jay Gatsby. Depending on your audience, you need to decide how much of the plot should be included. If the entire class writes an essay on Daisy Buchanan, it is logical to assume everyone has read the book. Although, if you know for certain that your audience has little to no knowledge of who she is, it is crucial to include as much background information as possible.

After that, you must explain the character through certain situations involving her and what she said or did. Make sure to explain to the reader why you included certain episodes and how they have showcased the character. Finally, summarize everything by clearly stating the character's purpose and role in the story.

We also highly recommend reading how to write a hook for an essay .

Still Need Help with Your Character Analysis Essay?

Different types of characters.

To make it clear how a reader learns about a character in the story, you should note that several characters are based on their behaviors, traits, and roles within a story. We have gathered some of them, along with vivid examples from famous literature and cinema pieces:

Types of Characters

Major : These are the main characters; they run the story. Regularly, there are only one or two major characters. Major characters are usually of two types: the protagonist – the good guy, and the antagonist: the bad guy or the villain.
Protagonist (s) (heroes): The main character around whom most of the plot revolves.

For example, Othello from Shakespeare's play, Frodo from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and Elizabeth Bennet from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen.

Antagonist (s): This is the person that is in opposition to the protagonist. This is usually the villain, but it could also be a natural power, set of circumstances, majestic being, etc.

For example, Darth Vader from the Star Wars series by George Lucas, King Joffrey from Game of Thrones, or the Wicked Queen from 'Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.'

Minor : These characters help tell the major character's tale by letting them interact and reveal their personalities, situations, and/or stories. They are commonly static (unchanging). The minor characters in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien would be the whole Fellowship of the ring. In their own way, each member of the Fellowship helps Frodo get the ring to Mordor; without them, the protagonist would not be a protagonist and would not be able to succeed. In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, minor characters are Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. They consistently help Harry Potter on his quests against Voldemort, and, like Frodo, he wouldn't have succeeded without them.

On top of being categorized as a protagonist, antagonist, or minor character, a character can also be dynamic, static, or foil.

Dynamic (changing): Very often, the main character is dynamic.

An example would also be Harry Potter from the book series by J.K. Rowling. Throughout the series, we see Harry Potter noticing his likeness to Voldemort. Nevertheless, Harry resists these traits because, unlike Voldemort, he is a good person and resists any desire to become a dark wizard.

Static (unchanging): Someone who does not change throughout the story is static.

A good example of a static character is Atticus Finch from “How to Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. His character and views do not change throughout the book. He is firm and steady in his beliefs despite controversial circumstances.

Foils : These characters' job is to draw attention to the main character(s) to enhance the protagonist's role.

‍ A great example of a foil charact e r is Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle.

How to Analyze a Character

While preparing to analyze your character, make sure to read the story carefully.

Pay attention to the situations where the character is involved, their dialogues, and their role in the plot.
Make sure you include information about what your character achieves on a big scale and how they influence other characters.
Despite the categories above, try thinking outside the box and explore your character from around.
Avoid general statements and being too basic. Instead, focus on exploring the complexities and details of your character(s).

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

To learn how to write a character analysis essay and gather a more profound sense of truly understanding these characters, one must completely immerse themself in the story or literary piece.

Take note of the setting, climax, and other important academic parts.
You must be able to feel and see through the characters. Observe how analysis essay writer shaped these characters into life.
Notice how little or how vast the character identities were described.
Look at the characters' morals and behaviors and how they have affected situations and other characters throughout the story.
Finally, observe the characters whom you find interesting.

Meanwhile, if you need help writing a paper, leave us a message ' write my paper .'

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay

When writing a character analysis essay, first, you have to choose a character you'd like to write about. Sometimes a character will be readily assigned to you. It's wise to consider characters who play a dynamic role in the story. This will captivate the reader as there will be much information about these personas.

Read the Story

You might think that if you already have read the book, there is no need to do so again; however, now that you know the character you would like to focus on, reading it again will have plenty of benefits. It will give you an opportunity to be more precise while reading the scenes that relate directly to your character and are important for his/her analysis. While reading the book, pay attention to every tiny detail to make sure you grasp the whole array of your character's traits.

Consider the following things:

What specific descriptions does the author provide for each character?

For example, when J.K. Rowling describes Harry Potter for the first time, she describes his clothes as old and oversized, his hair untidy, and his glasses as broken. It might seem just like a simple description, but she expresses compassion and pity for an orphan neglected by his only relatives.

What kinds of relationships does your character have with others?

Think about how Harry builds up his friendships with others. First, he and Ron do not like Hermione because she acts like a know-it-all, but when she gets stuck in the dungeons with a horrendous troll, he rushes to save her regardless.

How do the actions of the character move the plot forward?

In 'The Philosopher's Stone,' Harry is very observant of any events taking place at school. He analyzes people's actions, which builds up the plot around the stone and its importance for the magical world.

Get help with your character analysis from our experts.

Choose a Dynamic Character

Choosing a dynamic character is a great idea. This does not necessarily have to be the protagonist, but a character that undergoes many changes has grown throughout the story and is not boring and/or static. This gives you a perfect advantage to fully show the character and make your paper entertaining and engaging for the reader. If you choose a character that is not very dynamic, your essay might seem monotonous because your character will not end up doing much and will not be very involved in the story.

While you are reading, it is useful to take notes or highlight/underline any of the critical elements of the story. This will add depth to your character description(s). By providing vivid and specific examples, you connect your reader to the character, and the character comes alive in their eyes. Review your notes and formulate the main idea about your character when you're finished reading with your character in mind.

Make an initial draft while taking note of the character analysis essay outline provided by your instructor. You may follow the recommended character analysis essay format if you have not been provided with a sample.

Choose a Main Idea

While reading the story, make sure you keep track of your notes. It is a good idea to look at them, choose the ones that are the most representative of your character and find patterns. This will be your thesis. Then, you must support this idea with examples and situations involving your character.

If your character were Jem Finch from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, the main idea would be how his personal character is shaped through racial conflicts, social inequalities, and internal struggles between public opinion, his own views, and what is actually right. Essaypro offers you history essay help. Leave us a notice if you need to proofread, edit, or write your essay.

Character Analysis Questions

Now that you have jotted down some main concepts about your character, here is a list of questions that can help you fill in the blanks you might still have:

Where do the events involving your character take place?
What are the relationships between your character and other significant characters?
What is the primary change your character has gone through throughout the story?
What is your character's background?
What is your character's occupation?
What kind of emotions does your character go through?
What are your character's values?
What is your character's value?
Does your character have friends?
Is there a lesson your character has learned by the end of the story?
Does the character achieve the goals he/she has set for himself/herself?

Make a Character Analysis Essay Outline

When you're unsure how to write a character synopsis, remember that creating a literary analysis outline is one of the most critical steps. A well-constructed character analysis outline will keep your thoughts and ideas organized.

Character Analysis Essay Introduction:

Make the introduction to your paper brief and meaningful. It should hold together your entire essay and spark your audience's interest. Write a short description of the character in question. Don't forget to include a character analysis thesis statement which should make a case for the character's relevance within the narrative context.

Character Analysis Essay Body:

Subdivide your body paragraphs into different ideas or areas regarding the character. Look at your professor's rubric and ensure you'll be able to tackle all the requirements. You should also be provided with questions to be answered to formulate your analysis better. The body should answer the following questions:

What is the character's physical appearance, personality, and background?
What are the conflicts the character experiences, and how did he/she overcome them?
What can we learn from this character?
What is the meaning behind the character's actions? What motivates him/her?
What does the character do? How does he/she treat others? Is he/she fair or unjust?
What does the character say? What is his/her choice of words? Does he/she have a rich vocabulary?
How does the character describe themself? How do others describe him/her?
What words do you associate with the character? Perhaps a word like 'hope,' 'bravery,' or maybe even 'freedom'?

Character Analysis Essay Conclusion:

It's time to master the secrets of how to write character analysis essay conclusions. Your ending should also hold your ideas together and shape a final analysis statement. Mention things about the character's conflicts that we could experience in real life. Additionally, you can write about how a character should've reacted to a certain situation.

Character Analysis Essay Example

Read our blogs ‘Character Analysis of Jem Finch', 'The Great Gatsby Book Through Daisy Buchanan Character,' 'Analysis of Characters in Beowulf,' or simply use these character analysis essay examples to reference your paper. You might also be interested in a synthesis essay example .

Now that you know what is character analysis, it might be time to choose a character to write about. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to type ' do my homework for me ,' you should contact our writers. You also get a free plagiarism report, formatting, and citing when buying an essay from us!

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A Detailed Guide on How to Write a Character Sketch

Updated on
Nov 22, 2022

Every one of us has at least one favorite character from the novels we love. But we often find it difficult to summarize our favorite character within a few words. The character seems larger than life and words never seem enough to portray them fully. A character sketch simply summarizes the key personality traits, background, behavior, and nature of a particular character. So, if you are wondering how to write a character sketch , this blog brings you the essential features, tips, and examples you need to curate an amazing one!

This Blog Includes:

What is character sketch, how to write a character sketch, character sketch format, tips to write a character sketch, best character sketch examples, character sketch of a teacher example, example character sketch of best friend, character sketch of neighbour, character sketch of a fictional character, character sketch assignments.

A character Sketch is a piece of text that can give a brief overview of a particular person or character to a reader. Getting an idea of how to write a character sketch greatly helps in sharpening your observational skills. Practicing a character sketch enables you to improve your summarizing skills, which benefit you in various exams. Also, it is one of the necessary skills for a person intending to pursue a career in creative writing, English literature, or even teaching.

A character sketch can be written about any character in a novel or a story, a famous person in history, or even a person you know. It introduces the reader to a particular character while providing a swift and precise overview of all their attributes. Below are some points that will guide you in writing a character sketch:

Research about the Character : To begin with, jot down their physical characteristics, personality features, emotions, etc., which would give a general idea of what includes the most important traits of the character that need to be focussed on.
Create a descriptive snapshot of the character : The best character sketches are detailed to include specific important traits, but you should avoid making it seem like a full history of the character. Start with making a rough draft initially, then re-read and revise it till it attains a satisfactory standard. Proofreading your character sketch is necessary to avoid any possible errors.
Use short, crisp sentences : While writing it is essential to remember that the character sketch aims to introduce the reader to the character and to provide an understanding of the character’s personality. The character sketch should help the reader easily form a visualization of the character when reading the character sketch.

Knowing the most necessary parts of a character sketch is essential. Observing an individual’s physical features as well as overall personality characteristics is crucial to sketching out their character on paper. Here is the format of the character sketch:

Personality Traits : It is important to define your character’s personality and physical traits in detail to help the reader visualize how they look, behave, talk, and act.
Add a Back Story or their Background : To give more depth to your character sketch, you can also inquire about what their story is, any particular thing that they always mention about their past, or their overall background so that the reader can better relate with the character. Adding a back story can further give more allure to your character as you will go beyond how they look or their personality traits.
How they Changed or Evolved over the Years: If you are writing a character sketch of someone you have known for a long time or a character you have read from a novel or short story, then you must also include their evolution and development over time. Mention how they have evolved as a person, what major changes you have noticed about them or how they see the world now as compared to before.
How they Talk and Act Around People: Observing someone, you must always analyze how they act around other people, whether acquaintances or strangers. You can also write about how the person talks about something they are passionate about or even their perspective on life. This is another way to write an excellent character sketch that will bring any simple character to life!
Their Impact on You or Those Around Them: Another way to make a loveable character is to intensify the effect they have on people and even yourself. Observe how the person behaves with others, whether they are sincere, honest, or people-pleasing, these characteristics will further make your character sketch even more human and interesting to read.

