Essay #1: Profiling a Person or Place



Profiling a Person or Place

English 1001-127 • J. West

Your Writing Task:

For this essay, you are to write a Profile of a person or a place (or a person and place) that you think would interest LSU students or Baton Rouge readers. This should be the kind of essay that you could submit to the campus newspaper, The Reveille or The Tiger Weekly, or a community paper or magazine, such as The Advocate, Country Roads, or the Indie Journal. Your subject has to be a person or place with which you are unfamiliar. Your writing task will be to get that information and then put it together in such a way that other LSU students or Baton Rouge readers will be interested in reading your Profile.

How to Go About It:

In your essay, you will create a vivid picture of this person or place from a particular angle. Two research skills you must employ for this assignment include observation and interview. You will spend time observing the location, people, activities, etc., and you will also conduct a formal interview with either your subject (if you are focusing on a person) or with a person affiliated with the place you have chosen (if you have chosen a place). From this information, you will write a profile that communicates a focused central idea, or dominant impression, of the subject.

How to Plan Your Research:

You will need to visit the place you are profiling at least twice, and you may want to go back several times. You will also need to set up an interview with someone. The interview and observation will take you some time, so the sooner you schedule them, the better. Be courteous. You are not only representing yourself and this class, but also LSU. Dress appropriately. Explain clearly what you are doing and why. You are gathering information you will need later, so take lots of notes and make detailed observations. Also, be careful.

Some Guidelines:

1. Find a spot from which to observe. You may need to take a tour of the place and record your impressions, but you should also spend some time simply recording what you see, hear, smell, etc. Describe the environment, including the people and activities. Record your initial impressions and list the details that gave you those impressions.

2. Plan your interview carefully. Create a list of good, open-ended questions to ask your subject. We will prepare in class for your interview, but you should try to avoid simple yes and no questions, or questions that require only a one-word answer. Try to create a conversation with your subject.

3. Take careful notes during both the interview and your observation time. You may record your subject, if he or she agrees, but you should also take notes about appearance, facial expressions, body language, the environment, etc.. The more material you gather, the more details you will have to choose from in your writing. Concrete, vivid details are crucial for this assignment.

4. When you get back from your interview, immediately type up your notes. Fresh impressions are key, so don’t wait! You will forget things, and your notes are likely to be messy and difficult to read. You will have to have a typed set of notes for class on Monday, October 3, anyway, so you might as well do it as soon as you get your interview and observation out of the way. You can organize the notes however makes sense to you; it might also be helpful to narrate the story of your experience.

Who You Are Writing For:

For this assignment, you will get to choose a publication for which your profile would be appropriate, and those readers will be your audience. Your language and style will differ depending on which publication you decide on, so make sure you are familiar with the newspaper or magazine you choose.

Characteristics Your Paper Should Have:

• A specific focus: who or what you are profiling should be clear, and you should focus specifically on that subject

• Dominant impression: a central idea about your subject that you want readers to see

• A vivid presentation: concrete details, showing rather than telling

• Significance: why you think this subject should matter to your audience

• An engaging and informative organizational plan

• Audience-appropriate style and an adherence to the conventions of standard, edited English

Monday Wednesday Friday

| | |9/23 Introduction to Profile Unit |

| | | |

| | |HW: Read this assignment sheet and chapter 5, |

| | |through the “On Air” example essay and the |

| | |teacher’s comments. Also, write your reflection |

| | |on writing the portrait. |

|9/26 Topic brainstorm; basic feature overview |9/28 Examples: what do profiles look like? |9/30 Looking at your examples |

|HW: Find an example of a profile in a regular |Interview workshop | |

|media source and respond to it. |HW: Write a profile of a place or person you |HW: Finish up your research. Your observation |

|DECIDE ON A SUBJECT |observe in a movie or on television. |and interview notes are due on Monday. |

|10/3 Observation and Interview Notes due: how to|10/5 First draft due: in-class peer review |10/7 FALL HOLIDAY |

|organize your information |HW: Revise significantly. Bring a new draft back| |

|HW: Compile your notes into a rough draft |to class on Monday. | |

|10/10 Second draft due; revision strategies and |10/12 Group conferences |10/14Group conferences |

|examples | | |

|Group conference sign-up | | |

|HW: Read and respond to your groups’ drafts | | |

|10/17 Editing groups meet |10/19 Final draft due by class-time today |10/21 |

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