character sketch essay short example

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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Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

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Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ Social-Emotional Learning (Definition, Examples, Pros & Cons)
Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ What is Educational Psychology?

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline

A character analysis is an examination of the personalities and actions of protagonists and antagonists that make up a story. It discusses their role in the story, evaluates their traits, and looks at their conflicts and experiences. You might need to write this assignment in school or college. Like any other essay, your character analysis should contain an introduction, a conclusion, and a thesis.

Want to know how to write a character analysis essay? Not sure how to start? We understand. Whichever piece you choose – Lady Macbeth, A Rose for Emily, or something else, – analyzing a character for the first time might be challenging. No worries, we are here to help! In this guide by our custom writing experts, you will find a step-by-step guide, outlining and writing tips, as well as a number of character analysis examples.

📔 Character Analysis Definition
🧙 Types of Characters
📝 Writing Guide
🖥️ Formatting Tips

📑 Character Analysis Essay Examples

📔 what is a character analysis essay.

A character analysis essay is an assignment where you evaluate a character’s traits, behaviors, and motivations. It requires critical thinking and attention to detail. Unlike descriptions, analyses focus on a character’s personality and internal drives. It explains how those factors shape the narrated events.

The picture shows the definition of character analysis.

So, what you need to do is to see the characters as if they were real people who feel and act just as we do. Ensure there are no baseless assumptions and interpretations: the ideas you present should be supported by quotes from the text.

Character: Definition (Literature)

How do you define a character? It is a person, a creature, or an animal that makes up the story’s world. A character can be based on a real-life person, or it can be entirely fictional. It is someone who thinks, feels, and acts.

We use the word “character” in many different contexts. For instance, it can denote someone eccentric or worthy of our admiration. In both contexts, the term “character” means a distinctive personality. Similarly, in an analysis, your task is to show what makes a character stand out.

Characterization: Literary Definition & Examples

Characterization is the process by which a character’s personality is revealed. It presents characters’ traits, feelings, and motives to the reader. For this reason, characterization is closely connected to character analysis. It helps us to understand the characters better throughout the reading process.

Characterization can be direct and indirect .

Direct characterization is when the narrator directly tells the audience what the personality of a character is.
In contrast, indirect characterization shows things that hint at a character’s nature.

Here are some examples of direct characterization taken from Patti Smith’s Just Kids :

“But he always suppressed his real feelings, mimicking the stoic nature of his father.”

Here we see a direct description of a character. The author straightforwardly talks about Robert’s feelings. In comparison, look at the description of a woman taken from John Steinbeck’s The Snake :

“He looked around at her again. Her dark eyes seemed veiled with dust. She looked without expression at the cat’s open throat.”

These lines don’t directly reveal anything about the woman, but the reader can understand that she is cold and dangerous. It’s an indirect characterization that focuses on looks and actions to convey the message to the reader.

🧙 Types of Characters for Your Essay

When it comes to characters, they can be divided into several groups. For example, characters can be:

Protagonists or antagonists,
Static or dynamic,
Flat or round.

These types define how much the characters change through the course of the story and their role in it.

Character Type: Definition

In psychology, a character type is defined by a combination of personality traits that coexist in an individual. Authors incorporate different types of characters into their works to convey the message and make the story more exciting or relatable to the reader.

There are three ways to categorize a character type:

by archetypes,
by their role in the narrative,
by their ability to change throughout the story.

If you are about to write a character analysis essay, being familiar with character archetypes is essential. They have been categorized by a generation of writers, including the Swiss psychologist Carl Jung and the American literary theorist Joseph Campbell. A lot of characters we see in today’s literary works are rooted in them.

Archetypes include the Trickster, the Ruler, the Lover, the Sage, and others. The Hero is one of the most notable archetypes. Hercules or Achilles can be good examples of heroic protagonists. They are strong and courageous; they meet challenges and save the day by helping others.

Main Character: Definition & Examples

The main character and the protagonist often get mixed up. Most narratives also have the figure of the antagonist , whose actions affect the plot and stimulate change. Let’s have a look at the similarities and differences between these types.

The main character is central in the narrative. We experience the story through their eyes. They don’t necessarily have to be protagonists, though it happens in many cases.

The crucial difference between the main character and the protagonist is that the protagonist goes through changes throughout the story. The main character, however, is there to guide the reader through the experience. Often they help to show a different, darker side of the protagonist.

To understand the difference better, let’s turn to some examples.

What’s a Static Character?

Now that we’ve learned about the main character and the protagonist, we will closely look at other types of character classifications. One of the ways to categorize a character is by their ability to change throughout the story.

A static or simple character is someone who undergoes little or no significant changes. They often exist for comedic purposes. Here are some examples:

Complex Character: Definition & Examples

Complex or dynamic characters are the opposite of static characters. Characters of this type change as the book progresses. They display different qualities, emotions, and motives. They become more complicated and interesting to the reader as the story unfolds.

Check out these examples of dynamic characters:

Other Kinds of Characters

You already know about several ways to define a type of character. Now, let’s go over some other types, starting with flat and round characters.

Similar to dynamic and static ones, round and flat characters represent two different ends of a spectrum. Round characters usually come with an in-depth background. They are traditionally protagonists, antagonists, or those close to them. In contrast, flat characters are two-dimensional, and there is not much depth to them.

For the examples, we will turn to the novel Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen.

Finally, here are some bonus character types for you:

Stock characters have a fixed set of traits and are flat. Most of the time, they exist for comical relief.
Symbolic characters represent a concept or a theme that goes beyond them. They can be round and flat as long as they symbolize a particular notion or phenomena.
Sidekick is a secondary character who supports the protagonist.
The love interest is someone with whom the main character is infatuated.
Foil is someone who’s set in contrast with the protagonist, thus putting more emphasis on the latter’s qualities.

Characterization Essay: Which Character Type to Choose

Before you start writing a paper, it essential to decide on the character you’re going to analyze. There are different types of characters in every story, so you need to choose which one suits your essay topic the best.

Usually, it’s best to choose a dynamic and round character . With static and flat ones, there may not be enough substance for you to analyze. However, some such personalities can be interesting to work with. For instance, a flat character such as Mr. Collins can be symbolic of something. Then, you can talk about how it embodies a specific idea or notion. You can also look at how they affect other characters in the story.

📝 How to Write a Character Analysis Step by Step

Now, we’re going to discuss how to write your paper step-by-step. But first, here are some pre-writing steps for you to consider:

Choose a character for analysis.
Take notes while reading;
Define the type of the character and their role in the story;
Pay attention to their descriptions and actions.

How to Analyze a Character: Description Examples

Knowing how to organize your work is an essential skill. Certain things need special attention if you are describing a character:

physical appearance,
emotional state,
how the character speaks,
behavior and personality traits,
relationships with other characters.