Now that you have a general idea about how to write a character sketch, mentioned below are some tips you can glance through to enhance your writing and observational skills for the same:

Focus on both the physical and non-physical features of the character.
Use words that help in the visualization of the character.
The description should be well-structured, clear, and concise.
The character sketch should provide a total outline of the attributes of the particular character. It should be written in a way that answers all the questions that the reader might have regarding a character.

To further explain how to write a character sketch, here is an example of the character sketch of Anne Frank, the youthful writer of the famed “The Diary of a Young Girl”:

Anne, the author of the diary, is a thirteen-year-old feisty girl who is more confident in writing down her thoughts in her diary than sharing them with people. While being quite close to her father, she shares an emotionally distant relationship with her mother. Throughout the diary, she grows from an innocent, stubborn, and somewhat spiteful girl to a more politically conscious, self-aware, and introspective girl of 15 years. She tries to keep an optimistic attitude even in the concentration camp she is moved to, where she dies before reaching the age of sixteen. Anne was a strong-willed and spirited girl, who struggled to keep her optimism alive even in the face of grave fear and danger.

The most simple way to learn how to write a character sketch is to pick someone you look up to and then create their character sketch. So, here is an example of a character sketch of a teacher:

It was the first day of 7th grade when Miss Neetu Singh entered our classroom. She introduced herself and told us that she would be teaching English to the class. She was a fair woman with big glasses, and long hair and always wore ethnic attire. Before starting any lesson that day and hurrying towards completing the syllabus, she simply asked everyone to introduce themselves. Miss Singh brought us many engaging games to learn the grammar basics and further helped us understand every chapter with perfection. Even with the timidest of us, she was patient and understanding and taught us to honor the learning process. She convinced our principal to field trips to many literary plays and introduced us to many popular writers and poets that went even beyond our curriculum. She remained the favorite teacher of 7th grade and the whole school and there was not a single class of ours that wasn’t filled with interactive and fun learning.

My friend Akanksha Guliani has been my real support through thick and thin in life. After being friends with her for the past 17 years, I was so thrilled today when I received the news of her getting married. I still remember the first day when I saw her in class, she was sitting on the second bench wearing glasses and adjusting her curls behind the ear. She had a round face with a cheeky nose and hazel brown eyes. She was a happy-go-lucky girl and always seemed helpful. Back then she was taller than me as she had thin legs from which even the school socks used to fall. On the very first day, we sat together and realized how amazingly we clicked with each other. She became my best friend in the class in no time. Being a new entry into the school, her chirpiness helped her in becoming a dear friend of the entire class. Her eagerness to help everyone out with her studies made her the go-to person in the class. I feel lucky to have such a wholehearted person as my best friend.

My neighbour, Mr Sharma is a gem of a person and is recognized as the heart of the entire society. The Sharma family has been living adjacent to us for the last 6 years and now they have become more of a family. Unlike the other uncles of the locality who used to scold us for being naughty, Mr Sharma was always supportive of our naughty deeds. I remember when he caught our ball and I encountered him for the first time. His bold moustaches along with spectacles were enough to scare me but as I approached him, he started giggling like us! I was shocked to see a well-dressed, 6-foot-long man with a nice hat laughing like a child. From that day onwards, Mr Sharma became the eldest member of our group. He used to spend Sunday afternoons with us playing cricket on the ground. His jolly nature and wise thoughts always equipped us with valuable insights into life in the most fun manner. It wouldn’t be wrong to call him the glue that binds us all together!

Raghu is a 12-year-old boy who lives in a small village in Uttar Pradesh. He seems a little small or rather scrawny for his age. He has thick brown curly hair that closely resembles a broom and his thinness makes him coincide with the stick of a broom. The locals often make fun office appearances. On the other hand, the adults never leave an opportunity to call him a weakling because he never speaks up for himself. Well, the reality seems to differ a little as Raghu is one of the most gentle children in the village. Unlike the ones who enjoy their time picking each other’s legs, he mostly approaches farm animals and spends his day with them. He is the only child in the village who can approach any five animals without scaring them. The animals get comforted by his smooth touch and come boys instead of the loudness of the other villagers.

Here are some character sketch worksheets you can practice with:

Character Sketch Worksheet 1

Character Sketch Worksheet 2

Character Worksheet 3

Character Sketch Worksheet 4

To write an amazing character sketch, you must include the following: 1. Physical Characteristics 2. What does your character do? 3. How do you get to know them? 4. Any personal encounter that you had with the character to understand them better. 5. How is the character by nature? Show instead of telling these characteristics and you will write one of the best character sketches!

A character sketch simply means a description or analysis of a certain character telling the reader about their physical appearance, personality traits, habits, strengths, weaknesses, and history amongst others.

Here are the necessary elements that should be in a character sketch: 1. Physical Characteristics 2. Personality Traits 3. A back story or how the writer got to know about the character. 4. What the character wants or aspires to be 5. How they talk or treat others 6. How they evolved with time 7. Habits/Strengths/Weaknesses that can tell the reader a bit more about the character

A character sketch has a certain purpose for both the writer and the reader. For the writer, a character sketch can help them define what the character is like and how he/she evolves or develops throughout the story while for the reader, it can provide them with a brief idea of the character.

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How to Write a Character Analysis: Tips and Examples from Literature

by Yen Cabag | 1 comment

Have you ever found yourself marveling at the effect one character has on a book’s storyline? What was it about that character that made them so impactful?

By conducting a character analysis, you can get fascinating insights into what makes some of literature’s most memorable characters tick, which will offer you a deeper understanding (and therefore greater appreciation) of the story. This exercise will also help you develop empathy, which is one of the most important benefits of reading and writing fiction.

In this post, we’ll walk you through the essential elements of a thorough character analysis, as well as tips and examples for writing your own.

What Is a Character Analysis?

In literature, a character analysis is when you assess a character to see what his or her role is in the bigger story. You take a deep look into their personality, traits, role in the story, and the conflicts they go through.

In analyzing, you need to think in a critical way by asking questions and considering different perspectives:

1. Character traits

When analyzing a character, ask yourself: How does this character behave? What is his or her personality type? What are their motivations? How do they relate to the other characters in the story?

Most of the time, the author does not directly name these traits, but you can observe them in the scenes that unfold. For example, in Gone With the Wind, the author never calls Scarlett manipulative, but that’s the word that comes to mind as we read scene after scene of her scheming to get what she wants.

Some of the areas you need to look at when it comes to analyzing a character’s traits are:

Motivation : What drives them to do what they do? What is their greatest dream? Their greatest fear?
Actions: How do they behave? How do they treat other people? Do they think through things carefully, or do they jump in without a second thought?
Words: How do they speak? Are their words cynical, sarcastic, or bitter, or are they kind and tender? Do they use a lot of religious words or do they use slang?
Others’ impressions: How do the other characters see them? Are they respected, feared, or despised? Why?
Nicknames: Think about the difference between hearing someone called Grumpy Moe and Little Moe. What nicknames are attached to the character? Why are they known by that name?

2. The Character’s Role

Is the character a main, secondary, or minor player in the story? Obviously, main characters tend to be more complex and play a crucial role in the story. They might also undergo transformations throughout the story. On the other hand, minor characters might be not change as much since they’re not involved in as many scenes.

Is the character the protagonist or the antagonist in the story? The protagonist refers to the main character undergoing the main conflict, which is usually caused by the antagonist (which could be a person or nonhuman force).

A traditional way of telling the two types of characters apart is that the protagonist is the good guy and the antagonist is the bad guy, except that it’s not always as clear-cut as one being good and the other evil. They can be complex combinations of good and bad traits; so instead, think of the antagonist as the opposing force.

Examples of protagonists and antagonists are as follows:

Little Red Riding Hood : The protagonist is the little girl, and the antagonist is the wolf.
Harry Potter : The protagonist is Harry Potter, the antagonist is Lord Voldemort.
Robinson Crusoe : The protagonist is Robinson Crusoe, the antagonist is his environment in the deserted island.

3. The Conflict and Your Character’s Transformation

As part of your character analysis, take a look at the conflict of the story. What is the main conflict? How do they respond? Do they grow stronger, lose control, form new relationships, sever other relationships, or discover new things about themselves?

Then, see how the conflict and all the events in the plot affect your protagonist, or the character you are analyzing. Does it cause them to grow, or do they retreat into themselves?

A quick way to find out how something affects your protagonist is to watch for verbal cues, like, “he suddenly realized…” or “finally, she knew that…” or “it was the first time he ever…”

How to Format Your Analysis

Just like all most essays, a character analysis often has an introduction, a body, and a conclusion:

Introduction: Introduce the character you are writing about using a good hook to get your reader curious.
Body: In this section, use a few paragraphs to describe the character’s traits, their role, and the transformation they undergo (you could write one paragraph for each of the sections outlined above).
Conclusion: Summarize your essay in this section, highlighting the most important traits you’ve found.

What’s an Example of Character Analysis?

Here is an original example of a character analysis of Scarlett O’Hara from Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell:

(Introduction) Anyone who’s met Scarlett O’Hara will surely look twice and be drawn to her charm. But for some reason, she doesn’t live a happy domestic life. Is it because of her attitude? Is it because of difficult circumstances that happened in her life? Is it because of the choices she made? In this essay, we will find out why. (Body) Scarlett O’Hara is the main character in the book, Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell. She is the daughter of a rich landowner during the years before the Civil War. In her youth, she is the belle of all the parties, with the boys eating out of the palm of her hand. But when she’s jilted by her long-time crush, Ashley, she connives to make him jealous by going with another boy, whom she ends up marrying just before he leaves for the war. When her husband dies, that impetuous decision leaves Scarlett a young widow with a baby boy, itching for her old life of parties and dances and fun. This causes all the neighbors to look at her with disdain, but she doesn’t care. She wants to enjoy life. That’s when she meets Rhett Butler, an enigmatic man who weaves in and out of her life. This shows us how selfish and manipulative she is, and as we read, we keep hoping that she will change. When the Civil War breaks out, Scarlett volunteers at the hospital to tend wounded soldiers, all the while still pining for Ashley, who is now married to a girl named Melanie. It appears that she doesn’t really have her heart in the work, and was only forced into it because everyone else expected her to volunteer. She and Melanie struggle through the effects of the war, coming back to her home only to find it in ruins. The experience causes her to swear never to be poor again, and she plots and finds a way to marry a rich man for his money. Once married, she goes into business despite her husband’s disapproval, and proves her wit and cunning for money-making, even at the expense of being hated by everyone. Again, we see her manipulative attitude and the way that she always gets what she wants even if it hurts other people. Eventually, she marries Rhett Butler, who discovers her continuing infatuation with Ashley, but keeps on loving her. She keeps shunning him and longing for Ashley. After encountering a dying Melanie, she realizes that she doesn’t really love Ashley and has been shortchanging Rhett, coming home to him a changed woman—only to find that he has finally given up on her. (Conclusion) Scarlett O’Hara is a complex character, whose manipulative schemes get her into trouble again and again. It’s easy to sympathize with the troubles brought about by the Civil War, but also just as easy to hate her for her selfish decisions.

Tips for Analyzing a Character

Writing a character analysis is a great way to take a deeper look into how a character acts in a story, and how their decisions move the plot forward.

By doing this analysis, we can also get insights into the decisions we make in our own lives and the consequences that come about because of these.

Did you find this post helpful? Let us know in the comments below!

If you enjoyed this post, then you might also like:

How to Write a Rhetorical Analysis: 6 Steps and an Outline for Your Next Essay
How to Write a Reflection Paper in 5 Steps (plus Template and Sample Essay)
60 Questions to Ask Your Characters
How to Write a Literary Analysis: 6 Tips for the Perfect Essay

Yen Cabag is the Blog Writer of TCK Publishing. She is also a homeschooling mom, family coach, and speaker for the Charlotte Mason method, an educational philosophy that places great emphasis on classic literature and the masterpieces in art and music. She has also written several books, both fiction and nonfiction. Her passion is to see the next generation of children become lovers of reading and learning in the midst of short attention spans.

