essay on bad character

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4 The Ethics of Character Evidence

• Published: March 2015
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This chapter considers the moral arguments against the use of bad character evidence in a criminal trial. It begins by looking at one of the challenges faced by these moral arguments: the need to explain their own defeasibility or limited applicability. It then examines moral accounts, all of which seem to revolve around the central theme of the significance of desistance from crime. The chapter concludes that arguments which have been put forward for a ‘moralized’ exclusionary rule are unconvincing.

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Bad character evidence, introduction, the legal framework, the seven gateways, ​power of the court to stop the case, proving convictions and other reprehensible conduct, bad character of non-defendants.

The admissibility of bad character evidence in criminal proceedings is governed by Part 11 Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Sections 98 -113), section 99 of which abolished the existing common law rules. The only qualification to the abolition of the common law rules is in section 99(2) which, for the purposes of bad character evidence, allows for proof of a person’s bad character by the calling of evidence as to his reputation.

The provisions of the 2003 Act also do not affect section 27(3) of the Theft Act 1968 which makes provision for proof of guilty knowledge on a charge of handling stolen goods by proof of previous convictions for handling or theft.

“Bad character” evidence is defined in section 98 of the Act which provides that:

“References in this Chapter to evidence of a person’s ‘bad character’ are to evidence of, or of a disposition towards, misconduct on his part, other than evidence which –

• Has to do with the alleged facts of the offence with which the defendant is charged, or
• Is evidence of misconduct in connection with the investigation or prosecution of that offence”.

“Misconduct’ is defined in section 112 of the Act as “the commission of an offence or of other reprehensible behaviour” . What is capable of constituting reprehensible behaviour will be fact specific and has been held to include;

• Drinking to excess and taking illegal drugs - R v M [2014] EWCA Crim 1457
• Membership of a violent gang - R v Lewis [2014] EWCA Crim 48

‘Criminal proceedings’ are defined in section 112 as ‘criminal proceedings to which the strict rules of evidence apply’ and have been held to include:

• A trial or newton hearing - R v Bradley [2005] EWCA Crim 20
• A preparatory hearing (section 30 of the Criminal Procedure and Investigation Act 1996) - R v H [2006] 1 Cr App R 4
• A hearing pursuant to section 4A of the Criminal Procedure (Insanity) Act 1964 – finding of fact hearing further to a finding of unfit to plead - R v Chal [2007] EWCA Crim 2647

Evidence falling with section 98(b) would encompass evidence relating to, for example, the telling of lies in an interview or the intimidation of witnesses (where not the subject of a separate charge).

It is of crucial importance to identify what evidence “has to do” with the alleged facts of an offence because if it does relate to the alleged facts, it will not be subject to the statutory regime of gateways and safeguards provided by the Act.

An offence which could not be proved without reference to bad character would clearly be one that would fall within section 98(a) . Examples of these would include driving whilst disqualified contrary to section 103 of the Road Traffic Act 1988 or possession of a firearm having previously been convicted of an offence of imprisonment contrary to section 21 of the Firearms Act 1968 where the fact of a previous conviction constitutes an element of the actus reus .

In other cases where proof of bad character is not an essential element of the offence, the question of whether or not the evidence has to do with the facts of the offence is not always straightforward. In R v McNeill [2007] EWCA Crim 2927 it was said that

“the words of the statute ‘has to do with’ are words of prima facie broad application, albeit constituting a phrase that has to be construed in the overall context of the bad character provisions of the 2003 Act…..It would be a sufficient working model of these words if one said that they either clearly encompass evidence relating to the alleged facts of an offence which would have been admissible under the common law outside the context of  bad character of propensity, even before the Act, or alternatively as embracing anything directly relevant to the offence charged, provided at any rate they were reasonably contemporaneous with and closely associated with its alleged facts ”.

The nexus envisaged by the court in McNeill was temporal (statement of a threat to kill made two days after an alleged offence of a threat to kill admissible under the terms of section 98 ). The temporal nexus was endorsed in R v Tirnaveanu [2007] EWCA Crim 1239   where the misconduct sought to be adduced showed little more than propensity (possession of papers showing involvement in illegal entry of Romanian nationals of occasions other than subject to the offence charged-if admissible at all then through one of the gateways-see below). More recent authorities have suggested that a temporal requirement is but one way of establishing a nexus; thus where the evidence is relied upon to establish motive, there is no such temporal requirement (see R v Sule [2012] EWCA Crim 1130 and R v Ditta [2016] EWCA Crim 8 ). However, as to evidence of motive, see below – ‘important explanatory evidence’.

In this regard, the case of R v Lunkulu [2015] EWCA Crim 1350 offers some assistance where it was stated that

“ Section 98(a) included no necessary temporal qualification and applied to evidence of incidents whenever they occurred so long as they were to do with the alleged facts of the offence” (evidence of previous shooting and conviction for attempted murder relevant to establish an on-going gang related feud where the issue was identity).

There is a fine line between evidence said to do with the facts of the alleged offence and evidence the admissibility of which may fall to be considered through one of the gateways. Thus in  R v Okokono [2014] EWCA Crim 2521 evidence of a previous conviction for possession of a knife was considered to be ‘highly relevant’ to a charge of a gang related killing applying section 98(a) but would also have been admissible under one of the statutory gateways. See also R v M [2006] EWCA Crim 193 where the complainant in a rape case was cross examined about why she had, after an alleged rape, made no complaint and had got into a car with her attacker. That line of questioning permitted evidence of her account of previous threats to shoot her and her belief that M had a gun. The court said this evidence ‘had to do with’ the facts of the alleged offence but, if not, would have been admissible under gateway (c) as ‘important explanatory evidence’.

Care should be taken when considering what evidence to adduce as part of the Crown’s case and whether an application for the admission of bad character evidence is necessary. In some cases where there is some doubt about whether evidence can be said to be to do with the alleged facts, it may be appropriate for an application to be made in any event for the evidence to be adduced either as important explanatory evidence or evidence relevant to an important matter in issue between the prosecution and the defendant.

Defendant Bad Character Evidence

The admissibility of evidence that falls outside the definition of bad character within the meaning of section 98 is governed by section 101 of the Act which provides that

“In criminal proceedings evidence of the defendant’s bad character is admissible if, but only if –

• all parties to the proceedings agree to the evidence being admissible;
• the evidence is adduced by the defendant himself or is given in answer to a question asked by him in cross examination and intended to elicit it;
• it is important explanatory evidence;
• it is relevant to an important matter in issue between the defendant and the prosecution;
• it has substantial probative value in relation to an important matter in issue between the defendant and a co-defendant;
• it is evidence to correct a false impression given by the defendant; or
• the defendant has made an attack on another person’s character.

Agreement of the Parties – section 101(1)(a)

This provision enables matters to be admitted by agreement. It does not empower advocates to agree evidence between them which may require judicial control, for example, third party material disclosed in respect of a non-defendant – R v DJ [2010] EWCA Crim 385 – This case emphasized the need to always inform the judge of any proposed agreement between advocates as to the admissibility of bad character evidence which will enable the court to identify both relevance and purpose of the evidence.

Where there are multiple defendants, the consent of all accused is required – Ferdinand [2014] EWCA Crim 1243 .

Evidence adduced or elicited by the defendant – section 101(1)(b)

Evidence adduced through this gateway is limited to the purpose for which it was elicited.

Important Explanatory Evidence – section 101(1)(c)

This is an important gateway for the prosecution and there is considerable overlap with evidence that ‘has to do with’ the alleged facts of the offence with which a defendant is charged. It reflects broadly the common law rule under which evidence of background was admitted without which a case would be incomplete – see R v Pettman unreported May 2 1985.

S101(1)(c) should be considered together with section 102 which provides that;

“For the purposes of section 101(1)(c) evidence is important explanatory evidence if –

• without it, the court or jury would find it impossible or difficult properly to understand other evidence in the case, and
• its value for understanding the case as a whole is substantial.

The requirements of section 102 should be given proper consideration. Evidence that simply “fills out the picture” is not the same as saying that the rest of the picture is either impossible or difficult to see without it – see R v Lee (Peter Bruce) [2012] EWCA Crim 316

There may be an issue about whether evidence of motive is admissible through this gateway. Under the common law, evidence of motive was always admissible to show that it was more probable that it was the accused who had committed the offence and it was generally considered that such evidence would form part of the background and be explanatory evidence. However, the Court of Appeal in R v Sule ante held that such evidence had to do with the facts of the alleged offence and thereby fell within the scope of section 98 .

Care should be taken when considering the route to admissibility of bad character evidence not to seek admissibility through this gateway when the proper approach is gateway (d). The case of Leatham and Mallett [2017] EWCA Crim 42 is illustrative of the approach of the Court in the application of section 101(1)(c) and the relationship with section 101(1)(d) . In that case, L and M were charged with conspiracy to burgle based entirely on circumstantial evidence. The court admitted evidence of L’s previous convictions for similar offences on the basis it provided an explanation for what were otherwise completely incomprehensible explanations provided by both accused. The commentary in the Criminal Law Review [2017] Crim LR 788 illustrates the difficulties and complexity of the provision and its overlap with section 101(1)(d) – below.

Important matter in Issue between the Defendant and the Prosecution – section 101(1)(d)

The 2003 Act introduced a revolutionary change to the admissibility of bad character evidence in criminal proceedings. Whereas under the common law the premise was that evidence of bad character was inadmissible save for where the evidence was admissible as similar fact in accordance with the test in  DPP v P [1991] 2 A.C. 447  and the limited instances permitted by the Criminal Evidence Act 1898, the 2003 Act presumes that all relevant evidence will be admissible, even if it is evidence of bad character, subject to the discretion of the court to exclude in cases where the prosecution seek to adduce the evidence( see below under ‘Fairness).

Thus, evidence of bad character is admissible where it is relevant to an important matter in issue between the prosecution and the defence and can be used, for example, to rebut the suggestion of coincidence (see  R v Howe [2017] EWCA Crim 2400 – evidence of previous convictions for burglary probative of the identification of the accused on a charge of burglary) or to rebut a defence of innocent association (see  R v Cambridge [2011] EWCA Crim 2009 – on a charge of possessing a firearm with intent to endanger life, evidence of a previous incident in which the accused had discarded an imitation firearm and for which he had received a formal warning was admissible to rebut the explanation proffered by the accused for his fingerprints being found on the outside and the inside of the bag in which the firearm the subject of the present charge was found) .

When seeking to admit evidence through this gateway, it is essential therefore that the issues in the case are identified and the relevance to that issue of the bad character evidence is clearly identified. For evidence to pass this gateway, it has to be relevant to an important matter in issue between the parties; this is defined in section 112 as meaning “a matter of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole”. Thus prosecutors must not lose sight of the need to focus on the important issues in the case and should never seek to adduce bad character evidence as probative of peripheral or relatively unimportant issues in the context of the case as a whole.

One of the most radical departures from the common law was to permit evidence of propensity to be used as probative of an issue in the case. Section 103(1) provides that matters in issue between the defendant and the prosecution include –

• the question whether the defendant has a propensity to commit offences of the kind with which he is charged, except where his having such a propensity makes it no more likely that he is guilty of the offence;
• the question whether the defendant has a propensity to be untruthful, except where it is not suggested that the defendant’s case is untruthful in any respect.

By subsection 2

Where subsection (1)(a) applies, a defendant’s propensity to commit offences of the kind with which he is charged may (without prejudice to any other way of doing so) be established by evidence that he has been convicted of

• an offence of the same description as the one with which he is charged, or
• an offence of the same category as the one with which he is charged.

Subsection 4 provides that for the purposes of subsection (2) –

• two offences are of the same description as each other if the statement of the offence in a written charge or indictment would, in each case, be in the same terms;
• two offences are of the same category as each other if they belong to the same category of offences prescribed for the purposes of this section by an order made by the Secretary of State.

For offences of the same category under section 103(4)(b) , please refer to the Criminal Justice Act 2003 (Categories of Offences) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004 No 3346) and Parts 1 and 2 of the Schedule. Part 1 lists offences under the heading “Theft Category” and contains offences under the Theft Acts 1968 and 1978. Part 2 is headed “Sexual Offences (Persons under the age of 16) Category” and lists offences under the Sexual Offences Act 1956 and 2003 as well as under the Indecency with Children Act 1960, the Criminal Law Act 1977, the Mental Health Act 1959 and the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2003.

The leading case on propensity evidence remains R v Hanson: R v Gilmour; R v P [2005] EWCA Crim 824 ; in brief, the Court of Appeal provided the following guidance;

• Does the history of conviction(s) establish a propensity to commit offences of the kind with which he is charged?;
• If so, does the propensity make it more likely that the defendant committed the crime?;
• There was no minimum number of events necessary to demonstrate such a propensity, though the fewer the number of convictions, the weaker was likely to be the evidence of propensity; a single previous conviction for an offence of the same description or category would often not show propensity but it might do so where, for example, it showed a tendency to unusual behaviour (see for example,  R v Balazs [2014] EWCA Crim 947-single offence of rape admitted where it was of a strikingly similar nature of R v Bennabbou [2012] EWCA Crim 1256  - old conviction and dissimilar circumstances);
• The strength of the prosecution case must be considered; if there was no, or little, other evidence against a defendant it was unlikely to be just to admit his previous convictions whatever they were (see  R v Darnley [2012] EWCA Crim 1148;
• It would often be necessary to examine each individual conviction rather than merely looking at the name of the offence.

The basis of admissibility for such evidence is, effectively, to rebut any defence of mistake or innocent association on the basis of unlikelihood of coincidence (see DPP v Boardman [1975] AC 421). See also R v Chopra [2007] 1 Cr App R 225.). See the following for illustrations of the application of propensity evidence as probative of an important matter in issue in the case;

• R v Suleman [2012] 2 Cr App R 30 – evidence of a series of similar offences such that the jury would be entitled to infer they were the work of the same person – issue of identity;
• R v O’Leary [2013] EWCA Crim 1371 – evidence in respect of each count that victim of fraud was a dementia sufferer cross admissible to rebut defence that accused believed victims to be compos mentis and as probative of deliberate targeting of vulnerable victims.

Where a prosecutor considers propensity evidence, it is essential not to lose sight of the need for relevance. Accordingly, in R v Samuel [2014] EWCA Crim 2349 - evidence of the accused’s previous convictions for assaulting his partner were not relevant to the issue in the case on a charge of assault which was whether he had the specific intent necessary where he claimed he was too intoxicated to form the necessary mens rea. This can be contrasted with R v B [2017] EWCA Crim 35  where, on charges of sexual offences and child cruelty committed against his children, evidence of previous assaults committed upon his wife were admitted to rebut his assertion that he was simply a strict disciplinarian by demonstrating his propensity to use excessive violence against members of his family.

Section 101(1)(d) is the relevant gateway for determining the issue of cross admissibility where there are multiple accusations against a defendant made by different complainants. Section 112(2) provides.

“Where a defendant is charged with two or more offences in the same criminal proceedings, this Chapter (except section 101(3) ) has effect as if each offence were charged in separate proceedings; and references to the offence with which the  defendant is charged are to be read accordingly”.

Accordingly, where prosecutors seek cross-admissibility of a number of counts as probative of an issue in the case, a formal application will be necessary.

Previous acquittals are capable of being bad character evidence if the facts are relevant to an important matter in issue. The use of previous acquittals was thought to be objectionable until the decision of the House of Lords in Z [2000] 2 AC 483 where the evidence of three complainants who had each given evidence in three previous trials for rape was held to be admissible in a fourth rape trial to rebut the defence raised on the basis that the cumulative evidence possessed the degree of probative value required. However, where consideration is given to relying on conduct that has not resulted in a conviction, the case law directs that particular care is required. In R v McKenzie [2008] EWCA Crim 758 Toulson J emphasized the need to consider whether the admission of such evidence would result in the trial becoming unnecessarily complex as well as the need to avoid the litigation of satellite issues which would complicate the issues the jury had to decide.

The purpose of the bad character provisions is to assist in the evidence based conviction of the guilty without putting the innocent at risk of conviction by prejudice. Prosecution applications to adduce bad character evidence as being relevant to an important matter in issue between the prosecution and the defence and should not be made as a matter of routine simply because the defendant has previous convictions. An application should never be made to bolster a weak case.

• Collusion or Contamination

The probative value of a number of complainants who each give evidence of similar conduct committed against them by the accused is derived from the unlikelihood that a person would find himself falsely accused of the same or similar offence by a number of different and independent individuals. However, the probative value of such evidence is lost if there is contamination or collusion between complainants. Section 109 provides that references in the Act to the relevance or probative value of evidence which the parties seek to admit through the gateways are based on the assumption that it is true subject to the exception in section 109(2) where it appears that no court or jury could reasonably find it to be true.

• Propensity Evidence – Untruthfulness

Such evidence is unlikely to be limited to cases where lying is an element of the crime e.g. perjury – see R v Jarvis [2008] EWCA Crim 488 where the Court of Appeal, obiter, stated that there was no warrant in the statute for such a restrictive view of evidence demonstrating a propensity to untruthfulness (evidence of lying and dishonesty in relation to previous business dealings). See - Norris [2014] EWCA Crim 419 – evidence of previous sustained lying in a court context in mitigation.

Important Matter in Issue between defendant and co-defendant – section 101(1)(e)

By section 104(1)

“Evidence which is relevant to the question whether the defendant has a propensity to be untruthful is admissible on that basis under section 101(1)(e) only if the nature or conduct of his defence  is such as to undermine the co-defendant’s defence.

By section 104(2)

“Only evidence –

• Which is to be (or has been) adduced by the co-defendant, or
• Which a witness is to be invited to give (or has given) in cross examination by the co-defendant,

is admissible under section 101(1)(e) ”,

This is the gateway intended to deal with ‘cut-throat’ defences. Application is made by the defence. Once the evidence meets the criteria for admissibility, there is no discretion to exclude.