When you analyze a character, try to look at them as if they were a real-life person. You want to know their motive, learn about how they feel, and understand why they think in a certain way. Ask yourself:

How did the character change throughout the story (if at all)?
What do other characters say about them? Can their words be trusted?
Where is the character physically and emotionally? What brought them here?
What is the character ready to do to achieve their goal?

Now, let’s look at the character of Franklin from the short story Just Before the War with the Eskimos by J.D. Salinger:

Character Profile Template for Writing

When writing your essay, use this character analysis template:

The picture shows the main steps in writing a character analysis essay.

In the following sections, we’ll discuss each step in detail.

Character Analysis Outline: How to Start a Character Analysis

The beginning of your essay is its crucial part. It sets the mood and grabs the reader’s attention. There are many different ways to write a character analysis introduction, but here are the most effective ones:

Use a quotation. It’s a great way to make a catchy hook. If it relates to the character and reflects their nature, it can also help to set the tone for analysis. In case you are using a quotation from somewhere else, mention the source in parentheses.
Talk about the book or story. Mention the author, the name of the story, and the genre. Briefly describe the main events that are taking place in the story.
Introduce the character. State their role in the story (define whether they are a protagonist, an antagonist, etc.) Then, explain whether the character is static or dynamic. Finally, describe them in 2-3 sentences.

The final part of an introduction is a thesis statement.Read on to learn how to write one!

Character Analysis Thesis Statement & Examples

A thesis is the key component of every essay, and character analysis is not an exception. It’s crucial to develop a good and clear thesis statement that includes all the aspects of your paper. For instance, if you plan to write a 4-paragraph body, including 4 points in your thesis.

What should a character analysis thesis include? Well, try to think of any trait that the character possesses that has to do with their downfall or somehow influences the story. Think about how this trait affects the character’s relationship with others or how it contributes to their motive or aspiration.

Take a look at the following examples:

How to Write Character Analysis Paragraphs for the Main Body

The main body of your essay can include as many paragraphs as you need. In this part, you introduce the character and analyze them. We have already talked in this article about what kind of questions should be answered in these paragraphs. The most important points are:

Describe the character and their role within the story.
Give the audience an explanation of the character’s motives.
Show what message the author wanted to convey through this character.

Keep in mind that every paragraph should have a topic sentence that captures its main idea.

Tsukuru Tazaki’s spiritual rebirth also affects his physical appearance.

Character Analysis Conclusion: How to Write

The conclusion part of your essay summarizes all the information you have mentioned and restates the thesis. Here is some advice for your conclusion paragraph:

🖥️ Character Analysis Essay Format

Most college assignments and essays are written according to the APA or MLA format. Both styles have the same formatting, which requires:

a double-spaced paper with 1-inch margins,
a page header with page numbers flush right,
an 11-12-point font.

While writing an essay on characters, pay special attention to quotations. Here are some tips for APA in-text citations:

When you summarize or paraphrase the information, mention the author’s name and publication date in brackets. Example: According to Collins (1997.)
When you quote directly from the source, add the number of the page, as well. Example: “There is a view that…” (Collins, 1997, pp. 134-135.)
If the source includes three or more authors, use the abbreviation “et al.” after the first author’s name. Example: (Collins et al., 1997)

As for MLA format:

You can write the author’s name in the sentence. Example: As Collins mentions in his essay<…>.
You can mention the author’s name in the parentheses at the end of the sentence. Example: (Collins, J.K.)
The last option is to use either footnotes or endnotes.

Below you’ll find a collection of character analysis essay examples and a downloadable sample to inspire you even more.

The Grandmother in A Good Man Is Hard to Find: Character Analysis
Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman: Character Analysis
Jay Gatsby and Nick Carraway: Character Analysis
Prospero in The Tempest: Character Analysis
Agamemnon in the Iliad: Character Analysis
Lord Pococurante in Candide: Character Analysis
Andromache in the Iliad: Character Analysis
Character Analysis of the Knight from The Canterbury Tales
Essay on Soldier’s Home: Analysis of the Characters

Character Analysis Example (Downloadable)

Roald Dahl’s Matilda is one of the most famous children’s novels of the 20th century. The protagonist of this tale is Matilda Wormwood, a five and a half-year-old girl with a brilliant and lively mind that distances her from the rest of the family. Matilda’s character is particularly interesting as she has a powerful personality with extraordinary mental abilities, and she manages to overcome all the obstacles that surround her.

Character Analysis Essay Topics

Character analysis of Abbas from A.D.: New Orleans After the Deluge .
Jay Gatsby in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Beowulf and Hamlet: similarity and diversity of the characters.
Personal and social failures of Willy Loman in Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller.
Character analysis of Othello.
Analyze the characters of Stanley and Blanche from A Streetcar Named Desire .
The tragedy of Mathilde Loisel from The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant.
Character analysis of Huck Finn from Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn .
Moral force of Kate Lipton from Double Helix by Nancy Parker.
Character analysis of Thorvald and Nora in Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House .
Discuss the character of king Creon in Antigone .
Analyze the personality of Lydia from Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice .
Compare Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan from The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Describe the peculiarities of Lord Pococurante in Candide .
Sarty Snopes in William Faulkner’s Barn Burning : character analysis.
Analyze the character of Biff Loman in Death of a Salesman.
Personality of Nora in A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen.
Examine the main characters of The Yellow Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman.
Personality change of the main character in Edgar Alan Poe’s The Black Cat .
Analyze the characters of E. Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place .
Describe the main characters of the novel The Overstory by Richard Powers.
Controversial personality of Vladek in Maus: A Survivor’s Tale by Art Spiegelman.
Character analysis of Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.
Discuss the character of Creon in Oedipus the King .
The manipulative character of Iago in Willian Shakespeare’s Othello .
Analyze the characters of Nil and Kristine in A Doll’s House .
Eccentricity of Grendel’s character in Beowulf .
Describe the main characters of Four Summers by Joyce Carol Oates.
Examine the characters of Harold Krebs and his mother in Ernest Hemingway’s Soldier’s Home .
Analyze common and different traits of the characters in The Monkey’s Paw .
Character peculiarities of Rostam and Sohrab in Shahnameh by Ferdowsi Tousi.
How does the character of Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen differ from the rest of her family?
The behavior and meaning of the characters in Nicholas Rowe’s The Tragedy of Jane Shore.
Compare the characters of Victor Frankenstein and the monster in Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Shelley.
Discuss the differences of main characters in Everyday Use by Alice Walker.
Examine the character of Connie in Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been by Joyce Carol Oates.
The influence of social pressure on the characters of Chopin’s Desirée’s Baby and Sedaris’ A Modest Proposal .
Dynamic feminist characters of Delia and Jig in Sweat by Z. Hurston and Hills Like White Elephants by E. Hemingway.
Analyze the personality traits of Emily in William Faulkner’s A Rose for Emily .
Examine the characters of The Quiet American by Graham Greene.
Henry ΙV by William Shakespeare : analysis of main characters.

Now you know everything necessary for writing an excellent character analysis. What character would you like to analyze? Let us know in the comments!

