A profile essay highlights an individual in a certain way that is of interest to a particular audience. For example, profiles of celebrities in Entertainment Weekly describe people like Scarlett Johansen and Johnny Depp in the way the famous are usually described for their readers, as people simultaneously similar to us in that they care for their families and their pets, yet different, stranger, and more glamorous too. A profile of Billy Bob Thornton, for instance, might tell not only about his newest child and the pain of breaking up with Angelina Jolie, but also that he is afraid of antiques and silverware. Or the local newspaper might profile residents in its weekly magazine section. The South Baton Rouge Journal has an issue devoted to the men of Baton Rouge, and contains profiles of everyone from the mayor to a police officer. The Daily Reveille might profile a student who survived Hurricane Katrina and transferred to LSU for a semester as a result.
Profiles are written for specific audiences, groups of people who would want to know about these people in the first place, or find what they did interesting. A profile of Sylvia Fowles in The Advocate might focus on her time as a Lady Tiger, whereas a profile of her in Sports Illustrated might focus on her WNBA career and recent trip to the Olympics.
A good profile is generally based on an interview with the subject, and might also include interviews with others who know this person. A reporter writing a profile of the local cat lady, written for The Advocate's magazine section, would speak with her directly as well as talk to her family and neighbors of their feelings about her ever-expanding collection of felines. A good profile should always give us a vivid word picture of the individual being highlighted. What does this person look like? How does s/he talk? How does s/he dress? What does s/he smell like? What motivates him/her? Remember that God is in the details, and that readers should come away from your profile feeling that they now know this person, or at least a significant aspect of this person. And while you should always incorporate information from others about the person you're profiling, that information should serve to describe your subject rather than take on a life of its own.
And here are some other things to keep in mind when writing a profile essay:1
When choosing your subject, don't overlook the person who may seem ordinary on the surface but who is quietly remarkable in some ways.
Use straight description sparingly. You don't want the effect of simply cataloging the things about the person that meet the eye. What you're after when you use description is the sense that outward appearance reveals or belie inward traits. For instance, habitual tossing of a head of long, luxurious hair or fingernail tapping may be worth mentioning as significant indicators of character.
In the descriptions you do use, try to appeal to different senses, if possible.
Use narrative liberally. Through narration, the individual may be shown in action. And as a part of telling the story of some of his or her experiences, it will be perfectly natural to have him or her speak in his or her own voice, through dialogue. You'll have "instant concreteness" and the most lively and convincing form of evidence for the dominant impression you are trying to create. Dialogue contributes to the narrative illusion of reality, and matters like a person's vocabulary and his/her grammar can be revealing.
Consider using the opinions of others in your profile. For example, the reaction of a person's children to his or her homecoming or of employees to his/her arrival at work can tell us a lot about him/her.
Control your tone carefully, as it is very important in creating an effective character sketch. Consider early on in the writing process whether you want to write from a middle distance to your subject, from "up close," or with detachment. In the final stages of revision, be alert to the subtleties of word choice which largely create tone.
Avoid the temptation to moralize tediously about the character's vices and virtues and to over-sentimentalize, especially with beloved characters. This is particularly important when writing about everyday heroes. Moralizing and over-sentimentalizing your subject will make your essay difficult to endure, and cause your audience to turn against your subject.
Don't describe the subject through only one incident, but instead, through a combination of incidents. If you focus too heavily on one incident, you run the risk of writing an essay that's a narrative about a particular event rather than a profile of an individual subject.
Since your profile is based on at least one interview with the subject, you'll be tempted to organize your essay in the order you asked the questions. Resist this temptation as it will make for a very boring essay. Instead, examine the answers you receive to those questions and see w