Correcting a False Impression – section 101(1)(f)

Statutory guidance is provided by section 105 which provides that, for the purposes of section 101(1)(f) .

• The defendant gives a false impression if he is responsible for the making of an express or implied assertion which is apt to give the court or jury a false or misleading impression about the defendant;
• Evidence to correct such an impression is evidence which has probative value in correcting it.

A defendant is treated as being responsible for the making of an assertion of

• The assertion is made by the defendant in the proceedings (whether or not in evidence given by him),
• On being questioned under caution, before charge, about the offence with which he is being charged, or
• On being charged with the offence or officially informed that he might be prosecuted for it,

and evidence of the assertion is given in the proceedings.

• The assertion is made by a witness called by the defendant,
• The assertion is made by any witness in cross examination in response to a question asked by the defendant that is intended to elicit it, or is likely to do so, or
• The assertion was made by any person out of court, and the defendant adduces evidence of it in the proceedings. ( section 105(2) ).

Only prosecution evidence is admissible through this gateway i.e. evidence which is to be (or has been) adduced by the prosecution, or which a witness is to be invited to give (or has given) in cross examination by the prosecution ( section 112 ). Only evidence that is necessary to correct the false impression is admissible through this gateway ( sections 105(6) and (7) )

Section 105(3) permits a defendant to withdraw from an assertion or disassociate himself from it.

Attack on Another Person’s Character – section 101(1)(g)

By section 106 , for the purposes of section 101(1)(g) , a defendant makes an attack on another person’s character if

• He adduces evidence attacking the other person’s character,
• He (or any legal representative appointed under section 38(4) of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999  to cross examine a witness in his interests) asks questions in cross examination that are intended to elicit such evidence, or are likely to do so, or
• On being questioned under caution, before charge, about the offence with which he is charged, or
• On being charged with the offence or officially informed that he might be prosecuted for it.

Evidence attacking another person’s character means evidence to the effect that the other person –

• Has committed an offence (whether a different offence from the one with which the defendant is charged or the same one), or
• Has behaved, or is disposed to behave, in a reprehensible way; and imputation about the other person means an assertion to that effect. ( Section 106(2) ).

Section 106(3) provides that only prosecution evidence is admissible under section 101(1)(g) .

The mere denial of the prosecution case will not be sufficient to trigger this gateway – see R v Fitzgerald [2017] EWCA Crim 556 of where it is being suggested not merely that prosecution witnesses are lying but have conspired to pervert the course of justice by putting their heads together to concoct a false allegation - R v Pedley [2014] EWCA Crim 848 .

Unlike section 105 , section 106 does not contain a provision allowing a defendant to disassociate himself from an imputation. Prosecutors should therefore be cautious when seeking to rely on this gateway on the basis of matters raised by the defendant outside the trial  but not relied on in evidence. See the comments in R v Nelson [2006] EWCA Crim 3412 ; “It would have been improper for the prosecution to seek to get such comments before a jury simply to provide a basis for satisfying gateway (g) and getting the defendant's previous convictions put in evidence. Whilst it was not suggested that that had been the motivation of the prosecution in the present case, objectively speaking, that had to have been the situation which had arisen. It followed that that was not a proper basis for meeting the requirements of gateway (g) on admissibility”

Use of Bad Character Evidence

Once admitted, the weight to be attached to bad character evidence is a matter for the jury, subject to the judge’s power to stop a case where the evidence is contaminated (see section 107 – below). Once evidence has been admitted through one of the gateways, it can be used for any purpose for which it is relevant. See R v Highton [2005] 1 WLR 3472 . What is essential however is that the court should be directed clearly as to the reason for the admission of the evidence with an explanation of its relevance and the use to which such evidence can be put (see Chapter 12 of the Crown Court Compendium ).

Evidence upon which the prosecution seek to rely through gateways (d) or (g)  is subject to section 101(3) which provides

“The court must not admit evidence under subsection (1)(d) or (g) if, on application by the defendant to exclude it, it appears to the court that the admission of the evidence would have such an adverse effect on the fairness of the proceedings that the court ought not to admit it”.

This exclusionary power comes into play on the application of the defence. The wording in section 101(3) – “must not admit” is stronger than the wording found in section 78 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1978 (LINK) – “may refuse to allow” –see  R v Hanson and R v Weir [2005] EWCA Crim 2866 . There is no specific exclusion of section 78 from the provisions of Part 11 of the 2003 Act   but the preferred view now is that if the conditions under section 78 are satisfied, the Court has no discretion under section 78 – see R v Tirnaveanu . This is important because section 101(3) does not apply to gateways (c ) and (f) and any application by the defence would have to be made further to section 78 and it is only right that the discretion afforded to the court to exclude evidence upon which the prosecution propose to rely should be the same whatever route to admissibility.

It should be noted that section 78 cannot apply to evidence admitted via gateway (e) –evidence adduced on application by the co-defendant.

Section 103(3) of the Act, in relation to propensity evidence, provides that section 103(2) will not apply 

“in the case of a particular defendant if the court is satisfied, by reason of the length of time since the conviction or for any other reason, that it would be unreasonable for it to apply in this case”.

Section 107 gives the court the power to discharge a jury or order an acquittal where evidence has been admitted through any of the gateways (c ) to (g) of section 101(1) where it is apparent that the evidence is contaminated and, as a consequence, any conviction would be unsafe.

To enable a court to determine whether previous convictions or other reprehensible behaviour are admissible through any of the gateways, it is important that the court is furnished with as much accurate information as possible. In some cases, the fact of a previous conviction or convictions will be sufficient to determine relevance and previous convictions can be proved by production of a certificate of conviction together with proof that the person named in the certificate is the person whose conviction is to be proved – section 73 Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984. In other cases however, the details of the previous convictions (or other reprehensible conduct) will be necessary to enable a judge to determine the admissibility of the bad character evidence. See R v M [2012] EWCA Crim 1588 where the Court of Appeal stated that it was imperative that the court is supplied with detailed and accurate information about the conduct to be relied upon.

Prosecutors should therefore seek from the police detailed information in the MG3 about the evidence said to amount to bad character. This should include not only the fact of the previous convictions but as much detail as possible. It will be good practice to obtain the original MG3, relevant statements and the accused’s response to the allegation in their police interview. If a person pleaded guilty, it should be clarified whether or not there was a basis of plea. If there was, the written document should be obtained. All of this material should be obtained as early as possible, preferably in advance of charge.

An accused is entitled to dispute the fact or facts of a conviction. It is expected that the accused should give proper notice of this objection in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Rules in force.

If the fact of conviction is disputed, section 74 PACE 1984 provides that a person’s conviction as proved by a certificate further to section 73 is proof that he did commit the offence  of which he was convicted unless he proves that he did not commit the offence, the burden of proof being upon him. In R v C [2010] EWCA Crim 2971 the Court of Appeal provided guidance as to how this issue should be dealt with in the course of a trial to enable the court to achieve the overriding objective of the Criminal Procedure Rules which is that criminal cases be dealt with justly. This would include the provision of a detailed Defence Statement which would enable the prosecution to consider calling any evidence to confirm the guilt of the earlier convictions. A mere assertion that the fact or facts of previous convictions are incorrect will not suffice.

Where the facts of a previous conviction were disputed, clearly section 74 would be of little application. Guidance in such cases was provided in R v Humphris [2005] EWCA Crim 2030 where the Lord Chief Justice said

“[This case]… emphasises the importance of the Crown deciding that if they want more than the evidence of the conviction and the matters that can be formally established by relying on PACE ,they must ensure that they have available the necessary evidence to support what they require. That will normally require the availability of either a statement by the complainant relating to the previous convictions [in a sexual case] or the complainant to be available to give first-hand evidence of what happened”.

The court emphasized the need to avoid satellite litigation and in particular the need to avoid, if at all possible, the re-calling of witnesses to give evidence about matters the subject of previous convictions. The parties were reminded of the need to seek agreement.

If there is a dispute about previous convictions that cannot be resolved by agreed facts, prosecutors should give very careful consideration to appropriate witness care which will include arranging with the police a witness care plan with consideration being given to special measures applications. It may also be appropriate to have regard to the hearsay provisions of the Chapter 2 of Part 11 of the Criminal Justice Act 2003 .

Section 108 of the Act limits the admissibility of evidence of previous convictions as bad character evidence where the accused is charged with offences alleged to have been committed by them when aged 21 years or over and the previous conviction or convictions were for offences committed before the age of 14 to cases where

• Both of the offences are triable only on indictment, and
• The court is satisfied that the interests of justice require the evidence to be admissible.

A caution is capable of proving bad character. It can be the subject of dispute in the same way that a conviction may be disputed. In the event a caution is disputed by an accused, the court will exercise considerable care in admitting the caution as evidence of bad character particularly where the caution was accepted in the absence of legal advice. A conviction is significantly different to a caution and the court will carefully consider its powers of exclusion under section 101(3) - R v Olu [2010] EWCA Crim 2975 .

A Penalty Notice does not contain an admission of guilt and does not affect the good character of a person who accepts one – see R v Gore and Maher [2009] EWCA Crim 1424 . They are therefore inadmissible as evidence of bad character ( R v Hamer [2010] EWCA Crim 2053 ).

Prosecutors should give very careful consideration to seeking admission of convictions that are spent under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974. Section 7(2)(a) of the 1974 Act expressly excludes criminal proceedings from the operation of the general rule that a person whose convictions are spent is to be treated as a person of good character. However, some protection is afforded to a defendant by Criminal Practice Direction V, 21A.3 which provides that no one should refer in open court to a spent conviction without the authority of the judge which authority should not be given unless the interests of justice so require. Accordingly, cases where an application is made by the prosecution to adduce bad character evidence in relation to a spent conviction will be exceptional.

The admissibility of bad character evidence of non-defendants is governed by section 100 of the Act. This provides that such evidence of a person other than the accused is admissible if and only if –

• It is important explanatory evidence,
• Is a matter in issue in the proceedings, and
• Is of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole, or
• All parties to the proceedings agree to the evidence being admissible.

Evidence is important explanatory evidence if, without it, the court or jury would find it impossible or difficult properly to understand other evidence in the case and its value for understanding the case as a whole is substantial ( section 100(2) ). This subsection mirrors the provision in section 101(1)(c) and it was intended that the same test would be of application to defendants and non-defendants alike.

Section 100(3) of the Act directs the court, when assessing the probative value of the evidence for the purposes of section 100(1)(b) to have regard to

• The nature and number of events, or other things, to which the evidence relates;
• When those events or things are alleged to have happened or existed;
• The evidence is evidence of a person’s misconduct, and
• It is suggested that the evidence has probative value by reason of similarity between that misconduct and other alleged misconduct

the nature and extent of the similarities and dissimilarities between each of the alleged instances of misconduct;

• The evidence is evidence of a person’s misconduct,
• It is suggested that that person is also responsible for the misconduct charged, and
• The identity of the person responsible for the misconduct charged is disputed

the extent to which the evidence shows or tends to show that the same person was responsible each time.

Evidence of a non-defendant’s bad character cannot be adduced without the leave of the court unless the parties agree. However, once a judge has determined that the criteria for admissibility are met, there is no exclusionary discretion save for the exercise of the case management powers governing, for example, manner and length of cross examination ( R v Brewster and Cromwell [2010] EWCA Crim 1194 ). Prosecutors should only agree to the admission of bad character when one or both of the other gateways are satisfied or it is in the interests of justice to do so.

This section applies to both witnesses and those not called to give evidence except where the issue is one of credibility as the credibility of a non-witness will never be a matter in issue. The section also covers those who are deceased.

The creditworthiness of a witness is a “matter in issue in the proceedings” for the purposes of section 100(1)(b) (see  R v S (Andrew) [2006] EWCA Crim 1303 ) However, such bad character evidence will only be admissible if it is “of substantial importance in the context of the case as a whole”.

A successful application by the defence may provide the basis for an application for the admission of defendant bad character under section 101(1)(g) of the Act ( an attack on another person’s character) subject to the court’s discretion to exclude under section 101(3) . 

In cases where cross examination is restricted by statute, such as section 41 of the Youth Justice and Criminal Evidence Act 1999 where, upon the trial of a sexual offence, the defence seek to cross examine the complainant as to sexual behaviour or to adduce evidence on that matter, if the matter falls within the definition of bad character evidence, the judge will have to be satisfied as to both the requirements of section 100 and section 41.

The procedure for the admissibility of bad character evidence is governed by Part 21 of the Criminal Procedure Rules.. The importance of complying with the rules governing procedure was stressed in  R v Bovell; R v Dowds [2005] EWCA Crim 1091  and subsequent cases have stressed the need to provide information in relation to convictions and other evidence of bad character in good time.

A party wishing to adduce evidence of a defendant’s bad character must serve notice in accordance with CrimPR 21.4 on the court officer and each other party:

• Not more than 20 business days after the defendant pleads not guilty in the magistrates’ court, or
• Not more than 10 business days after the defendant pleads not guilty in the Crown Court.

A party who objects to the admission of the bad character evidence must apply to the court to determine the objection and serve the application not more than 10 business days after after service of the notice.

Notice must be given by a defendant, either orally or in writing, of an intention to adduce evidence of his own bad character as soon as reasonably practicable any in any event before the evidence is introduced by the defendant or in reply to a question asked by the defendant of another party’s witness in order to obtain evidence (CrimPR 21.4(8)).

A court must give reasons for any decision to either allow or refuse the application (Crim PR 21.5). This requirement is imposed by  section 110  of the Act.

The court has power, under CrimPR 21.6 to vary the requirements under this Part of the Criminal Procedure Rules which includes a power to dispense with a requirement for notice. Any party seeking an extension must apply when serving the application and explain the delay.

These can be accessed in the Forms section of the Criminal Procedure Rules.

The Code for Crown Prosecutors

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How to Write a Character Analysis Essay

A character analysis essay is a challenging type of essay students usually write for literature or English courses. In this article, we will explain the definition of character analysis and how to approach it. We will also touch on how to analyze characters and guide you through writing character analysis essays.

Typically, this kind of writing requires students to describe the character in the story's context. This can be fulfilled by analyzing the relationship between the character in question and other personas. Although, sometimes, giving your personal opinion and analysis of a specific character is also appropriate.

Let's explain the specifics of how to do a character analysis by getting straight to defining what is a character analysis. Our term paper writers will have you covered with a thorough guide!

What Is a Character Analysis Essay?

The character analysis definition explains the in-depth personality traits and analyzes characteristics of a certain hero. Mostly, the characters are from literature, but sometimes other art forms, such as cinematography. In a character analysis essay, your main job is to tell the reader who the character is and what role they play in the story. Therefore, despite your personal opinion and preferences, it is really important to use your critical thinking skills and be objective toward the character you are analyzing. A character analysis essay usually involves the character's relationship with others, their behavior, manner of speaking, how they look, and many other characteristics.

Although it's not a section about your job experience or education on a resume, sometimes it is appropriate to give your personal opinion and analysis of a particular character.

What Is the Purpose of a Character Analysis Essay

More than fulfilling a requirement, this type of essay mainly helps the reader understand the character and their world. One of the essential purposes of a character analysis essay is to look at the anatomy of a character in the story and dissect who they are. We must be able to study how the character was shaped and then learn from their life. 

A good example of a character for a character analysis essay is Daisy Buchanan from 'The Great Gatsby.' The essay starts off by explaining who Daisy is and how she relates to the main character, Jay Gatsby. Depending on your audience, you need to decide how much of the plot should be included. If the entire class writes an essay on Daisy Buchanan, it is logical to assume everyone has read the book. Although, if you know for certain that your audience has little to no knowledge of who she is, it is crucial to include as much background information as possible. 

After that, you must explain the character through certain situations involving her and what she said or did. Make sure to explain to the reader why you included certain episodes and how they have showcased the character. Finally, summarize everything by clearly stating the character's purpose and role in the story. 

We also highly recommend reading how to write a hook for an essay .

Still Need Help with Your Character Analysis Essay?

Different types of characters.

To make it clear how a reader learns about a character in the story, you should note that several characters are based on their behaviors, traits, and roles within a story. We have gathered some of them, along with vivid examples from famous literature and cinema pieces:

Types of Characters

• Major : These are the main characters; they run the story. Regularly, there are only one or two major characters. Major characters are usually of two types: the protagonist – the good guy, and the antagonist: the bad guy or the villain. 
• Protagonist (s) (heroes): The main character around whom most of the plot revolves. 

For example, Othello from Shakespeare's play, Frodo from The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, Harry Potter from the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, and Elizabeth Bennet from 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen.

• Antagonist (s): This is the person that is in opposition to the protagonist. This is usually the villain, but it could also be a natural power, set of circumstances, majestic being, etc. 

For example, Darth Vader from the Star Wars series by George Lucas, King Joffrey from Game of Thrones, or the Wicked Queen from 'Snow White and Seven Dwarfs.'

• Minor : These characters help tell the major character's tale by letting them interact and reveal their personalities, situations, and/or stories. They are commonly static (unchanging). The minor characters in The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien would be the whole Fellowship of the ring. In their own way, each member of the Fellowship helps Frodo get the ring to Mordor; without them, the protagonist would not be a protagonist and would not be able to succeed. In the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling, minor characters are Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger. They consistently help Harry Potter on his quests against Voldemort, and, like Frodo, he wouldn't have succeeded without them.

On top of being categorized as a protagonist, antagonist, or minor character, a character can also be dynamic, static, or foil.

• Dynamic (changing): Very often, the main character is dynamic.