You hit all of the major points on character and included many excellent examples.

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How to Write a Character Sketch

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Get inside your character's head

A character sketch is a quick rendering of a character, and writing a sketch is about asking and answering questions. In order to write a character sketch, you must ask yourself questions about your character. Only you, as the author, can answer these questions. Although there is no end to the types of questions you can ask, our book editors recommend the following prompts to get you thinking about who your character is so that you can write a clear and concise sketch.

Who is your character physically?

Physical characteristics are the first things we notice when we meet someone. Therefore, this is a good starting point when writing a character sketch. Is your character a woman or a man? Is he or she tall or short? Is your character bald? How old is your character? Does he or she have a disability?

Authors, eager to explore the in-depth psychology of their written subjects, might discount these details as unimportant and base. But it is often these very details that lead to conflict or are the means through which we explore a character's psychology. As an example of this, we recommend reading Flannery O'Connor's Good Country People ; in this short story, the physical details of the main character are representations of her internal state. Without a vivid description of this character's physicality, a critical dimension of the plot would be lost and the central conflict would be nonexistent. Answering questions about your character's physicality is the first step in creating a fully realized character.

What is your character doing?

This is the next question to ask because it brings into account other aspects of story writing such as setting and time. The answer to this question will also affect other aspects of your sketch, such as what your character is wearing or how he or she is feeling. Is your character walking down the street? Is he or she sitting in a park? Is your character working on a boat? Asking what your character is doing will not only help you understand your character, but also his or her relationship to the setting in your story.

Authors may be tempted to gloss over this part of characterization. When asked what his or her character is doing, an author might give a cursory answer; he or she may answer that the subject is at the movies, for example. But consider all that there is to do at a movie theatre: Is the character waiting in line for tickets or at the concession stand? Is he or she waiting to talk to the manager? Perhaps the character is sitting impatiently waiting for the movie to begin. Getting as specific as you can when answering this question will not only help you define your character, but will also help to define the other elements of fiction.

What is your character feeling?

This is probably one of the more complex questions you can ask about your character. Is your character angry? Is he or she happy, sad, tired, or depressed? Does your character love something or someone? Asking questions about your character's emotional life might evolve into the production of a character history. While this may be tempting, you have to focus on what your subject is feeling within the context of the story you are writing. Although the answers to these questions are important, they are rarely explicitly stated in the story.

Authors may be tempted to start with the emotional or psychological state of their characters and they may even explicitly state them. This can lead to one of the cardinal sins of fiction writing: telling instead of showing. Implicitly showing how your character is feeling by his or her interactions with other characters or the setting is infinitely more interesting to read than explicitly stating whether your character is happy, sad, elated, joyful, or miserable.

Building off your character sketch

A sketch is a starting point. In the visual arts, artists carry around sketch pads to practice and develop the fundamental skills of their craft with the aim of producing paintings that seem to jump off the canvas, or sculptures that seem to move in just the right light. The same is true for authors who use character sketches. Writers use this tool to develop and rehearse one of the fundamental skills of their craft—characterization. However, the final goal is not to have a notepad full of character sketches. An author should get to know his or her character through this practice.

While not everything that an author writes in a character sketch must be included in the novel, the author should develop an in-depth and all-encompassing knowledge of every facet of the character's personality in order to create a consistent and engaging persona.

The ultimate goal of a writer is to take these character sketches and use them to craft a wonderfully engrossing, character-driven work of fiction. If you want an objective set of eyes to look at your book, try our book critique editors .

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Unlocking the Art of Character Sketches: Examples and Tips

Creating compelling characters is an essential skill for any writer or storyteller. A well-crafted character sketch can breathe life into your narratives, making them relatable and engaging for your audience. In this blog, we will explore the world of character sketches and provide you with insightful character sketch examples to inspire your creative journey.

Table of Contents

Understanding Character Sketches

A character sketch is a detailed and vivid description of a character within a story. It goes beyond physical appearances and delves into the character’s personality, motivations, flaws, and aspirations. The primary goal of a character sketch is to create a three-dimensional character that feels real to the reader.

Elements of a Character Sketch

To create a compelling character sketch, you should include the following elements:

1. Physical Description

Provide a visual image of the character, including their age, gender, height, build, and any distinctive features like scars, tattoos, or clothing choices.

2. Personality Traits

Explore the character’s personality by describing their strengths, weaknesses, quirks, and idiosyncrasies. What makes them unique and relatable?

3. Backstory

Share the character’s history, upbringing, and life experiences. What events have shaped their beliefs and motivations?

4. Motivations and Goals

What drives the character? What are their short-term and long-term goals? Understanding their desires helps readers connect with their journey.

5. Relationships

Detail the character’s relationships with other characters in the story. How do these connections influence their actions and decisions?

Character Sketch Examples

Let’s dive into two character sketch examples to illustrate these elements:

Example 1: The Enigmatic Detective

Physical Description: John Smith, a middle-aged detective with piercing gray eyes and a perpetually furrowed brow. He sports a disheveled trench coat and a constant five o’clock shadow.

Personality Traits: Methodical, cynical, and relentless in his pursuit of justice. He has an addiction to black coffee and a penchant for dark humor.

Backstory: John lost his wife to a cold case that was never solved, driving him to become a detective. His dedication stems from a personal need for closure.

Motivations and Goals: John’s goal is to solve the case that haunts him and bring closure to the families of victims like his wife.

Relationships: He has a strained relationship with his teenage daughter, Emily, whom he’s unintentionally neglected due to his obsession with his work.

Example 2: The Courageous Heroine

Physical Description: Lily Anderson, a 25-year-old woman with fiery red hair and a petite frame. Her green eyes hold a spark of determination.

Personality Traits: Brave, compassionate, and fiercely independent. Lily is known for her unwavering loyalty to her friends and her love for adventure.

Backstory: Growing up in a small town, Lily dreamed of exploring the world. Her parents’ tales of distant lands ignited her adventurous spirit.

Motivations and Goals: Lily’s goal is to uncover hidden treasures and experience the world’s wonders while helping those in need along the way.

Relationships: She shares a close bond with her childhood friend, Mark, who often joins her on her adventures. Their camaraderie is unbreakable.

Tips for Crafting Character Sketches

Be Specific: Use vivid and precise details to paint a clear picture of your character.
Show, Don’t Tell: Instead of simply listing traits, show them through the character’s actions and dialogues.
Balance Flaws and Virtues: Create well-rounded characters with both strengths and weaknesses.
Use Real-Life Inspiration: Draw inspiration from real people or experiences to make your characters relatable.
Evolve Your Characters: Allow your characters to grow and change throughout the story.

Outbound Links

For further inspiration and guidance on character development, check out these valuable resources:

Writer’s Digest – Creating Memorable Characters : This comprehensive guide provides in-depth tips on crafting memorable characters.
The Creative Penn – Characterization and Character Development : Dive deeper into the art of characterization with this informative article.

Q1: How many elements should I include in a character sketch? A1: It’s recommended to include all five elements: physical description, personality traits, backstory, motivations and goals, and relationships, to create well-rounded characters.

Q2: Can I base my characters on real people? A2: Yes, drawing inspiration from real-life individuals can add authenticity to your characters, but be sure to blend and adapt these inspirations to create unique personalities.

Q3: Should I reveal everything about my character in one sketch? A3: No, it’s better to reveal character details gradually throughout the story, allowing readers to connect with the characters over time.

Crafting compelling character sketches is an art that can transform your storytelling. By incorporating the elements discussed in this blog and drawing inspiration from our character sketch examples, you’ll be well on your way to creating characters that resonate with your readers. Start exploring the depths of your characters’ personalities, and watch your stories come to life.

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How to Write a Character Sketch That Works For You

If you’ve been around the writing block once or twice, you’ve probably heard the term “character sketch” once or twice. Characters are what turn good plots into an excellent book or short story, so we’re always looking for ways to write better characters.

And very few of the best characters just happen by accident. They require thought and intentionality to get right. That’s where a character sketch can help you.

But what is a character sketch? How is it different from a character template or profile? What do they look like? And how do you write a character sketch?

Well, future bestselling author, that’s what we’re here to figure out. By the end of this article, you’ll have everything you need to know if a character sketch is right for your writing style and exactly how to make one.

And, to be clear, no drawing is required. Let’s get started.

What is a Character Sketch?

Let’s figure out what the heck a character sketch is before we start talking about how to make one.

A character sketch is a brief piece of text that introduces, describes, and answers questions about a particular character in your story.

There are multiple ways to write a character sketch. Even though we’re going to give you one way of doing it, feel free to change things up to work with your writing style. That said, most character sketches should include the following:

Physical descriptions
Conflict, motivation, and relationships
Character arcs

If you aren’t sure what all those things are yet, don’t worry. We’re going to cover each, and I’ll give you some links if you want to dive into the deep end with each one.

First, we have one more question to answer.

Why are Character Sketches Important?

To be honest, some writers don’t use character sketches. Some have entire dossiers on their characters, while others (definitely not me) have a good enough memory to just know all this stuff.

But for the majority of writers, a character sketch can be an invaluable resource.

The whole point of a character sketch is to both have a decent foundational understanding of your main character (and secondary characters) before you start writing them and to have something easy to reference when you need it.

“When you need it” could be:

While writing a scene with that character
While revising your draft to ensure your character is consistent
While coming up with an entirely new story featuring that character

Or just to show off to your friends when you want to brag about this really cool person you made up.

Because a character sketch is a reference piece, we want it to be short. No more than a page, and either full sentences with headers or bullet points. You’ll come up with your best style as we figure out what to put on there, though.

Start with the Basics

Don’t get mad at me, but we’re actually going to do a lot of work before slotting it into a character sketch.

Odds are, you’re going to have a lot of thoughts about your character. Too many thoughts, actually. Some of them will be relevant to a character sketch, while others might only live in their backstory or only come into play four books from now.

So we’re going to get all the information out, then refine it into a working character sketch.

I want you to just dump all the details, quirks, flaws, history, etc., about your character onto a page or into a word document (or into a Dabble Note if you want to make all this info super convenient while writing).

Specifically, try freewriting to get all your ideas out. Set yourself a timer—for five, ten, or fifteen minutes, whatever floats your boat—and just write down everything that comes to mind. Don’t limit yourself, don’t worry about syntax or spelling, and definitely don’t stop to evaluate what you’re writing.

Write until that timer tells you to stop. If you think you’ve got more in you, take a couple minutes to regroup, then set another timer.

Once you think you’ve successfully drained your brain onto the page, then go back and fix things up, decide what stays and what goes, and get a better look at what you want this character to be like.

Just to make sure you have all the basics of a character, before we get too deep into our character sketch, let’s make sure you have a few standard ideas.

Consider Physical Appearance

Not all writers include detailed descriptions of their character’s appearance, while some go into excruciating detail. What you opt to do depends on your voice and style, but you, as the author, should have a decent understanding of what your character looks like.

Here are some physical traits to consider. Don’t think you need to fill out all of these ideas, but aim for the majority with one- or two-word answers.

Fitness level
Scars/Birthmarks
Other distinguishing features
Disabilities
Fashion style
Accessories:
Cleanliness/Grooming
Posture/Gait
Coordination (or lack thereof)

Think About a Character’s Thoughts and Feelings

Make sure you look at what’s going on inside a character, too. A character who is just physical appearance is more like a shell or a husk than an actual fictional person. Kind of grim, but it got the point across, right?

