Tell me About Yourself: Profiles

Abhishek
Balakrishnan

Srinand Paruthiyil

Anishka Marwah

Arman Islam

Examples of Profiles

Behind: Annabelle

Why Write a Profile? What is it?

Someone or something is of interest

Newsworthy to many people

Not talked about before

Captures a glimpse into the world of the subject observed

by the writer

(Journalism Education 10/20/15)

Why Write a Profile? What is it?

Try to capture the personality and mood of someone or

something

Expand on what is commonly thought about a person

Provides intimacy and immediacy

(Trimbur 202-203)

Different Goals
The beauty of profiles lies in the
many different ways you can slant
them (Whitman, 10)

Different Goals

To Sell

To Invite
Familiarity

To Classify
To Promote

(Jesse 14)

To Expose

Common points found in

Writing Structure
1. An Introduction
2. Topics discussed in introduction
3. A journey describing how the subject arrived at that
point
4. The extrapolation of the subjects experience to the
wider world
5. Future directions
(Jesse 63)

Context is key

Historical Context is important

Look for writing written by the subject
Ask questions that cover many bases, like
What makes the subject laugh?
What motivates the subject?
Location context
Was the person in an urban/rural area?

(Barnhart 4-6)

Anecdotes

Anecdotes can provide this origin story

Opportunity for intimacy

Provides a human look at a magnanimous figure

Compare and contrast

Technical: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bla0int-1
Human: http://www.achievement.org/autodoc/page/bla0int-3

(Hambouz Putting Personality on Paper)

Conventions

Logical sequence of events to explain a situation, event,

or overall life of an individual
Pictures of the person or event are important to have
Many different stories create one overall picture

(Hambouz Putting Personality on Paper)

Conventions

Quotations, opinions, and physical descriptions

Can merge the identity of individuals and organizations
Anecdotes

(Hambouz Putting Personality on Paper)

Common Visual patterns in

profiles

Close cropping and

framing of pictures
Direct gaze from subject

(Jesse 50-52)

Subgenres
Subgenres of Profile include:

Interviews
Narrative essays
Biographies
Obituary

Interviews

Surrounding are observed to

gain insight into the subject.
Choose a perspective:

Literal
Hybrid
Narrative

(How to write an interview article 10/20/2015)

(Computer World 10/20/2015)

Literal:

Interviews

Think about a goal

What the writer wants to expose about this topic? What is

interesting?
What background information is pertinent to accomplishing the goal

Questions

Dont ask yes or no questions

Ask questions that reveal something not commonly known

(How to write an interview article 10/20/2015)

Narrative essays

To articulate personal experience to inform and entertain

others.
provide human interest
curiosity
closer to the storyteller
link the readers in the event

(Writing the Essay 21 Oct. 2015)

Characteristics of Good
Narratives:

Recreate the event

Dont talk about it
Author's point of view
Descriptive
Presents important changes, contrasts, or conflicts and
creates tension and lasting impression.

(Writing the Essay 21 Oct. 2015)

We are all Friends Here

Talk to person next to you for like five minutes then write
like a short paragraph about one of their embarrassing
moments.(Nothing crazy, just a little silly)

Biographies
Stories of an individual's life and
a medium to find meanings in them.

Gain information into the life

of the subject:

Interviews
Visiting Significant sites

What inspired and influenced

the subject
Chronological life pattern

Determine a thesis statement

and a purpose

(CNN 10/20/2015)

Obituary
The report of a recent death along with an account of the
persons life.

Informs the general public about a death

Includes how the person died

Details about what the deceased has left behind

Insight into the life of the individual who has passed

away

What has made his or her life notable

(Obituaries)

What we get From Steve Jobs's

Obituary

Died on October 5th at age 56

Achievements

Founder and chief executive of Apple

Behind animation success of Pixar

Early Life

Born in 1955
Syrian father and American mother

(Steve Jobs, The

Telgraph)

Activities

Interview with Katniss Everdeen

Obituary of Voldemort
Biography of Batman

Citations

Barnhart, Bill. "Defining Patterns For Profiles." IRE

Journal 22.9 (1999): 4. Academic Search Premier. Web. 20
Oct. 2015.
Garcia, Christopher Balajadia. "Profiling WritingKnowledge: Exploring Peer Review Feedback Beyond Revising
and Editing." Order No. 3604279 Indiana University of
Pennsylvania, 2013. Ann Arbor: ProQuest. Web. 20 Oct.
2015.
Jessee, Amy, "Strategic Stories: An Analysis of the
Profile Genre" (2009). All Theses. Paper 550
Whitman, S. (August 1992). Profile writing. Writer, 9-12.

Citations

"Journalism Education: How To Write A Profile Story."

Journalism Education. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.
Trimbur, John. Call to Write: Brief Sixth Edition. Place
of Publication Not Identified: Addison-Wesley, 2014.
Print.
Hambouz, Annissa, and Holly Ojalvo. "Putting Personality
on Paper: Writing About People Using Times Models." The
Learning Network Putting Personality on Paper Writing
About People Using Times Models Comments. The New York
Times, 27 Jan. 2011. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

Citations

"Rolling Stone Steve Jobs - Google Search." Rolling

Stone Steve Jobs - Google Search. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

"How To Write An Interview Article." CommunicationABC.

Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

"Steve Jobs Interview: One-on-one in 1995."

Computerworld. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.

"STEVE JOBS' SPEECH." EssayHelporg. N.p., n.d. Web. 21

Oct. 2015.

Citations

"Steve Jobs Biography - Google Search." Steve Jobs

Biography - Google Search. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

"The Best Tidbits from the Steve Jobs Bio - CNN.com."

CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 20 Oct. 2015.

"Steve Jobs." The Telegraph. Telegraph Media Group. Web.

21 Oct. 2015.

"Writing the Essay." Writing the Essay. N.p., n.d. Web.

21 Oct. 2015.

"Obituaries." - Suggestions for Writing an Obituary. N.

p., n.d. Web. 21 Oct. 2015.