An example would also be Harry Potter from the book series by J.K. Rowling. Throughout the series, we see Harry Potter noticing his likeness to Voldemort. Nevertheless, Harry resists these traits because, unlike Voldemort, he is a good person and resists any desire to become a dark wizard.

• Static (unchanging): Someone who does not change throughout the story is static.

A good example of a static character is Atticus Finch from “How to Kill a Mockingbird” by Harper Lee. His character and views do not change throughout the book. He is firm and steady in his beliefs despite controversial circumstances. 

• Foils : These characters' job is to draw attention to the main character(s) to enhance the protagonist's role.

‍ A great example of a foil charact e r is Dr. Watson from the Sherlock Holmes series by Arthur Conan Doyle.

How to Analyze a Character 

While preparing to analyze your character, make sure to read the story carefully.

• Pay attention to the situations where the character is involved, their dialogues, and their role in the plot.
• Make sure you include information about what your character achieves on a big scale and how they influence other characters.
• Despite the categories above, try thinking outside the box and explore your character from around.
• Avoid general statements and being too basic. Instead, focus on exploring the complexities and details of your character(s).

How to Write a Character Analysis Essay?

To learn how to write a character analysis essay and gather a more profound sense of truly understanding these characters, one must completely immerse themself in the story or literary piece.

• Take note of the setting, climax, and other important academic parts.
• You must be able to feel and see through the characters. Observe how analysis essay writer shaped these characters into life.
• Notice how little or how vast the character identities were described.
• Look at the characters' morals and behaviors and how they have affected situations and other characters throughout the story.
• Finally, observe the characters whom you find interesting. 

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How Do You Start a Character Analysis Essay

When writing a character analysis essay, first, you have to choose a character you'd like to write about. Sometimes a character will be readily assigned to you. It's wise to consider characters who play a dynamic role in the story. This will captivate the reader as there will be much information about these personas.

Read the Story

You might think that if you already have read the book, there is no need to do so again; however, now that you know the character you would like to focus on, reading it again will have plenty of benefits. It will give you an opportunity to be more precise while reading the scenes that relate directly to your character and are important for his/her analysis. While reading the book, pay attention to every tiny detail to make sure you grasp the whole array of your character's traits. 

Consider the following things:

• What specific descriptions does the author provide for each character?

For example, when J.K. Rowling describes Harry Potter for the first time, she describes his clothes as old and oversized, his hair untidy, and his glasses as broken. It might seem just like a simple description, but she expresses compassion and pity for an orphan neglected by his only relatives. 

• What kinds of relationships does your character have with others?

Think about how Harry builds up his friendships with others. First, he and Ron do not like Hermione because she acts like a know-it-all, but when she gets stuck in the dungeons with a horrendous troll, he rushes to save her regardless. 

• How do the actions of the character move the plot forward?

In 'The Philosopher's Stone,' Harry is very observant of any events taking place at school. He analyzes people's actions, which builds up the plot around the stone and its importance for the magical world.

Get help with your character analysis from our experts.

Choose a Dynamic Character

Choosing a dynamic character is a great idea. This does not necessarily have to be the protagonist, but a character that undergoes many changes has grown throughout the story and is not boring and/or static. This gives you a perfect advantage to fully show the character and make your paper entertaining and engaging for the reader. If you choose a character that is not very dynamic, your essay might seem monotonous because your character will not end up doing much and will not be very involved in the story.

While you are reading, it is useful to take notes or highlight/underline any of the critical elements of the story. This will add depth to your character description(s). By providing vivid and specific examples, you connect your reader to the character, and the character comes alive in their eyes. Review your notes and formulate the main idea about your character when you're finished reading with your character in mind.

Make an initial draft while taking note of the character analysis essay outline provided by your instructor. You may follow the recommended character analysis essay format if you have not been provided with a sample.

Choose a Main Idea

While reading the story, make sure you keep track of your notes. It is a good idea to look at them, choose the ones that are the most representative of your character and find patterns. This will be your thesis. Then, you must support this idea with examples and situations involving your character. 

If your character were Jem Finch from 'To Kill a Mockingbird' by Harper Lee, the main idea would be how his personal character is shaped through racial conflicts, social inequalities, and internal struggles between public opinion, his own views, and what is actually right. Essaypro offers you history essay help. Leave us a notice if you need to proofread, edit, or write your essay.

Character Analysis Questions

Now that you have jotted down some main concepts about your character, here is a list of questions that can help you fill in the blanks you might still have:

• Where do the events involving your character take place?
• What are the relationships between your character and other significant characters?
• What is the primary change your character has gone through throughout the story?
• What is your character's background?
• What is your character's occupation?
• What kind of emotions does your character go through?
• What are your character's values?
• What is your character's value?
• Does your character have friends?
• Is there a lesson your character has learned by the end of the story?
• Does the character achieve the goals he/she has set for himself/herself?

Make a Character Analysis Essay Outline

When you're unsure how to write a character synopsis, remember that creating a literary analysis outline is one of the most critical steps. A well-constructed character analysis outline will keep your thoughts and ideas organized.

Character Analysis Essay Introduction:

Make the introduction to your paper brief and meaningful. It should hold together your entire essay and spark your audience's interest. Write a short description of the character in question. Don't forget to include a character analysis thesis statement which should make a case for the character's relevance within the narrative context.

Character Analysis Essay Body:

Subdivide your body paragraphs into different ideas or areas regarding the character. Look at your professor's rubric and ensure you'll be able to tackle all the requirements. You should also be provided with questions to be answered to formulate your analysis better. The body should answer the following questions:

• What is the character's physical appearance, personality, and background?
• What are the conflicts the character experiences, and how did he/she overcome them?
• What can we learn from this character?
• What is the meaning behind the character's actions? What motivates him/her?
• What does the character do? How does he/she treat others? Is he/she fair or unjust?
• What does the character say? What is his/her choice of words? Does he/she have a rich vocabulary?
• How does the character describe themself? How do others describe him/her?
• What words do you associate with the character? Perhaps a word like 'hope,' 'bravery,' or maybe even 'freedom'?

Character Analysis Essay Conclusion:

It's time to master the secrets of how to write character analysis essay conclusions. Your ending should also hold your ideas together and shape a final analysis statement. Mention things about the character's conflicts that we could experience in real life. Additionally, you can write about how a character should've reacted to a certain situation.

Character Analysis Essay Example

Read our blogs ‘Character Analysis of Jem Finch', 'The Great Gatsby Book Through Daisy Buchanan Character,' 'Analysis of Characters in Beowulf,' or simply use these character analysis essay examples to reference your paper. You might also be interested in a synthesis essay example .

Now that you know what is character analysis, it might be time to choose a character to write about. If you find yourself in a situation where you need to type ' do my homework for me ,' you should contact our writers. You also get a free plagiarism report, formatting, and citing when  buying an essay from us!

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How To Write A Character Analysis Essay?

How to start a character analysis essay, how to write an introduction for a character analysis essay, related articles.

Writing a Character Analysis Essay | Step-by-Step Guide

I’m also going to give you a ton of examples.

This post is split into four parts for easy navigation:

• What is a Character Analysis Essay?
• What is the best Format to Use?
• 11 Character Analysis Example Ideas
• Template, Checklist and Outline for Your own Piece

In this post, I’m going to explain to you clearly and in a step-by-step way how to conduct a character analysis.

1. What is a Character Analysis Essay?

Let’s get you started with some really simple details about what a character analysis is:

• A Quick Definition: A character analysis essay zooms-in on a character in a book, movie or even real life. It provides what we sometimes call a ‘sketch’ of a character.
• The Purpose of a Character Analysis: The purpose of a character analysis is to reveal interesting details about the character that might contain a broader moral message about the human condition. For example, Atticus Finch is not just a lawyer in To Kill a Mockingbird. Rather, he provides us with a moral message about the importance of doing what you believe is right even though you know you will likely fail.

2. What is the best Character Analysis Essay Format?

Character analysis essays do not have just one format.

However, let me offer some advice that might act as a character analysis essay outline or ‘checklist’ of possible things you could discuss:

1. Start with the Simple Details.

You can start a character analysis by providing a simple, clear description of who your character is. Look at some basic identity traits such as:

• Race (if relevant)
• Social class (if relevant)
• Protagonist or Antagonist? A protagonist is the character who is our central character in the plot; the antagonist is often the protagonist’s opponent or challenger.
• Major or minor character?

2. What are the character’s distinctive personality features?

Your character might have some really clearly identifiable character traits. It’s best to highlight in your character analysis the exact traits that this character possesses. Some common character traits include:

I recommend you take a moment to write down what you think the top 3 to 5 words are that you’d use to explain your character’s personality traits. These will be important to discuss throughout your character analysis.

Sometimes a character may start out with some personality traits, but change over the course of the text. This is quite common; and one clear example of this is Lady Macbeth she deteriorates from a cutthroat power player to a guilt ridden shell of a person roaming the halls of the castle. This dramatic character change is something that makes her very interesting, and is worthy of discussion!

3. What are the character’s key relationships?

Does your character have a close relationship with a certain person in the storyline?

You might want to discuss the character’s relationships as a part of your character analysis. These relationships may reveal some key personality traits of your character.

For example, in Shakespeare’s play Hamlet, Horatio is the loyal offsider to Hamlet. Through his actions in staying by Hamlet through thick and thin, we learn that he is a deeply loyal character.

Examining the character’s relationships with their friends and foes therefore is very useful for digging deeper into who this character actually is, and what personality traits they have when they are put to the test within the narrative.

4. What are the character’s motivations?

Another thing you might want to examine are the character’s motivations . What do they desire most in the world? Some common motivations for characters in stories are:

• A simple life
• To serve others

This list really could be endless, but I hope the above examples give you a bit of an idea of the sorts of traits to look out for. By mentioning and examining the motivations of the character, we will come closer and closer to learning exactly what moral message this character might be able to tell us.

5. What are the character’s key conflicts?

Stories tend to have a beginning, a complication, and a resolution.

The complication involves conflicts and challenges that need to be overcome. For Edmund in Narnia, it’s cowardice. For Romeo and Juliet, it’s the conflict between love and family loyalty. Here’s some other common conflicts for characters:

• Whether to stay loyal to a friend;
• To overcome obstacles to love;
• To seek a way out of a challenging situation;
• To escape war or poverty;
• To persevere through imprisonment;
• To overcome personal fear

Again, this list is endless.

Knowing the character’s core conflict gets us even closer to knowing the moral that the character is trying to teach us.

For example, in Romeo and Juliet, the challenge of Romeo and Juliet being together despite their families’ objections teaches us something. Personally, I believe it teaches us the importance of letting go of old grudges in order to let love bloom.

This moral lesson was taught to us through conflict: namely, the conflict that Romeo and Juliet were right in the center of.

6. What are the character’s epiphanies?

Sometimes a character has an epiphany. This often happens towards the end of the story and helps the character overcome the challenge or conflict that we discussed in the point above.

Here’s an example of an epiphany:

• In the Lion King, Simba runs away from his tribe to live in exile. After a chance encounter with his childhood friend Nala, he has an epiphany that he has a duty to his tribe. This leads him back home to fight Scar and return freedom to Pride Rock.

Not all characters have an epiphany. But, if they do, I strongly encourage you to write about it in your character analysis.

7. Examine the moral message the character teaches us.

Finally, conclude by examining the moral message behind the character. Nearly every character has something to teach the reader. Authors put a lot of thought into creating complex characters with whom we can relate. We relate to the character and say “wow, they taught me a lesson about something!”

The lesson might be something like:

• Money doesn’t buy happiness;
• Loyalty to family comes above all else;
• Love gives life meaning;
• Honesty is always the best policy

This is the core of your character analysis essay. If you can pick out exactly what moral message the character teaches you, you’ll be well on your way to writing a strong character analysis.

Below I’m going to give you some examples to help you out. I know it can be hard to really get your head around a character, so sometimes the best thing is to look at some samples!

3. Here’s 13 Example Character Analysis Essay Ideas.

Most times when we create a character analysis, we’re exploring the deeper moral stories / aspects of humanity. Here’s some example ideas. I’ve tried to outline in less than a paragraph exactly what your key point will be about each character:

• Atticus Finch from To Kill a Mockingbird: A character who teaches us a lesson about standing up for what’s right, even if you know you’re likely to lose.
• Huckleberry Finn from Huckleberry Finn: A character who reveals our inner desire for freedom from the elements of society that constrain us.
• Dudley from Harry Potter: A character whose personality tells us a cautionary tale of the perils of middle-class narcissism, parents’ desire to wrap their children in cotton wool, and the lack of discipline we perceive in contemporary childhoods.
• Jack from Lord of the Flies: A character who represents the innate desire for power that seems to lurk not too far from the surface of the human condition. When social structures are stripped away, he quickly reverts to violence and superstition to assert control over his peers.
• Lady Macbeth from Macbeth: Lady Macbeth teaches us a valuable lesson about the perils of contravening our own morality. She starts out a cutthroat killer but is increasingly consumed by the guilt of her own actions. While we may be able to escape full punishment from outside forces, it is the inner guilt that might eat us away to our last.
• The Boy who Cried Wolf: The boy who cried wolf is a character whose fatal flaw is his desire for attention and adulation. His repeated attempts at gaining the attention of others leads the townspeople to no longer take him seriously, which causes him harm when he actually needs the villagers to take him seriously to save his life. He teaches us the virtue of honest and humility.
• Nick Carraway from the Great Gatsby: Nick shows us all the inner conflict between the trappings of wealth, glamor and spectacle; and the desire for simplicity, honesty and community. He is drawn by the dazzling world of East Egg, New York, but by the end of the novel sees live in East Egg as shallow and lacking the moral depth of his former life in small town Minnesota.
• Alice from Alice in Wonderland: In many ways, Alice represents the child within all of us. She is a character of goodwill to all and who looks upon the world (or, rather, Wonderland) with awe. Travelling with a cadre of flawed characters, she learns with them the importance of seeking strength from within.
• The Nurse in Romeo and Juliet: Like many Shakespearian characters, the nurse’s role is both as loyal confidante to a central character and comic relief. Shakespeare uses minor characters to regale his crowd and sustain viewer interest between scenes.
• Lucy in The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe: Lucy represents a surprising character whose youthfulness and small stature make her an underrated character by all around her. Nonetheless, she possesses within the bravery and loyalty necessary to carry out the quest for Aslan. Lucy represents the goodness in children and, by extension, all of mankind.
• Anne in Anne of Green Gables: Anne occupies the typical literary role of young girls in many classical novels: she represents innocence and wonder, and her contraventions of rules are seen through a prism of childhood innocence. This frames Anne not as a deviant but as a precious soul.
• Simba from The Lion King: Simba’s story follows his struggle with growing up, embracing his destiny and duty to his family, or fleeing towards freedom and a ‘no worries’ lifestyle. Simba flees Pride Rock and goes through an existential crisis with his existentialist friends Timon and Pumba. When he runs into an old childhood friend, he realizes how shallow his new carefree life has become and reflects upon his obligation to his community back home.
• Woody from Toy Story: Woody starts out Andy’s favorite toy, but when Andy gets a new flashier toy, Woody’s status amongst the toys falls apart. Woody’s key character challenge is to learn to be humble and inclusive living within the group. By the end of the movie, Woody realizes his duty to love and serve Andy is more important than his own status within the group.

4. Here’s an Example Template for your own Character Analysis Essay

Feel free to use this brainstorming template to get you started with your character analysis essay. I recommend filling out as many of these key points as you can, but remember sometimes you might have to skip some of these points if they’re not relevant to your character.

Once you’ve brainstormed the ideas in Table 1, follow the character analysis essay outline in Table 2 to stay on track for your character analysis essay. Do remember though that each assignment will be different and you should adjust it based on your teacher’s requirements.

Here’s Table 1, which is a brainstorming template for your character analysis essay:

And here’s Table 2, which is an example character analysis essay outline. This is for a 1500 word character analysis essay. Change the word count according to how long your essay should be:

Read Also: 39 Better Ways to Write ‘In Conclusion’ in an Essay

Character analyses can be really tough. You need to know your character really well. You might even need to re-read (or watch) your book or movie a few times over to get to know the character really well.

I recommend when you re-read or re-watch the text before you write your character analysis, have the checklist I provided above handy and take notes. Then, use the essay outline I provided above to put all of those notes together into a clear and thorough final character analysis essay.

Chris Drew (PhD)

Dr. Chris Drew is the founder of the Helpful Professor. He holds a PhD in education and has published over 20 articles in scholarly journals. He is the former editor of the Journal of Learning Development in Higher Education. [Image Descriptor: Photo of Chris]

• Chris Drew (PhD) https://helpfulprofessor.com/author/chris-drew-phd/ 5 Top Tips for Succeeding at University
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Personality & Character Traits: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

The world we live in is different from what it was 10, five, or even one year ago. Thanks to social media, easy-to-use communication tools, and globalization, the pool of possibilities and available information are constantly expanding.

Without a clear idea of one’s own preferences, making the right choice can be extremely difficult and confusing. Everyone’s personality is unique, and knowing what makes us who we are, can lead to more life satisfaction, better life choices, and overall success in both personal and professional spheres.

Before you continue, we thought you might like to download our three Strengths Exercises for free . These detailed, science-based exercises will help you or your clients realize your unique potential and create a life that feels energized and authentic.

This Article Contains:

Character and personality traits defined, character trait theories.

• The Big Five or OCEAN Model

The PEN Model

Examples of positive and negative characteristics, character traits worksheets for kids and adults (pdfs), the character traits anchor chart and other graphic organizers, a take-home message.

While character and personality are both used to describe someone’s behaviors, the two examine different aspects of that individual. One’s personality is more visible, while one’s  character is revealed over time, through varying situations.