As we dive deeper into the character sketch, these things will become more fleshed out (beyond physical traits), but consider the following:

What are their thoughts on the larger conflict going on in your story?
Do they see the world optimistically or pessimistically?
How do they feel about those closest to them?
In general, how do other characters feel about being around them?

We’re staying high-level here, but don’t feel like you need to restrain yourself when thinking about a character’s thoughts and feelings. We’ll use everything you’ve got later.

Ponder Their Relationships

Characters who exist in isolation within your story are tough to pull off. There are very few instances where having no relationships with others will qualitatively improve a character.

Start thinking about how your main character gets along with or competes with others. These relationships will be instrumental in the character’s arc as your story progresses, and it’s that journey readers will remember.

Think about:

Acquaintances

Do you need to make a list of all those relationships right now? Of course not. But I’m sure two or three really stood out to you, so make a list of those for us to plug into the character sketch later.

Flesh Out the Character

Okay, so we’ve established the basics of your fictional person. As it stands, they sort of resemble a believable character, but they wouldn’t stand up under close scrutiny.

They have all the superficial details but not the things that make them tick. To make that happen, we need to flesh them out .

Explore Their Motivations

What is the why behind your character’s actions?

It’s not good enough to say a character is doing something “just because.” Even if they’re doing it because “it’s the right thing to do,” your reader will want to know why it’s important to do the right thing.

So jot down a few notes about what motivates your character. This could be an event in their past, a goal that’s important to them, a promise they made to their little sister, etc.

If you need some assistance coming up with great motivation, check out these articles from DabbleU:

Why Does Character Motivation Matter if the Plot Slaps?
Types of Character Motivation
50+ Character Motivation Tropes and How to Make Them Your Own

Dive Further into Their Personality

So we already have a few ideas about the way our character thinks and feels, but it’s time to go deeper into the character's personality.

Think about the personality of any of your friends or family. Odds are, they have a couple defining characteristics with a sprinkling of some other quirks.

For example, I have a friend who advocates for environmental policy, is a caring mom, and also loves the chaos of wearing mismatched socks.

Those are three personality traits of varying magnitudes that reveal a lot about her.

Do the same thing for your character. Think of at least two major personality traits and two minor quirks. If those inspire you to write more , that’s great. But we really want to figure out who this person is (without getting too verbose).

Dig Through Their Backstory

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: your character doesn’t start existing on the first page they show up on.

Maybe they do to your readers, but for you, the author, there has to be a history that has led them up to that point.

This backstory informs a heck of a lot of the character and their actions. If that backstory isn’t woven into their current journey, they won’t feel believable to your reader.

Specifically, you want to focus on elements of their history that:

Created their current goals
Fuels their motivation
Birthed their flaws
Shaped their strengths

For more info about crafting a compelling (and traumatic) backstory, click here .

Define Their Goals and Ambitions

What is it your character wants? We already have their why (motivation) and ghost (backstory), but what is it they’re working towards?

That in itself could fill a whole page, but I want you to condense it into one or two sentences. Think about it like this:

Bilbo Baggins wants more adventure in his life.
Hermione Granger wants to excel at her studies.
Walter White wants to provide for his family after his cancer diagnosis.

Yes, there’s more to each of those, but we want a straightforward summary of what your character wants. As you’re writing them, everything will revolve around their goals and ambitions, even if their goal is just to help out someone else.

Want some inspiration? Here are 101 character goals to get you started.

Add the Final Touches

I don’t want to get your hopes up, but you have the makings of a complete character on your hands. With everything we’ve covered so far, your character can wander through your plot and feel real.

But there are still some last details to sprinkle in there to round out your character sketch. These deets will only serve to make your character more memorable and effective.

Understand Their Speech and Mannerisms

Since we can only rely on text and our reader’s imagination to breathe life into a character, we need to use every chance we get to differentiate them from our other fictional folk.

One of the best ways to do that is to give them a unique way of speaking or mannerism.

Does your character use metaphors when they talk? Do they have a Moira Rose accent that other characters struggle to understand? Are they ex-military and carry that sense of discipline and respect into every conversation they have?

Each character you include in your story should be identifiable through their speech or actions without adding their name everywhere.

That doesn’t mean you’ll always exclude their name, but adding a quirk in their speech or actions will help you keep up your flow while keeping your reader immersed.

Show Development Through Their Relationships

Remember those pesky relationships we thought about before? Those aren’t static, and neither is your character.

As this character grows or switches over to the dark side throughout your creative writing, how will their relationships change as a result?

Their parents could disown them. The world could see them in a more positive light. An enemy could become a lover.

And all of these should be a result of their character arc, which you can read all about right here .

Jot down how each relationship you came up with earlier will change by the end of your story.

Ensure They Are Consistent

Inconsistent characters make good stories bad. The last step before we put everything together into a comprehensive sketch is to review everything you’ve written so far.

Not for spelling or grammar errors but for consistency and continuity.

You want to make sure that their appearance makes sense with their backstory. That the character's personality jives with their thoughts. That the general vibe is the same throughout–or jarringly different for a reason.

Be sure to ask yourself, “would they do that?” or “does this make sense?”

It’s best to catch any inconsistencies now before a reader does (and gives a poor review as a result), so don’t rush or underestimate this step.

Once you’ve done that, it’s time to…

Put Your Character Sketch Together

Throughout this entire article, you’ve been compiling a lot of information about one character. The thing is, it’s too much info.

So now we want to slap everything together into a succinct character sketch. Here’s what I suggest, but feel free to add what you think is necessary.

Physical Characteristics:

Distinguishing Features:

Personality:

Quirks/Mannerisms:

Relationships (And How They Change):

Motivation:

Character Arc:

Always remember that a character sketch is a reference document meant to be quickly scanned. If you want a more detailed profile for your character, check out our template with more than 100 different traits to fill in and add character depth.

And when you’re ready to up your creative writing game, give Dabble a whirl for free for fourteen days by clicking here .

Seriously free. No credit card is required to try out all the features built for fiction writers like you.

Doug Landsborough can’t get enough of writing. Whether freelancing as an editor, blog writer, or ghostwriter, Doug is a big fan of the power of words. In his spare time, he writes about monsters, angels, and demons under the name D. William Landsborough. When not obsessing about sympathetic villains and wondrous magic, Doug enjoys board games, horror movies, and spending time with his wife, Sarah.

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

14 August, 2020

14 minutes read

Author: Kate Smith

A character analysis essay is one of the most complicated academic assignments that students usually write for Literature or English classes. Generally, this kind of essay writing requires you to describe the character in the context of the story. This can be done through the analysis of the relationship between the major and secondary characters or through your personal opinion of a particular character.

So, there is something you should learn before getting down to work. What is a character analysis and how to approach it? Let’s try to find the answers in the information below.

What is a Character Analysis?

A character analysis is a kind of essay where you examine behaviors, motivations, and actions of characters. Also, a character analysis is an in-depth assignment that makes you think critically about one or more characters and make judgements after analyzing the text. In most cases, it is used for the analysis of literary works. This form of academic writing involves personalities’ descriptions and conflicts with others they experience throughout a story. This analysis aims to provide a critical assessment of characters and build up conclusions based on the storyline. You may analyze a personality through his or her behavioral patterns or internal and external conflicts.

When you’re asked to write a character analysis, you must look at that story from a different angle. How? This is not your average reading for fun. Your task is to focus on the character synopsis and everything that’s associated with the people involved in the story.

Aim of a Character Analysis

A character analysis aims to evaluate a character’s traits, their functions, and the conflicts they have to deal with throughout the story. During the analysis, you will need to think critically, ask questions, and make conclusions about the character. To make your analysis informative, you will have to go beyond available descriptions that are written by the author. To understand the meaning of every event, phrase, and action, you will have to read between the lines. Don’t be afraid of using some additional resources if you feel like knowing more about the epoch a character lives in. If you want to gain an alternative opinion about a character, do not hesitate to find out your friends’ or internet users’ thoughts. Thus, thorough research may help you develop some creative ideas that will add great value to your future paper.

General Types of Characters

You should have a deep understanding of a character before starting an in-depth analysis. While a good character has many sides, there are some standard features to be considered:

Protagonist: Being the main figure in a story, this character has the whole plot based on their life, actions, events, and feelings.
Antagonist: Being a villain in a story, this character is positioned as the opposite figure to the major hero. Their basic nature remains negative, which makes them even more interesting than the main character. An antagonist plays a significant role even in short stories.
Major: This character dominates the story. While they are not the main one in the story, they are involved in all the events.
Minor: This character appears in a story from time to time. Their role may be significant for the plot development, but then they may disappear for some time and pop up again.
Dynamic and static characters: The existence of these two opposite characters is determined by their reflection of each other’s specifications. While one character of a story goes through an internal or external transformation, another one may have their basic characteristics unchanged. There is a common idea that an evolving character tends to be more interesting than a static one. However, you can also analyze a static character from the perspective that they are not sympathetic, smart, or deep enough to learn their lessons. Or on the contrary, they remain strong enough and can resist the system without going under it.
Stereotypical: If you are familiar with stereotypes, you will know what type of character is meant here. Generally, this particular character serves as the representation of the social, national, as well as demographic background of the story.
Foils: The main goal of this hero in the story is to stay in contrast with main characters and a protagonist in order to highlight the features of the main character.
Multi-dimensional characters: This group of characters involves an unlimited number of personalities. They are one-dimensional characters in the story who usually are not particularly interesting for the reader or viewer and do not play a crucial role in the storyline.

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay?

Before you start writing, you may wonder how to do a character analysis. Of course, you need to select a character to describe. In some cases, your professor will give you a character to talk about. By reading a story several times, you may notice the tiniest details. Ideally, you can use a highlighter or marker to mark each spot where your character is mentioned. Here are some more details of how to start with a character analysis:

Take notes while reading. Take notes by highlighting every significant element of the story.
Introduce your character. Introduce your character by providing their detailed description.
Describe your character. Provide a smooth transition from the general description of your character to the point of convergence of the story.
Build up a thesis statement. Finish the presentation with your paper’s proposal.

Main Points of a Character Analysis

When you need to analyze one character, you can make it from the perspective of several types at once. The character’s ability to change can create an additional source of analysis. At the same time, the complex and changing personality will be more interesting for the detailed analysis. To make it easier to work with such characters, you should focus on their characteristics, namely their importance for a story, actions, events, and so on. In most cases, you have to cover three major points:

Personality

Reveal the main features of a character to provide the reader with a portrait. By adding some facts and descriptions of actions, you will enable a deeper understanding of the analyzed hero. There is no need to use some words with broad meanings like “bad,” “nice,” “honest,” etc.

Role in a story

Describe the importance of the particular character in the context of the general story. Also, you should pay attention to their actions and their ability to move the events forward.

Character development

Analyze the changes the character has gone through and what features they have now. You should focus on the progress of a person, even if it is regressive.

Character Analysis Outline

In the character analysis essay outline, you should describe two or maybe even three specific character categories. Your mission is to describe the personality of the character, their function in the story, and the value they have.

Describe the personality of the character. The reader gets familiar with the characters of the story through the words the characters use, the emotions they express, and the actions they take. It is quite easy to build up an opinion about the personality of a character through the prism of their outward behaviors. Eventually, you will understand that the character fits into one of the character categories mentioned above.
Explore the character’s role . While writing a character analysis, it is important to describe the role of that character in detail. Apart from expressing unique character traits, the character will also perform a specific function in the story. Whether it will be the major or minor role, the analysis should address all the aspects of the performed role.
Outline the growth and development of the character . In order to write a professional analysis, you will explain how the character matures and transforms as the plot progresses.

