A profile essay is a type of essay that centers on a certain person. One of the most common profile essay assignments is one in which the author “profiles” a certain person, offering information about who that person is and why they are important.

For this essay, you will pick a living person to interview who you admire and write about said person. Interview this person as many times as necessary.

A profile essay does not have the same structure as a narrative essay or an argumentative essay. The type of writing for a profile essay is less rigidly structured, and an author can take several different approaches.

Prepare to write 1,500 words for this essay, and make sure to cite the personal interview with signal phrases throughout the body of the essay and a Works Cited page entry for each time you interviewed your subject. Let me be clear this part of the assignment is non-negotiable: papers short of the length requirement will be returned ungraded. Also, essays without a Works Cited page will be returned – ungraded.

Any time you render a full account, you answer what is commonly known as “reporter’s questions”–the who, what, where, when, why, and how questions reporters ask themselves to make sure their reports of news stories are complete. Your profile should be descriptive, using sensory language (touch, smell, sight, sound, and taste) to describe the person and related events. Profiles include action and details, provide a clear sequence of events, and use dialogue and direct quotations. Describe your subject in such a way that the details and facts help the reader visualize your subject and their experiences. Experiences happen in some place at some time, and good essays describe these settings.

I suggest you follow this basic outline:

Introduction: Introduce the topic, assuming the readers do not know your writing prompt. Make sure your introduction grabs the readers’ attention. Use at least one introduction strategy. Invest your readers in the topic. Make them care about it. End the introduction by stating your thesis statement, which should include a forecasting statement (sub-divisions).

Body Paragraphs: Follow the MEAL PLAN (Links to an external site.) for each body paragraph. Use evidence, examples, direct quotations, events, and people to support your paragraphs.

Conclusion: End your piece in a strong and interesting way. Sum up your main argument, but also include a strong conclusion strategy. You might want to predict what the future holds or explain the lasting impact of this event.