Determine your role in the profile.

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Based on your work so far, decide whether you want to adopt a participant-observer role, a spectator role, or some blend of the two. All three options can be engaging and help readers identify with you. The following questions can help you choose, and the sentence strategies will give you some tools for expressing these roles in your paper.

Ways In

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WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS OF A PARTICIPANT-OBSERVER ROLE?

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS OF A SPECTATOR ROLE?
Advantages Advantages
The participant-observer role is a good way to profile physical activities that readers won’t know unless you describe them in detail.
  • As I tried to like the , I was surprised to find that .
  • I picked up the . It felt like to the touch, and [smelled/tasted/sounded] like .
  • After [hours/minutes/days] of , I felt like .
If you try to do what the people you’re observing do, readers can imagine going through the same experience.The participant-observer role enables you to explore the effect your actions might have had on the scene.
  • I interrupted as [he/she] to ask why .
  • I can’t be sure whether that interruption led to , but I think .
 The spectator role is a good way to profile places or people. By focusing attention on the subject rather than yourself, you improve the clarity of the picture.
  • On the other side of , a [appeared/came into view/did something].
  • [Person] talked as he -ed. “ ,” he said. “ .”
  • ing [at/down/along/with/on] , [person] remarked that .
  • The is [impressive/strange/easy to miss], with [its/his/her] , , and .
If you describe a place readers may never have been, they can see it through your eyes as you learn about it and look over the shoulders of the people there.The spectator role can feel detached, particularly if you are profiling a physical or difficult activity.
  • makes [person] angry. [She/he] says it’s because: “ .”
Disadvantages Disadvantages
The participant-observer role can become distracting if it’s overdone—the profile starts to feel like it’s about you, rather than the subject. This is particularly true when you are profiling is a person or place. The spectator role can feel detached, particularly if you are profiling a physical or difficult activity.

WHAT ARE THE ADVANTAGES AND DRAWBACKS TO ALTERNATING BETWEEN PARTICIPANT AND SPECTATOR ROLES?

Advantages

You gain the best of both worlds: By switching back and forth, as Cable and Coyne do, you make activities come alive while portraying places and people without much interference from you.

  • [Above/around/before] me, [activity happened]. I tried to [an object or activity], and found it . “ ,” [person] said, watching, “ .”

Disadvantages

It can be challenging to juggle both roles. When it’s not handled well, the result can be confusing to readers.