Assignment: Profile Essay

Essay Assignment:

Write a profile essay (at least 1500 words) in which you write about someone you have interviewed. Format your essay to MLA standards.

What is a Profile?

A profile is an essay that focuses on a person, a group of people, a place, or an event. The instructions for this essay are for a profile that focuses primarily on one person. More specifically, you will be profiling a person you know—someone you can observe and interview (i.e. not a celebrity or someone you can’t interview). This could be a roommate, a friend, a coworker, a family member, a professor, or someone in your career field.

How to Write Your Profile Essay:

STEP ONE: Select a person you find interesting and want to write about. This could be a friend, roommate, coworker, relative, or stranger. It could also be someone who works in a field of interest; for example, if you are studying to become a nurse, you could find a nurse to write about.

STEP TWO: Interview him or her. If you choose to profile someone with whom you are very familiar, such as a roommate or family member or friend, then try to use this opportunity to learn something new about them. If you choose to profile someone you don’t know very well, be sure to schedule an interview as soon as possible. You must be able to observe and interview your subject to complete this assignment (in other words, no “celebrity” profiles unless you have access to the celebrity). Your profile needs to include information you have gathered trough an interview and direct observation. Plan ahead so you can be sure to not only interview your person but also observe them in their natural setting. For example, if you profile someone who is a dentist, try to observe her at work for a couple of hours, noting how she interacts with patients and co-workers, and then sit down with her and ask her some questions. Or if you profile a DSU football player, you could observe him at a practice and a game.

STEP THREE: Type up an interview transcript. You will be asked to type up a transcript of the interview you conducted. The transcript should include the questions you asked, the person’s answers, and any notes to yourself. You are encouraged to write out your list of questions before the interview. You should also audio or video-record the interview and type up the transcript (it takes about four hours to type one hour of a recorded interview). You won’t need to turn in the audio/video recording, just the transcript.

STEP FOUR: Write an essay about that person. Include quotes and information gleaned from the interview mixed with descriptions, observation, and your own analysis and impressions (1500 words minimum).

Additional Readings to Help You Write Your Profile Essay:

• 1. Writing about Yourself -- Even though you will be writing about someone else, there is still the possibility that some of you will make it into the profile, especially if the person is important to you. You might want to review this chapter in the online textbook to gauge how much or yourself to include and the best way to do that.

  2. Describing -- Explains how to go about describing someone, which is an important element of this assignment.

How Your Essay Will Be Graded:

Your final edited and revised version will receive an evaluative grade based on the following criteria:

• 1. Are there vivid details and descriptions?

  2. Do you incorporate quotes and observations from the interview and other settings?

  3. Do you demonstrate how the person is simultaneously unique and typical?

  4. Does the essay adhere to assignment instructions (such as meeting the minimum word count)?