In more concrete terms:

“Personality is easy to read, and we’re all experts at it. We judge people [as] funny, extroverted, energetic, optimistic , confident—as well as overly serious, lazy, negative, and shy—if not upon first meeting them, then shortly thereafter. And though we may need more than one interaction to confirm the presence of these sorts of traits, by the time we decide they are, in fact, present, we’ve usually amassed enough data to justify our conclusions. “Character, on the other hand, takes far longer to puzzle out. It includes traits that reveal themselves only in specific—and often uncommon—circumstances, traits like honesty, virtue, and kindliness .” Lickerman, 2011

While personality is easier to spot, it’s largely static and slow to evolve. Character, on the other hand, takes longer to discern but is easier to change. That’s because character is shaped by beliefs, and with enough effort and motivation, changing one’s perspective and view of the world can lead to a shift in one’s character.

The malleability of character makes sense when you look at human evolution. In order for our ancestors to survive, they had to adapt to new environments and change with the times—and this remains true in the modern era.

If an individual deems a change in their surroundings to be significant, then their beliefs will transform to accommodate the change.

For instance, an individual who might have a shy personality can learn to switch their attitude toward public speaking when stepping into the role of a teacher. The new social and external demands lead to an internal shift that changes their demeanor.

In this way, even if an individual’s inborn preference is to shy away from the public, the beliefs and values that shape their behavior can evolve to reflect the values of their immediate groups and communities. Such awareness and adaptability help with survival (Kurtus, 2011).

The bottom line is, despite the significance of our inborn personality traits, we can overcome them as required by personal or cultural demands.

TED Talk: Who Are You, Really? The Puzzle of Personality by Brian Little

In this talk, personality expert Brian Little explains the phenomenon of overcoming one’s inborn traits and explores how our character is modified by the core projects we work on.

Tools for identifying personality traits have never been more plentiful. “ In the U.S. alone, there are about 2,500 personality tests ” to choose from (Ash, 2012). Yet, quantity does not imply quality.

Due to immense variations in personality, it is difficult to divide people neatly into different classifications. Instead, assessing individuals by the most common personality traits can empower us to deduce a person’s behavior by looking at the average of their choices (Pappas, 2017).

Below are two of the most widely used personality tools that can identify your personality traits. Some pros and cons of each are also highlighted.

A quick note is that we have reviewed only scale-based personality assessments, rather than profile-based assessments. The difference is that scale-based assessments treat personality traits as existing on a continuum, whereas profile-based assessments classify individuals according to binary categories (e.g., an introvert or an extrovert).

Common profile-based assessments that you may be familiar with include the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) and the Enneagram. While these tools can be a fun way to gain some self-insight, they are often critiqued by scientists (Grant, 2013).

A key criticism is that the results of profile-based assessments pigeonhole individuals into particular categories (e.g., labeling someone as an extrovert or introvert; a thinker or a feeler), but few things in life are so black and white. In reality, it is believed that our personality traits exist on scales with opposite poles, and all of us will fall somewhere between either end of that continuum (e.g., the introversion-extroversion scale).

Put differently, “ if the MBTI measured height, you would be classified as either tall or short, even though the majority of people are within a band of medium height ” (Krznaric, 2013). Hence, we’ve limited this review to only scale-based assessments, which are more scientifically backed.

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The Big Five, or OCEAN Model

Perhaps the most comprehensive and science-backed, personality test available is the Big Five .

Unlike the popular (but disputed) Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), this assessment does not divide people into personality profiles but rather analyzes an individual based on the most common traits found within the global community. The traits are easy to remember, as they spell out the acronym OCEAN.

OCEAN stands for:

• Openness : This describes an individual’s love for novelty experiences. Those with high scores tend to be more creative . Individuals with lower scores tend to be more conservative and prefer routines.
• Conscientiousness : This shows someone’s tendency for organization. Those with high scores are seen as motivated, disciplined, and trustworthy. Lower scores indicate someone less responsible and more likely to get distracted.
• Extroversion : This factor indicates how cheerful and communicative a person can be. If someone scores highly in extroversion, they tend to be social and likely to accomplish their goals . Low scores indicate someone who is introverted and more submissive to authority.
• Agreeableness : This trait describes how someone interacts with those around them. High scores indicate that someone is warm and friendly. Those who tend to be more egocentric and suspicious (or even shy) tend to score lower.
• Neuroticism : Emotional stability can reveal a lot about the likelihood of someone developing moodiness and anxiety. High scores on neuroticism indicate someone who is less-assured, and low scores describe a person who is calm and confident (Westerhoff, 2008).

These categories serve as an umbrella that influences other personality areas, such as:

• Openness: imagination, feelings, actions, ideas, values, adventurousness, artistic interests, etc.
• Conscientiousness: order, self-discipline, competence, achievement striving, etc.
• Extroversion: warmth, friendliness, assertiveness, activity level, positive emotions, etc.
• Agreeableness: trust, compliance, modesty, altruism, sympathy, cooperation, etc.
• Neuroticism : hostility, depression, impulsiveness, anger, vulnerability, self-consciousness, etc. (ETS, 2012)

Take the test

Those wishing to know their OCEAN results can take any of the following quizzes:

• The Big Five Personality Test
• (Another) Big Five Personality Test
• Personality Test at 123test.com
• Ten Item Personality Measure (available in different languages)

Again, we’ll explore the benefits and drawbacks of the OCEAN model.

Unlike the MBTI, which tries to categorize people into one of 16 personality profiles, the Big Five understands that individuals possess certain traits, which need to be measured on a continuum. It is rare to be only on one or the other side of the spectrum.

For instance, saying that extroverts absorb energy when interacting with others and that introverts expend energy when interacting with the outside world is false, as both get energy from their interpersonal relations (Grant, 2015).

“The Big Five structure captures, at a broad level of abstraction, the commonalities among most of the existing systems of personality description, and provides an integrative descriptive model for personality research” (John & Srivastava, 1999).

Thanks to its results that provide scales of different traits rather than profiling the individual, this personality assessment tool can provide a degree of flexibility and versatility, which has enabled researchers to use the assessment to examine the influence of these traits on different areas of life, like  mental health , finances, and relationships.

And for the most part, these traits have been shown to be relatively stable. Specifically, in a nine-year study, there was “moderate to high [stability], ranging from 0.73 to 0.97 in men and from 0.65 to 0.95 in women. The highest gender-equal stability was found for openness to experience and the lowest for conscientiousness” (Rantanen, Metsäpelto, Feldt, Pulkkinen, & Kokko, 2007).

More specifically, men showed more stability in traits like neuroticism and extroversion, while women showed more stability in traits like openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Despite its stability and usefulness, the tool does have its flaws.

Here are a few:

1. Too big to fail

As mentioned earlier, the beauty of this tool is its big-picture view of personality traits, but it’s also a limitation. A good analogy to explain this is the categorization of living organisms into plants or animals. While it’s helpful for certain distinctions, it is not helpful for “value predicting specific behaviors of a particular individual” (John, Naumann, & Soto, 2008).

2. Not so universal

While there has been evidence-based research to support the validity of the tool in more than 50 countries, flaws in translation and applicability to non-English-speaking cultures can be found. This results in skewed scores, as was demonstrated by research conducted with a small South American tribe (Dingfelder, 2013).

Developed by Hans and Sybil Eysenck in 1975, this model looks at the biological factors that trigger or influence personality. The three focal traits examined by this model are psychoticism, extroversion, and neuroticism (Waude, 2017).

The origins of this model date back to the 1960s, but it didn’t originally measure psychoticism (which relates to measures of  compassion , morality, as well as creativity). The older model used the Eysenck Personality Inventory to gather and analyze results.

With the addition of psychoticism, the questions were updated and the tool for gathering these results was renamed the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire.

Each of the trait categories explores the following human behaviors:

• Psychoticism : People who score high in this measure often participate in hostile, reckless, inconsiderate, nonconforming, tough-minded, and impulsive behaviors. Higher levels of testosterone are associated with higher scores in this area.
• Extroversion : Individuals with a high level of extroversion are more outgoing and talkative, and they desire external stimuli. Higher stimulation usually occurs as a result of increased cortical arousal and can be measured through skin conductance, brain waves, or sweating.
• Neuroticism : Those with a high level of neuroticism are more prone to depression and anxiety. The trait is activated by the sympathetic nervous system, which is also responsible for the fight-or-flight response. This can be measured through heart rate, blood pressure, cold hands, sweating, and muscular tension.

Based on these measures, there are four possible quadrants that individuals can fall into:

• Stable extroverts: recognized by their talkative, easygoing, lively, and carefree natures and their  leadership qualities
• Unstable extroverts: seen as touchy, restless, impulsive, and irresponsible
• Stable introverts: recognized by their calm, reliable, peaceful, thoughtful, and passive traits
• Unstable introverts: seen as reserved, pessimistic, rigid, anxious, and moody

Those interested in taking the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire can do so here .

Once more, we’ll explore the pros and cons of this personality model.

The model looks at both descriptive and causal effects. It examines three specific dimensions, making it easy to understand. And it has demonstrated test–retest reliability.

In fact, when specifically examining the pattern of moods, this assessment is able to predict certain outcomes. For instance, the questionnaire can predict significant associations with anxiety, according to a 2012 study.

“Focusing on the item of ‘Does your mood often go up and down?’ showed a statistically significant association with melancholia and anxiety for patients with a positive score on this item.” Bech, Lunde, & Moller, 2012

Through twin studies, researchers have also found that some of the personality traits measured with the PEN model “exhibit significant genetic variance” (Heath, Jardine, Eaves & Martin, 1988). For traits related to extroversion, researchers “found both additive gene action and dominance,” while “neuroticism items appeared to show purely additive genetic inheritance” (Heath, Jardine, Eaves & Martin, 1988).

Some factors, though, were shown to be influenced by the subjects’ environments, including the psychoticism scale, though for psychoticism the “environmental effects appeared to be largely restricted to males” (Heath, Jardine, Eaves & Martin, 1988).

Like most personality trait assessments, the PEN model is unable to predict future behaviors of individuals, even using the model allows for a better understanding of individuals’ personalities.

And there are certain limits to the model. In a study of both imprisoned and non-imprisoned people, researchers found that the samples often studied in research using the PEN model could create misleading results.

While past studies had shown high rates of extroversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism in criminals, researchers Rebolla, Herrera, and Collom found that this correlation might be linked as much to a person’s environment as inherited traits. They argue that extroverts “are less prone to conditioning. And this tendency increases with high [neuroticism] scores” (Rebollo, Herrera, & Colom, 2002).

The researchers argue that in order to build a conscience, conditioning is required (something that neurotic and extroverted people resist), which may lead to greater degrees of antisocial personalities among people who are highly extroverted and neurotic but don’t have social support while growing up (Rebollo, Herrera, & Colom, 2002).

The findings demonstrate that since personality traits are influenced by heredity, it is mainly through character and conditioning that a change can be developed in an individual. For instance, those who are more prone to fear and shyness can be taught coping techniques that are more congruent with social norms, allowing for better communication and integration into society.

Having explored the differences between personality and character, we can dive deeper and examine the broader characteristics associated with positive and negative traits.

The collective research on personality has helped clarify the behaviors that are more conducive to wellbeing , with a majority of those behaviors helping to cultivate resilience toward external stimuli.

Another way to interpret this is with the concept of mental strength. This ability is acquired by focusing on things under personal command, which reinforces the internal locus of control.

The behaviors that lead to mental strength are identified below (Morin, 2013):

• Mentally strong people don’t feel sorry for themselves; instead, they take responsibility for their own life.
• They don’t give away their power to others and thus maintain control over their emotions.
• Individuals with mental toughness embrace change and are open to being flexible.
• Control is placed on things under the person’s influence, such as their attitude.
• Pleasing everyone is not a priority. While being kind and fair is important, making everyone happy is not.
• There is a motivation for making calculated risks.
• Mentally strong people focus on the present and make plans for the future.
• Mentally strong people try to make better decisions in the future and try not to repeat previous missteps.
• They demonstrate an ability to appreciate and celebrate the success of other people.
• They don’t give up after a failure; instead, they keep trying until they get it right.
• Mentally strong people tolerate being alone and staying in silence.
• They don’t feel that the world owes them something; instead, they create opportunities for themselves by utilizing their own talents and merits.
• Real change takes time, and mentally strong individuals understand this, so they’re patient.

These behaviors are positively supported by characteristics such as:

• Tenacity: not giving up when things get tough or when problems arise
• Confidence : belief in personal ability to find solutions to challenges
• Optimism: the perception that the odds are in one’s favor
• Adaptability: openness to new inputs and ideas
• Self-Awareness : the ability to shift perspective
• Reliability: following through with promises and goals
• Responsibility: owning up to personal mistakes and errors
• Wellbeing: making personal mental and physical health a priority

These and other characteristics help contribute to strong mental health (Half, 2016).

This supports the idea that openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness provide the foundation on which changes and challenges are welcomed, not shunned. In turn, this helps open doors to new possibilities and opportunities.

Specifically,

“Those whose personality tendencies tend toward empathy, cooperation, trust, and modesty (Costa & Widiger, 2002) are found to be more intrinsically motivated and find enjoyment through efforts they exert in the completion of tasks or in problem-solving. Possessing a proclivity toward mastery-approach orientation, these individuals will not shy away from challenging situations, and their desire to tackle challenges is greater than their fear of appearing unknowledgeable in front of others. In other words, they approach challenges with the full intent of mastering them.” Watson, 2012

The opposite of open-minded, calm, conscientious, and agreeable characteristics are those defined by judgment, neuroticism, and an external locus of control. Some behaviors that fall into this category are:

• Inability to accept setbacks
• Lack of clarity and decision-making
• Low capacity for critical thinking
• Failing to build strong interpersonal relations
• Always staying in the comfort zone
• Helplessness and absence of persistence
• Tendency to lean toward pessimism
• Weak imagination and an inability to visualize desired outcomes (Cardone, 2011)

Individuals with high scores in neuroticism often display narcissism, have inflated egos, and are emotionally distant, angry, hostile, and inflexible. These people tend to display the behaviors above.

Yet one key preventer of such negative traits, according to some studies, is self-control. “The more conscientious or prudent people are–no matter their other characteristics–the less likely they’ll be drawn toward harmful or illegal activities” (Chamorro-Premuzic, 2016).

Therefore, by increasing one’s self-awareness, individuals can spot their shortcomings and adopt habits to help balance out their personality traits. In turn, this helps them thrive.

Cultivating positive character traits can lead to greater success.

This is explained well by this excerpt from an article differentiating between character and personality:

“There is a direct link between positive character traits and a happy and successful life. Negative character traits that have been ‘strongly and long’ ingrained usually do cause strife at some point. But a focus on positive change can and does work.” Bell, 2010

Understanding one’s character traits and cultivating a strong desire and motivation for change can lead to better outcomes.

Here are some worksheets that can help get you and the people in your life started on this process.

There are plenty of tools for explaining character traits to kids. Here are some options for students ranging from first-graders to eighth-graders.

Fill in the Blank Worksheet

Perfect for kids in grades two through five,  this worksheet can be utilized during lessons on English, vocabulary, and writing.

Character Trait Analysis and Development

Here are 12 different worksheets designed for students in first through eighth grade. The worksheets introduce the idea of character traits and help students analyze and develop their character traits.

Lesson Plan on Character Traits

Those who teach third grade can utilize this entire lesson plan (which includes worksheets) to introduce character traits to the young students.

For Adults:

While it’s especially helpful to learn about character traits at a young age, adults can benefit from becoming more familiar with their positive and negative character traits.

Positive Traits Worksheet

At times, adults may be unable to recognize good qualities in themselves, which can prevent them from developing self-compassion and self-esteem. This worksheet describes 58 positive traits. You can the positive traits that describe yourself, which strengthens your belief in yourself and can lead to transformative conversations.

Visual of Character Traits

Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words. Clients who are unable to verbalize their feelings or thoughts can use these handy infographics that display the opposite pairs of various character traits.

Positive and Negative Traits Quiz

Taking a test can sometimes be very enlightening. Those wishing to fill out a questionnaire rather than identify their own positive and negative character traits can respond to these 25 questions and determine their individual traits.

17 Exercises To Discover & Unlock Strengths

Use these 17 Strength-Finding Exercises [PDF] to help others discover and leverage their unique strengths in life, promoting enhanced performance and flourishing.

Created by Experts. 100% Science-based.

Introducing the concept of character to a younger audience can be difficult. But, utilizing easy-to-understand vocabulary and an interactive, visual, and fun process can assist in bringing the message home.

Teachers wishing to use the process in the classroom can take advantage of these freely available resources:

Character Traits Anchor Chart

Explaining the difference between internal and external character traits to children can be tough. By utilizing an “outside” and “inside” chart, students can begin to categorize their physical and personal traits. This technique can also be utilized to identify the differences between emotions (how a character feels) and traits (describes the personality).

Building Character in the Classroom

A rowdy classroom often leads to many impatient and distracted kids. In addition, students, especially those who live in lower-income areas, can carry a lot of emotional baggage, making it hard to stay motivated and concentrated on the subject at hand. For such situations, this is a great resource that suggests several ways for creating an inviting and an education-focused classroom.

The above research suggests that while personality traits are often hereditary and beyond our control, the things we value and believe in can reshape our character.

Expanding self-awareness is likely the first step in gaining control over one’s life. So it’s no wonder that “the most successful people are the most self-aware people” (Rosenfeld, 2016).

Awareness of others’ personalities can also be helpful, especially in situations like hiring someone for your company. And while there are many personality assessment tools to choose from, some are more consistent than others.