The majority of characters will have to go through particular transformations until the end of the story. You should pay special attention to whether the character becomes better or worse, stronger or weaker, rich or poor. Mention any areas or scenes where these transformations occur. In the story, you will recognize them from the cues like “it was then that she understood…” or “for the first time in months, he…”

Do you need a more detailed analysis of your character?

To make your analysis essay correct, you need to explore your character deeply. If you set some points you will follow in your work, you will manage to be consequential in your analysis. So here are some crucial nuances you should remember to describe the character:

You should focus on the reasons that make the character in a story to make a particular decision or take a specific action. You have an opportunity to explore the rightfulness of those actions as well as their reasonability. While you are asked to express your thoughts about certain events and feelings, you should be objective by looking beyond the cover.

Every action taken by a character can say a lot about his/her personality. You should not skip any events because it can be important for the general story and reveal some info about the character, his/her attitude to things, etc.

You should pay attention to the words the person uses because they can say a lot about their personality. Their accents and phrases may provide you with valuable information about nationality, social status, education, or even age of a character.

Descriptions

There are two major sources of the description: from other people in a story and the author. The author can provide the reader with one attitude and description of the major character, while secondary heroes in a story may describe them from their own perspective. At that point, their conclusions may be totally different, yet they’ll provide you with an understanding of the person’s nature.

The way people refer to a person also determines the features of a character. They may have nicknames or other names that will demonstrate their background and the attitude of other characters toward them. You can also define the origin as well as other important nuances.

Character Analysis Examples

By using a readymade character analysis example, you can concentrate on the creative process itself. Here are some nice examples of written character analysis based on a couple of popular stories:

https://literatureessaysamples.com/joe-gargerys-character-analysis/

http://jmendelis.blogspot.com/p/sample-character-analysis-essay.html

Tips on Writing a Character Analysis from Handmadewriting Experts

Whether you follow a character analysis template yourself or ask a professional essay writer to complete this paper for you, you should not forget the common principles of work. Luckily, Handmadewriting’s specialists always follow the standard rules for character analysis writing:

Support all your statements with evidence. Y ou should incorporate evidence for every single point you make, although it must be relevant to the story. By means of quotes taken from the story, you can easily support your ideas and increase your credibility.
Point, illustrate, and explain. The so-called PIE method is a must for character analysis writing. Make sure to make a point, integrate quotations to support it, and explain how every quote creates the point.
Use your own words to anchor the quote. A quotation should not be left alone in the sentence. You need to explain the eligibility of this quote and its meaning.
Do not overuse quotes. You are allowed to use up to 10% of quotations in an academic paper, so remember this number. If you overuse quotes, you can hardly hope for a good grade.

Are you ready to proceed with your character analysis paper? Once you learn all writing rules and tips, you will be able to finish an excellent paper before the set deadline.

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Creating Characters for Writing

How to Write a Character Sketch

Last Updated: November 28, 2023 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Grant Faulkner, MA . Grant Faulkner is the Executive Director of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo) and the co-founder of 100 Word Story, a literary magazine. Grant has published two books on writing and has been published in The New York Times and Writer’s Digest. He co-hosts Write-minded, a weekly podcast on writing and publishing, and has a M.A. in Creative Writing from San Francisco State University. There are 11 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 300,322 times.

Character sketches are guidelines, explorations, and even short stories that are essential for writers in any form. You want to develop a consistent, realistic character early on so that you know how they would behave in any situation. The best stories feature characters that drive the plots, not plots that drive the characters, but that is only possible if you know who your characters are.

Character Sketch Template

Brainstorming Characters

Step 1 Free-write about your character to get started.

You aren't bound to any of these initial sketches -- you could very easily throw them all out. Like all brainstorming exercises, the point is to start searching for ideas you love. [1] X Research source

Step 2 Confirm the basic physical description of the character.

Approximate age
Approximate height and weight
General ethnic background (ie. "tall, blonde Scandinavian-type")
Defining physical characteristics (hair, beauty, glasses, typical clothing, etc.)

Step 3 Think about your character's overall emotions and feelings.

How do they deal with hardship? Are they powerful or weak in the world? Do they make themselves vulnerable, or are they invulnerable?
What makes them happy? Sad? Angry? [3] X Research source
Sometimes authors put their characters through the lens of psychological profiles—e.g., whether they're extroverted or introverted.

Search the internet for baby names websites such as Behind the Name or Nameberry. Most of these websites categorize the names by ethnic origin as well, such as Japanese, Arabic, French, Russian, Hawaiian, Hindi, etc.
Choose meaningful names. While this has fallen slightly out of fashion for modern literature and film, there is a rich history of sly or meaningful character names. See The Scarlett Letter, or Arrested Development for variously humorous or insightful names.

Step 5 Determine the character's relationship to the story, world, or main character.

Again, this doesn't have to be set in stone necessarily. Many writers use this space to brainstorm possible plots, conflicts, or uses the character might have.

Think of friends or acquaintances similar to your character. What is their backstory? Read biographies or real-life character sketches for inspiration.

Step 7 Find your character's overarching motivation.

What do they fear?
What do they want?
If you asked your character, "where do you want to be in five years," what would they say? [7] X Research source

Step 8 Fill in any other details that pop into your head.

What are their favorite books, movies, and/or music?
What would the do if they won the lottery?
What was their major in college?
If they could have a super power, what would it be?
Who is their hero?

Step 9 Distill your character's personality into one or two sentences.

Ron Swanson ( Parks and Rec ): An old-fashioned libertarian who works for the government, hoping to bring it down from the inside.
Jay Gatsby ( The Great Gatsby ): A self-made millionaire who earned his fortune in order to win the love of his childhood sweetheart, over whom he obsesses.
Erin Brockovich ( Erin Brockovich ): A self-assured single mother willing to fight for what's right, even if it's not in her best interests. [9] X Research source

Using Your Character Sketches

Step 1 Realize that your entire character sketch isn't going to make it into your project.

This is how we naturally comprehend people in real life too -- you may know bits and pieces of their backstory, but ultimately you know them as the sum of their experiences.
The reader doesn't need to know everything about a character to understand them just like we don't need to know everything about our friends to enjoy their company. [10] X Research source

Step 2 Illuminate your character through actions whenever possible.

Think of some masterful character introductions -- Hannibal in Silence of the Lambs, Jung-do in The Orphan Master's Son, Lolita in Lolita, -- to see how actions can speak louder than words.

Step 3 Ask yourself why the character behaves like they do.

Character sketches can change. As you write, you might realize you had something wrong, or that you need to adjust your character. If you know the overarching "why" of the character it will be much easier to figure out these changes. [12] X Research source

Usually this event relates to the larger story. For example, a romantic book might explore the character's first love, or an action story might showcase a recent mission or event.
Try to show a story that hints at how the character will react to the events in the story.
If you're struggling, imagine your story as if this person were the main character. What details would they find important? [13] X Research source

If you removed all dialogue tags ("he said," "she replied," "Kayla asked," etc.), would you be able to tell which character is which?

Step 6 Use the first time you see a character to introduce their overall impact.

How would a character introduce themselves at a party or meeting?
If you met this character in real life, what would your first impressions of them be?

Step 7 Keep your character sketches short and sweet if you're putting together a treatment.

Motivation.
Relation to the plot / main protagonist.
Details relevant to the plot.

Community Q&A

All characters are, in some way, "stolen" from other characters. Think about what two fictional characters might be the parents of your new character if you get stuck. Thanks Helpful 4 Not Helpful 3
Add everything you can to the description, including links to articles or music the character might like. Thanks Helpful 2 Not Helpful 5

↑ http://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/oct/20/how-to-write-premliminary-outline-day-one
↑ https://allwritealright.com/tricks-for-describing-a-characters-appearance-with-examples/
↑ http://www.scribendi.com/advice/how_to_write_a_character_sketch.en.html
↑ https://sandragerth.com/how-to-name-your-characters/
↑ https://blog.reedsy.com/character-development/
↑ http://chrisoatley.com/character-introductions/
↑ https://www.tckpublishing.com/character-motivation/
↑ http://johnaugust.com/2007/how-to-introduce-character

About This Article

To write a character sketch, start by writing down the physical description of the character, like their age, gender, height, weight, ethnicity, and defining characteristics. Then, determine their temperament, or the 1 or 2 base feelings through which they view life. Now that you know a lot about the character, name them and determine their relationship to the story, world, and main character. For more tips on writing a character sketch, including how to use them in a story, keep reading! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay in 7 Steps

To analyze a character in a story (whether it’s a book or film) essentially means to discuss three things:

What the character was like before the adventure
How the character responded to the inevitable challenges
How the character transformed as a result of the adventure

It is very rare that a character in a story doesn’t change. An example of that would be the film The Remains of the Day where the main character never changes. That movie was a bit disappointing 🙂

The most interesting part of any story is what happens to its characters – how they transform as a result of facing difficulties in pursuit of a goal or while trying to solve a problem:

Rocky faces a world champion to turn from a boxing mediocrity into a respected warrior and athlete
Mulan helps defeat a fearsome invader to go from an awkward bride to a national heroine
Harry Potter must face inner and outer demons to turn from a troubled schoolboy into a real wizard

If you were to write an essay about any of these characters, these would be some of the likely central points in your paper. And in this tutorial, I will show you how to go about the process.

I’m Tutor Phil, and without further ado, let me take you through the…

7 Steps to Writing a Character Analysis Essay

Step 1. Choose the character you will write about

You may already have a pretty good idea of which character you want to write about. Or, perhaps your instructor has given you a prompt with a pre-selected character.

If not, here are a few tips on choosing a character.

Make sure the character gets ample time and space in the story. Don’t choose a character that barely appears in the book or movie. Pick either the main character or a secondary character who gets a lot of attention from the author.

You can choose a protagonist or an antagonist. The protagonist is the “good” guy or gal, and the antagonist is the anti-hero. You can analyze either one because both are very important characters in the story.

Choose a character who captivates your imagination. The better your emotional connection to the character, the easier it will be to write about them. If you have more than one story to choose from, pick your favorite character from any of the stories.

These tips will ensure that you have enough material to write an essay. And let’s pick our character for the purposes of this tutorial.

The character I’m choosing is the Beast from Disney’s Beauty and the Beast (the animated feature). I absolutely love this animated film, and this also happens to be my favorite story ever.

The Beauty and the Beast as a story appears in many (almost all if not all) cultures of the world in one form or another. But we’ll focus on the Beast in Disney’s animated version because he’s a fascinating hero who undergoes an amazing transformation.

Step 2. Read (or watch) the story again while taking notes

Even if you have already read the book or watched the movie, go through it again after picking your character.

This time around, you’ll notice a lot more about this character than you did on the first reading or viewing. If it’s a movie, just watch the whole thing over while taking notes.

If it’s a long novel, you can reread only the key parts that are relevant to your character and what you might write about them.

Character Qualities and Traits You Can Discuss

Let me give you a list of qualities and character traits you can notice and make notes about as you’re revisiting the story.

Keep in mind that you can choose any one of these as your main subject in the essay. In the next step, we’ll do exactly that. We’ll also pick another one or more of these as supporting ideas.

So, make sure to take notes that are relevant to any of these aspects of character because they’ll be useful to you as you write the essay.

Aspects of a Character

Transformation (how the character changes)
Strengths and special abilities
Position/Status and how it changes
Physical appearance and traits
Psychological makeup
Role in the overall message of the story

Additional elements to jot down

Quotations. Make sure to note the exact page number or time stamp in the film because you’ll need that when citing the quotation. Dialog can often reveal clues to the inner world of the character.

Patterns of behavior. If any of the character’s behavior repeats, that is a clue to a character quality or trait. You may notice that a certain pattern of behavior occurs in more than one character. This is a possible theme you can explore in your essay.