❓ Character Analysis FAQ

A character analysis involves:

1. description of a character; 2. explanation of how they change throughout the story; 3. their role in the narrative; 4. relationships with other characters; 5. what idea the author wanted to convey through the character.

A character analysis creates a description that contains their most important qualities. It provides a new perspective of a character that reveals more about what it’s like to be human. It can also point to a moral or a lesson.

Literary analysis uses the technique of tracing the character development. This technique is usually used to understand the theme of the work better. Through tracing a character’s development, we can learn more about the story’s message and how it’s conveyed.

A summary paragraph in a character study should include answers to the questions “what,” “who,” “where,” and “why.” You should mention who narrates the story, where the story is set, its theme, and the message it conveys.

Critical Concepts: Character and Characterization: Kansas State University
Analyzing Novels & Short Stories: Texas A&M University
Guidelines for Writing a Character Analysis Essay: Tidewater Communite College
Literary Criticism: Thesis Examples: The University of Texas at Arlington
Writing a Literary Analysis Paper: Germanna Community College
Flat and Round Characters: Encyclopedia Britannica
Literature: University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
How to Write a Book Analysis: Kean University
Elements of Literary Analysis: Alamo Colleges District
Defining Characterization: Read Write Think
APA Style: General Format: Purdue University
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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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A character flaw is a fault, limitation, or weakness that can be internal or external factors that affect your character and their life.

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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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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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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 characters analysis essay

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A character analysis is a type of essay that requires you to analyze and evaluate the characteristics, traits, motivations, and decisions of a literary character. It involves closely examining such aspects as their personality, thoughts, behavior, and development. You should further explain how a character contributes to the overall meaning of the work.

When writing a character analysis essay, it is important to think critically and look beyond basic understanding of the character. For example, instead of simply describing their physical traits or explaining what happens in the plot, focus on how the characters think, feel, and interact with other characters. Examine the motivations behind their decisions and actions, as well as how they reflect a larger theme or idea in the work.

In this blog, we will explain how to write a character analysis essay. You will find a strtucture, outline and step-by-step guidelines along with examples.

If you don’t have much time for reading, we’ve got an easy solution for you. Entrust your assignment to essay writing services by StudyCrumb and get a custom paper tailored to your specific requirements.

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

The main task of a character analysis essay is showing in detail key characteristics and certain person’s traits. Essay includes not just ordinary situations. It shows possible occasions for describing fictives fully and circumstantial. This type of essay helps understand how a hero will act in this or that situation, why would he do so, what were his reasons for these deeds? Analysis helps in figuring out what role a person plays in a story: great one or just secondary. Moreover, knowing the needed words of an analysis essay will enlarge students’ spoken literature.

What Is a Purpose of Character Analysis Essay?

Main purpose of a character analysis essay is helping the reader understand who's the bad one and who is among the good guys. This helps catch the idea of the story from the beginning. Knowing how a hero acts in this or that separate case, speaks a lot about his point of view. Essay divides all characters into main and minor ones. Detailed character analysis essay helps readers understand the nature of personages from an early beginning. Very often the story has several chapters, so the reader could discover much about a certain person from his doings/opinions.

Types of Character Using in Character Analysis Essay

While writing a character analysis essay, students have to remember two central personages: protagonist (key person) and antagonist. These are the main ones. The most striking roles are divided between them. Additional (minor) figures:

confidante.

Each hero has special traits and behaviors. The round one is described as a person of passion having depth in feelings. Foil one is opposite one to positive, main one. Flat one is another side of round one: no vivid emotions, no changes while the story is being told. Use our college essay writing service to turn in the best character analysis your instructor has ever seen.

Protagonist — The Main Character

Protagonist in character analysis essays is the main story’s hero. This is a person all situations revolve around. They are the bearer of truth, the spokesman for the author's ideas, the main drive behind the plot. They don't have to even be a positive hero. After all, there is also an antihero - a protagonist with morally ambiguous or straight-up negative traits. Protagonist is a key figure, all other personages are considered minor ones. For better understanding of the protagonist, consider these examples: Romeo and Juliet, Katniss («Hunger Games»), Harry Potter, MacBeth. You can also consider Walter White («Breaking Bad»), Dexter Morgan («Dexter») and Hannibal Lecter («The Silence of the Lambs») to be antiheroes. All these examples are dynamic.

Antagonist — Character in the Opposite Position

Antagonist in character analysis essays is an opposite one to the protagonist. This type of character belongs to the dark side. Often, this can be a jealous, envious, bad, villain gossip person. They don't have to be the one ruining good protagonist’s plans, but they alway get in hero's way. Actually, there may even be more than one antagonist who may become hindrance for the protagonist. And if they are neutral in present, in the nearest future they will show their nature. Opposition between both protagonists and antagonists is clearly seen throughout the whole story. There is, of course, a catch. As with protagonists, there's more to know about antagonists' traits. After all, an anti-villain is also a thing! Basically it's when an antagonist has some heroic traits or can be sympathized with. One can also say that it's that type of person who has good intentions or their goal is pretty good, but their methods took a very wrong turn at some point. Othello, Captain Hook and Lord Voldemort — great antagonists’ examples. And those like John Silver, Khan («Star Trek») and Erik Lensherr («The X-Man») can be called anti-villain basically.

Major Characters

Major characters in character analysis essays are those who create a story. They play main (and clearly - important) parts, and have key roles. They make a so-called key set of personages. They are close confidants to the protagonist. If some conflict appears, major figures are mentioned first. Robinson Crusoe is a bright example.

Minor Characters

Minor characters in character analysis essays are often called supporting. They are important, but rarely are described in the story as key ones. This kind of fictives is represented by Yoda, Samwise Gamgee, Jabba the Hutt. They don’t remarkably influence the actual plot. Why flat? Because of no vivid progression.

Dynamic Characters

Talking about dynamic characters in character analysis essays - Shrek is a fine example. He is a dynamic personage because he changes: becomes softer and opens his heart to people. Fictives like him influence the story and make changes in the course of events. Their main feature: they change and grow throughout the story, making the reader sympathize with them. Another good example: Aladdin, Merida, Simba, Anakin Skywalker.

Static Characters

Static characters in character analysis essays do not change throughout whole story. They remain the same with their thoughts and opinions. Static personages are best described with the likes of Indiana Jones, Robin Hood, Sherlock Holmes. These personages are positive ones - though, unchangeable. Their points of view and tastes remain identical until a story ends.

Foils in character analysis essays are based on stereotypes and are opposite of main heroes. They have several key characteristics: they are wicked, distracted, conniving and scrooge. At the same time main personages are principled, focused, generous, and well-meaning. Foils are depressed and pessimistic, while main heroes — optimistic, kind, and good.

How to Analyze Characters in Character Analysis Essay?

While writing a character analysis essay, you should give a hero a general picture. Description has to grab appearance peculiarities and traits. Students must depict whether personage is good or bad. Are they pessimists or optimists? Do they have negative or positive thoughts? There are 3 main steps for analysis:

Describing personality.
Determining type of protagonist.
Defining role in story.