Cultivating an open, agreeable, and conscientious environment, whether in the office or at home, can help create values that are more conducive and supportive of growth and success. Using visualization tools to inspire, motivate, and spark interest in change is vital when aiming to align individuals and corporations toward a specific goal or mission.

Here is a great TED Talk by Dan Gilbert that summarizes this message:

Like Gilbert highlights in the video, it’s true that our personality traits are hereditary, but we still have the power to change. Our beliefs and values, which influence character, are not black or white—they adapt to our experiences and are heavily influenced by the different interactions and situations we engage in.

We are not static creatures, and just like nature, we are constantly changing. It is up to us to decide who we want to grow into. The best way to do that is to take note of where we currently are and then imagine where we want to go.

If change is the only constant, then the most successful people are those who control their own transformations.

We’d love to know your thoughts about personality and character. Have you ever taken a personality assessment, and if so, how accurate do you think it was? Do you think people can change their character? Let us know in the comments section.

We hope you enjoyed reading this article. Don’t forget to download our three Strengths Exercises for free .

• Ash, L. (2012, July 6). Can personality tests identify the real you? Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-18723950
• Bech, P., Lunde, M., & Moller, S. (2012, September 4). Eysenck’s Two Big Personality Factors and Their Relationship to Depression in Patients with Chronic Idiopathic Pain Disorder: A Clinimetric Validation Analysis . Retrieved from https://www.hindawi.com/journals/isrn/2012/140458/
• Bell, J. (2010, March 26). Is There a Difference Between Character and Personality? Retrieved from https://insights.inneractiveconsulting.com/is-there-a-difference-between-character-and-personality/
• Cardone, G. (2010, September 18). The 10 Traits of Failure . Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/grant-cardone/the-10-traits-of-failure_b_722036.html
• Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2016, July 19). Entrepreneurs? Four Worst Personality Traits And The One That Can Redeem Them . Retrieved from https://www.fastcompany.com/3061922/entrepreneurs-four-worst-personality-traits-and-the-one-that-can-redeem-them
• Costa, P. T., Jr., & Widiger, T. A. (2002). Introduction: Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality. In P. T. Costa, Jr. & T. A. Widiger (Eds.), Personality disorders and the five-factor model of personality (p. 3–14). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
• Dingfelder, S. (2013, March). New study throws into doubt the universality of the Big Five.  Retrieved from http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/03/big-five.aspx
• ETS. (2017) Retrieved from https://www.ets.org/s/workforce_readiness/pdf/21332_big_5.pdf
• Grant, A. (2013, September 18). Goodbye to MBTI, the Fad That Won’t Die . Retrieved from https://www.huffingtonpost.com/adam-grant/goodbye-to-mbti-the-fad-t_b_3947014.html
• Grant, A. (2015, November 17). MBTI, If You Want Me Back, You Need to Change Too. Adam Grant. Medium. Retrieved from https://medium.com/@AdamMGrant/mbti-if-you-want-me-back-you-need-to-change-too-c7f1a7b6970
• Half, R. (2016, March 4). 30 Character Traits of Mentally Strong People . Retrieved from https://www.roberthalf.com/blog/management-tips/30-character-traits-of-mentally-strong-people
• Heath, A., Jardine, R., Eaves, L., & Martin, N. (1988, June 13). The Genetic Structure of Personality -II . Retrieved from https://genepi.qimr.edu.au/contents/p/staff/CV080.pdf
• John, O., Naumann, L., & Soto, C. (n.d.). Paradigm Shift to the Integrative Big Five Trait Taxonomy . Retrieved from https://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/%7Ejohnlab/pdfs/2008chapter.pdf
• John, O., & Srivastava, S. (1999, March 5). The Big-Five Trait Taxonomy . Retrieved from John, O., & Srivastava, S. (1999, March 5). Retrieved from http://moityca.com.br/pdfs/bigfive_John.pdf
• Krznaric, R. (2013, May 15). Have we all been duped by the Myers-Briggs test? Retrieved from http://fortune.com/2013/05/15/have-we-all-been-duped-by-the-myers-briggs-test/
• Kurtus, R. (n.d.). Character versus Personality by Ron Kurtus – Understanding Character: School for Champions . Retrieved from http://www.school-for-champions.com/character/character_versus_personality.htm#.Wh2ivaOZNPO
• Lickerman, A. (2011, April 3). Personality vs. Character . Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/happiness-in-world/201104/personality-vs-character
• Morin, A. (2013, December 9). 13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do | Amy Morin, LCSW. Retrieved from https://amymorinlcsw.com/mentally-strong-people/
• Pappas, S. (2017, November 16). Personality Traits & Personality Types: What is Personality? Retrieved from https://www.livescience.com/41313-personality-traits.html
• Rantanen, J., Metsäpelto, R. L., Feldt, T., Pulkkinen, L. E. A., & Kokko, K. (2007). Long‐term stability in the Big Five personality traits in adulthood. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 48(6) , 511-518.
• Rebollo, I., Herrero, O., & Colom, R. (2002, March 15). Personality in imprisoned and non-imprisoned people: evidence from the EPQ-R . Retrieved from http://www.psicothema.es/pdf/762.pdf
• Rosenfeld, J. (2016, August 26). Human nature is way too complex to be pinned down by personality tests . Retrieved from https://qz.com/766993/the-best-result-you-can-get-on-a-personality-test-is-one-that-you-dont-like/
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• Westerhoff, N. (2008, December 17). The “Big Five” Personality Traits . Retrieved from https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-big-five/

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What our readers think.

I’m 65 years old. Female. I just had a huge aha moment. I’m easily annoyed. That trait destroyed my career as a public school teacher, I’m pretty sure of that. Two people I care about are becoming increasingly hard to deal with. My roommate is in constant pain and does nothing but complain about his life. My sister is in early stages of cognitive decline. It has become work to talk to her. I want to switch my knee jerk reaction of annoyance to one of compassion. Any ideas?

Thank you for your vulnerable comment! I realize it’s a complex and brave thing to admit that you want to change how you respond to others.

Of course, I cannot give you an exact course of action, but I believe that taking the step to make this comment shows that you are committed to learning how to respond compassionately. While we offer several tools that aid in fostering self-compassion and positive communication, you might want to look into other resources that can help promote compassion-centered communication. You might want to look into The Compassionate Mind Foundation or these free Mindfulness & Compassion resources.

I hope this helps and good luck!

Kind regards, -Caroline | Community Manager

Interesting, sounds spot on to me, similar to Myers Briggs test results

Truly enjoyable. Covers the broad-spectrum. Well researched and informative. Thank you Johan de Wet

It’s interesting to note that we can be more joyful in the future by developing our character in a positive manner. It follows that our personality will be happier as well. Like bees to honey, we attract people we strive to be. Virtues, such as humility, honesty, peace, and gratitude are much better than vices, such as pride, greed, dishonesty, sloth, etc. Virtues give us hope for our future and are our greatest assets.

Fantastic information! This is very useful. Thank you!

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Essays About Character: Top 5 Examples and 9 Prompts

If you’re writing an essay about character, below are helpful examples of essays about character with prompts to inspire you further.

When we say that a person has character, we usually refer to one’s positive qualities such as moral fiber, spiritual backbone, social attitudes, mental strength, and beliefs. But not to be mistaken with mere personality, character goes beyond the sum of all good traits. Instead, it demonstrates and applies these qualities in interacting with people, acting on responsibilities, and responding to challenges. 

Character, hence, cannot be evaluated by a single action or event. Instead, it manifests in a pattern and through consistency.

Read on to find essays and prompts to help you create an essay with rich insights. 

1. How 5 CEOs Hire For Character by Chris Fields

2. the character of leadership by brian k. cooper et. al, 3. when proof of good moral character helps an immigration application—or doesn’t by ilona bray, j.d., 4. what are the 24 character strengths by sherri gordon, 5. the five character traits the best investors share by richard thalheimer , 9 writing prompts for essays about character, 1. what are your character strengths, 2. the importance of character, 3. how household chores develop a child’s character, 4. how challenges shape your character, 5. character education in schools, 6. character analysis, 7. character vs. personality , 8. why psychologists study character, 9. choosing people for your character reference  .

“You have to be a good person with a good heart. Of course, you have to be qualified, educated and skilled, that goes without saying – or it should – but your next candidate can’t be a bad person because CEOs are looking for character.”

The essay compiles insights from famous billionaire CEOs who underscore the importance of recruiting people with good character. It shows the upward trend among companies seeking qualifications beyond education and professional experience and looking more into the heart of people. You might also be interested in these essays about courage .

“…[L]eadership that achieves results goes beyond how to be, and becomes how to do; this type of leadership is all about character. So in other words, in order to get things done personally and organizationally, one first needs to get in touch with his or her character.”

Character in leadership could translate to benefits beyond the organization, society, or the world. The essay is based on a study of the three underlying dimensions of leadership character: universalism, transformation, and benevolence. 

“Demonstrating good moral character is an extremely important part of many immigration cases, but it is not required in all of them. In fact, providing proof of your accomplishments to the court could hurt your immigration case in some instances.”

Showing good moral character is a common requirement for immigrants seeking to be naturalized citizens in a different country. This article gets into the nitty gritty on how one can best prove good moral character when facing immigration officers.

“Knowing a person’s character strengths provides a lens through which psychologists, educators, and even parents can see not only what makes a person unique, but also understand how to help that person build on those strengths to improve situations or outcomes.”

The concept of character strengths aims to help people focus on their strengths to lead healthy and happy life. Understanding character strengths meant being more equipped to use these strengths to one’s advantage, whether toward academic access or overcoming adversities.

“… [Y]ou have to be able to pick the right stocks. That’s where talent, intellect, knowledge and common sense come in. Of course, if you can’t control your emotions, and you get fearful and sell every time the market drops, all that talent, knowledge, intellect and common sense go out the window.”

Having an eye for the right stocks requires developing five character traits: talent, intellect, knowledge, common sense, and a bias to action. All these could be honed by sharpening one’s knowledge of the current news and financial trends. Developing character as a stock investor also requires a daily routine that allows one to exercise analytical skills.

Check out these great prompts about character:

What are the positive character traits you think you have that many people also see in you? List down these strengths and dive deep into each one. To start, you may look into the 24 strengths highlighted in one of the essay examples. Then, identify which ones best suit you. Finally, elaborate on how you or the people around you have benefitted from each.

In a world where many are motivated by fame and fortune, how can you convince people that being kind, honest, and courageous trump all life’s material, fleeting desires? Turn this essay into an opportunity to call more people to build good character and keep out of bad habits and actions. 

Tasking children doing household chores can offer benefits beyond enjoying a sparkly clean home. In the long-term, it builds children’s character that can help them lead healthy and happy life. For this prompt, lay down the top benefits children will gain from performing their chores and responsibilities in the household.

Our best selves reveal themselves in the darkest times. You can easily say that obstacles are the actual test of our character. So, first, narrate a challenging experience you had in your life. Then, describe how you turned this bad period around to your advantage to strengthen your mind, character, and resilience. 

Schools play a vital role in training children to have a strong-minded character and contribute to the good of society. As such, schools integrate character education into their curriculum and structure. In your essay, narrate how much your school values character building. Elaborate on how it teaches bad actions, such as bullying or cheating, and good virtues, such as respecting others’ culture, traditions, and rights. 

Pick a character you adore, whether from a novel or a book. Then, write an analysis of their traits and how these fit into their assigned role in the story. Of course, as in every character analysis, narrate their character transformation. So you have to identify key turning points and realizations that prompted the changes in their character, role, values, and beliefs. 

Both your character and personality make you a unique individual. But they have different definitions and uses that make them independent of each other. In your essay, identify these differences and answer which has the most significant impact on your life and which one you should focus on. 

Psychologists study characters to know how and why they change over time. This helps them enhance their understanding of human motivation and behavior. In your essay, answer to a greater extent how studying character drive more people to thrive in school, work, or home. Then, compile recent studies on what has been discovered about developing character and its influences on our daily lives.

A good character reference can help you secure a job you’re aiming for. So first, identify the top qualities employers look for among job seekers. Then, help the reader choose the best people for their character reference. For students, for example, you may recommend they choose their former professors who can vouch for their excellent work at school. 

To make sure your readers are hooked from beginning to end, check out our essay writing tips ! If you’re thinking about changing your essay topic, browse through our general resource of essay writing topics .

Yna Lim is a communications specialist currently focused on policy advocacy. In her eight years of writing, she has been exposed to a variety of topics, including cryptocurrency, web hosting, agriculture, marketing, intellectual property, data privacy and international trade. A former journalist in one of the top business papers in the Philippines, Yna is currently pursuing her master's degree in economics and business.

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Home — Essay Samples — Entertainment — Breaking Bad — Analysis Of The Protagonist’s Character In Breaking Bad

Analysis of The Protagonist’s Character in Breaking Bad

• Categories: Breaking Bad

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Words: 817 |

Published: Jun 9, 2021

Words: 817 | Pages: 2 | 5 min read

Works Cited

• Johnson, D. (2013). Breaking Bad: Critical Essays on the Contexts, Politics, Style, and Reception of the Television Series. Lexington Books.
• Waller, G., & Waller, M. (2017). Breaking Bad and Dignity: Unity and Fragmentation in the Serial Television Drama. Springer.
• Lavigne, C. (2018). The Universe of Breaking Bad. University Press of Mississippi.
• Snierson, D. (2013). Breaking Bad: The Official Book. Sterling.
• Hanfeld, M., & Link, D. (Eds.). (2014). Beyond Breaking Bad: Critical Perspectives. Lexington Books.
• Becker, J. (2018). Breaking Bad: Critical Essays on the Contexts, Politics, Style, and Reception of the Television Series (2nd ed.). Lexington Books.
• Irwin, W., Dunn, S., & Dunn, J. (Eds.). (2013). Breaking Bad and Philosophy: Badder Living through Chemistry. Open Court.
• Kaplan, S., & Stowers, S. (2013). Breaking Bad: Alchemy. AMC Books.
• Reiner, R. (2017). Breaking Bad: The Ultimate Unofficial Guide. Independent Publishing.
• Bianculli, D. (2018). The Platinum Age of Television: From I Love Lucy to The Walking Dead, How TV Became Terrific. Anchor Books.

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Welcome to the intriguing world of writing – a tantalizing tapestry of creativity, emotion, and intellectual exploration. Here, words aren’t merely vessels of communication; they’re mirrors, reflecting the vibrant mindscapes of their creators. While we often celebrate the artistry of good writing, we rarely venture into the intriguing shadows of its less glamorous counterpart – bad writing. It’s akin to exploring a secret attic, dusty and daunting, but filled with untold lessons. Let’s bravely pull back the curtain on bad writing, discover its quirks, understand its pitfalls, and learn how it can guide us on our journey to becoming stronger, more skilful writers. Buckle up, for we’re about to embark on a writing adventure like no other!

Examples of Bad Writing

Below are sample excerpts from what I think is a really bad writing. These excerpts are collected from different stories, either written by me (sometimes, when you edit, you find monsters), or by other authors. I won’t disclose their names though. Read the following samples, guess what’s wrong with them, and never write like this.

1. Sunday was a marvelous, uplifting day, perfect for our usual slow and cozy strolls around the picturesque autumn park. It was late glorious October outside, and the whole town was covered with yellow, red, brown, and crimson crispy leaves. The blue sky with fluffy, curly white clouds in it looked light-minded as if all the gruesome and sad miseries of unhappy people living under it were none of its business but its own. I put on my beige warm sweater of large viscous, pushed an old ragged door of my tiny apartment, and went outside and went outside, oh, went outside.

I hope you noticed the enormous quantity of adjectives and epithets and the grammatical errors. Don’t repeat these mistakes.

2. Whenever I was feeling depressed, sad, or just out of place, I would pack my things into a small backpack, write a couple of short letters to my friends—just to prevent them from worrying about my whereabouts—and set off travelling around the state; it really did not matter for me where to go—in youth, I was fascinated with the aesthetics and nomadic romance of the beat generation, so usually I would buy a ticket on a bus (Greyhound Express, just like Jack Kerouac would like it, baby) driving to nowhere, sit, drink from my canteen, and watch the endless miles of the road pass by me outside of the window.

I almost fell asleep while I tried to read to the end of this super-long sentence. And this is not even the longest sentence I’ve encountered.

3. She looked as if she was struck by lightning: her eyes going to fall out of orbits, her mouth wide open, as if she was trying to swallow a train, her skin deadly pale. To me, seeing her in such a condition was heartbreaking, like eggs being cracked upon a stone.

Metaphors and comparisons can be okay if you use them once every few pages. But back to back, they can be annoying—especially poorly-used metaphors.

4. Emotional detachment between us during manifested harmony in relationships was causing a cognitive dissonance within me; my mind was wandering in Kafkian labyrinths of doubt, guilt, and sorrow, while my mouth almost subconsciously produced sparkling words that people usually associate with love.

Don’t try to sound smart. It destroys the magic of your text. If your reader has no idea about Kafkian labyrinths or cognitive dissonance, your effort will be in vain.

5. Electric compulsion of misery flowed through the night megalopolis, filling the veins of pragmatic reality with juices. Magnetic Adam of the new epoch, the innocent function of digital satori, who were you in this entropy?

WHAT?! This is too avant-garde, and in this case, it’s not a compliment.

You seriously don’t want to stumble upon such authors. So, if you were planning on working with some writers, you better check their works beforehand. Consider checking out the best custom writing service reviews – maybe you can find true masters of the words there.

Top Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them: A Comprehensive Guide

The art of writing holds immense transformative power. But, as with any craft, it can also be filled with potential pitfalls. This article unveils some common writing mistakes and provides insightful strategies to improve your craft. Let’s dive in.

