Characterization & Structure — Drills · Grade 10 English
Chapter: Close Reading & Literary AnalysisWhat these drills covers
By the end of Characterization & Structure you should be able to:
- I can analyze how a complex character's conflicting motivations and changes over a text drive the plot or develop a theme.
- I can explain how an author's structural choices — order of events, parallel plots, flashback — create effects like tension, mystery, or surprise.
2 questions, written answer, each with a worked explanation.
Vocabulary used: complex character, dynamic character, indirect characterization, foil, in medias res, frame narrative.
Problem 1
Answer and explanation
Infer a character’s motives from actions, speech, thoughts, and how others respond. Distinguish what a character says from what the story gives you reason to believe. Show an actual application before considering the method recalled.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.
Problem 2
Answer and explanation
Identify the contradiction without inventing a moral diagnosis. Her action permits an inference about attachment, but her reason for concealing it remains uncertain.
Use the criteria to compare your reasoning, not to copy the model’s wording. A supported alternative interpretation may earn full credit.
Response criteria
- Make an accurate, focused claim or revision.
- Use a relevant detail or a clearly explained language choice.
- Explain the relationship and recognize a relevant limit.