Profile Assignment

 

Assignment:  Write a profile using research, observation and an interview with your subject. The profile needs to include quotes from at least one person who is familiar with your subject and a scene showing your subject in action.

 

Why:  Profiles, especially when they involve people doing something fascinating, are great way to break into your favorite publications. An editor will more likely buy a profile than a feature article from an unknown author.

 

Profile Rough draft (2 copies) due Thursday, 1/31 class time for peer critique.

Edited rough emailed to me by Thursday midnight, 1/31

Final Profile due Sun., 2/3 by midnight

 

Length:  800 – 900 words

 

Voice: Use third person. No use of “I” or “we” or “me”  “you” or “your”

 

Format:  double-spaced, 12 point font.

 

What I’ll be looking for:

 

  • A lively, compelling lead

 

  • A clear and informative nut graph that explains your subject’s claim to fame and why it’s important that we read about this subject.

 

  • A vivid sense of your subject’s appearance and style.

 

  • Tightly-constructed sentences and paragraphs that don’t ramble

 

  • Original and charismatic quotes from both your subject and your satellite source

 

  • Background on the individual

 

  • A well-drawn, descriptive scene in which readers see the subject in action

 

  • Evocative imagery

 

  • A sense of your subject’s major conflicts and resolutions. No one is a saint.

 

  • A conclusion that leaves the reader with a clear understanding of who/what your subject is.