Exercise-6 Date:____________
Skill Focus: Identifying Character Traits through explicit and implicit information
Definition: Characterization is the way an author develops a character, or reveals who characters are and what they are
like.
Part A
Directions:
Read each sentence carefully.
Highlight the specific evidence from the text that leads you to each character trait.
Underline the character trait it describes or suggests.
Underline the method of characterization used by the author to reveal that trait.
Direct Characterization Indirect Characterization
The writer makes direct statements about a character. The writer gives clues and depends on the reader to draw
Example: Mohit was an eating machine. He never said no conclusions (infer) about the character’s traits, through
to any food items. what the character says, does, thinks, feels, and what
other people say or think about the character.
Example: Mohit eyed the boy’s pizza hungrily. He’d already
gobbled up 15 donuts and two milkshakes, but it was
never enough.
Example: DIRECT INDIRECT
Luis’s mouth twitched, and his fingernails were all bitten short.
Luis is: happy dishonest brave nervous
“I know the answer!” Maya shouted at her friend. “I’m not stupid!” DIRECT INDIRECT
Maya is: unfriendly conceited coy oversensitive
Vanshika looked as if a strong gust of wind might carry her away. DIRECT INDIRECT
Vanshika is: resourceful unhappy small brilliant
When he saw his baby brother sniffling in a corner, Ansh patted the seat next to DIRECT INDIRECT
him. “Wanna play?”
Ansh is: sheepish nervous lonely sympathetic
Too lazy to actually reach for it, Manisha just stared wishfully at the TV remote. DIRECT INDIRECT
Manisha is: confused eager inactive unruly
Aman peeked into the package and thought she might explode. “An iPad! You DIRECT INDIRECT
got me my own iPad?”
Aman is: anxious excited sensitive meek
Rohan’s eyes--how they twinkled! His dimples, how merry. His cheeks were like DIRECT INDIRECT
roses, his nose like a cherry.
Rohan is: frightened perplexed mournful jolly
Part B
Passage What it reveals about the character
Example:
Owen looked around to see if anyone was coming, then Owen is sneaky and dishonest.
quietly took the girl’s cell phone from her open purse
and slipped it into his own pocket.
Squeaky was a skinny girl with a squeaky voice – which, Squeaky was thin and
of course, is how she got her nickname. had soft voice .
Tanishi could see the new girl struggling to find her way
to her next class. Remembering what it felt like to be the Tanishi was helpful
new kid, she went back, extended her hand to the girl and friendly.
and said, “Hi, I’m Tanishi. Need some help?”
Aaron leaped from the plane without so much as a
moment’s hesitation. Although he was extremely fit, it
was more difficult than he had expected to hold his
arms at his sides and arch his body into a steep glide.
Skydiving was as exciting as he had hoped.
Manan always looked like he’d just jumped out of bed.
Manan was a messy boy
His clothes were rumpled, his socks were mismatched,
and his hair stuck up all over.
“There’s no way I’m letting him beat me,” thought
Aashni, and she willed her legs to move faster still
Aashni is not a giving Person and haworker
toward the finish line that seemed a million miles away.
up person
Twisha watched the big girl position herself between her
most recent victim and the classroom doorway.
Instinctively, Twisha started to race for the safety of her
next class. Then, she hesitated. She saw the fear on the
little kid’s face and thought, “How can I leave her?”