One common writing faux pas is ‘info-dumping’. Authors can fall into the trap of overloading the reader with a sudden onslaught of information to create context or background. Rather than risking the reader’s interest with a wall of text, try subtly sprinkling details throughout the story . As the old saying goes, a little can go a long way.

Next on our list is the pitfall of excessive descriptive language. While well-chosen adjectives can help transport readers to another world, their overuse can slow down the narrative and disengage readers. Remember, a well-crafted narrative strikes a balance between descriptive language and concise storytelling. To achieve this balance, consider using a free sentence rewriter to refine your prose and eliminate unnecessary verbosity.

Clichés are yet another common writing mistake. Overuse of these familiar phrases can make a story feel stale and predictable, suggesting a lack of original thought. Instead of resorting to clichés, try using fresh, original metaphors and descriptions to make your work truly stand out.

Our exploration into common writing errors would be incomplete without addressing ‘telling’ instead of ‘showing’. Instead of explicitly telling your readers that a character is scared, for example, show them descriptions of the character’s trembling hands, quickened breath, or the chill crawling up their spine. The art of storytelling lies in not just what information you convey, but how you convey it.

Another critical issue arises when dialogue feels unnatural or stilted. If characters speak like robots or philosophers in everyday conversation, it can create a disconnect for the reader. To prevent this, try incorporating authentic, real-world dialogue . Remember, your characters should feel like real people.

Lastly, we address the common writing mistake of overusing passive voice. Passive sentences tend to be wordy and less direct, which can make them feel awkward or weak. To enhance the energy of your writing, be bold, be direct, and let your active voice shine!

Let’s shift gears and explore some insights derived from personal experiences shared by writers.

Many writers initially struggle with ‘purple prose,’ a term for writing that’s overly ornate or flowery. Over time, they realize that simplicity often makes for more compelling reading. In the world of writing, less is indeed often more.

Overuse of adverbs is another pitfall writers often face in their early attempts at crafting a story. Learning to trust nouns and verbs to carry the scene can help writers overcome this habit and produce more impactful prose.

Creating two-dimensional characters is another common issue. Characters should feel like living, breathing beings with depth and motivation, rather than mere cardboard cutouts.

Inconsistent point-of-view is another challenge that writers often need to overcome. Maintaining a consistent narrative perspective can help to create a stronger narrative focus and engage readers more effectively.

Finally, writers new to poetry often struggle with forced rhymes and rhythms. With practice, they learn to let the words flow naturally, focusing on the message rather than the rhymes.

Exploring Examples of Bad Writing and How to Improve Them

Bad writing is something every writer wants to avoid. However, understanding what constitutes poor writing can be a useful tool in improving writing quality. To shed light on this, we’ll explore some examples of bad writing, commonly seen in popular books, both in literary fiction and commercial fiction.

Inappropriate Dialogue and Dialogue Tags

One common example of bad writing can be found in the execution of dialogue. Good writing involves creating conversations that sound natural and real. However, in some bestselling books, character conversations can feel forced or unnatural, leading to poor writing. For instance, using dialogue tags inappropriately can disrupt the flow of speaking parts. Tags like “he exclaimed” or “she bellowed” used excessively can distract the reader and detract from the narrative. Skilled writing involves using dialogue tags sparingly and effectively.

Another example of bad writing in dialogue is the use of unnatural language. Characters should speak like real people, their language reflecting their background, age, and personality. When character names start to spout jargon or use overly complex language without any contextual reasoning, it can feel jarring to the reader.

Ineffective Description

Description is a critical component of both literary novels and genre fiction. However, bad writing often includes detailed descriptions that don’t serve the story. For example, imagine a scene in a coffee shop where the author spends three paragraphs describing the intricate design of the espresso machine. Unless the coffeehouse or the machine plays a significant role in the narrative, such a vivid depiction is unnecessary and can slow down the pace of the story.

Good writing, on the other hand, incorporates descriptive writing that enhances the narrative and deepens the reader’s understanding of the characters or the setting. A quality description in a literary work or a popular novel should be concise, relevant, and evocative, creating a vivid picture in the reader’s mind without overburdening them with unnecessary details.

Confusing Point of View

A clear and consistent point of view is a hallmark of effective writing. However, in some highly read books, the author’s perspective or the narrative perspective can become muddled, leading to bad writing. For instance, if a story is told from a single character’s point of view, but suddenly includes information that this character couldn’t possibly know, it breaks the consistency of the storytelling angle and can confuse the reader.

The Power of Redrafting

Improving writing, particularly in commercial fiction and literary fiction, often involves significant rewriting, editing, or revising. Redrafting is a critical part of the writing process that allows authors to identify and correct instances of bad writing.

For instance, dialogue can be improved by removing unnecessary dialogue markers, making conversations more natural, and ensuring that character names and their speech reflect their personalities and backgrounds. Descriptions can be refined to ensure they serve the story and aren’t overly detailed. The point of view can be clarified and made consistent throughout the story.

Inconsistent Characterization

Characterization is a vital aspect of both literary works and mainstream novels. However, bad writing often manifests as inconsistent characterization, where the traits, actions, or reactions of the protagonist or other characters don’t align with what has been established earlier in the story. For instance, a character portrayed as shy and introverted suddenly becoming outgoing and gregarious without any plausible explanation or character development can confuse readers and weaken the narrative.

In good writing, characters evolve over time, but such changes are gradual and justified by the plot or their experiences. The names of the characters and their actions should align with their personalities, backgrounds, and the story’s overall context.

Misuse of Common Settings

Another area where bad writing can be evident is in the depiction of common settings, such as a coffee shop or a café. For example, if every significant conversation or revelation in the story occurs in an espresso bar without any compelling reason, it can strain the story’s credibility and become repetitive. Effective writing employs a variety of settings and ensures that the location matches the scene’s tone and significance.

Ineffective Use of Language

Poor writing often includes redundant phrases, incorrect word usage, and convoluted sentence structures, which can distract the reader and interrupt the narrative flow. An essential part of improving writing is honing language skills, choosing the right words for clarity and impact, and maintaining grammatical accuracy.

Overcoming Bad Writing through Redrafting

One of the most reliable ways to address bad writing is through redrafting, rewriting, or revising the text. This process involves examining every aspect of the story, from dialogue and description to character consistency and point of view, and making necessary changes to enhance the writing quality.

Redrafting can also involve replacing overused words with synonyms, improving sentence structure, and eliminating unnecessary details or repetitions. For instance, a dialogue tag like “he said” can often be removed entirely if it’s clear who’s speaking, leading to cleaner, more effective writing.

The Transformational Journey from Draft to Masterpiece

Few writers strike gold with their first drafts; the true magic happens during the revision phase. Revision, or redrafting, is a powerful tool that can elevate a good piece to greatness. It’s the process where we refine our thoughts, improve our arguments, and perfect our language to better connect with readers. An essential aspect of writing, revision can transform a raw manuscript into a polished masterpiece.

A Step-by-Step Guide to Organizing Effective Redrafting:

• Embrace the Pause: Once you’ve completed your initial draft, give yourself permission to take a break. This intentional distancing allows your mind to reset, and when you return, you’ll be equipped with fresh eyes, ready to identify any gaps in information, inconsistencies in the plot or argument, or any parts that may be unclear to your reader.
• Read Aloud:: When you read your work aloud, you engage another sense that helps you perceive your writing from a different perspective. You become the audience, able to pick up on awkward phrasing, clunky sentences, or tonal inconsistencies that might be overlooked when reading silently.
• Involve Others: Enlist the help of a trusted friend, mentor, or editor to review your work. They bring an outsider’s perspective, essential for pinpointing areas that might be confusing or lacking in explanation. This feedback provides a road map for your revisions.
• Revise in Stages: : Attempting to revise everything simultaneously can be daunting. Therefore, break your revision down into manageable stages. Start with the macro level by focusing on the overall content and structure. Once you’re satisfied, dive into the micro level, examining sentence structure, language use, and word choice. Lastly, focus on fine-tuning the grammar and punctuation.
• Sacrifice for the Greater Good: Writers often coin the term “kill your darlings” when talking about beloved but unnecessary portions of their work. It’s vital to stay objective and be willing to cut your favourite sentence or paragraph if it doesn’t contribute to the overall piece.
• Final Sweep – Proofreading: After all the conceptual and structural changes, meticulously scour your work for any overlooked typos, grammatical errors, or punctuation mishaps. These seemingly small mistakes can greatly affect the credibility and impact of your work.
• Iterate and Refine: Remember, good writing is the result of continuous refining. Don’t hesitate to undergo multiple rounds of revisions. With each round, your writing will become more refined, clear, and powerful. This process doesn’t necessarily get easier, but the rewards of a well-crafted piece are worth every revision.

The path to becoming a skilled writer is paved with lessons. Embrace the process of continual learning and improvement. Every story you write is a part of your unique narrative as a writer.

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Essays on Bad Character

7 samples on this topic

Writing piles of Bad Character papers is an inherent part of present-day studying, be it in high-school, college, or university. If you can do that on your own, that's just awesome; yet, other students might not be that lucky, as Bad Character writing can be quite troublesome. The collection of free sample Bad Character papers introduced below was formed in order to help flunker learners rise up to the challenge.

On the one hand, Bad Character essays we publish here distinctly demonstrate how a really remarkable academic piece of writing should be developed. On the other hand, upon your demand and for a fair cost, an expert essay helper with the relevant academic experience can put together a high-quality paper example on Bad Character from scratch.

Dual Earner Families Course Work Examples

Essay on do we live in a world of media infotainment and melodramatic reportage.

DO WE LIVE IN A WORLD OF MEDIA INFOTAINMENT AND MELODRAMATIC REPORTAGE?

Example Of Discuss The Importance Of Motive In Criminal Investigations Critical Thinking

Importance of Motive in Criminal Investigation

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, bad college essays: 10 mistakes you must avoid.

College Essays

Just as there are noteworthy examples of excellent college essays that admissions offices like to publish, so are there cringe-worthy examples of terrible college essays that end up being described by anonymous admissions officers on Reddit discussion boards.

While I won't guarantee that your essay will end up in the first category, I will say that you follow my advice in this article, your essay most assuredly won't end up in the second. How do you avoid writing a bad admissions essay? Read on to find out what makes an essay bad and to learn which college essay topics to avoid. I'll also explain how to recognize bad college essays—and what to do to if you end up creating one by accident.

What Makes Bad College Essays Bad

What exactly happens to turn a college essay terrible? Just as great personal statements combine an unexpected topic with superb execution, flawed personal statements compound problematic subject matter with poor execution.

Problems With the Topic

The primary way to screw up a college essay is to flub what the essay is about or how you've decided to discuss a particular experience. Badly chosen essay content can easily create an essay that is off-putting in one of a number of ways I'll discuss in the next section.

The essay is the place to let the admissions office of your target college get to know your personality, character, and the talents and skills that aren't on your transcript. So if you start with a terrible topic, not only will you end up with a bad essay, but you risk ruining the good impression that the rest of your application makes.

Some bad topics show admissions officers that you don't have a good sense of judgment or maturity , which is a problem since they are building a class of college students who have to be able to handle independent life on campus.

Other bad topics suggest that you are a boring person , or someone who doesn't process your experience in a colorful or lively way, which is a problem since colleges want to create a dynamic and engaged cohort of students.

Still other bad topics indicate that you're unaware of or disconnected from the outside world and focused only on yourself , which is a problem since part of the point of college is to engage with new people and new ideas, and admissions officers are looking for people who can do that.

Problems With the Execution

Sometimes, even if the experiences you discuss could be the foundation of a great personal statement, the way you've structured and put together your essay sends up warning flags. This is because the admissions essay is also a place to show the admissions team the maturity and clarity of your writing style.

One way to get this part wrong is to exhibit very faulty writing mechanics , like unclear syntax or incorrectly used punctuation. This is a problem since college-ready writing is one of the things that's expected from a high school graduate.

Another way to mess this up is to ignore prompt instructions either for creative or careless reasons. This can show admissions officers that you're either someone who simply blows off directions and instructions or someone who can't understand how to follow them . Neither is a good thing, since they are looking for people who are open to receiving new information from professors and not just deciding they know everything already.

College Essay Topics To Avoid

Want to know why you're often advised to write about something mundane and everyday for your college essay? That's because the more out-there your topic, the more likely it is to stumble into one of these trouble categories.

Too Personal

The problem with the overly personal essay topic is that revealing something very private can show that you don't really understand boundaries . And knowing where appropriate boundaries are will be key for living on your own with a bunch of people not related to you.

Unfortunately, stumbling into the TMI zone of essay topics is more common than you think. One quick test for checking your privacy-breaking level: if it's not something you'd tell a friendly stranger sitting next to you on the plane, maybe don't tell it to the admissions office.

• Describing losing your virginity, or anything about your sex life really. This doesn't mean you can't write about your sexual orientation—just leave out the actual physical act.
• Writing in too much detail about your illness, disability, any other bodily functions. Detailed meaningful discussion of what this physical condition has meant to you and your life is a great thing to write about. But stay away from body horror and graphic descriptions that are simply there for gratuitous shock value.
• Waxing poetic about your love for your significant other. Your relationship is adorable to the people currently involved in it, but those who don't know you aren't invested in this aspect of your life.
• Confessing to odd and unusual desires of the sexual or illegal variety. Your obsession with cultivating cacti is wonderful topic, while your obsession with researching explosives is a terrible one.

Too Revealing of Bad Judgment

Generally speaking, leave past illegal or immoral actions out of your essay . It's simply a bad idea to give admissions officers ammunition to dislike you.

Some exceptions might be if you did something in a very, very different mindset from the one you're in now (in the midst of escaping from danger, under severe coercion, or when you were very young, for example). Or if your essay is about explaining how you've turned over a new leaf and you have the transcript to back you up.

• Writing about committing crime as something fun or exciting. Unless it's on your permanent record, and you'd like a chance to explain how you've learned your lesson and changed, don't put this in your essay.
• Describing drug use or the experience of being drunk or high. Even if you're in a state where some recreational drugs are legal, you're a high school student. Your only exposure to mind-altering substances should be caffeine.
• Making up fictional stories about yourself as though they are true. You're unlikely to be a good enough fantasist to pull this off, and there's no reason to roll the dice on being discovered to be a liar.
• Detailing your personality flaws. Unless you have a great story of coping with one of these, leave deal-breakers like pathological narcissism out of your personal statement.

Too Overconfident

While it's great to have faith in your abilities, no one likes a relentless show-off. No matter how magnificent your accomplishments, if you decide to focus your essay on them, it's better to describe a setback or a moment of doubt rather that simply praising yourself to the skies.

• Bragging and making yourself the flawless hero of your essay. This goes double if you're writing about not particularly exciting achievements like scoring the winning goal or getting the lead in the play.
• Having no awareness of the actual scope of your accomplishments. It's lovely that you take time to help others, but volunteer-tutoring a couple of hours a week doesn't make you a saintly figure.

Too Clichéd or Boring

Remember your reader. In this case, you're trying to make yourself memorable to an admissions officer who has been reading thousands of other essays . If your essay makes the mistake of being boring or trite, it just won't register in that person's mind as anything worth paying attention to.

• Transcribing your resume into sentence form or writing about the main activity on your transcript. The application already includes your resume, or a detailed list of your various activities. Unless the prompt specifically asks you to write about your main activity, the essay needs to be about a facet of your interests and personality that doesn't come through the other parts of the application.
• Writing about sports. Every athlete tries to write this essay. Unless you have a completely off-the-wall story or unusual achievement, leave this overdone topic be.
• Being moved by your community service trip to a third-world country. Were you were impressed at how happy the people seemed despite being poor? Did you learn a valuable lesson about how privileged you are? Unfortunately, so has every other teenager who traveled on one of these trips. Writing about this tends to simultaneously make you sound unempathetic, clueless about the world, way over-privileged, and condescending. Unless you have a highly specific, totally unusual story to tell, don't do it.
• Reacting with sadness to a sad, but very common experience. Unfortunately, many of the hard, formative events in your life are fairly universal. So, if you're going to write about death or divorce, make sure to focus on how you dealt with this event, so the essay is something only you could possibly have written. Only detailed, idiosyncratic description can save this topic.
• Going meta. Don't write about the fact that you're writing the essay as we speak, and now the reader is reading it, and look, the essay is right here in the reader's hand. It's a technique that seems clever, but has already been done many times in many different ways.
• Offering your ideas on how to fix the world. This is especially true if your solution is an easy fix, if only everyone would just listen to you. Trust me, there's just no way you are being realistically appreciative of the level of complexity inherent in the problem you're describing.
• Starting with a famous quotation. There usually is no need to shore up your own words by bringing in someone else's. Of course, if you are writing about a particular phrase that you've adopted as a life motto, feel free to include it. But even then, having it be the first line in your essay feels like you're handing the keys over to that author and asking them to drive.
• Using an everyday object as a metaphor for your life/personality. "Shoes. They are like this, and like that, and people love them for all of these reasons. And guess what? They are just like me."

Too Off-Topic

Unlike the essays you've been writing in school where the idea is to analyze something outside of yourself, the main subject of your college essay should be you, your background, your makeup, and your future . Writing about someone or something else might well make a great essay, but not for this context.

• Paying tribute to someone very important to you. Everyone would love to meet your grandma, but this isn't the time to focus on her amazing coming of age story. If you do want to talk about a person who is important to your life, dwell on the ways you've been impacted by them, and how you will incorporate this impact into your future.
• Documenting how well other people do things, say things, are active, while you remain passive and inactive in the essay. Being in the orbit of someone else's important lab work, or complex stage production, or meaningful political activism is a fantastic learning moment. But if you decide to write about, your essay should be about your learning and how you've been influenced, not about the other person's achievements.
• Concentrating on a work of art that deeply moved you. Watch out for the pitfall of writing an analytical essay about that work, and not at all about your reaction to it or how you've been affected since. Check out our explanation of how to answer Topic D of the ApplyTexas application to get some advice on writing about someone else's work while making sure your essay still points back at you.

