Characterisation is the collection of techniques a writer uses to construct a character's personality, background, and role within a story. Writers characterise both directly — telling the reader what a character is like — and indirectly, through speech, action, and thought. Understanding both types is a core KS3 skill.
What is characterisation, exactly?
Characterisation is the process by which a writer creates a believable, rounded character. It is not simply description — a physical description tells us what a character looks like, while characterisation tells us who they are. A character's defining quality might emerge through what they wear, how they speak, what they fear, how others react to them, or what they choose to do in a moment of pressure.
Effective characterisation is cumulative: writers build our understanding of a character across many scenes, layering detail upon detail rather than delivering a complete portrait in a single paragraph.
What is the difference between direct and indirect characterisation?
These two approaches are the fundamental building blocks of how any writer puts a character together:
| Type | Definition | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Direct characterisation | The narrator or another character explicitly tells the reader what a character is like | "Mr Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice." — Jane Austen |
| Indirect characterisation | The reader infers what a character is like from their own behaviour, speech, thoughts, and the reactions of others | Scrooge slamming his door before his nephew has even finished speaking — Dickens shows meanness, not tells it |
Most skilled writers favour indirect characterisation because it invites the reader to draw conclusions actively, making the character feel more real and giving the reader a satisfying sense of discovery.
How does the STEAL technique help you analyse characterisation?
The STEAL acronym is a useful framework for tracking the different channels through which a writer builds a character:
| Letter | Stands for | What to look for |
|---|---|---|
| S | Speech | How the character talks — formal or informal, confident or hesitant, kind or cruel, how they address others |
| T | Thoughts | What the character thinks and feels internally (if the narrator allows access) |
| E | Effect on others | How other characters respond — do they fear, admire, pity, or avoid this person? |
| A | Actions | What the character chooses to do, especially under pressure or in morally complex moments |
| L | Looks | Physical appearance and what it signals — though beware: good writers often subvert the expected link between appearance and character |
Using STEAL while annotating a text ensures you are gathering evidence across multiple channels rather than focusing only on what characters say.
How does speech reveal character?
Dialogue is one of the most powerful characterisation tools. Writers use speech to show:
- Vocabulary and register — a character who uses formal, Latinate vocabulary appears educated or pretentious; one who speaks in short, direct sentences may seem practical or blunt.
- What a character chooses to say and, crucially, not say — evasiveness, over-explanation, silence, and interruption all characterise.
- How a character treats others — condescension, warmth, sarcasm, and flattery are revealed through dialogue far more vividly than through description.
Consider how Dickens introduces Scrooge through his exchange with his nephew Fred in A Christmas Carol. Scrooge dismisses Christmas as "Humbug!" before Fred has made a single argument. The bluntness, the one-word dismissal, the refusal to engage — all characterise Scrooge as someone who has closed himself off from connection without Dickens needing to say "Scrooge was an unfriendly man."
How do actions and choices characterise?
What a character does — particularly under pressure — reveals their values, priorities, and flaws more honestly than anything they say about themselves. Writers frequently create scenes designed specifically to test a character: a moment of temptation, a crisis, an ethical dilemma. The choice a character makes in that moment is their characterisation.
In Of Mice and Men, Slim's quiet authority at the ranch is established not through his own boasts but through the way other characters fall silent and defer to him. His actions — calm, decisive, free of cruelty — characterise him without a word of direct statement.
How do you write about characterisation in a KS3 exam answer?
A strong characterisation answer:
- Identifies the method — Is this direct or indirect? Which element of STEAL is the writer using?
- Provides a specific quotation — A short, precise quotation is always stronger than paraphrase.
- Analyses the effect — What impression does this create? What does it make the reader think or feel?
- Comments on the writer's craft — This technique was chosen deliberately. What effect was the writer trying to create?
Worked example (practise this structure):
"Dickens characterises Scrooge indirectly through his actions: the verb 'Scrooge seized' his ruler when interrupted conveys aggression and an almost violent possessiveness, suggesting that his coldness towards Bob is not mere indifference but active hostility — he guards his solitude as fiercely as his money."
Notice: method identified (indirect / action), quotation embedded, effect analysed, writer's intention implied.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between character and characterisation?
A character is the person in the text — Scrooge, Ralph, Elizabeth Bennet. Characterisation is the set of techniques the writer uses to build that person. In an exam, you are always writing about characterisation — the craft — rather than the character as though they were real. Say "Dickens presents Scrooge as..." rather than "Scrooge is..."
Can a character be poorly characterised?
Yes. A flat, unconvincing character is usually one characterised only through direct statement, with no indirect evidence to support it. If a narrator tells us a character is brave but their actions are never brave, the characterisation is inconsistent and the character feels false. Strong characterisation ensures that direct and indirect signals point in the same direction — or, for complex characters, deliberately point in different directions to create ambiguity.
Is the author always the narrator who provides direct characterisation?
Not necessarily. In first-person narratives, the narrator is a character themselves, and their direct characterisation of others may be biased or unreliable. In The Great Gatsby, Nick's admiring descriptions of Gatsby must be read with awareness that Nick is narrated, and therefore characterised, by the author beyond Nick's own self-perception. Always ask: who is delivering the direct characterisation, and should we trust them?
What does "round" and "flat" character mean?
The novelist E.M. Forster introduced these terms. A round character is complex, capable of surprise, and developed through multiple dimensions — they feel like a real person. A flat character (sometimes called a stock character or type) is defined by a single dominant trait and does not develop. Most protagonists are round; minor characters in realist fiction are often deliberately flat, appearing only to serve a plot function.
Professor Quill can walk you through characterising a character from your own set text — without writing your essay for you. Try a free session at aitutors.me.