The Character Trait
Paragraph
Character Analysis
Paragraph
1. Hook
2. 2-3 Sentences describing the character traits
of the character you will discuss.
3. 2-3 Sentences giving support/proof to the
traits you say the character has.
4. Concluding Sentence
Hook: Which is better?
 In the short story, “Eleven,” Sandra Cisneros
introduces her main character, Mrs. Price.
 This paragraph will be about the story
“Eleven,” by Sandra Cisneros.

The short story is called “Eleven” by Sandra
Cisneros.
Hook
 In the short story, “Eleven,” Sandra Cisneros
introduces the character, Mrs. Price.
 This sentence correctly introduced the title
of the story, the author and the subject. It
does not provide a purpose of the
paragraph or use the words “paragraph”
like the other two sentences.
Which Sentences are
Better?
 Mrs. Price is a really strict and mean teacher.
She doesn’t care about Rachel. She’s also
got no empathy.
 Or
 In spite of Mrs. Price’s best efforts to clean
up her class and learn the owner of the
sweater, she humiliates and ridicules Rachel
in front of the class. She shows a lack of
empathy and understanding towards
Rachel through her actions.
Sentences
 Mrs. Price is a really strict and mean teacher.
She doesn’t care about Rachel. She’s also
got no empathy.
 These sentences are too informal for
academic writing because they use
contractions. They also lack details and
could be said about anyone. They don’t
help the reader understand more about
Mrs. Price’s personality.
The Better Sentence is…
 In spite of Mrs. Price’s best efforts to clean
up her class and learn the owner of the
sweater, she humiliates and ridicules Rachel
in front of the class. She shows a lack of
empathy and understanding towards
Rachel through her actions.
 These sentences show a general
understanding of Mrs. Price and explain the
reasons behind her actions.
Textual Evidence/Proof
words
 After Rachel tells Mrs. Price that sweater is
not hers, Mrs. Price tells her that “Of course
it’s yours” and “I remember you wearing it
once.” Later in the story another girl
events
remembers the sweater belongs to her.
Using Verbs to Connect
 Use specific verbs to connect the traits of
your character with the evidence/proof
Connecting Verbs
• Demonstrates
• Proves
• Shows
Connecting Verb
Character
Traits
adjective/trait
Proof/Evid
ence
evidence/actions
Example:
Mrs. Price demonstrates she is harsh by making Rachel take the
sweater.
Concluding Sentence
 This sentence restates the main idea of your
paragraph
 For example, if I have been writing about
Mrs. Price, then I could have the following
concluding sentence:
 Through her actions and dialogue, Mrs. Price
appears as both unemotional and
tyrannical.