Characters are built, not born
A character can feel as real as someone you know, yet every trait you "see" was placed there by a writer. Characterisation is the set of techniques an author uses to create that person on the page. When you analyse a character, you are really analysing the writer's choices.
- Characterisation
- The methods a writer uses to reveal a character's personality: what they say and do, how they look, what others say about them, and how the narrator describes them.
Keep that link in mind whenever you write. Instead of "Maya is brave", aim for "the writer presents Maya as brave through her steady voice in the storm". The second version credits the craft, which is where the marks live.
Direct vs indirect characterisation
Writers reveal character in two broad ways.
Direct characterisation tells you outright: the narrator states a trait plainly, for example "He was a generous man." It is quick and clear, but it does the reader's thinking for them.
Indirect characterisation shows you and lets you judge. You infer the trait from evidence. A handy checklist is the five kinds of evidence, sometimes remembered as speech, thoughts, effect on others, actions and looks.
| Type of evidence | Question to ask | Example clue |
|---|---|---|
| Speech | What does the character say, and how? | Short, sharp orders suggest control or impatience. |
| Thoughts | What goes on in their private mind? | Guilt they hide from others reveals a conscience. |
| Effect on others | How do people react to them? | A room falling silent hints at fear or respect. |
| Actions | What do they do, especially under pressure? | Giving away a last coin shows kindness, not just claims it. |
| Looks | How are their appearance and belongings described? | Worn but polished shoes suggest pride despite hardship. |
Indirect evidence earns more
Anyone can repeat a direct label. Marks come from reading indirect clues: "the writer never calls her lonely, but she eats every meal alone, which lets us feel it instead of being told."
Roles, and characters who change
Characters take up roles in a story. The protagonist is the main character we follow, the one whose goal drives the plot. The antagonist is the force working against that goal. An antagonist need not be a villain, and need not even be a person: it can be a rival, a society, the weather, or the protagonist's own fear.
Characters also differ in how much they change.
| Type | Meaning | Watch for |
|---|---|---|
| Dynamic | Changes in a real, inner way across the novel. | A belief or value that is different by the end. |
| Static | Stays essentially the same throughout. | Often used to contrast with, or test, a dynamic character. |
| Round | Complex, with several sometimes conflicting traits. | They can surprise you and still feel believable. |
| Flat | Built from one or two traits, kept simple on purpose. | Usually a minor role serving the plot or theme. |
Do not treat "static" or "flat" as insults. A static character can anchor a story, and a flat one can carry a theme cleanly. What matters is asking why the writer shaped them that way.
Where this is assessed
Explaining how language and structure shape a character is Criterion A (analysing). Building a clear, well ordered response about them is Criterion B (organizing), while the accuracy and range of your own writing feed Criterion C (producing text) and Criterion D (using language).
A method for analysing a character
When a question asks you to explore a character, work through four steps: trait, evidence, technique, effect. Then, if you can, track how the trait develops across the novel.
Task: from an invented novel, analyse the character of the shopkeeper Elias, who says of a hungry child, "Take the bread. Pay me when the harvest is kind."
See how the model ends by pointing forward. Linking a trait to what it sets up later is how you show you understand the character across the whole novel, not just in one scene.
Check yourself
1. What is the difference between direct and indirect characterisation? +
Direct characterisation states a trait outright ("she was cruel"). Indirect characterisation shows evidence, through speech, thoughts, actions, looks or others' reactions, and lets the reader infer the trait.
2. Must an antagonist be an evil person? +
No. The antagonist is simply the force opposing the protagonist's goal. It can be a rival, society, nature, or even the protagonist's own fear, and it need not be a person at all.
3. A character believes the same thing on the last page as on the first. What are they? +
They are a static character. This is not a flaw: static characters often exist to contrast with a dynamic character who does change.
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