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Describing a Fascinating Person . . .From Reading to Writing Good descriptive
writing takes the reader inside the writer’s world.
Chaucer’s remarkable character portraits in The
Canterbury Tales, for example, transport the
modern reader to the Middle Ages.
Personality Profile
Describing a Fascinating Person . . .Through carefully chosen details, Chaucer creates living personalities on the page—fascinating as individuals and for their universal human qualities. The same techniques are also applied to writing a personality profile. A personality profile combines compelling information and vivid language to describe a person.
Personality Profile
B a s i c s i n a B o x
Personality Profile at a Glance
RUBRIC Standards for WritingA successful personality profile should• use lively descriptions, details,
anecdotes, and/or dialogue to create a vivid impression
• put the person in a context that helps reveal the subject’s personality
• convey why the person is important to the writer
• paint a word portrait that shows the person’s character
• create a unified tone and impression
• capture the reader’s interest at the beginning and give a sense of completeness at the end
physical description
anecdoteswriter’s feelings towards subject
setting other details
dialogue
MAIN IMPRESSION OF SUBJECT
Make a list of people you admire.
Write a few words or phrases to describe each person you have listed.
Consider writing about someone you know well.
How to choose a person you want to write about
1 PrewritingWriting a Personality Profile
Planning Your Personality Profile
1. Explore your attitude towards the subject. How do you feel about the person? Why is the person important to you? What details or incidents can you describe that show the importance of the subject to you?
2. Picture your subject in a typical setting. Try visualizing your subject in his or her usual surroundings. What stands out about your subject?
Planning Your Personality Profile
3. Research or interview to gather information. You can research a historical or famous figure using library resources or the Internet. For a profile of a lesser-known person, interviewing is the best method of getting information. Interviewing the subject and other people who know the subject well may give you information that is not available anywhere else.
Planning Your Personality Profile
4. Set your goal for writing. What impression
of the subject do you want to leave in the
minds of your readers? Analyze your subject
to find an angle—a dominant impression or
theme that captures the essence of the
person. Then look for special details that help
a reader picture the person.
Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.
Robert Bresson
Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.
Robert Bresson
2 DraftingWriting a Personality Profile
Writing a Personality Profile2 Drafting
Start drafting by simply getting your ideas
down on paper. Keep your overall goal in
mind as you try to get into the flow of your
writing. Set down everything you want to
say. Later you can cut what you don’t
need and add what you forgot.
Writing a Personality Profile2 Drafting
Organizing Your Draft
Once you’ve gotten it all down, look for a
way to organize what you want to say. As
you rework your draft you are beginning
your revision process. Here are some
ways a personality profile might be
organized.
Writing a Personality Profile2 Drafting
In Chronological Order. Narrate
incidents in the time sequence in which
they occurred. You might even focus on
a day in your subject’s life.
By Category. Analyze different aspects
of your subject’s personality—such as
characteristics, actions, and traits—one
at a time.
Writing a Personality Profile2 Drafting
By Setting. Show your subject in
various settings or situations.
In Order of Importance. Begin the
essay with the most important
incident or detail.
Writing a Personality Profile2 Drafting
Beginnings and Endings
Begin with something that will capture the
reader’s interest—a remarkable detail
about the person or setting, some
dialogue, or a good anecdote. You might
end with a memorable detail or your
personal reflections on the subject. Your
ending should give a sense of
completeness.
Writing a Personality Profile2 Drafting
Elaborating on Ideas
Work to create a profile of your subject as a
whole person, not just a one-dimensional
figure. Lace your descriptions with details,
specific scenes, and quotations or dialogue
that indicate how the person you portray
interacts with others. It should also be clear
from your writing what things are important
to the person you are profiling.
Writing a Personality Profile3 Revising
TARGET SKILL
ADDING DETAILS
In descriptive writing, concrete details and examples help the reader envision the scene. They show the subject’s personality traits in action rather than just naming them. Remember, however, to add details selectively so that they build a coherent impression.
Writing a Personality Profile4 Editing and Proofreading
TARGET SKILL
COMMA SPLICES
With elaboration, you often have to link together several strings of ideas into more complex phrases and sentences. Commas, used carefully, add clarity to sentences and enable the reader to grasp how parts relate.
Writing a Personality Profile4 Editing and Proofreading
TARGET SKILL
COMMA SPLICES
Used incorrectly commas can be distracting or confusing. One common error is the comma splice (or comma fault), in which the writer separates two sentences with a comma instead of the proper end mark.