Writing a Profile Essay

Profiles: Creating a Dominant Impression

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Introduction: Capturing the Essence of People

People fascinate us endlessly, and they provide an almostendless topic of conversation. Often though, our conversation isuncritical, and we measure people against assumptions we neverexamine or criteria we never state. I'll let you be the judge abouthow much gossip and unfounded claim makes its way into your ownconversation about -- and judgment of -- other people.

When we write profiles, though, we have an opportunity to bringour analytical skills together with our fascination and capture theessence of someone on paper. This is done by creating a dominantimpression of that person on paper.

And because analysis is so important, and because I have beenfocusing on it with our threaded discussions, and because we arestill having trouble with it, I want to spend a bit of timereinforcing some ideas about analysis. Analysis involving anessay you read has a very close relation with the analysis of anessay you write: When you read, you are pulling out thestructure(s) the writer put into an essay; when you write, you areputting into an essay the structure(s) for someone else to pullout. There can be all kinds of these structures. Every chapter wewill talk about has some.

In Analysis, Get ALL There Is to Get

In this course, any analysis is always better than any opinion.The reason is that unless you have established a reputation in somefield, your opinion is probably not terribly informed, andtherefore not worth much. Our culture of individualism has given usenormously inflated notions of ourselves, the value of ouropinions, and the worth of what we have to say. (We all know theguy who shoots off his mouth about some subject he or she knowsnothing about; and we prefer the person who knows what he or she istalking about. If you have not made an analysis to probe below thesurface, you are just shooting your mouth off. It is better to beinformed about what you're saying.)

My view of analysis is that you should get everything out of anessay you can when reading it. This includes going over it a secondtime, of course, marking it and paying attention to what things NOWmean, given that you have got to the end on an earlier reading andknow more or less what's going on. You do not always have to writeup your analysis formally, but noting ALL your analyticalobservations down on paper IS a good idea. Then you can CHOOSEwhich is the best to put into the threaded discussions or throughe-mail.

I have a similar notion about writing. Do not close out ANYpossibility for analyzing your subject without thinking about it. Iwould at least NOTE DOWN in brainstorming sessions the POSSIBLEways to make your analysis. If you are limited - as you usually are- in terms of space, select only the analytical (and thereforewriting) strategies that are the MOST USEFUL. But do all of thisconsciously! Make conscious decisions about which is the best wayto present whatever it is you are dealing with. Similarly, leaveout the stuff that is the least effective at getting your pointacross. The more thought you put into your paper up front, thebetter your paper will be, generally. If you put only minimalthought into a paper and / or do it carelessly at the last minute,it will often be apparent by the way it rambles or the sense ofaimlessness it has.

Instructors always like to be able to say after reading a paper,"Wow! That paper shows some thought!"

Your writing assignment for this chapter will be somewhatnarrowly defined regarding the strategies you use in your essay.This should sensitize you to the need for effective analyticalstructures and writing strategies that work.

Qualities of a Good Profile

Here is a list of qualities of good profiles:

They differ from biographies and often capture someone at amoment in time - usually when they have been thrust into the publiceye. Sometimes we write profiles to show how the event someoneis caught in affects that person.

This kind of writing often focuses on a present moment and has asense of immediacy.

In the profile, the person is portrayed vividly, a term whichhas as its Latin root the idea of being alive. (Spanish for "tolive" is vivir.) Much information in good profiles comesout of interviewing and observation. Research, also, has a place inthe preparation of a profile. The goal is to create a "dominantimpression."

A good profile will be meaningful; it will clearly state whatthe subject means to you or what the subject should mean to thereader.

Structures

I. Introduction

The introduction should include some anecdote to get thereader’s attention while at the same time introducing the reader tothe subject being profiled. At the end of this section shouldbe your thesis statement (controlling idea). Do NOT form yourthesis like this: “I will now discuss Susie’s life as a drugaddict and how the carnival helped to heal her.” Instead youshould state something more like this: “One would neverbelieve that a carnival would be a sanctuary to lost souls andruined lives, but that is exactly what it is for Susie

Hinds, an abused mother of two and former drug addict.”

II. Body

The body of the essay should deal with the story you are tellingabout the person or object you are profiling. This is whereyou will create a “dominant impression” of the subject. Youshould discuss the one aspect of their life (if it is anindividual) that you are focusing on. Discuss any significantaspects of their background so the audience gets a clearer pictureof who this individual is.

III. Conclusion

At the end of your profile, you should bring your paper “fullcircle.” In other words, try to tie it into thebeginning. Do not end with “In conclusion.”

This is only a simple structure for you to follow.

For Your Profile Essay:

I will ask you to do two things: 1.) Read very closely theprofile samples from your text book; analyze their strengths andweaknesses; and 2) follow the writing - and analytical - strategiesthat I lay down for what you will need to include in theprofiles.

It is acceptable for you to do a profile on someone you knowpersonally, but it's also acceptable to do a profile on someone inthe public eye but who is not a personal acquaintance. You may alsoprofile a business or place here in El Paso. I prefer that you donot profile an immediate family member.

Here are the requirements:

• You must have an interesting introduction. Hook yourreader!
• You must interview and profile a person in El Paso or profile alocation or business here in El Paso
• You must have a strong - and not clichéd -concluding statement.(By that I mean, PLEASE don't end your essay with a phrase thatbegins "In conclusion…")
• You must have ample, vivid descriptive specific detail.
• You must have at least one short anecdote (a small story, oftena couple of sentences or no more than a paragraph, that illustratessome point you want to make) about your subject.
• You must have at least one of these strategies:a comparison, acontrast, a definition or an explanation of some concept, abreakdown [analysis] of something the reader needs to know tounderstand your subject, or the description of some process. [Note:not all of these will be appropriate. At least one should beincluded, however.]
• You must have at least three quotes, punctuated properly.
• You must clearly state the importance of this person or placeto you or to your reader or to someone affected by this person orplace.
• Please, do not just mechanically write them in this order inyour essay, but they should all be there in some form.Sometimes,for example, a comparison can be made in one or twosentences.

Conclusion

A good profile is an interesting read. You have an obligation tobe both fair and honest, both to the reader and to the person orplace being profiled. Good profiles can also be fun to writebecause they let you weigh the evidence and try to come to someinteresting insight about aperson.