To explore tiny personage’s quirks, all characteristics are taken into account. Just like in any literary analysis essay , you will need to pay special attention to literary devices that help reveal the true nature of a character.

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay Outline?

Character analysis essay outline includes 3 main parts: introduction, body, conclusion. Below you can find short description to understand some peculiarities:

Introduction should be meaningful and brief. After reading this piece, essay’s idea should be understood.
Main body is one that should be divided into paragraphs with described main heroes. It should give detailed answers to different questions concerning personality and appearance. Pay attention, separate paragraph depicts what we learn from hero or situation.
Conclusion is the one where you should draw the final line of analysis. Summarize points you've given above, loop to your thesis statement or give your reader some food for thought. Just remember that this section should be brief.

Additionally, it will be good to write how a situation changed because of main hero's influence.

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

Instruction for writing character analysis essays is based on several steps. First, read a story carefully to find a person whom you are interested in. After reading the book, students should be able to completely grasp a key idea. Next steps include:

choosing dynamic hero ;
taking notes;
defining main idea;
answering analysis questions.

Concerning last point, think over next questions:

What is hero's value?
What kind of emotions does your hero go through?
Does personage have a profound impact on plot?
What are relationships between heroes and other significant figures?

Understanding an effect that main hero has on plot, it is easy to grasp the meaning the author put in their work.

How to Begin a Character Analysis Essay?

Character analysis essay introduction is the first step to start. It should describe whole essay in miniature. It's kind of a catchy hook for readers to get interested and proceed to explore chosen book. Introduction shows a completely full story in several paragraphs. To show all necessary information, make use of the thesis statement. These are rounded with text. It is fine to describe some catchy scenes and episodes to fuel readers’ interest.

Character Analysis Essay Body Paragraphs?

While introduction is a grand way to actually introduce the hero, character analysis essay body goal is identification of main personages features. Body should depict:

Hero’s personality and physical appearance.
Conflicts and ways of overcoming them.
Lessons readers should learn.
Meaning behind hero's actions.

Dynamic figure is key personage. Separate attention is given especially to them. Additional paragraph should describe a reader's feelings: what words are associated with a hero? Brave, modest, lucky, confident? Answers are key points to create a comprehensive description.

How to End a Character Analysis Essay?

How to write a conclusion paragraph for an essay ? Character analysis essay conclusion contains author’s point of view on course of events. Main ideas should be described shortly and clearly. Final part is a kind of review but with student's opinion. Lessons learned are described. For example, a story might teach how to live honestly, help poor people, feel merciful to others, etc. Remember that sheets’ personages teach us how to behave in real life. Many situations shown will be useful in everyday life. Hero’ deeds teach us how to cope with problems and find ways from tangled situations.

Character Analysis Essays: Final Thoughts

A character analysis essay is used for composing lines between parallel personages. It shows the present course of events that will make sense in future. Important traits and characteristics that are depicted in the book. They have a hidden idea, some kind of lesson. Comprehensive analysis helps to understand the meaning the author wanted to shed light on. Knowing main heros’ personal characteristics helps to explain their behavior and world perception. Buy essays for college in case this assignment isn't what you wanted to do this evening.

FAQs' for Character Analysis Essay

1. what is a good thesis statement for a character analysis essay.

Character analysis essay is saturated with essential messages. It appears at the end (in last sentence) of introductory paragraph. Its task is to inform reader about information they will get acquainted with. Every sentence has hidden meaning concerning heroes. Remember, introduction must be brief but meaningful. Student’s thesis statements should be specific — include only points that will be discussed. Good thesis statement should grab readers’ attention, make them read whole story.

2. What kind of essay is character analysis?

A character analysis essay mostly deals with certain books’ personages, though, figures from cinematography are involved. Its task is to explain in-depth key features of personages. Antagonist and protagonist are main ones. There also exist additional ones. This kind of an essay explains behavior and state of mind. Personal traits and preferences also make up whole picture described.

3. How do you write a literary character analysis essay?

Character analysis essay demands describing chosen personage in detail. Firstly though, it is needed to determine personage’s type. Next step include turning to plot for showing examples. Students have to explain why personages decide do act that way, after all.

Daniel Howard is an Essay Writing guru. He helps students create essays that will strike a chord with the readers.

Character Sketch in Composition

An Introduction to Punctuation
Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
B.A., English, State University of New York

In composition , a character sketch is a brief description in prose of a particular person or type of person. In writing one, you go into the character's manner, distinct characteristics, nature, and the way that person behaves him or herself. It's also called a profile or character analysis and doesn't necessarily have to be about a fictional character.

How to Approach a Character Sketch

Even though it's an informative type of essay, a character sketch doesn't have to be dry and only descriptive. "It can also impress or entertain the reader or praise the subject," notes author R.E. Myers. "The facts, traits, idiosyncrasies, and accomplishments of the subject provide the fabric of the character sketch. Anecdotes and quotes are also helpful in portraying the subject. You can stress the subject's personality, appearance, character or accomplishments." ("Figures of Speech: A Study and Practice Guide." Teaching & Learning Company, 2008)

If analyzing a fictional character, you can also go into the person's conflicts, how the person changes, his or her attitude toward others, and role in the story. You can list the person's likes and dislikes and how you feel about the character. If the character is the narrator, you can discuss whether the person is an unreliable narrator.

A character sketch can also be satiric , as in work by authors such as Evelyn Waugh (1903–1966) and Thomas Pynchon (1933–) or modern-day television sit-coms. As a composition, a satiric sketch would likely need to be written in the character's voice and point of view to work.

Use of a Character Sketch

Besides being an essay type that students write in composition classes, fiction authors can use character sketches in their prewriting or drafting stages of short stories or novels as a means to develop the people who'll inhabit the world they're creating. Writers who plan series (or even those who just end up writing a sequel to a successful story) can find character sketches useful as a reference for maintaining consistency of detail or voice, if the character ends up being a narrator in the subsequent work or has a particular vocal tic, slang vocabulary, jargon use, or accent. Often the act of taking on the character's voice in a sketch will assist the author in discovering aspects of the character and fleshing him or her out to be more realistic. Character sketches can also be a task to work on when stuck for a plot point, character's motivation to move the plot forward, or attitude/reaction toward a conflict or event.

In nonfiction writing, character sketches can be useful for biographers or feature article writers as a prewriting tool and as descriptive material to mine for the finished work.

Annie Dillard's Sketch of Her Childhood Friend Judy Schoyer

"My friend Judy Schoyer was a thin, messy, shy girl whose thick blond curls lapped over her glasses. Her cheeks, chin, nose, and blue eyes were round; the lenses and frames of her glasses were round, and so were her heavy curls. Her long spine was supple; her legs were long and thin so her knee socks fell down. She did not care if her knee socks fell down. When I first knew her, as my classmate at the Ellis School, she sometimes forgot to comb her hair. She was so shy she tended not to move her head, but only let her eyes rove about. If my mother addressed her, or a teacher, she held her long-legged posture lightly, alert, like a fawn ready to bolt but hoping its camouflage will work a little longer." ("An American Childhood." Harper & Row, 1987.)