(Image: Pieter Christoffel Wonder [Public domain] , via Wikimedia Commons)

Too Offensive

With this potential mistake, you run the risk of showing a lack of self-awareness or the ability to be open to new ideas . Remember, no reader wants to be lectured at. If that's what your essay does, you are demonstrating an inability to communicate successfully with others.

Also, remember that no college is eager to admit someone who is too close-minded to benefit from being taught by others. A long, one-sided essay about a hot-button issue will suggest that you are exactly that.

• Ranting at length about political, religious, or other contentious topics. You simply don't know where the admissions officer who reads your essay stands on any of these issues. It's better to avoid upsetting or angering that person.
• Writing a one-sided diatribe about guns, abortion, the death penalty, immigration, or anything else in the news. Even if you can marshal facts in your argument, this essay is simply the wrong place to take a narrow, unempathetic side in an ongoing debate.
• Mentioning anything negative about the school you're applying to. Again, your reader is someone who works there and presumably is proud of the place. This is not the time to question the admissions officer's opinions or life choices.

College Essay Execution Problems To Avoid

Bad college essays aren't only caused by bad topics. Sometimes, even if you're writing about an interesting, relevant topic, you can still seem immature or unready for college life because of the way you present that topic—the way you actually write your personal statement. Check to make sure you haven't made any of the common mistakes on this list.

Tone-Deafness

Admissions officers are looking for resourcefulness, the ability to be resilient, and an active and optimistic approach to life —these are all qualities that create a thriving college student. Essays that don't show these qualities are usually suffering from tone-deafness.

• Being whiny or complaining about problems in your life. Is the essay about everyone doing things to/against you? About things happening to you, rather than you doing anything about them? That perspective is a definite turn-off.
• Trying and failing to use humor. You may be very funny in real life, but it's hard to be successfully funny in this context, especially when writing for a reader who doesn't know you. If you do want to use humor, I'd recommend the simplest and most straightforward version: being self-deprecating and low-key.
• Talking down to the reader, or alternately being self-aggrandizing. No one enjoys being condescended to. In this case, much of the function of your essay is to charm and make yourself likable, which is unlikely to happen if you adopt this tone.
• Being pessimistic, cynical, and generally depressive. You are applying to college because you are looking forward to a future of learning, achievement, and self-actualization. This is not the time to bust out your existential ennui and your jaded, been-there-done-that attitude toward life.

(Image: Eduard Munch [Public Domain] , via Wikimedia Commons)

Lack of Personality

One good question to ask yourself is: could anyone else have written this essay ? If the answer is yes, then you aren't doing a good job of representing your unique perspective on the world. It's very important to demonstrate your ability to be a detailed observer of the world, since that will be one of your main jobs as a college student.

• Avoiding any emotions, and appearing robot-like and cold in the essay. Unlike essays that you've been writing for class, this essay is meant to be a showcase of your authorial voice and personality. It may seem strange to shift gears after learning how to take yourself out of your writing, but this is the place where you have to put as much as yourself in as possible.
• Skipping over description and specific details in favor of writing only in vague generalities. Does your narrative feel like a newspaper horoscope, which could apply to every other person who was there that day? Then you're doing it wrong and need to refocus on your reaction, feelings, understanding, and transformation.

Off-Kilter Style

There's some room for creativity here, yes, but a college essay isn't a free-for-all postmodern art class . True, there are prompts that specifically call for your most out-of-left-field submission, or allow you to submit a portfolio or some other work sample instead of a traditional essay. But on a standard application, it's better to stick to traditional prose, split into paragraphs, further split into sentences.

• Submitting anything other than just the materials asked for on your application. Don't send food to the admissions office, don't write your essay on clothing or shoes, don't create a YouTube channel about your undying commitment to the school. I know there are a lot of urban legends about "that one time this crazy thing worked," but they are either not true or about something that will not work a second time.
• Writing your essay in verse, in the form of a play, in bullet points, as an acrostic, or any other non-prose form. Unless you really have a way with poetry or playwriting, and you are very confident that you can meet the demands of the prompt and explain yourself well in this form, don't discard prose simply for the sake of being different.
• Using as many "fancy" words as possible and getting very far away from sounding like yourself. Admissions officers are unanimous in wanting to hear your not fully formed teenage voice in your essay. This means that you should write at the top of your vocabulary range and syntax complexity, but don't trade every word up for a thesaurus synonym. Your essay will suffer for it.

Failure to Proofread

Most people have a hard time checking over their own work. This is why you have to make sure that someone else proofreads your writing . This is the one place where you can, should—and really must—get someone who knows all about grammar, punctuation and has a good eye for detail to take a red pencil to your final draft.

Otherwise, you look like you either don't know the basic rules or writing (in which case, are you really ready for college work?) or don't care enough to present yourself well (in which case, why would the admissions people care about admitting you?).

• Typos, grammatical mistakes, punctuation flubs, weird font/paragraph spacing issues. It's true that these are often unintentional mistakes. But caring about getting it right is a way to demonstrate your work ethic and dedication to the task at hand.
• Going over the word limit. Part of showing your brilliance is being able to work within arbitrary rules and limitations. Going over the word count points to a lack of self-control, which is not a very attractive feature in a college applicant.
• Repeating the same word(s) or sentence structure over and over again. This makes your prose monotonous and hard to read.

Bad College Essay Examples—And How to Fix Them

The beauty of writing is that you get to rewrite. So if you think of your essay as a draft waiting to be revised into a better version rather than as a precious jewel that can't bear being touched, you'll be in far better shape to correct the issues that always crop up!

Now let's take a look at some actual college essay drafts to see where the writer is going wrong and how the issue could be fixed.

Essay #1: The "I Am Writing This Essay as We Speak" Meta-Narrative

Was your childhood home destroyed by a landspout tornado? Yeah, neither was mine. I know that intro might have given the impression that this college essay will be about withstanding disasters, but the truth is that it isn't about that at all.

In my junior year, I always had in mind an image of myself finishing the college essay months before the deadline. But as the weeks dragged on and the deadline drew near, it soon became clear that at the rate things are going I would probably have to make new plans for my October, November and December.

Falling into my personal wormhole, I sat down with my mom to talk about colleges. "Maybe you should write about Star Trek ," she suggested, "you know how you've always been obsessed with Captain Picard, calling him your dream mentor. Unique hobbies make good topics, right? You'll sound creative!" I played with the thought in my mind, tapping my imaginary communicator pin and whispering "Computer. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. And then an Essay." Nothing happened. Instead, I sat quietly in my room wrote the old-fashioned way. Days later I emerged from my room disheveled, but to my dismay, this college essay made me sound like just a guy who can't get over the fact that he'll never take the Starfleet Academy entrance exam. So, I tossed my essay away without even getting to disintegrate it with a phaser set on stun.

I fell into a state of panic. My college essay. My image of myself in senior year. Almost out of nowhere, Robert Jameson Smith offered his words of advice. Perfect! He suggested students begin their college essay by listing their achievements and letting their essay materialize from there. My heart lifted, I took his advice and listed three of my greatest achievements - mastering my backgammon strategy, being a part of TREE in my sophomore year, and performing "I Am the Very Model of a Modern Major-General" from The Pirates of Penzance in public. And sure enough, I felt inspiration hit me and began to type away furiously into the keyboard about my experience in TREE, or Trees Require Engaged Environmentalists. I reflected on the current state of deforestation, and described the dichotomy of it being both understandable why farmers cut down forests for farmland, and how dangerous this is to our planet. Finally, I added my personal epiphany to the end of my college essay as the cherry on the vanilla sundae, as the overused saying goes.

After 3 weeks of figuring myself out, I have converted myself into a piece of writing. As far as achievements go, this was definitely an amazing one. The ability to transform a human being into 603 words surely deserves a gold medal. Yet in this essay, I was still being nagged by a voice that couldn't be ignored. Eventually, I submitted to that yelling inner voice and decided that this was not the right essay either.

In the middle of a hike through Philadelphia's Fairmount Park, I realized that the college essay was nothing more than an embodiment of my character. The two essays I have written were not right because they have failed to become more than just words on recycled paper. The subject failed to come alive. Certainly my keen interest in Star Trek and my enthusiasm for TREE are a great part of who I am, but there were other qualities essential in my character that did not come across in the essays.

With this realization, I turned around as quickly as I could without crashing into a tree.

What Essay #1 Does Well

Here are all things that are working on all cylinders for this personal statement as is.

Killer First Sentence

Was your childhood home destroyed by a landspout tornado? Yeah, neither was mine.

• A strange fact. There are different kinds of tornadoes? What is a "landspout tornado" anyway?
• A late-night-deep-thoughts hypothetical. What would it be like to be a kid whose house was destroyed in this unusual way?
• Direct engagement with the reader. Instead of asking "what would it be like to have a tornado destroy a house" it asks "was your house ever destroyed."

Gentle, Self-Deprecating Humor That Lands Well

I played with the thought in my mind, tapping my imaginary communicator pin and whispering "Computer. Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. And then an Essay." Nothing happened. Instead, I sat quietly in my room wrote the old-fashioned way. Days later I emerged from my room disheveled, but to my dismay, this college essay made me sound like just a guy who can't get over the fact that he'll never take the Starfleet Academy entrance exam. So, I tossed my essay away without even getting to disintegrate it with a phaser set on stun.

The author has his cake and eats it too here: both making fun of himself for being super into the Star Trek mythos, but also showing himself being committed enough to try whispering a command to the Enterprise computer alone in his room. You know, just in case.

A Solid Point That Is Made Paragraph by Paragraph

The meat of the essay is that the two versions of himself that the author thought about portraying each fails in some way to describe the real him. Neither an essay focusing on his off-beat interests, nor an essay devoted to his serious activism could capture everything about a well-rounded person in 600 words.

(Image: fir0002 via Wikimedia Commons .)

Where Essay #1 Needs Revision

Rewriting these flawed parts will make the essay shine.

Spending Way Too Long on the Metanarrative

I know that intro might have given the impression that this college essay will be about withstanding disasters, but the truth is that it isn't about that at all.

After 3 weeks of figuring myself out, I have converted myself into a piece of writing. As far as achievements go, this was definitely an amazing one. The ability to transform a human being into 603 words surely deserves a gold medal.

Look at how long and draggy these paragraphs are, especially after that zippy opening. Is it at all interesting to read about how someone else found the process of writing hard? Not really, because this is a very common experience.

In the rewrite, I'd advise condensing all of this to maybe a sentence to get to the meat of the actual essay .

Letting Other People Do All the Doing

I sat down with my mom to talk about colleges. "Maybe you should write about Star Trek ," she suggested, "you know how you've always been obsessed with Captain Picard, calling him your dream mentor. Unique hobbies make good topics, right? You'll sound creative!"

Almost out of nowhere, Robert Jameson Smith offered his words of advice. Perfect! He suggested students begin their college essay by listing their achievements and letting their essay materialize from there.

Twice in the essay, the author lets someone else tell him what to do. Not only that, but it sounds like both of the "incomplete" essays were dictated by the thoughts of other people and had little to do with his own ideas, experiences, or initiative.

In the rewrite, it would be better to recast both the Star Trek and the TREE versions of the essay as the author's own thoughts rather than someone else's suggestions . This way, the point of the essay—taking apart the idea that a college essay could summarize life experience—is earned by the author's two failed attempts to write that other kind of essay.

Leaving the Insight and Meaning Out of His Experiences

Both the Star Trek fandom and the TREE activism were obviously important life experiences for this author—important enough to be potential college essay topic candidates. But there is no description of what the author did with either one, nor any explanation of why these were so meaningful to his life.

It's fine to say that none of your achievements individually define you, but in order for that to work, you have to really sell the achievements themselves.

In the rewrite, it would be good to explore what he learned about himself and the world by pursuing these interests . How did they change him or seen him into the person he is today?

Not Adding New Shades and Facets of Himself Into the Mix

So, I tossed my essay away without even getting to disintegrate it with a phaser set on stun.

Yet in this essay, I was still being nagged by a voice that couldn't be ignored. Eventually, I submitted to that yelling inner voice and decided that this was not the right essay either.

In both of these passages, there is the perfect opportunity to point out what exactly these failed versions of the essay didn't capture about the author . In the next essay draft, I would suggest subtly making a point about his other qualities.

For example, after the Star Trek paragraph, he could talk about other culture he likes to consume, especially if he can discuss art forms he is interested in that would not be expected from someone who loves Star Trek .

Or, after the TREE paragraph, the author could explain why this second essay was no better at capturing him than the first. What was missing? Why is the self in the essay shouting—is it because this version paints him as an overly aggressive activist?

Essay #2: The "I Once Saw Poor People" Service Trip Essay

Unlike other teenagers, I'm not concerned about money, or partying, or what others think of me. Unlike other eighteen year-olds, I think about my future, and haven't become totally materialistic and acquisitive. My whole outlook on life changed after I realized that my life was just being handed to me on a silver spoon, and yet there were those in the world who didn't have enough food to eat or place to live. I realized that the one thing that this world needed more than anything was compassion; compassion for those less fortunate than us.

During the summer of 2006, I went on a community service trip to rural Peru to help build an elementary school for kids there. I expected harsh conditions, but what I encountered was far worse. It was one thing to watch commercials asking for donations to help the unfortunate people in less developed countries, yet it was a whole different story to actually live it. Even after all this time, I can still hear babies crying from hunger; I can still see the filthy rags that they wore; I can still smell the stench of misery and hopelessness. But my most vivid memory was the moment I first got to the farming town. The conditions of it hit me by surprise; it looked much worse in real life than compared to the what our group leader had told us. Poverty to me and everyone else I knew was a foreign concept that people hear about on the news or see in documentaries. But this abject poverty was their life, their reality. And for the brief ten days I was there, it would be mine too. As all of this realization came at once, I felt overwhelmed by the weight of what was to come. Would I be able to live in the same conditions as these people? Would I catch a disease that no longer existed in the first world, or maybe die from drinking contaminated water? As these questions rolled around my already dazed mind, I heard a soft voice asking me in Spanish, "Are you okay? Is there anything I can do to make you feel better?" I looked down to see a small boy, around nine years of age, who looked starved, and cold, wearing tattered clothing, comforting me. These people who have so little were able to forget their own needs, and put those much more fortunate ahead of themselves. It was at that moment that I saw how selfish I had been. How many people suffered like this in the world, while I went about life concerned about nothing at all?

Thinking back on the trip, maybe I made a difference, maybe not. But I gained something much more important. I gained the desire to make the world a better place for others. It was in a small, poverty-stricken village in Peru that I finally realized that there was more to life than just being alive.

What Essay #2 Does Well

Let's first point out what this draft has going for it.

Clear Chronology

This is an essay that tries to explain a shift in perspective. There are different ways to structure this overarching idea, but a chronological approach that starts with an earlier opinion, describes a mind changing event, and ends with the transformed point of view is an easy and clear way to lay this potentially complex subject out.

(Image: User:Lite via Wikimedia Commons)

Where Essay #2 Needs Revision

Now let's see what needs to be changed in order for this essay to pass muster.

Condescending, Obnoxious Tone

Unlike other teenagers, I'm not concerned about money, or partying, or what others think of me. Unlike other eighteen year-olds, I think about my future, and haven't become totally materialistic and acquisitive.

This is a very broad generalization, which doesn't tend to be the best way to formulate an argument—or to start an essay. It just makes this author sound dismissive of a huge swath of the population.

In the rewrite, this author would be way better off just concentrate on what she want to say about herself, not pass judgment on "other teenagers," most of whom she doesn't know and will never meet.

I realized that the one thing that this world needed more than anything was compassion; compassion for those less fortunate than us.

Coming from someone who hasn't earned her place in the world through anything but the luck of being born, the word "compassion" sounds really condescending. Calling others "less fortunate" when you're a senior in high school has a dehumanizing quality to it.

These people who have so little were able to forget their own needs, and put those much more fortunate in front of themselves.

Again, this comes across as very patronizing. Not only that, but to this little boy the author was clearly not looking all that "fortunate"—instead, she looked pathetic enough to need comforting.

In the next draft, a better hook could be making the essay about the many different kinds of shifting perspectives the author encountered on that trip . A more meaningful essay would compare and contrast the points of view of the TV commercials, to what the group leader said, to the author's own expectations, and finally to this child's point of view.

Vague, Unobservant Description

During the summer of 2006, I went on a community service trip to rural Peru to help build an elementary school for kids there. I expected harsh conditions, but what I encountered was far worse. It was one thing to watch commercials asking for donations to help the unfortunate people in less developed countries, yet it was a whole different story to actually live it. Even after all this time, I can still hear babies crying from hunger; I can still see the filthy rags that they wore; I can still smell the stench of misery and hopelessness.

Phrases like "cries of the small children from not having enough to eat" and "dirt stained rags" seem like descriptions, but they're really closer to incurious and completely hackneyed generalizations. Why were the kids were crying? How many kids? All the kids? One specific really loud kid?

The same goes for "filthy rags," which is both an incredibly insensitive way to talk about the clothing of these villagers, and again shows a total lack of interest in their life. Why were their clothes dirty? Were they workers or farmers so their clothes showing marks of labor? Did they have Sunday clothes? Traditional clothes they would put on for special occasions? Did they make their own clothes? That would be a good reason to keep wearing clothing even if it had "stains" on it.

The rewrite should either make this section more specific and less reliant on cliches, or should discard it altogether .

The conditions of it hit me by surprise; it looked much worse in real life than compared to the what our group leader had told us. Poverty to me and everyone else I knew was a foreign concept that people hear about on the news or see in documentaries. But this abject poverty was their life, their reality.

