Pearson
Adult Learning Centre: Brad Hyde's Advanced Composition
This week students work in
groups, sharing three descriptions of a person's character (indirect
characterization). After the group work, students will write a
description of character using each of the three methods. Group
Work: Choose a person you know very well. Spend five to ten
minutes writing down an example for each of the three headings below.
Then, share the information, orally, with your group. Do not use any general words, such as "untidy,"
"hardworking," or the like. Let your descriptions tell the story. Your
fellow students should have a clear idea of that person's character
from your indirect description. Be sure to clarify any misunderstandings and help each other
to improve your descriptions. Physical
characteristics: (E.g.: He is a small man, with unkempt hair, whose trousers
were patched at the knees.) Behaviours: (E.g.: Whenever he disagrees with me, he stands, arms across
his chest, chin jutted out. Then, he waves his finger at me and says,
"You have no idea, no idea at all.") Anecdotes: (E.g.: Once, when hiking, we were trying to find our way
down from a mountain. John clambered down and began slipping towards a
sixty foot cliff below. I said to him to hold on a second, put down my
pack, held onto a sizable root and pulled him back up.) Written
Work (in class): Write your examples in full, one for each category
(Physical, Behaviours, and Anecdotes) Homework: Write
a single paragraph using the examples you have identified. See Student
Writing examples for
this worksheet. Please also visit your Advanced
Composition Class Page where
you can access current and past lessons. More Lessons (index of past lesson worksheets)
Advanced
Composition
A
Real Character: Describing a Person
February 12 and 13, 2003
Resources for
Adults Completing
High School