Bill Barich's Sketch of a Publican

"The publican, Peter Keith Page, lives with his family in a flat on the second floor. Page is a fiftyish man, slender and well-tailored, whose manner might be described as studiously charming. His mustache and hair are tinged with auburn, and this, along with a sharp nose and chin, makes him look a bit like a fox. He enjoys jokes, subtle conversations, double entendres . When he takes one of his turns behind the bar, he works at a measured pace, often pausing to ask after his patrons' health and well-being." ("At the Fountain." In "Traveling Light." Viking, 1984.)

David F. Venturo, "The Satiric Character Sketch." In "A Companion to Satire: Ancient and Modern," ed. by Ruben Quintero. Blackwell, 2007.

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay With Examples and Tips

Icon Calendar 18 May 2024
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Essay writing is an exciting and valuable academic exercise for students at all levels of learning. Basically, the practice helps in developing students’ critical thinking skills. For example, when writing a character analysis essay, students use these skills to cover a specific character’s personality and mannerisms objectively. Moreover, this type of essay aims to analyze a character in a story in such a way that readers can develop a mental picture of them. In this case, the secret of writing a good character analysis essay involves choosing a dynamic character, such as a protagonist or an antagonist. Then, another tip is to write the first draft and read it at least twice to identify and correct errors and mistakes. In turn, the final draft should reflect a perfect document. Hence, students need to learn how to write a good character analysis essay with its features.

Definition of a Character Analysis Essay

Among many different types of essays is a character analysis essay, a text that describes a particular character in a story. When writing this essay, students analyze relationships between characters in question and other characters, paying particular attention to their mannerisms. Also, these mannerisms are exemplified by their behaviors, styles of speaking, physical appearances, and many other characteristics. Even though students may offer their personal opinions when analyzing specific characters, they must employ critical thinking and be objective. In essence, what matters in a character analysis essay is factual information about a character in question. In this case, the writer’s opinion should support rather than challenge the specific traits and characteristics of a character. Hence, a student writes this type of essay when instructions require them to discuss how a particular character is shaped in a story.

Types of Characters

When analyzing a character in a story, writers must first understand what kinds of characters are their subjects. Typically, there are different types of characters whose distinctions are based on particular behaviors, traits, and roles that they exemplify within a story. In turn, the main character types fall under five categories: major, minor, dynamic, static, and stoic.

1. Major Characters

In a story, major characters run a storyline, and they define a plot of this story. For example, there are two types of major characters: protagonists and antagonists. In this case, the former represents typical heroes, those characters that the audience is likely to admire. Then, the latter represents characters that take the role of a villain. Basically, the audience is likely to despise this type of character. Moreover, it is easier to spot protagonists because a story’s plot revolves around them. In literature, examples of protagonists include Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, Othello from the tragedy Othello by William Shakespeare, Elizabeth Bennet from “Pride and Prejudice” by Jane Austen, and Frodo from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. On the other hand, examples of antagonists from the literature include King Joffrey from Game of Thrones , Darth Vader from the Star Wars series by George Lucas, and the Wicked Queen from “Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.”

2. Minor Characters

As opposed to major characters, minor characters do not run stories. However, they are ones that help major characters to shine through storylines. In other words, minor characters in the course of their activities help main characters to create situations and circumstances that reveal the central characters’ personalities. As explained, this personality is defined by mannerism. Then, examples of minor characters in the literature include the whole Fellowship of the Ring in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. Individually, these characters help Frodo, a protagonist, to deliver the Ring to Mordor. In turn, another example of minor characters in literature is the duo Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger in J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series. On several occasions, they help Harry Potter, a protagonist, in his battle against Voldemort.

3. Dynamic, Static, and Stoic Characters

Dynamic characters are those characters that change the course of a story in certain respects. In many cases, a protagonist is a dynamic character. Moreover, an example in the literature is Harry Potter from J.K. Rowling’s book series, who notices that he is similar to Voldemort in many ways throughout a storyline. Nevertheless, he resists “dark” traits that define Voldemort because he is a good person. As such, he resists any temptation to become a dark wizard. On the other hand, static characters never change in a story. Also, an excellent example in the literature is Atticus Finch from “How to Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. Despite finding himself in controversial circumstances, he remains firm in character and worldview throughout a story. Further on, stoic characters draw attention to the main character(s), and their role in a story is to fortify the protagonist’s role and image. In turn, a great example of a stoic character in literature is Dr. Watson from Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle.

Step 1: Preparation

Preparation is the starting step in writing a critical analysis essay. In essence, this step involves planning how to go about writing. Basically, a student reads a story, chooses a character, defines a topic, prepares ideas, and considers the audience and its needs. In this case, the essence of preparation is that it enables students to “get it right” from the beginning. Moreover, it is by preparing that students take into consideration requirements and seek clarification as necessary.

A. Reading a Story

In most instances, instructors guide students on which story to read and a character to analyze. However, if such guidance is not provided, a student should – as a matter of priority – choose a story and a character in this story to write about. About a story, writers should read it at least twice to have a good understanding of a plot and each character’s role.

B. Choosing a Character

The standard practice is that a character analysis essay focuses on major characters (protagonist and antagonist) as subjects of analysis. However, as indicated, an instructor may require students to analyze a specific character. In this case, instructions can require students to explore how a minor character enhances a major character’s image in a story. Also, the writer’s issue is to identify characters for analysis and read all about them in an assigned story.

C. Defining a Topic

Like any essay, a character analysis essay should have a topic. Basically, even though the goal is to analyze a specific character, writers must have a topic that underscores their work. When defining a topic, students may follow the instructor’s prompt or develop their own approach. Ultimately, a character analysis essay topic should align with the paper’s goal, which is to analyze a specific character.

D. Preparing Ideas

Typically, students get ideas about their work as soon as they read prompt requirements given by their instructors. When writing a character analysis essay, a student should generate ideas after reading instructions and reading through them. However, it is the latter exercise that serves as the foundation of ideas for writing a text. Indeed, this aspect exemplifies the essence of a character analysis essay, focusing on how a character emerges from a story. As discussed, a character can only be a protagonist, antagonist, minor, dynamic, or stoic. Understanding where characters fit helps a writer to generate ideas about effects of their roles in a story. Here, students should apply critical thinking to dissect characters objectively.

E. Considering an Audience

Every form of writing has an audience – readers that writers have in mind when writing their texts. In essay writing, the main audience is the instructor. However, in an application essay for college, the audience is the admission board of a college or university. Since instructors determine the quality of a character analysis essay, students should consider their requirements. Ideally, these requirements reflect what instructors, as the audience, need regarding a character analysis essay.