Changes in attitude. If the character does something that is not like their typical behavior, that’s a clue to a transformation. It is interesting to learn why this character said or did something new and different. The character may be showing courage or decisiveness.

Example of Note-taking

Here is an example of the kind of notes I would take as I’m rewatching Beauty and the Beast :

The Beast starts out chronically angry. But he calms down as time progresses and he makes progress in his courtship of Belle.
The Beast is extremely strong physically
He also proves to be generous when he gifts the library to Belle
He is also gentle when he learns how to dance
The Beast is under a magic spell (a curse)
He has serious anger issues
He seems extremely possessive
He has all the qualities of a prince except the human form
He exhibits extreme boundaries and prohibits Belle from visiting certain parts of the castle
The Beast looks like some kind of a furious animal resembling a lion
He’s not exactly ugly. But he’s scary and intimidating.
He must experience real love before the last petal falls off a rose in his secret room in order to turn back into a human being
The Beast has anger issues
He is possessive and has strong boundaries of what is permissible and what is not
He does not really believe that he can make the curse dispel
He is easily frustrated
His curse came about as a result of arrogance and lack of kindness and compassion, so he has to deal with that, as well
The Beast must overcome himself in order to become human. Perhaps the message of the story is that in order to be a real human being, you must overcome flaws that prevent you from experiencing real love.
This last point sounds like a good potential main subject/idea for the essay.

Completing this step will provide you with enough ideas to write an essay of any length.

Step 3. Choose the main and supporting aspects of the character

In this step you’re really deciding what your essay will be about. Yes, it will be about this character you’ve chosen. But now you need to narrow down your subject matter.

If you try to write about everything about this character, your essay will seem like it’s about nothing. This is why you really want to pick your main subject, which is something about the character that is going to be the main theme of the essay.

You also want to pick several supporting (lesser) ideas that will help you discuss this character.

A great thing about this process is that by the time you get through Step 2, you will probably already have a pretty good idea of your main and your supporting points.

Ideas begin bubbling as you take notes. You begin to notice patterns and discern the bigger and the smaller ideas.

But this step is designed specifically for you to go over your notes and write down two things:

The main idea you’ll probably turn into the main point in your essay
Three or more supporting ideas

Here is how to do it in practice. All you need to do is create a simple bulleted list. In this list, the first one or more items will be the bigger ideas. And the second level will contain the smaller, supporting ideas.

Let’s do it, using our example of the Beast:

The Beast’s role in delivering the message of the story
He is under a magic spell (a curse)
He seems very possessive
He is scary
He is clumsy
He has enormous physical strength
He is generous deep inside
He can be gentle
He lacks self-confidence
He doubts his ability to experience love
He has great difficulty controlling his anger

As you complete this step, don’t worry if some of your ideas overlap among these categories or if you seem to repeat some of the points. You’ll sort it all out and get total clarity in the next step.

These first steps are really a brain dump. In Step 3, you simply sift through your initial notes and attempt to bring some order your thoughts. Don’t try to be perfect. Just do it.

Step 4. Take a stand and write down your main point

This is where you must decide on what exactly you’ll be arguing in your essay. This is why it’s probably the most important step of all. Your main point is your thesis.

A thesis is one main idea usually expressed in one sentence.

A thesis statement is a full statement that contains the entire argument, including the thesis and the supporting ideas.

Here’s a short video I made to explain the distinction between a thesis and a thesis statement:

In this step, we’re just writing out the main point in one sentence. We’ll write the entire thesis statement in the next step.

And we have everything we need to write our sample thesis. We have identified the biggest ideas and the smaller, supporting ideas in the previous step.

Now, we need to focus on the bigger ideas, choose one of them or put two of them together into one, and write it down.

Let’s do it, using our example of the Beast.

Character Analysis Thesis Example

Let’s think aloud a little:

We have our two big ideas that we identified in the previous step:

The Beast’s transformation – he must conquer his own anger in order to regain the human form

These are just topics; they are only subjects. We must now turn them into one complete sentence.

It looks like the Beast must overcome something within himself in order to be human again.

Can we be a little more specific? We can borrow an idea or two from the supporting, smaller ideas to clarify the main point.

Well, the Beast is cursed, and to lift the curse, he must overcome himself.

Okay, good. We’re getting there. Let’s add a little more specificity, and the thesis should come out great.

“The Beast must overcome his own anger, lack of compassion, and self-doubt in order to experience love that would lift the curse and turn him back into a human.”

Bingo! I think we got it. This thesis is virtually flawless:

The subject is clear – the essay will be about the Beast
We know exactly what to say about him
The reader now has a clear idea of the overall argument of this essay
This sentence summarizes this essay completely and perfectly.

And that’s exactly what a thesis for a character analysis is supposed to do. Now, we’re ready to write the introductory paragraph which will include the complete thesis statement.

Step 5. Write the introductory paragraph

Note that a character analysis is really an expository essay. This means that the structure of a character analysis is that of an expository (or an argumentative) essay.

And here is a diagram that depicts the structure of an introductory paragraph:

The first sentence is purely introductory. Its job is to pull the reader into the subject matter of the essay.

The next sentence is the main point. And we just wrote it, so we have this most important part of the paragraph ready to include in the opening paragraph.

Finally, the next one or more sentences must list the supporting points in some detail while still keeping the paragraph very general. That’s because we’ll be digging into the details in the body of the essay. But the intro paragraph should be general.

Before we get to the introductory sentence, let’s see if we have everything we need to write the rest of the thesis statement. Do we have the supporting points?

It just so happens that our thesis contains three wonderful supporting points that we’ll explore in the essay in detail. Why three?

Well, I usually recommend having three supporting ideas that will correspond with three main sections of pretty much any argumentative paper. I call this the Power of Three:

Why do I use it? Remember what we did in Steps 2 and 3? We listed all the elements of our character and enumerated all the possible ideas we could write about.

Well, if we don’t set a limit for how many supporting ideas we’ll use, we can end up wandering forever, trying to structure this essay.

If you go over three supporting points, then the overall structure of the essay won’t be clear to you, and you’ll waste a lot of time and effort trying to organize it.

But if you decide that you’ll have three supporting ideas – no more and no less – this makes your life so much easier. All you need to do is decide. And it’s easy – the Power of Three works!

As I was writing the main point, I already kept the Power of Three in mind because, after all, I’m the one who came up with it 🙂

I use it in almost every essay and article I write, so at this point it’s just second nature to me and will become to you as well the more you use it.

So, what are the three supporting ideas in this essay? Here they are:

Lack of compassion

These are three qualities, character traits, or emotional energies which the Beast must overcome in himself in order to experience love and achieve his goal of regaining humanity.

Do you see how this works? Now that we know exactly what we mean to say in the introductory paragraph, let’s write it out.

Example of a Character Analysis Introductory Paragraph

“Disney’s Beauty and the Beast is a story of a miraculous transformation that must be gained through hard work. The Beast must overcome his own lack of compassion, his anger, and self-doubt in order to experience love that would lift the curse and turn him back into a human. The lack of compassion caused the initial disaster, and the Beast must get in touch with his kindness and generosity to remove the root cause of the curse. He must learn to control his anger because if he doesn’t he won’t have a chance to win Belle’s heart. And he must overcome self-doubt as the final obstacle to true love because faith in love is its ultimate test.”

Let’s Examine this Paragraph

So, what have we done here? The first sentence, just like the diagram instructs, is introductory. It doesn’t state the main point – that’s the function of the next sentence, which is the thesis.

The first sentence simply pulls the reader into the essay by stating what it is about in very general terms. We could have written an intro that would be even more general. But this sentence works.

Remember – you can actually start your essay directly with the thesis. The only reason I teach my students to include an introductory sentence is that teachers and professors expect some sort of an introduction. So, just write it.

But immediately after the intro, we need to state the thesis – the main point. And we do it perfectly well in this paragraph. We wrote this sentence in the previous step, so we know exactly what it states.

Finally, and this is part three of the paragraph, we enumerate the three supporting points that help the reader see how we plan to go about supporting the main point.

We first talk about the lack of compassion, then about the Beast’s anger, and then about his self-doubt. And guess what – that’s exactly how we’ll structure this essay.

In fact, our thesis statement is the outline of our essay. Let’s take a look.

Character Analysis Sample Outline

As you can see, we have three main sections, each of which can be a paragraph or more, depending on how many words you need to write.

If you have to write up to about 600 words, then a five-paragraph structure will work great. If you have to write more, then each of the main sections will simply contain more than one paragraph.

But let’s keep things simple here and assume that we’re writing a five-paragraph essay of about 600 words. Then, we can distribute our word count this way:

Introductory paragraph (75 words)
Body paragraph 1 (150 words)
Body paragraph 2 (150 words)
Body paragraph 3 (150 words)
Conclusion (75 words)

If we add these up, we’ll get 600 words. Now that we have our introductory paragraph that has given us the main point and the overall structure, we’re ready to write the body of the essay.

Step 6. Write the body of the analysis

The body of a character analysis essay consists of paragraphs of a particular structure. Because we know that an analysis is an argumentative essay, each body paragraph should be structured in a certain way.

Here’s a diagram of how to structure a body paragraph:

A body paragraph in an expository essay, just like the essay itself, must proceed from general to specific.

The first sentence in a body paragraph is the lead sentence. It is the most general sentence in the paragraph. It functions just like a thesis does in an essay – it opens and summarizes the contents of the paragraph perfectly.

Then comes the next most general part of the paragraph – the explanation. Here, you should explain a process or describe how or why the point in the lead sentence is true.

And finally, we have the most specific part of the paragraph, which is one or more examples. Examples are the most interesting and exciting part both for the writer and for the reader because they contain all the details.

Let’s write a body paragraph for our essay. We’ll pick the first body paragraph – the one about the lack of compassion in the Beast.

Character Analysis Body Paragraph Example

“Since the lack of compassion caused the witch to cast the spell, the Beast must discover kindness and generosity within himself to eliminate the root cause of the curse. His lack of kindness and compassion is his original sin. The animated movie opens with a sequence that reveals what happened to the prince that led to him losing his human form. An old woman asked for shelter from the rain, but the prince mocked her and refused her request. She then turned into a beautiful sorceress and punished him by casting a spell, condemning the prince to the form of a beast until he can experience reciprocated love. Unfortunately for him, the Beast retains the lack of compassion well into the middle of the story. He becomes enraged when he has another visitor – Belle’s father – while the weather outside is horrible. This echoes the initial refusal of shelter. He does the same with Belle when he gives her a number of prohibitions. He refuses her food and comfort unless she meets certain conditions. In other words, it looks like he has not learned a thing since the spell was cast.”

Body Paragraph Analysis

What have we done in this paragraph? First, we started with the lead sentence. The way you can write it is just by lifting it straight from the thesis statement and changing it around.

That’s because the lead sentence is essentially an equivalent of one of the supporting points in the thesis statement. Just take that supporting point, change or expand it a little, and it will make a perfect lead sentence for a body paragraph.

Next, we provide an explanation. We explain why it is necessary for the Beast to conquer his lack of compassion. This was the reason he came under the spell.

So, he must learn from that experience and eliminate this character trait. If he fails to do that, he’ll never gain Belle’s love and will never turn back into a human.

Finally, we show that the Beast seemingly hasn’t learned a thing because he shows no hospitality or kindness to Belle and her father in the beginning. This means that he has a problem he must overcome.

Once we’ve shown this, the paragraph has served its function, and we can move on to the next paragraph.

To write the body of the essay, all we need to do is write it one body paragraph at a time, following the structure in the diagram. Once this is done, we’re ready for the final step.

Step 7. Write the conclusion

The simplest and time-proven way to write a conclusion is to restate what you already wrote. In a sense, your conclusion is pretty much your thesis statement rewritten using different words.

