THE ANTAGONISTS
Bring on the bad guys!
Would you have a hero without an antagonist? Would the hero be as heroic without a nasty
villain standing in the way? Is the hero always so different from the villain? And this is
exactly why all stories need a good villain.
You may loathe these characters, actively root against them, rage when they succeed, and
cheer when they fail, but they add a very necessary component to the story. Conflict-free
stories about nice people are rarely interesting.
A great villain really does think that he or she is doing the right thing, and that’s what makes
them so compelling–and frightening.
So let’s root for the bad guy!
Objectives of the assignment
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Creating a magazine article about a villain. (Using Canva)
To learn about the characterisation of a villain.
To understand and analyse the language this villain uses.
The role of this character towards the plot and conflict.
To trace the journey of this character over the story.
Here are some things to think about:
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1)
2)
Choose a villain you would like to analyse. Either gender works.
Then think about a few things
What genre/time period does this villain belong to?
Appearance -what does he look like? Is he your stereotypical villain or is he a wolf in
sheep’s clothing?
3) What kind of language does he/she use? Any specific phrases/words or a style of
speaking?
4) What is the role of this character in the whole story? How does this connect to the
conflict?
5) Does the villain have any internal conflicts of his own? Is there a backstory why he is
the way he is?
6) Are the other characters in the story that amplify this person’s villainy?
7) What are this villain’s motives? Is there is human aspect to his character that makes
the reader/audience like him in some way? Do we empathise with him at any stage?
8) Does he overshadow the hero in some way? In what way?
9) How does your story end? Does the villain manage to redeem himself in some way
or is it the usual stereotypical ending?
10) Is there some aspect of society that the writer highlights through this character? Are
there people who may think he is not a villain and actually a hero?
Instructions:
1) Work in your groups to identify a character.
2) Once you are ready think about how you would like the final magazine article to look
like. Then use the questions above to help you create your headings.
3) Think about the purpose of this magazine article. Your reader needs to get a strong
understanding of your character even if he or she has not read the book or seen the
movie.
4) Analysis of language and characterisation needs to be a significant part of the
magazine so do spend time on this in a little more detail.
5) You will design your magazine on Canva. Use images, headings, and your write ups
to help organise ideas.
6) Make this interesting for the audience. After you complete this assignment you will
drop it into the Google drive link for everyone to see!!
Have fun and reach out if you have any questions. 
MAGAZINE RUBRIC 30 marks
Criteria
Marks
Criteria
Overall
appearance
5 marks
Cover
5 marks
-Target audience
-Theme consistent
-font consistent and generally inviting
-high degree of creativity
-highly creative
--excellent title
-Effective images included
-fits theme of magazine very well
-very attractive
Contents
-four or more
illustrations 10 marks
-appropriate
feature story
on the
character
-included minimum of 5 category
-all categories are complete
-excellent variety of topics
-illustration with each component/category
-well written
Illustrations
5 marks
Presentation
of the
magazine
5 marks
-included a minimum of 4
-all graphics are connected to the theme.
-highly creative
-excellent colour and composition
-use of writing process of evident
-correct spellings
-correct grammar
-appropriate sentence, paragraph and
sentence structure
-inviting headlines