Step 2: Setting Up the Stage

The second step in writing a character analysis essay is setting the stage for the actual writing of a text. Here, students engage in several activities, including finding credible sources, making notes, creating an essay outline, and creating an annotated bibliography. As an academic text, a character analysis essay should satisfy all academic writing conventions, including backing up claims and arguments with evidence. Although a learner can write about a character in a story by simply reading a story, a character analysis reflects an in-depth discussion about a specific character. Hence, students should write about what others (scholars) have said about a story and a character.

A. Finding Sources

Reliable sources are external texts that writers rely on to find evidence supporting what they intend to write. Basically, when writers make claims or observations when composing a text, they must back it up with evidence to avoid making what they write seems like a personal opinion. Notably, subjective opinion is not encouraged in academic writing, unless writers are using it objectively. Moreover, the only way that students can demonstrate that their essays are free of bias is by providing evidence for their claims, arguments, opinions, and observations. In turn, this evidence comes from external academic sources – books and journal articles.

B. Making Notes

After finding sources, a student should read through them while making notes. Basically, these notes should be relevant to a task at hand. Therefore, when authors of a character analysis essay find sources pertinent to their mission, they should make notes as they read through them and write down what they find interesting about their characters. Given that the task at hand involves analyzing a character in question, students’ notes should reflect a deeper understanding of this character, such as what others say about their manner of speaking or effect in a story.

C. Creating an Outline and an Annotated Bibliography

Like any other academic text, such as a research paper, a term paper, a Master’s thesis, or a dissertation, essays have outlines that provide a structure. Typically, this outline involves having three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. When writing a character analysis essay, a student should stick to this essay structure. Then, an annotated bibliography summarizes study sources that writers intend to use to get evidence that backs up their claims and arguments. Although it is not needed in an essay, students who write a character analysis essay can develop one based on credible sources that they identified in the second step of essay writing. In this case, annotated bibliographies would provide quick access to evidence that learners need to strengthen their papers.

Step 3: Actual Writing of a Character Analysis Essay

After preparing and setting the stage, authors of a character analysis essay begin the actual writing of a paper. Here, students begin with the first draft, which provides an opportunity to organize thoughts, make mistakes, come up with new ideas, find new sources that back them up, and alter a critical analysis essay outline. Basically, this stage is about putting everything together to develop an essay that addresses the instructor’s requirements.

A. Writing a First Draft of a Character Analysis Essay

When writing a character analysis essay, students are likely to make numerous spelling and grammatical errors and other mistakes, such as inconsistent arguments and illogical conclusions. As such, writing the first draft provides writers with this allowance since they would have an opportunity to perfect their work. Nonetheless, the first draft’s content should mirror the expected work, which is dissecting a character’s personality.

Step 4: Wrapping Up

After writing the first draft of a character analysis essay, students must read and reread their work to identify all mistakes and errors. As discussed above, the chances of the first draft having spelling and grammatical errors, illogical conclusions, and inconsistent arguments are high. In turn, this fourth step in writing a character analysis essay provides students with an opportunity to perfect their work. Here, learners revise and edit the first draft to eliminate all errors and mistakes and ensure that their papers reflect a format of an academic text in all aspects. Also, body paragraphs should have topic and concluding sentences, transitions, and right formatting. Additionally, writers should subject their work to peer review and then write the final draft.

A. Revising and Editing the First Draft

The purpose of reading the first draft at least twice is to identify all errors and mistakes, as explained above. Basically, once writers note them down, they should revise their papers accordingly, ensuring that all inconsistencies are corrected. Moreover, students should edit all spelling and grammatical mistakes to give a written document to look like a professional appeal.

B. Topic Sentences

The first statement that a student writes in every paragraph in the main text (body) should reflect a topic sentence. Basically, this sentence aims to introduce a single idea that a writer intends to develop in a paragraph. By considering a character analysis essay, this idea can be a claim or an observation about a subject under analysis. In this case, the standard practice is that a single idea that a writer expresses in a topic sentence should align with a paper’s thesis statement, as it is developed in the introduction part of a character analysis essay.

C. Concluding Sentences

While a topic sentence introduces a paragraph, a concluding sentence brings it to a close. For example, a reason why a student writes a concluding sentence is to finalize an intended message captured in a section. As such, it provides the writer’s concluding thoughts about a topic sentence and how it advances a thesis statement. Also, the content that comes between topic sentences and concluding sentences reinforces a sandwich rule: making a claim, backing it up with supporting facts, elaborating on it, and indicating its relevance in a context of a thesis.

D. Transitions

In writing a character analysis essay, students need to create a document with a natural flow from a beginning to an end. Basically, the aspect that enhances this flow is the use of transitions, which involve words and phrases, like “consequently,” “hence,” “thus,” “nonetheless,” “as such,” and “put differently.” In this case, a writer can use these words and phrases in any part of a text. However, using them in the main text is more appropriate as it is where writers need to create linkages between claims, evidence, and elaborations. Hence, transitions make such connections flawless and logical.

E. Formatting

When writing an academic text, it is critical for students to observe all academic writing rules. For example, one of these rules is writing a character analysis essay according to assigned rules that guide a paper format that learners are using to write their work. In this case, the main paper formats are APA 7, MLA 9, Harvard, and Chicago/Turabian, all of which differ in certain ways. For instance, they all have different requirements for citations and paragraph formation. Therefore, when writing a character analysis essay, a student should format a paper according to the appropriate writing format. Although learners may observe this rule when writing the first draft, they should certainly do so when creating the final draft.

F. Peer Reviewing

When writing a character analysis essay, students should ensure that their work is of high quality. Basically, what makes an academic text of high quality is peer review, which means subjecting a written work to a critical review by a friend, tutor, or mentor. For example, journal articles are regarded as peer-reviewed scholarly sources for a simple reason that they have been reviewed and made perfect. In turn, this perfection entails ensuring the absence of errors and mistakes and the use of credible and reliable sources.

Step 5: Writing a Final Draft of a Character Analysis Essay

The final draft represents the final work of a student in writing a character analysis essay. Basically, it is a document that students hand over to the audience by way of submission or publication. As such, writers must ensure that their texts are of the highest standard to eliminate the possibility of attracting penalties, such as a low grade or lousy review, in case they publish their work on online platforms. Also, to be clear that what students have is of the highest quality, they should read and reread their papers. In turn, it is the only way in which they can be sure that there are no errors or mistakes.

Simple Outline Example of a Character Analysis Essay

As indicated in the previous section, students should take time and create an outline for their work when writing an essay. This outline comprises three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion as below.

I. Introduction Paragraph II. Body Section (this part may include several paragraphs) III. Conclusion Paragraph

While most academic texts follow this outline, some papers differ on features that writers address in each section. Basically, when writing a character analysis essay, students should ensure that the introduction section highlights its thesis. In turn, this statement guides the entire writing, meaning that it is the central claim or idea in a paper. In body paragraphs, writers should ensure that topic sentences open each paragraph while concluding sentences end them. Moreover, learners should ensure sufficient and appropriate use of transitions and observance of a sandwich rule. In the conclusion section, students should restate the thesis and summarize the paper’s main points.