Let’s write out our conclusion, and you’ll see what I mean:

“To conclude, the Beast is a prisoner of his own character flaws. His lack of kindness and compassion, his rage, and his self-doubt stand in his way of dispelling the curse and becoming human again. Early in the story, he displays each of these character flaws as if he never learned his lessons from what happened to him. And he must overcome each of these traits one by one in order to get in touch with the best in him, experience love, and achieve liberation from the terrible spell.”

As you can see, we’re not saying anything new here. We’re simply restating what has already been said in the essay. And it works in most cases.

Some instructors will want you to do more in a conclusion. So, my advice is to approach your instructor and ask her what she prefers. This way you’ll know for sure.

If you want to learn more ways to write conclusions, here’s a great tutorial I wrote .

Guess what – we’re done, and I hope this was helpful! Now go ahead and write your own amazing character analysis essay.

Tutor Phil is an e-learning professional who helps adult learners finish their degrees by teaching them academic writing skills.

Character Analysis Guide: Master Literature

What is character analysis, how to identify characteristics of a character, how to analyze character development, how to analyze character interactions, how to analyze character motivations, how to analyze character influence on plot, how to analyze character influence on theme, how to analyze character arc and transformation.

How to write character analysis essay

Picture your favorite book. Now, think about the characters that brought that story to life. Their actions, thoughts, and words paint a vivid picture in our minds, don't they? Well, the secret to understanding those characters, as well as the heart of the story, lies in mastering the art of analyzing characterization in literature. It's like a fun detective game where you gather clues about characters to uncover the deeper layers of the story. Let's jump right in!

Character analysis is a fascinating journey into the heart of a story. It's about looking closely at each character and understanding their traits, roles, and experiences. Imagine you are a detective and the character is a puzzle waiting to be solved. You're not just reading about who they are on the surface, but you're digging into their actions, words, and thoughts to see what makes them tick. Here's how you do it:

Identify the character's traits: These are the qualities that make a character who they are. It could be anything from being brave, clever, kind, or stubborn.
Understand their role in the story: Every character plays a part in moving the story forward. They could be the hero, the sidekick, the villain, or even the comic relief.
Examine the conflicts they experience: Characters often face challenges or conflicts. How they deal with these situations can reveal a lot about their personality and growth.

Remember, analyzing characterization in literature isn't just about listing facts about the character. It's about understanding them in a way that brings the story to life. It's about seeing how they change, how they interact with others, and how they influence the plot and themes of the story. There's a whole world to explore within each character, so let's get started!

So, you're ready to start analyzing characterization in literature, and the first step is to identify the characteristics of a character. But how do you do it? Here is a straightforward plan:

Observe their actions: What a character does can tell you a lot about who they are. For example, if a character always stands up for others, they're likely brave and compassionate.
Pay attention to their words: Dialogue can reveal a lot about a character's personality, beliefs, and relationships with others. For instance, a character who always speaks kindly to others is likely a nice person.
Consider their thoughts and feelings: Sometimes, a character's inner world — their thoughts and feelings — can tell you more about them than their actions or words.
Take into account their appearance: How a character dresses or looks can give you clues about their personality or their role in the story.

Identifying characteristics is like collecting puzzle pieces about a character. It's not just about noting what you see or read, but about putting those pieces together to get a fuller picture of who the character really is. So, keep those detective glasses on and let's continue our journey in analyzing characterization in literature.

Now that you've got the basics down, let's move on to analyzing character development. This involves observing how a character changes and grows throughout the story. Here's the scoop:

Track the character's journey: Look at where the character started at the beginning of the story and where they end up. Have they grown? Have they learned something new? Have their beliefs or attitudes changed? This can give you a sense of their development.
Analyze key events: Major events in the story often trigger changes in characters. Examine these closely and consider how the character reacted, what choices they made, and how it affected them.
Consider relationships: Relationships can greatly influence a character's development. How a character interacts with others, their reactions, and the changes in their relationships can all signify growth or change.

Remember, not all characters will develop or change in a story—that's okay. Some characters are static, meaning they stay the same throughout the story. Others are dynamic, meaning they undergo significant changes. Both are important and understanding this is a key part of analyzing characterization in literature.

Let's dive into another important part of analyzing characterization in literature: examining character interactions. This is all about how characters relate to each other. Let's break this down:

Observe dialogues: So much can be uncovered from the way characters talk to each other. Do they argue? Are they supportive? Do they joke around? Dialogues can reveal a lot about relationships between characters.
Look at their actions: Actions can speak louder than words. If a character helps another in a tough situation, or perhaps the opposite, betrays them, it can tell you much about their relationship and interactions.
Consider their influence: Characters often influence each other's decisions and behaviors. If a character changes because of another, it shows the power and effect of their interaction.

When analyzing character interactions, it's important to note that these interactions can change over time—just like in real life. Characters can start off as friends and end up as enemies, or vice versa. Understanding these changing dynamics can give you a deeper understanding of the characters and the story as a whole.

It's time to explore the driving forces behind characters' actions. Understanding character motivations is a key part of analyzing characterization in literature. Here's what you need to watch out for:

Desires and Goals: What does the character want more than anything? This could be anything from a physical object, a relationship, a change in their life, or even the resolution of a mystery. Their ultimate goal will heavily influence their actions.
Fears and Worries: On the flip side, what does the character want to avoid? Fears and worries can be as motivating as desires and goals. They can push the character to take risks or to make safe choices.
Values and Beliefs: What does the character believe in? What are their morals? These deeply held values can guide a character's decisions, even when they conflict with their desires or fears.

Remember, motivations can evolve as the story progresses. Characters might change their minds, achieve their goals, or face new fears. Keeping track of these changes can help you understand not just the characters, but also the bigger themes and messages of the story.

The plot of a story isn't just something that happens—it's often driven by the actions and decisions of its characters. That's why analyzing characterization in literature includes understanding how characters influence the plot. Here's how you can do it:

Actions: Look at the key events in the story. How many of them are caused directly by the character's actions? A character who frequently makes things happen is likely to have a significant influence on the plot.
Decisions: Similarly, consider the character's decisions. How do they affect the story's direction? Remember, a decision isn't always about doing something—sometimes, the decision to do nothing can be equally impactful!
Reactions: Even passive characters can influence the plot through their reactions. How do other characters and events in the story change as a result of this character's responses? This can give you clues about their indirect influence on the plot.

As you can see, a character's influence on the plot goes beyond their actions. It's about how they shape the world around them, and how the world, in turn, shapes them. This give-and-take is a vital part of analyzing characterization in literature, and it can reveal a lot about the story's deeper meanings.

When analyzing characterization in literature, one often overlooked aspect is how characters can embody and influence the theme of the story. Themes are the underlying messages or big ideas of a story, and characters play a crucial role in expressing these. So how do you analyze a character's influence on theme? Here's a simple guide:

Beliefs: What does the character believe in? Their beliefs can often mirror the theme of the story. For instance, if a character strongly believes in forgiveness, the theme of the story may revolve around redemption.
Speech: The way a character speaks can reflect the theme. For example, a character who frequently talks about freedom and independence might hint at a theme of personal liberty.
Behavior: How does the character behave? Do they consistently act in a way that supports the theme? In a story themed around courage, you might find a character who consistently stands up for what they believe in, no matter the cost.

Remember, characters are often vehicles for the author's themes. By diving into a character's beliefs, speech, and behavior, you can gain a deeper understanding of the story's larger messages. And that's the beauty of analyzing characterization in literature—it's not just about understanding the characters, but also the world they inhabit and the ideas they represent.

Another fascinating aspect of analyzing characterization in literature is the character arc and transformation. A character's arc is the journey they go through, the changes they undergo from the start of the story to the end. This can provide a wealth of insight into not only the character but also the story's overall message. Let's take a look at how to analyze this aspect:

Identify the starting point: Where does the character begin in the story? Are they timid, confident, naive, cynical? This initial characterization sets the stage for their journey.
Track the changes: As the story progresses, how does the character change? Do they become more confident? Do they lose their innocence? Identifying these changes can help you understand the character arc.
Understand the catalysts: What events or experiences prompt these changes in the character? The reasons behind a character's transformation can be as revealing as the changes themselves.
Analyze the end point: Where does the character end up at the end of the story? How do they differ from the character we met at the beginning? Assessing the end point of the character's journey can provide insight into the overall theme of the story.

Character transformation is one of the most compelling aspects of a story. It's what makes us root for characters, mourn their losses, and celebrate their victories. By analyzing a character's arc, we can gain a deeper appreciation for the intricacies of storytelling and the power of character development in literature.

How to write a character analysis essay

Now that we've covered the intricate process of analyzing characterization in literature, let's apply this knowledge to the final step: writing a character analysis essay. This task may seem daunting at first, but don't worry, we're in this together. Here's how you can approach it:

Choose your character: Start by selecting the character you want to analyze. It could be a major character or a minor one—whatever sparks your interest!
Identify key characteristics: Next, list down the key characteristics of your chosen character. Remember, these can include physical attributes, personality traits, and even their habits and quirks!
Analyze character development: How does your character change over the course of the story? What experiences or events lead to these changes? This is where your understanding of character arcs comes into play.
Consider character interactions: Look at how your character interacts with others. These interactions can reveal a lot about your character's motivations and their role in the story.
Examine influence on plot and theme: How does your character influence the plot and the theme of the story? Their actions, decisions, and transformations can have significant impacts on the storyline and the underlying messages of the text.
Organize your thoughts: Before you start writing, create an outline for your essay. This will help you structure your thoughts and ensure a smooth flow of ideas.
Write, review, and revise: Now it's time to bring it all together! Write your essay, then take some time to review and revise it. Make sure your analysis is clear, your arguments are well-supported, and your writing is engaging.

And there you have it! With these steps, you're well on your way to writing a stellar character analysis essay. Remember, the goal is not to simply describe your character, but to delve into their personality, their changes, their motivations, and their impact on the story. So go ahead, flex those analytical muscles and dive into the wonderful world of character analysis!

If you enjoyed our Character Analysis Guide and want to dive deeper into the world of creating compelling characters, be sure to check out the workshop ' Creating Characters: The Design Process ' by Kit Buss. This workshop will provide you with valuable insights on how to design unique and memorable characters for your stories, further enhancing your understanding of literature.

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Your Guide to Creating a Character Sketch (With a Free Template!)

The ability to create memorable characters is what separates mediocre writers from master storytellers. The books we read that we can't forget often include characters that appeal to us for their humanity (or lack thereof), and they come to life on the pages in ways that only a great writer can make happen.

So how do writers make such memorable, real-life characters? One way is to create intensive character sketches for each character of a story and writers vary in their approach to doing this. In this article, I'll discuss how to create a character sketch and provide a template for you to use (unless you'd rather create your own).

When determining the physical aspects of your character, it's important to keep in mind that you shouldn't stop with hair color, eye color and skin color. Sure…these are important aspects to help the reader visualize the character, but a character's overall physical appearance includes so much more. The more you consider in the character sketch, the easier it will be for your character to come to life on the page. With that in mind, consider these physical characteristics, as well.

What is the character's face shape (round, oval, heart-shaped, square)?
Does the character have freckles, sun spots, a birthmark, or scar on his or her face?
What is the color, texture, and length of the character's hair?
Does the character dye his or her hair?
Does the character have facial hair and if so, how long is it and what is its texture?
What color is the character's skin and does it have freckles, wrinkles, sun spots, or scars?
Does the character have tattoos? If so, what kind of art is it and where is it located?
What body type does the character have (lean, athletic, curvy, overweight)?
Does he or she slouch?
How tall is your character?
Where does your character carry most of his or her weight?
Is there a strange gait to his or her walk?
What type of clothing does the character like to wear for lounging/relaxing?
What type of clothing does the character like to wear for formal occasions?
What type of clothing does the character like to wear outdoors?
What type of shoes does the character tend to wear? Are they scuffed?
Does the character take pride in their appearance?
Are the character's clothes neatly pressed or wrinkled?
Are there any particular pieces of clothing or jewelry your character owns that has special meaning for him or her? If so, what pieces and why are they special?

