Student can use precise vocabulary to describe character traits, motives, and development.
Explanation of trait, motive, conflict, and development.
To write or analyze a story effectively, you must understand the engine that drives it: motivation. Characters don't just do things randomly. Their actions follow a logical chain that starts deep within their personality and ends with personal growth.
Visual map of a character with motives, conflict, and choices.
Visualizing how a character's internal desires collide with external obstacles to force a decision.
Flowchart showing trait to development.
These images explain the basic building blocks of a story. They show how characters think, act, and change from the beginning to the end.
Character: A character is the person in the story. The doodle shows a man stepping out of a book to show he is the heart of the tale.
Trait: A trait is a quality that defines a person. The man has a patch on his shirt to show he might be poor or hardworking.
Motive: A motive is the reason why someone acts. The wind-up key on the man’s back shows that something specific is pushing him to move.
Intention: An intention is a goal or a plan. The man is focused on throwing a paper plane into a cup to reach a target.
Decision: A decision is choosing between two paths. The person is pressing one big button while leaving the other one alone.
Conflict: Conflict happens when two forces push against each other. The man is caught in the middle of two giant, angry arrows.
Struggle: A struggle is hard work to overcome a problem. The person is using a rope to pull a heavy, giant ball up a hill.
Development: Development is how a character grows over time. The man stands tall while faint outlines of his past selves show how much he has changed.
Match character vocabulary to their definitions or examples.
Terms
Definitions
Learner chooses the correct motive behind an action.
A student completely rewrites her science project three times because she wants to impress the strict new teacher. Which of the following describes her motive?
AI checks literary usage in a student's description.
Who are you analyzing?
Be sure to explicitly use the four key terms in your analysis.