How Students Know That They Write a Character Analysis Essay

Generally, the purpose of a character analysis essay is to provide an in-depth analysis of a specific character. As such, writers know that they write a character analysis essay if their texts describe a given character’s personality and mannerisms. In turn, the latter entails how a character in question behaves, speaks, looks like (physical features), and their familial and social relationships, as it is covered in a story.

How a Character Analysis Essay Differs From Other Papers

When it comes to an outline, a character analysis essay is similar to other types of papers. However, regarding the content, this type of essay differs from other papers significantly. For example, an argumentative essay focuses on making the writer’s argument acceptable to the audience, meaning that the content revolves around the writer’s perspective regarding an issue. In contrast, a character analysis essay focuses on providing the audience with a detailed picture of a specific character in a story, meaning that the content revolves around a subject (character). In an informative essay, the writer’s goal is to educate the audience about a topic or an issue, meaning that the content revolves around explaining concepts relating to a specific theme in question. Therefore, the point of difference between a character analysis essay and other essay types is content more than structure.

Easy Strategies for Writing Each Section of a Character Analysis Essay

When it comes to the introduction, authors of a character analysis essay should provide a hook, which can be a statement, quote, or a joke. Basically, a hook sentence aims to grab the reader’s attention and make them interested in reading the entire paper. Then, if students know how to write a hook, they provide a brief background of a text after it. Also, it is where they introduce a story and a character under investigation. In turn, writers should conclude this section with a thesis, thus outlining the purpose of writing. About the main text (body), if learners are familiar with the rules of how to write a topic sentence, they begin each paragraph with it, which establishes a claim. Further on, the feature that follows is evidence (supporting facts) and then an explanation. As a result, the last element is a concluding sentence.

1. Paying an Attention

Based on the above information, it is evident that authors of a character analysis essay must pay attention to several things. In the introduction, writers should pay attention to the thesis, and, in the body paragraphs, they should follow a sandwich rule. Basically, this rule reinforces the claim-evidence-explanation approach. In the conclusion section, students should pay attention to the main points’ summary to make sure no new information is captured in this paragraph. Additionally, learners should ensure that they provide closing remarks, which emphasize their objective opinions about subjects matter.

2. Major Mistakes and How to Avoid Them

Besides spelling, grammatical and other mistakes, writers of essays make other mistakes, leading to the fact that their work becomes less than high-quality. In writing a character analysis essay, one mistake that students make is to focus on a single aspect, such as personality, thereby undermining the subject’s full image. In this case, the solution to this mistake for a writer is to focus on the character’s mannerisms – behavior, speaking style, and appearance. Then, another mistake that learners make is to focus on aspects that do not advance an in-depth analysis of a subject, such as a story’s plot. In turn, the solution to this mistake for students is to focus on the subject’s roles in a plot’s context.

An Example of Writing a Character Analysis Essay

Topic: Frodo and His Heroic Weakness

I. Sample Introduction of a Character Analysis Essay

In literature, characters play an essential role in enhancing the plot of a story. Basically, they do this through their actions, behaviors, relationships, and other aspects of personality. Moreover, their mannerisms define who they are within the context of a story. In The Lord of the Ring , J.R.R. Tolkien captures a heroic conscience that characterizes human existence. Then, the author reveals the destructive power of greed and envy, mainly where promises are concerned. Nonetheless, Tolkien shows how friendship and courage overcome these vices. At the center of a story , The Lord of the Ring, is Frodo Baggins, a protagonist, who, despite undergoing a series of challenging adventures, emerges as a hero.

II. Example of a Body in a Character Analysis Essay

A. frodo as a hero.

Tolkien develops Frodo as a young hobbit with a remarkable character. As a ring-bearer of a fellowship, Frodo has the Ring that belongs to Sauron, the Lord of the Rings. As such, Sauron is an antagonist in a story. For example, he is “a dark lord who lost the one Ring that held much of his power” (Tolkien, 2003, p. 54). Then, the author describes the Ring as precious and powerful enough to enslave Middle Earth. While everybody is scared of the Ring and no one wants to lead its destruction, Frodo courageously overcomes such fear. Despite a myth that absolute evil and frightening dark forces are likely to victimize anyone who attempts to destroy the Ring, the young hobbit is keen to prove everybody wrong. In turn, it is the anger toward myths and oppressions that they seemed to cause people that motivate Frodo to act to restore safety in Middle Earth.

B. Frodo’s Weakness

The first indication of Frodo’s inexperience comes when he faces his initial challenges in his quest. Basically, how he deals with them reveals his weak points. For example, when Frodo delays his departure from the Shire, in spite of the urgency of the task ahead, he comes out as an indecisive character (Tolkien, 2003). Although a protagonist has common sense, he lacks wisdom, which is evident when he chooses to face the Old Forest’s dangers. Besides getting himself into harm’s way, Frodo also endangers the lives of his friends. In this case, he comes out as a fool in Bree when he draws unnecessary attention to himself. At Weathertop, the main character gives in to the temptation of putting on the Ring, thus exposing himself to an attack by the Ringwraiths (Tolkien, 2003). Despite all these shortcomings, Frodo survives the dangers of his own mistakes and those of his quest. Moreover, the novel attributes this success to the fact that hobbits are tougher than they look and can endure hardships. More importantly, Frodo himself is not interested in possessing the Ring, which makes him avoid the dark forces it represents. In this respect, he emerges as a hero in the end.

III. Conclusion Example of a Character Analysis Essay

Frodo’s adventure in The Lord of the Ring is a selfless quest to bring good to society despite powerful myths that undermine people’s courage to act when needed. In this case, Tolkien describes specific events that characterize the protagonist’s quest to destroy Sauron’s Ring. Moreover, what is clear is that Frodo is a courageous hobbit who refuses to be defined by his weaknesses. Eventually, his actions display his heroic character, one that defies all odds against him. In turn, a lesson from a story is that people do not need to be perfect to be heroes, but they need to aspire to do what is right.

Arthur, S. (2003). Walking with Frodo: A devotional journey through the Lord of the Rings . Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, Inc.

Summing Up on How to Write a Good Character Analysis Essay

When writing a character analysis essay, students must understand that this type of paper is different from all others. While an argumentative essay focuses on convincing the audience about an issue, a character analysis essay covers telling the audience about a specific character’s personality and mannerisms within the context of a story’s plot. As such, it also differs from an informative essay that focuses on educating the audience about a topic or an issue. Nonetheless, all these essays assume the same outline, which entails three main sections: introduction, body, and conclusion. In turn, when writing a character analysis essay, a student must note the following tips:

Read the instructions carefully.
Read a story.
If there is no instruction about a character, choose a dynamic character, who is either a protagonist or antagonist.
Reread a story and make notes that are specific to a chosen character.
Develop a thesis statement.
Draft an outline.
Write the first draft.
Read and reread the first draft to identify and correct errors and mistakes.
Subject the first draft to a peer review.
Write the final draft.
Read and reread the final draft.