Psychological

If you've ever sat down to people watch—and let's face it, all writers should make this practice a part of their daily routine—then you've probably already noticed psychological aspects on a subconscious level. For example, when you see the girl walking beside a man busy looking at his phone, her face downcast and a frown turning her lips, your mind picks up on subconscious characterization and revelation. You can piece a story together of their relationship quite easily with this one glance, and although it may be wrong, you've used psychological techniques to create depth when encountering strangers. The same thing happens when you consider the psychological and subconscious actions of your character for a character sketch.

What is the character's overall outlook on life (optimistic, pessimistic, depressed)?
Does the character have anxiety, claustrophobia, insomnia, PTSD or depression?
Is your character introverted or extroverted?
Does your character have a good relationship with his or her mother?
Does your character have a good relationship with his or her father?
Does your character have a good relationship with his or her siblings?
Does your character have a significant other? If not, why?
Is your character an addict? If so, what is he or she addicted to?
What is the life mistake your character most regrets?
Does your character drink alcohol? If so, how much?
Does your character have healthy relationships with friends?

Think about how much your history has shaped you into the person you are today. In fact, it could be argued that every facet of who we are as humans stems from our history. In the same way, your character's history should shape him or her as a living, breathing entity that comes alive on the page. The more that history "fits" or makes sense to the reader, the more believable your story and characters are. For example, if your character suffered a childhood trauma and you want that character to be believable and "real," the reality is that he or she will demonstrate aspects of PTSD and/or have a negative relationship with the responsible parent. Thinking these details through helps you to connect all the dots of the character—physical, psychological, and historical—to create a compelling persona that feels real and alive to your reader.

What was your character's mother like?
What was your character's father like?
Does he or she have any siblings?
Where was your character born?
What were the circumstances of your character's birth?
What were the circumstances of your character's early childhood?
What were the circumstances of your character's preteen and adolescent years?
How did your character do in school? What were his or her favorite subjects and why?
When did your character first fall in love and with whom?
Has your character ever been in legal trouble?
Does your character have a history of addiction?

Try our free template

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How to Write a Character Sketch

How to Write a Science Research Paper

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Character Sketch Guidelines

A Character Sketch is a great way for your student to assess the characters in the literature they are reading or people that they are researching about. It can give them tools of observation as they look at the many details about another individual.

When studying a specific character in a literary piece the sketch gives the student the freedom to be a detective and try to find out what the author is expressing through their characters. They can sketch the protagonist ( the favorable hero or heroine in the story,) or the antagonist ( the character which causes the conflict for the main character), or the supporting characters. Assigning this kind of paper sharpens the skill of observation and note-taking as they focus on one specific character and the traits that make them ‘who they are’ in the book.

Can you write a sketch without a book to study? Absolutely! A great way to give them practice for writing from a literary piece is to sketch someone they know in real-life. Choosing someone they admire makes it both fun and encouraging. ( Plus what a blessing it would be to share it with the person they are writing about.)

When you are writing a Character Sketch, want to look for qualities of character and/or personality traits that you see in the person you want to write about. The main goal of the assignment is to be able to tell something about the person you are researching. Think of it like an introduction. In essence, you are introducing the reader to the person you are writing about.

Be sure to use strong visual words in your writing. You want to provide a lasting mental image of the person or character you are writing about. The use of quality adjectives and feeling in your writing, using words that relate to the five senses, elicit an emotional response from your reader. This will allow your reader to not only connect with you and the character but will show how you felt when reading a piece or spending time with the person you are writing about.

A character sketch is not a history of the person; however, this type of paper requires you to give only a brief glimpse of the individual. When you are preparing to write make a list of the traits or details you want to include. If you have a word limit on the assignment it is possible to assign the number of traits equal to the # of paragraphs or supporting topics needed. Or you can categorize the subjects into a broader spectrum which allows you to have multiple supporting points for each topic. It is always best to outline your writing material first so you have a good idea what you are writing.

Your outline should include descriptions on the following details:

° Tell about their physical features. ( hair color, height, etc.)

° Tell about the character’s personality. ( are they funny, serious, quiet, etc.?)

° Their likes or dislikes( What you know about their preferences and why?)

° Talk about their family ( siblings, family history, etc)

° What are their beliefs or hobbies?

° Include anything that makes us see “who” they are.

° What do you like or dislike about them?

° Why are you drawn to them?

Here is a sample outline for you to follow. It is a basic 5 paragraph ( approximately 500 wd essay outline) Feel free to take this and make it your own or make your own outline using this a s a guide.

I. Introduction:

This section will introduce the character and is typically the 1 st paragraph in your paper. It should include the following:

Your thesis statement ( the overall theme of the paper or the main idea of what you are writing) . The Thesis statement should include the most important character traits.
The subtopics ( these become the topic sentence in your body paragraphs) should be included in this paragraph as well. For example: use 1 – 2 sentences to list the traits that you are going to talk about. End with a transition sentence that ties into the 2nd paragraph.

II. Body :

This is paragraphs 2-4 or the in between paragraphs. The body comes between the Introduction and the Conclusion. These paragraphs detail the traits listed as the subtopics from the Introduction. Those subtopics should be the topic sentences in each body paragraph.

Remember! You want to pull your reader in so include details that will connect them to your main character .

III. Conclusion:

This is the last paragraph in your paper. Try to conclude with a final comment, pointed and well-expressed, that highlights the traits discussed in the paper.

Restate your thesis statement.
Remind the reader of your most important points.
Close with a solid statement which finalizes all you are trying to communicate to the reader.

Remember a good paragraph is 3-7 sentences. All sentences need to have a subject and a predicate. They should be a complete thought. Utilize tools of dress up in your writing. ie: quality adjectives, strong verbs, adverbs, prepositions, adverbial and or adjectival clauses etc. A GREAT resource for this is the IEW Student Resource Notebook which you can find on the Institute for Excellence in Writing Website.

Last point! RE-read your papers. I always encourage my students to write their rough draft and then walk away for at least a day or two. Then go back with FRESH eyes and re-read it. Always have someone else read it through for those little editing mistakes it is easy to miss in your own writing.

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Character Sketch Essay Example

What is a character sketch? A character sketch is a brief description of a person’s physical and personality traits. It is not meant to be a complete or exhaustive portrayal of every aspect of that person. Rather, it is meant to give the reader a general sense of who the character is and what they are like.

When writing a character sketch, it can be helpful to think about what kind of impression you want to make on the reader. Do you want them to see the character as someone who is friendly and easy to get along with? Or do you want them to see the character as someone who is more guarded and difficult to get to know? Whichever impression you choose, try to be consistent in your portrayal of the character throughout the sketch.

One way to make a character seem more three-dimensional is to give them some quirks or unique features. Maybe they have a nervous habit, like biting their nails or twirling their hair. Maybe they always dress in bright, eye-catching colours. Whatever you choose, make sure it fits with the overall impression you’re trying to create of the character.

Finally, remember that a character sketch is meant to be brief. You don’t need to include every single detail about the character in your description. Just give the reader enough information to get a general sense of who they are and what they’re like.

Following the death of his father, Finley began trudging to his chamber, thoroughly irritated by the day’s events. Michael was a tiny boy with black hair and bright blue eyes who wore what he wore every day, which was tangerine clothing and heavy brown boots.

As he turned the knob to his room, he found that it was already open. As he looked around cautiously, he failed to see any culprits in his room until he heard a voice. “Boo!” His best friend Patrick had jumped out from behind the door and scared Michael half to death.

“Dang it Pat! You nearly gave me a heart attack!” Michael said as he put his hand on his chest trying to catch his breath.

“Sorry man, I just couldn’t resist,” Patrick said with a grin on his face. Michael and Patrick had been best friends since they were both five years old and they had never gone a day without talking to each other. Even though they were complete opposites, they somehow just clicked. Patrick was always the outgoing one and he loved to play pranks on people, while Michael was more introverted and preferred to meditate in his free time.

“What are you doing here so late anyway?” Michael asked.”I could ask you the same thing,” Patrick said. “I came over to your house after dinner because I knew you would be home alone.”

“My parents are out of town for the weekend and they left me here by myself,” Michael said. “So I’ve just been hanging out in my room, trying to meditate and clear my mind.”

“That sounds really boring,” Patrick said. “You should have called me sooner! We could have hung out together and had some fun.”

“I know, I’m sorry,” Michael said. “I just needed some time to myself. But I’m glad you’re here now.””Of course I am!” Patrick said. “Where else would I be?”

Michael and Patrick spent the rest of the night talking and catching up on each other’s lives. They laughed until they cried and shared stories that they had never told anyone else. They fell asleep in Michael’s room, dreaming of all the adventures they would go on together in the future.

Michael was a retiring and bashful youngster with little friends. Because he had few friends, Michael grew introspective. Michael meandered softly through the park, mulling over his dream. Something that all people desire is friendship, according to Michael.

Michael thought about what it would be like to have friends, and how his life would change. Michael decided that he needed to change himself in order to make friends. In order to make friends, Michael started to meditate. Through meditation, Michael was able to clear his mind and focus on the present moment. In the present moment, Michael was able to be himself and make friends.Because of his newfound ability to be himself and make friends, Michael’s life changed for the better. He was happier and more fulfilled.

Making friends can be difficult, but it’s worth it in the end. If you find yourself having trouble making friends, try meditating. Meditation can help you clear your mind and focus on the present moment. When you’re able to be present, you can be yourself and make friends more easily. If you’re struggling to make friends, don’t give up. It’s worth it in the end.

Michael entered his room and lay down on his bed, keeping completely still. He began to think about how terrible his day had been. His enormous angelic eyes became droopy and nearly fell shut as he pondered. A moment later, the doorbell rang, waking him from his sleep. Michael swung open the door to find a group of his classmates standing there.

They were all there to play video games, but Michael had other plans. He had recently started to meditate and found it quite peaceful. He figured that if he joined them, they would just distract him from his current state of zen. So, he politely declined and went back into his room.

Although Michael enjoyed his newfound hobby, he couldn’t help but feel a little left out. He had always been a very social person, so not being included in activities with his friends made him feel lonely. However, he knew that he needed to stick to his goals and continue practicing meditation. After all, it was helping him become more centered and calm.

Michael’s story shows the importance of staying true to oneself, even when it means being alone. It’s easy to get caught up in what other people are doing, but it’s important to remember that we all have our own journey to take. Just because someone else is doing something doesn’t mean that it’s right for us. We each have to find our own path and follow it, even if it means going against the grain.

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Writing a Character Analysis Essay | Step-by-Step Guide

1. What is a Character Analysis Essay?

2. What is the best Character Analysis Essay Format?

1. Start with the Simple Details.

2. What are the character’s distinctive personality features?

3. What are the character’s key relationships?

4. What are the character’s motivations?

5. What are the character’s key conflicts?

6. What are the character’s epiphanies?

7. Examine the moral message the character teaches us.

3. Here’s 13 Example Character Analysis Essay Ideas.

4. Here’s an Example Template for your own Character Analysis Essay

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay

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How to Analyze a Character

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay

Read the Story

Choose a Dynamic Character

Choose a Main Idea

Character Analysis Questions

Make a Character Analysis Essay Outline

Character Analysis Essay Introduction:

Character Analysis Essay Body:

Character Analysis Essay Conclusion:

Character Analysis Essay Example

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