If this is the "most vivid memory," then I would expect to read all the details that have been seared into the author's brain. What did their leader tell them? What was different in real life? What was the light like? What did the houses/roads/grass/fields/trees/animals/cars look like? What time of day was it? Did they get there by bus, train, or plane? Was there an airport/train station/bus terminal? A city center? Shops? A marketplace?

There are any number of details to include here when doing another drafting pass.

Lack of Insight or Maturity

But this abject poverty was their life, their reality. And for the brief ten days I was there, it would be mine too. As all of this realization came at once, I felt overwhelmed by the weight of what was to come. Would I be able to live in the same conditions as these people? Would I catch a disease that no longer existed in the first world, or maybe die from drinking contaminated water?

Without a framing device explaining that this initial panic was an overreaction, this section just makes the author sound whiny, entitled, melodramatic, and immature . After all, this isn't a a solo wilderness trek—the author is there with a paid guided program. Just how much mortality is typically associated with these very standard college-application-boosting service trips?

In a rewrite, I would suggest including more perspective on the author's outsized and overprivileged response here. This would fit well with a new focus on the different points of view on this village the author encountered.

Unearned, Clichéd "Deep Thoughts"

But I gained something much more important. I gained the desire to make the world a better place for others. It was in a small, poverty-stricken village in Peru that I finally realized that there was more to life than just being alive.

Is it really believable that this is what the author learned? There is maybe some evidence to suggest that the author was shaken somewhat out of a comfortable, materialistic existence. But what does "there is more to life than just being alive" even really mean? This conclusion is rather vague, and seems mostly a non sequitur.

In a rewrite, the essay should be completely reoriented to discuss how differently others see us than we see ourselves, pivoting on the experience of being pitied by someone who you thought was pitiable. Then, the new version can end by on a note of being better able to understand different points of view and other people's perspectives .

The Bottom Line

• Bad college essays have problems either with their topics or their execution.
• The essay is how admissions officers learn about your personality, point of view, and maturity level, so getting the topic right is a key factor in letting them see you as an aware, self-directed, open-minded applicant who is going to thrive in an environment of independence.
• The essay is also how admissions officers learn that you are writing at a ready-for-college level, so screwing up the execution shows that you either don't know how to write, or don't care enough to do it well.
• The main ways college essay topics go wrong is bad taste, bad judgment, and lack of self-awareness.
• The main ways college essays fail in their execution have to do with ignoring format, syntax, and genre expectations.

What's Next?

Want to read some excellent college essays now that you've seen some examples of flawed one? Take a look through our roundup of college essay examples published by colleges and then get help with brainstorming your perfect college essay topic .

Need some guidance on other parts of the application process? Check out our detailed, step-by-step guide to college applications for advice.

Are you considering taking the SAT or ACT again before you submit your application? Read about our famous test prep guides for hints and strategies for a better score.

Anna scored in the 99th percentile on her SATs in high school, and went on to major in English at Princeton and to get her doctorate in English Literature at Columbia. She is passionate about improving student access to higher education.

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The Voice of a Hundred Faces: Dee Bradley Baker’s ‘Star Wars’ Journey

With “The Bad Batch” ending this week on Disney+, the man who has voiced hundreds of “Star Wars” characters over the past two decades looks back on his run.

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By Rafael Motamayor

For “Star Wars” fans who have seen only the theatrical blockbusters, clone troopers are peripheral figures, at most recalled as the title menace in “Attack of the Clones,” from 2002. But over the past two decades they have become essential to the franchise, the pillar of animated “Star Wars” series including “The Clone Wars,” “Star Wars Rebels” and most recently, “The Bad Batch.”

And in that time one man has been essential to the clones: Dee Bradley Baker, who has voiced them all.

Not all of the shows — all of the clones, hundreds of them since getting cast for “Star Wars: The Clone Wars,” which debuted in 2008 with a feature film and an animated series that lasted for seven seasons. Now Baker’s incredibly prolific gig, which also included plenty of non-clone roles, has finally come to an end: “The Bad Batch,” the “Clone Wars” sequel series, concludes its three-season run on Disney+ this week, and there are no plans for more clone shows.

“It’s been wonderfully gratifying to go on this journey,” Baker said.

Baker, 61, has been a voice actor for nearly 30 years, working on series like “Dexter’s Laboratory,” “American Dad,” “Codename: Kids Next Door” and “Space Jam.” Before “Star Wars,” he almost exclusively played funny parts: He voiced every animal in “Avatar: The Last Airbender,” Perry the Platypus in “Phineas & Ferb” and creatures in live-action projects like Sebastian the rat in “The Suicide Squad.”

“I would get cast as more young, energetic and comedic because that’s how I thought of myself,” Baker said. The “Star Wars” shows “pulled so much more from me as an actor because it asked things of me I wouldn’t even think of.”

Many of the dramatic and emotional stories early on in “The Clone Wars” involved the clone troopers. After all, it is easier to kill a replaceable clone, one of millions, than a Jedi who also shows up in the theatrical movies.

Though the series was on Cartoon Network and aimed at kids, the war stories were intense and put the increasingly hard-bitten clones through one wringer after another. One story arc channels the novella “Heart of Darkness”: The troopers are led by a ruthless Jedi General in a jungle planet, until the general’s constant sacrifice of lives leads to insurgency. One episode was directed by Walter Murch, the Oscar-winning sound designer behind the Vietnam War epic “Apocalypse Now,” itself inspired by “Heart of Darkness.”

“Voice acting is acting, you need the same skill and the same talent,” said Ashley Eckstein who played Ahsoka Tano . (This central “Clone Wars” character last year became the center of a live-action show , “Ahsoka,” starring Rosario Dawson.)

“It can even be harder and more difficult to do voice acting,” Eckstein continued. “Dee and I had to do some deeply emotional and action-packed scenes, and we had to stand still behind a microphone. You can’t act it out or move around. You have to convey all of it just through your voice.”

“The Clone Wars” was followed by “Star Wars Rebels,” which follows a small Rebel crew that eventually includes a group of surviving clones, and “The Bad Batch,” centered on a squad of “defective” clones with even more distinct personalities.

One obstacle to making clone troopers compelling is the challenge of differentiating them. (They are, after all, clones.) There were small attempts from the beginning to make them distinct from a design standpoint. The creators gave them colorful armor and insignia to contrast them with the Empire’s more well-known stormtroopers, according to Dave Filoni, who was supervising director and an executive producer of “The Clone Wars” and is now the chief creative officer of Lucasfilm.

“They were able to express their individuality, where stormtroopers are individuals taken into service and stripped of their personality and identity,” Filoni wrote in an email. Still, a look is little without the voice and personality that goes with it, and Baker’s performance was a big reason the characters became so central.

The first test to see if Baker voicing all the clones would work came in “Rookies,” the fifth episode of “The Clone Wars.” The episode came from an idea by George Lucas, who wanted to do an episode of just clones, and follows a group of cadets who come together as a squad and stave off a droid invasion.

As Henry Gilroy, the show’s head writer, recalled, “That recording session was actually a revelation, for we realized that we could write anything for the clones to do with story and character and Dee would execute to perfection.”

The clones soon went from being one-off characters with little personality to proper members of the expanded cast, with their own emotional and dramatic arcs that carried on throughout the show’s seven seasons and into “The Bad Batch.” (The character Echo is the last surviving member of that rookie squad.)

All the clones are based, fittingly, on the same voice: the one Baker created to play Captain Rex, the second-in-command to Anakin Skywalker and his closest friend in “The Clone Wars,” after Obi-Wan Kenobi. Baker would settle on one or two defining qualities for each clone — rank, age, attitude, quirk — to guide his performances. He used to record one clone at a time, going through an entire script with one and then doing the same with the next and so on until an episode was done.

But as “The Clone Wars” developed more complex arcs, he took a faster, more daunting approach. “I would start to play all of them and just jump back and forth,” Baker said. “I just read through the scenes straight through as if they’re characters playing out a scene, but it’s just me going from one voice to the other.”

Michelle Ang, who stars in “The Bad Batch” as Omega, is amazed by this process. “He can not only perform the different personalities, but hold five different viewpoints of all the ‘Bad Batch’ characters and argue for each one,” she said. “It feels like there are four distinct people I’m working with.”

Eckstein called Baker a mentor, comparing their relationship to that of Ahsoka, her young Padawan character, and Baker’s seasoned Captain Rex. “He taught me the ways of the Force, the ways of voice acting,” she said. When she too was asked to play multiple characters in the same episodes, “I learned from Dee, who is brilliant at doing that.”

Baker, who started out in comedy, said improv helped train him to embrace the odd vocalizations “Star Wars” shows can require and to move fluidly between characters.

“I am not so much prepared as I’m ready,” he said. “You want to be open and available to steer this and configure that in a way that the writers you’re working with want things to go. You can’t prepare for it. You get that in the immediate human connection of now, and that is inherently improvisational.”

The end of “The Bad Batch” is the end of an era, even if other “Star Wars” roles eventually come Baker’s way, like the upcoming video game “Star Wars Outlaws.” Though characters like Ahsoka Tano live on in live-action, and Captain Rex made a cameo in “Ahsoka,” “The Bad Batch” characters were the last characters that Lucas, the “Star Wars” mastermind who is no longer involved with the franchise, had direct input on. The significance of this isn’t lost on Baker.

“I’ve loved ‘Star Wars’ since I was a kid,” he said. “Nothing can be more fun than to play in the universe that captured your imagination as a kid.”

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Anna Gunn says her "Breaking Bad" character is finally out of the "ring of fire" of misogyny

Fans now tell the actor that her character, skyler white, was the "linchpin" and "conscience" of the show, by gabriella ferrigine.

Audiences are apparently beginning to view Skyler White, the character played by Anna Gunn  on the hit AMC series " Breaking Bad ," in a new light, thanks to the "seismic" cultural changes that have happened in the more than a decade since the show's finale.

Gunn, who nabbed two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Skyler, the wife of Brian Cranston's  Walter White, spoke to The Hollywood Reporter about the misogyny her character faced from much of the show's fanbase.

The actor cited a 2013 op-ed  that she authored for The New York Times, in which she delved into the "vitriolic response" Skyler garnered as the effective antagonist to Walter. While Gunn told The Hollywood Reporter that her decision to look into the discourse surrounding Skyler "was probably a mistake," she acknowledged that it "led to a great deal of soul searching and me thinking, 'Well, is it me?'"

"I really just had to go through that ring of fire, for lack of a better phrase, to understand that a lot of it was, frankly, misogynistic," Gunn added. "A lot of it was the way that female characters were treated, and I think we've come a long way since then. If I may call them my sisters, I'm really proud of all the actresses who've spoken up and continued to pave the way and created their own antihero characters for themselves."

Gunn observed that, in the past, online comments about Skyler were often "threatening" and "violent" in nature, something which concerned her. "I just didn't want to feel bullied by all that, and I felt that it was my responsibility to stand up and answer to it, which is what I did," she said.

Now, the actor said, "seismic changes" in the culture have led to a newfound interpretation of and appreciation for Skyler. "People come up to me now and say, 'You were the linchpin for me. You were the conscience of the show. You were what pulled me into the show,'" Gunn continued. "Or they say, 'The first time I watched it, I hated that character. But the second time I watched it, I realized, oh my God, that poor woman.'"

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The walking dead: robert kirkman on why his favorite characters suffered the most.

In an interview with EW, "Walking Dead" creator explained why it was usually bad news for the comic's characters when he grew too attached to them.

• When asked who his "favorite" Walking Dead characters were in a 2016 interview, Robert Kirkman admitted that when he grew overly attached to any of his creations, it was likely the perfect time to pull the plug on them.
• Robert Kirkman's unrelenting brutality when it came to character mortality was, in part, a result of his clear vision for the story, as well of his keen sense of what would be the most emotionally impactful on his readers.
• Character deaths in The Walking Dead remain at the forefront of the conversation about the story's most memorable moments; Kirkman's comments on how and why he killed off some of the franchise's most beloved characters offer insight into the creative process that made the comic series such a success.

Throughout its run, The Walking Dead comic book series was unrelenting in its approach to regularly killing off fan-favorite characters – and as writer Robert Kirkman once explained in an interview, his own personal attachment to his creations was usually a clear signal that it was time for them to go.

As part of a discussion with Entertainment Weekly , Kirkman was asked who his favorite character in the comic was. At first, he demurred from answering, before elaborating on why his favoritism was, in fact, a bad sign for the characters of The Walking Dead .

Rather than affording them a greater role in the plot, or protection from the most vile carnage the series had to offer, Kirkman's favoritism actually resulted in more suffering for his characters, most often leading to them being dispatched in the franchise's most brutal, if memorable, moments.

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Robert kirkman explains killing his most beloved characters, for the sake of the story.

More than just a means of setting the series' tone, or a product of its genre, character mortality was vital to shaping Walking Dead's story trajectory from start to finish.

While Robert Kirkman at one point went on record naming Negan as his favorite Walking Dead character , his earlier answer to the question – from an interview with Entertainment Weekly in 2016 – offered a noteworthy insight into the process of crafting the zombie comic's story. At the time of the interview, The Walking Dead comic was still several years from its unexpected conclusion, which came just shy of its two-hundredth issue. Kirkman explained to EW that his fondness for certain characters could, at times, disrupt his focus on the overall story he was telling.

Though Rick Grimes was certainly the central character of the series – and ultimately, as close as The Walking Dead came to having a hero – creator Robert Kirkman averred that the story had no true, single protagonist. Rather, the plot was driven by the central question laid out in its early issues, which asked whether humanity could band together in the face of a civilization-ending threat, or if survivors of the zombie outbreak would destroy themselves before the undead could. As fleshed-out and lifelike as Walking Dead's characters were, they always existed in service to their creator's larger thematic concerns.

To this end, if a character became too important to Kirkman, it was usually an indication that their doom was imminent. As he explained:

You know, I don’t really have a favorite. I tend to kill those, just because when I find myself real attached to a character, or if I find myself wanting to write them more and more and steering more story toward them, I kind of realize that that means that audience investment in that character is extremely high, and I don’t want it to affect the story too much by focusing too much on that character. And that tends to make me want to kill them.

This approach to narrative may seem counterintuitive, in contrast to the methodologies of other creators, but Walking Dead's success makes it evident that Kirkman's instincts were almost always correct when it came to character deaths . More than just a means of setting the series' tone, or a product of its genre, character mortality was vital to shaping Walking Dead's story trajectory from start to finish.

Death Was Never Cathartic In The Walking Dead

A constant reminder of mortality.

Robert Kirkman's comments on killing off characters he grew attached to make it clear...that the story's constant churn through its cast was about more than just the shock value that resulted when characters died tragic, abrupt deaths.

With its zombie outbreak premise, The Walking Dead was, of course, rooted in death, while its story was ultimately about what remained of humanity's struggles for survival. Without a doubt, the comic had more than its share of evil individuals, but time and time again, creator Robert Kirkman refused to indulge in the common narrative practice of delivering readers catharsis through the deaths of particularly bad characters. Even when the most reprehensible people in The Walking Dead met their ends, it was at most something to be quietly thankful for, rather than celebrate.

Often, the deaths of Walking Dead's antagonists came at a corresponding cost. Most infamously, the death of the Governor – arguably the first character that could unquestionably be classified as a clear-cut "villain" – was precipitated by the deaths of Lori and baby Judith in Walking Dead #48 . Mortality was omnipresent in the comic series from its very opening moments, to its closing panels; Robert Kirkman's comments on killing off characters he grew attached to make it clear, however, that the story's constant churn through its cast was about more than just the shock that resulted when characters died tragic, abrupt deaths .

That isn't to say, however, that Kirkman wasn't keenly aware of the effect killing off fan-favorite characters had on his audience. As he detailed to EW, he took his own attachment to characters as being reflective of the fact that " audience investment in that character [was] extremely high ," meaning that the opportunity for an emotionally resonant death was at its peak. While the writer framed his approach to character deaths as being in service to the story, Robert Kirkman is too successful of a creator not to have an expert grasp on how and when to push his readers' buttons.

The Walking Dead Was Defined By Its Character Deaths

A story of endings.

As one classic writing adage goes: " No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. " In order to create deeply resonant fiction, writers like Robert Kirkman...must be prepared to emotionally engage with their work as they're creating it.

When it comes to the most memorable moments throughout The Walking Dead comic series, character deaths are always at the forefront of the conversation. In part, this is a result of being a horror genre story, particularly a zombie story – though without a doubt, Robert Kirkman effectively doubled down on this at every turn, by crafting some of the most memorable, heartwrenching demises in comic book history. This came from Kirkman's unflinching willingness to inflict the worst fates on his own favorite characters , knowing that if it emotionally affected him, it would almost certainly have an impact on fans.

As one classic writing adage goes: " No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. " In order to create deeply resonant fiction, writers like Robert Kirkman first have to develop a sense of what they are responding to themselves, and must be prepared to emotionally engage with their work as they're creating it. Kirkman's quote about killing his favorite Walking Dead characters displays a vital awareness of this. In turn, this goes a long way towards explaining The Walking Dead's greater success as one of the most influential multimedia franchises of the past several decades.

Source: EW, Robert Kirkman Interview (11/8/2016)

The Walking Dead

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Based on one of the most successful and popular comic books of all time, AMC’s The Walking Dead captures the ongoing human drama following a zombie apocalypse. The series, developed for television by Frank Darabont, follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln), who are traveling in search of a safe and secure home. However, instead of the zombies, it is the living who remain that truly become the walking dead. The Walking Dead lasted for eleven seasons and spawned several spinoff shows, such as Fear the Walking Dead and The Walking Dead: World Beyond.