Showing vs telling (deepening)

The original sentence names the emotion directly with the word 'embarrassed', giving the reader no evidence to infer it from.

Showing replaces a named emotion with observable body language, action, or sensory detail that lets the reader work out the feeling.

The choice “Maria's cheeks flushed red and she stared fixedly at her shoes.” replaces 'embarrassed' with physical signs—flushed cheeks and averted eyes—that a reader can interpret as embarrassment.

The choice “Maria's cheeks flushed red and she stared fixedly at her shoes.” is the only one that removes the label and shows physical evidence instead, so it is the correct showing revision.

This still uses the word 'embarrassed' directly, so it is telling, not showing.

This intensifies the telling by adding 'most embarrassed', which is still a direct label with no evidence.

This restates the emotion as a reason rather than showing physical or behavioural evidence of it.

Only the choice “Maria's cheeks flushed red and she stared fixedly at her shoes.” swaps the label for concrete physical detail the reader can interpret.

The choice “Maria's cheeks flushed red and she stared fixedly at her shoes.” is correct because it shows embarrassment through body language rather than naming it.

The task is to reveal selfishness through action rather than naming the trait outright.

Showing a trait means describing a specific action that demonstrates it, letting the reader infer the character quality.

Taking the last slice without asking others is a concrete action that clearly implies selfishness without naming it.

The choice “He ate the last slice of cake without asking if anyone else wanted it.” is the only sentence that demonstrates selfishness through specific behaviour instead of a direct label.

This directly names the trait 'selfish', making it telling rather than showing.

This also states the label 'selfish' directly through reported reputation, which is still telling.

This names 'selfishness' outright as a growing pattern, so it remains telling despite the added detail.

Only the choice “He ate the last slice of cake without asking if anyone else wanted it.” avoids the word entirely and instead shows a concrete selfish action.

The choice “He ate the last slice of cake without asking if anyone else wanted it.” correctly demonstrates showing through specific behaviour.