PROFILES AND HUMAN INTEREST
FEATURES
Because people are inherently interested in the
lives of those around them, one of the most popular features is the PROFILE. A
profile typically focuses on someone who has made a notable impact on the lives
of others, someone from the community who has became unusually prominent, or
simply someone with a unique hobby or talent.
Profiles and human-interest stories are popular
among newspaper readers because of their focus on individuals. By recounting
stories about people, feature writers can uplift, inspire, and motivate
readers.
Profiles are fun to read –a good profile can
organize a great deal of information in a lively, interesting package. Again,
research must be scrupulously ACCURATE.
YOUR
ASSIGNMENT: Find a partner. You will write a feature story PROFILE based on an
interview you will conduct of your partner. Each of you will interview the
other and write a story about each other.
Your feature
story is an essay and needs an interesting introduction, supporting details in
the body, and a conclusion that ties up loose ends. Because this is an essay,
you need a thesis, or main idea about your subject. What is it you are trying
to tell us about your source?
This is a
minimum of five paragraphs/1000 words and each BODY paragraph should use quotes
from your interview. You should start brainstorming a focal point of your
article using the questions below as a starting point.
TIPS:
Here are
some questions to ask yourself when interviewing your subject and when writing
your profile:
§
Have
the basic biographical information and spelling been verified?
§
What
is it that makes the source particularly interesting?
§
Use
the interview tips link/handout.
§
If
interviewing a source on location, what is the atmosphere like?
§
What
do those closest to the source have tot say?
§
Where
has this person (the source) lived, worked, or spent time?
§
Has
the person been profiled in other publications, and if so, did any interesting
facts emerge?
§
What
does the person plan to do in the future?
§
Has
the person ever had to overcome any sort of adversity in life (injuries,
handicaps, adversity)? If so, what?
§
Has
the person achieved success (triumphs and rewards)? If so, what?
§
Does
the person have any unusual hobbies or talents? If so, what?
TIPS ON ORGANIZING:
§
Define
a subject. Focus on a topic. For instance: US Army, Firefighter, Baseball,
Football, Hollywood, Government, NCTE Award. Once you have a focal point, the
rest will fall into place!
§
Identify
the Message: What message are you trying to convey? What EMOTION do you want
your readers to feel?
§
Present
Your Message: Organize your material into the most logical way. It could be
chronological, or start with the present and go backwards, start with the
future, etc. What makes sense for your message?
§
Use
strong quotes that back your points.
§
Follow
proper grammar, use of transitions, vivid language, watch for spelling and
punctuation, etc.