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.