Recap
A character is revealed by description, dialogue and behaviour. A reader moves from a specific detail, through an inference, to a claim about the character’s perspective (how they understand their situation) or motive (why they act). The claim must be limited by the evidence.
Key relationships
| Idea | What it means | Evidence to look for |
|---|---|---|
| Description | What the narrator, another character or the character says about someone | Word choice, images, comparisons |
| Dialogue | What a character says and avoids saying | Tone, evasion, interruptions, responses |
| Behaviour | What a character does or fails to do | Choices under pressure, small habits |
| Perspective | How a character understands their circumstances | What they notice, assume, fear, trust |
| Motive | The reason for an action or choice | What the action gains or protects |
| Source of a description | Narrator, other character or self | Who is speaking, and what they want |
What you may assume
- You may infer beyond what is stated, but only as far as the details allow.
- A character’s view is not the author’s view, and a narrator may be partial.
- If the text supports two readings, say so, and say which one the details favour.
Mistakes to avoid
- Writing a trait word with no quoted detail.
- Treating a narrator’s or another character’s description as if it were the character’s own view.
- Reaching a large conclusion from one small detail.
- Retelling what happens instead of saying what it suggests.
- Saying “the author thinks” when you mean “the character believes”.
Key terms
- Detail: a specific word, action, line of speech or object in the text that you can point to.
- Inference: a conclusion you draw from details; it must be limited by them.
- Perspective: how a character understands their circumstances, shaped by background, personality, bias and relationships.
- Motive: the reason behind a choice or action.
Sentence frames
- “The detail ‘…’ suggests that [character] sees … as ….”
- “By [doing / saying] …, [character] shows a motive of ….”
- “The narrator’s description comes from [the room / another character], so it reveals their view as well as the character’s.”
Mini-example
Detail: Mr. Alder turns the sign “four minutes early”. Inference: he wants to end the encounter. Claim: he treats the complaint as something to be shut out, not answered.
How questions ask about this
- “The detail … most directly reveals that the character …”: find the inference the detail supports and reject answers that go further than the text.
- “Which claim about [character] is best supported?”: choose the claim that accounts for several details, not just one.
- “Whose perspective does this description reveal?”: decide whether the narrator, another character or the character is speaking.
- Constructed response: make a claim, add two quotations, and explain how each supports it.
Quick self-check
- In one sentence, what is the difference between perspective and motive?
- A character polishes a lens with the hem of his coat and does not turn round when his daughter enters. Name one inference this detail allows and one inference it does not.
- A third character says “she never met a camera she didn’t like”. Whose perspective does this most directly reveal?
Answers.
- Perspective is how a character understands their situation; motive is the reason behind an action.
- Allowed: he is occupied with a routine task and avoids facing her, so he may be anxious or reserved. Not allowed: that he does not care about her, which the detail does not show.
- It most directly reveals the speaker’s perspective on the camera-loving character, and it may also reveal something about the described character, so it should be treated as evidence of both.
Full explanations and worked examples are in the study guide. Practise with the practice questions.