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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 303,146 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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Writing a Character Analysis Essay
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.
How to Write a Character Analysis: Outline, Examples
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.'.
How to Write a Character Analysis: Tips and Examples from Literature
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 ...
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: Examples & Outline
Character Analysis Example (Downloadable) Example: Roald Dahl's Matilda is one of the most famous children's novels of the 20th century. The protagonist of this tale is Matilda Wormwood, a five and a half-year-old girl with a brilliant and lively mind that distances her from the rest of the family.
How to Write a Character Sketch That Works For You
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 Sketch Examples for Creative Writers
Character sketch example. It can be helpful to see a completed character sketch when writing your own. This is an example of a character sketch. Name: Ray Thorston. At 25-years-old, Ray stands 5'9" with a muscular build, long black hair, light skin, and black eyes. His glasses have a large, circular frame, and the lenses make his eyes look ...
How to Write a Character Sketch
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 ...
PDF TCC Writing Center: Character Analysis Essay
Guidelines for Writing a Character Analysis Essay. Characters are the essence of a work of fiction. Fictional characters are portrayed through the characters' actions and reactions as well as other characters' actions and reactions to them. You develop a character by telling the reader about that character, what he is doing or thinking.
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay in Simple Steps
If you're wondering how to get started writing a character analysis essay, look no further. ... walk through the simple steps on how to write an in-depth character analysis right here. Examples of a character study of Romeo from the William ... Highlight something of intrigue about him and indicate the direction of your upcoming analysis in a ...
Character Analysis Essay: Outline, Topics and Writing Tips
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.
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay: A Comprehensive Guide
Step 1: Choose Your Individual for Analysis. Character evaluation is the first step to a great analysis. The role or persona you choose for your analysis is crucial to its success. Primary characters are sometimes easier to write since they have well-defined personalities, and their motivations may be evident.
How to Write a Character Sketch: Examples & Worksheets
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.
Character Analysis Essay: Definition, Writing Steps & Examples
A character analysis is a type of essay that requires you to analyze and evaluate the characteristics, traits, motivations, and decisions of a literary character. It involves closely examining such aspects as their personality, thoughts, behavior, and development. You should further explain how a character contributes to the overall meaning of ...
Character Sketch in Composition
In composition, a character sketch is a brief description in prose of a particular person or type of person. In writing one, you go into the character's manner, distinct characteristics, nature, and the way that person behaves him or herself. It's also called a profile or character analysis and doesn't necessarily have to be about a fictional ...
PDF How to Write a Character Sketch
A good way to write a character sketch is to tell a little story about one encounter you had with him or her. If you do that, you could describe a place briefly, hopefully a place that belongs to the person you are describing, focusing on things in the scene that are somehow representative of the person you are describing. Describe how the ...
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. Understanding […]
How to Write a Character Analysis Essay With Examples and Tips
Step 2: Setting Up the Stage. The second step in writing a character analysis essay is setting the stage for the actual writing of a text. Here, students engage in several activities, including finding credible sources, making notes, creating an essay outline, and creating an annotated bibliography.
How to Write a Literary Analysis Essay
Table of contents. Step 1: Reading the text and identifying literary devices. Step 2: Coming up with a thesis. Step 3: Writing a title and introduction. Step 4: Writing the body of the essay. Step 5: Writing a conclusion. Other interesting articles.
2 Character Analysis Essay Examples With Character
Character analysis essay example #1: Character Analysis of Anders in Bullet in the Brain, a Book by Tobias Wolff. The first essay is a brief analysis. It focuses on how readers see the character of Anders in the short story "Bullet in the Brain" develops. *Click images below to enlarge. In the above character analysis essay example, I noted ...
3 Ways to Write a Character Sketch
3. Ask yourself why the character behaves like they do. This is the best way to move characters successful from your character sheet to your story. You know what the look like, how they talk, and what they do. To really make a character effective you need to explore why they are like this.
How to Write a Thesis Statement for a Character Analysis Paper
Step 4. Formulate your thesis in one sentence. State your observations and then give your reasoning. Tidewater Community College suggests the following character analysis thesis about Sherwood Anderson's "Death in the Woods:" "Mrs. Jack Grimes is a woman who has been denied any love or tenderness; she exists only to be used.". In this ...
PDF Character Sketch Writers Workshop
Character Sketch Writers Workshop by Jim Cornish What a Character! A character sketch informs you about the character in a book. When you write a character sketch, you want the reader to have a strong mental image of the person including how the person talks, acts and thinks. This handout is designed to help you write that sketch. It provides
PDF Character Analysis Essay Examples
perceived to be the bank teller about "justice is done" (Short Stories, 480). His main intention for the words was to manipulate the men in pistol so that he is spared and the lady is shot. Hence, through the selfish nature of the two characters, they all rhyme when it comes to manipulating people. Character Analysis Essay Examples

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: Examples & Outline

📑 Character Analysis Essay Examples

Character: Definition (Literature)

Characterization: Literary Definition & Examples

🧙 Types of Characters for Your Essay

Character Type: Definition

Main Character: Definition & Examples

What’s a Static Character?

Complex Character: Definition & Examples

Other Kinds of Characters

Characterization Essay: Which Character Type to Choose

📝 How to Write a Character Analysis Step by Step

How to Analyze a Character: Description Examples

Character Profile Template for Writing

Character Analysis Outline: How to Start a Character Analysis

Character Analysis Thesis Statement & Examples

How to Write Character Analysis Paragraphs for the Main Body

Character Analysis Conclusion: How to Write

🖥️ Character Analysis Essay Format

Character Analysis Example (Downloadable)

Character Analysis Essay Topics

❓ Character Analysis FAQ

How to Write a Character Sketch That Works For You

What is a Character Sketch?

Why are Character Sketches Important?

Start with the Basics

Consider Physical Appearance

Think About a Character’s Thoughts and Feelings

Ponder Their Relationships

Flesh Out the Character

Explore Their Motivations

Dive Further into Their Personality

Dig Through Their Backstory

Define Their Goals and Ambitions

Add the Final Touches

Understand Their Speech and Mannerisms

Show Development Through Their Relationships

Ensure They Are Consistent

Put Your Character Sketch Together

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How to Write a Character Sketch

Get inside your character's head

Who is your character physically?

What is your character doing?

What is your character feeling?

Building off your character sketch

Connect with a Professional Editor

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

What is a Character Analysis?

Aim of a Character Analysis

General Types of Characters

How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay?

Main Points of a Character Analysis

Personality

Role in a story

Character development

Character Analysis Outline

Do you need a more detailed analysis of your character?

Descriptions

Character Analysis Examples

Popular Topics for Character Analysis

Tips on Writing a Character Analysis from Handmadewriting Experts