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Magazines and newspapers are filled with profiles. Unlike conventional news sto
Magazines and newspapers are filled with profiles. Unlike conventional news stories, which report current events, profiles tell about people, places, and activities. Some profiles take us behind the scenes of familiar places, giving us a glimpse of their inner workings. Others introduce us to the exotic—peculiar hobbies, unusual professions, bizarre personalities. Still others probe the social, political, and moral significance of our institutions.
A profile is a special kind of research project. Profiles always involve visits: meeting with a person or going to a place. Profile writers take notes from observations and interviews and may pick up reading materials at a place they are profiling. They also conduct library research to gather information about the history and specialized aspects of a place or an activity.
Profile Essays:
Are based on a writer’s newly acquired observations.
Take readers behind the scenes of familiar places or introduce readers to unusual places and people.
Provide information while at the same time arousing readers’ curiosity.
Present scenes and people vividly and concretely through description, action, and dialogue.
Reveal an attitude toward their subjects and offer—implicitly or explicitly—an interpretation of them.
Create a dominant impression of the subject.
Topics:
Readers of profiles expect to be surprised by unusual subjects. If the subject is familiar, they expect it to be presented from an unusual perspective. When writing a profile, you will have an immediate advantage if your subject is a place, an activity, or a person that is likely to surprise and intrigue your readers. Even if your subject is very familiar, however, you can still engage your readers by presenting it in a way they had never before considered.
Before you list possible subjects, consider realistically the time you have available and the amount of observing and interviewing you will be able to accomplish. You will have about a week to plan and write up one observational visit or interview, so this should determine what kinds of subjects will be appropriate for you. Consult with your professor if you need help defining the scope of your writing project. When you list subjects, consider every subject you can think of, even unlikely ones. Consider unfamiliar subjects – people, places, or activities you find fascinating or bizarre or perhaps even forbidding. Take risks. People like to read about the unusual.
People:
Anyone with an unusual or intriguing job or hobby – a private detective, beekeeper, classic-car owner, dog trainer
A prominent local personality – parent of the year, labor organizer, politician, consumer advocate, television or radio personality, community activist
A campus personality – ombudsman, coach, distinguished teacher
Someone recently recognized for service or achievement
Someone whose predicament symbolizes that of other people
Places:
A weight-reduction clinic, tanning salon, body-building gym, health spa, nail salon
Small-claims court, juvenile court, consumer-fraud office
A used-car lot, old movie house, used-book store, antique shop, historic site, auction hall, flower show, farmers’ market
A hospital emergency room, hospice, birthing center, psychiatric unit
A local diner; the oldest, biggest, or quickest restaurant in town; a coffeehouse
The campus radio station, computer center, agricultural research facility, student center, faculty club, museum, newspaper office, health center
A book, newspaper, or magazine publisher; florist shop, nursery, or greenhouse; pawnshop; boatyard; automobile restorer or wrecking yard
A recycling center; fire station; airport control tower; theater, opera, or symphony office; refugee center; orphanage; convent or monastery
Activities:
A citizens’ volunteer program – voter registration, public television auction, meals-on-wheels project, tutoring program
An unconventional sports event – marathon, Frisbee tournament, chess match, Special Olympics
Folk dancing, rollerblading, rock climbing, poetry reading
Assignment:
Write an essay of 2-3 pages (Times New Roman, 12 point font, double spaced, 1 inch margins on all sides) about an intriguing person, place, or event/activity in your community. Choose one of the two following options: (1) a brief profile of an event, a place, or an activity observed once or twice; or (2) a brief profile of an individual based on one or two interviews. (There are longer, more fully developed profiles, but these are based on several observational visits and interviews.) Observe your subject closely, and then present what you have learned in a way that both informs and engages readers. One restriction: you cannot choose to profile a family member.
Utilize a minimum of 1 credible background research sources and additional primary interviews and/or observations. Include correct MLA 8 format, not only for your headings, but for your in-text parenthetical citations and for a well-developed Works Cited page.
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