2. Describing a Fascinating Person . . .
Personality Profile
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.

3. Describing a Fascinating Person . . .
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.

4. writer’s feelings towards subject MAIN IMPRESSION OF SUBJECT
B a s i c s i n a B o x
Personality Profile at a Glance
RUBRIC
Standards for Writing
A successful personality profile should
writer’s feelings towards subject
physical description
anecdotes
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
MAIN IMPRESSION OF SUBJECT
setting
other
details
dialogue

5. Writing a Personality Profile1
Prewriting
How to choose a person you want to write about
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.

6. 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?

7. 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.

8. 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.

9. Writing a Personality Profile2
Drafting
Make visible what, without you, might never have been seen.
Robert Bresson

10. 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.

11. 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.

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. Writing a Personality Profile
Revising 3
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.

17. Writing a Personality Profile
Editing and Proofreading 4
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.

18. Writing a Personality Profile
Editing and Proofreading 4
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.