Introduction to Chapter 3

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Instructor's Notes

The following resources are available for this chapter through the “Resources” panel or by clicking on the “Browse Resources for this Unit” button:

  • The Instructor's Resource Manual, which includes tips and special challenges for teaching this chapter
  • Lecture slides
  • Additional student profiles (from Sticks & Stones and Other Student Essays)

3

Writing Profiles

W hat happens behind the scenes at a mortuary? What happens when kids visit their moms in prison? Is eating twenty corned-beef sandwiches in ten minutes worth $5,000 in prize money? These questions are a few of those explored in the entertaining and thought-provoking profiles in this chapter. Profiles are mini-documentaries, like the podcasts and shows created by the producers of Radiolab and This American Life. They take us behind the scenes through slice-of-life portraits. As cultural ethnography, profiles range from a day-in-the-life to a longer immersion study of people at work or at play. Intensively researched, they rely primarily on field research techniques of observation and interview to provide what is sometimes called thick description, because the information is interwoven with the profiler’s analysis and interpretation—–what we call perspective—–to capture and convey a full experience.

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People compose profiles for various purposes and audiences and publish them in a variety of media (print, digital, audiovisual). For example, a college student studying management might observe and interview a work group’s collaborators, and post her profile on the class Web site. A participant in the restoration of a Depression-era mural might construct a multimedia profile of the community effort for the city’s Web site to celebrate the project. A security officer might develop a Prezi presentation profiling a number of shoplifters apprehended over the last year to educate sales staff about shoplifting.

In this chapter, we ask you to compose a profile based primarily on your firsthand field research—observational visits and interviews. Whether you choose something you know well or something you want to learn about, you will need to focus on it as if for the first time and choose details that will not only make it come alive for your readers but also show them why your subject is intriguing and important. From reading and analyzing the selections in the Guide to Reading that follows, you will learn how to weave information and insight to construct a rich tapestry that entertains as it informs. The Guide to Writing will show you ways to use the basic features of the genre to depict your subject clearly and compellingly from a perspective that will allow you not only to inform and entertain your readers, but also to convey your subject’s cultural, social, or personal significance.

PRACTICING THE GENRE

Conducting an Interview

Part 1. Get together in a small group to practice interviewing, a crucial skill in composing profiles. First, ask for a volunteer from the group to act as the interviewee. It should be someone knowledgeable about a subject that is relatively unfamiliar to the other group members, such as a sport, hobby, type of music, video game, profession, or academic subject. The rest of the group should take a couple of minutes to make a list of questions about the subject. Then have one person serve as the interviewer (or take turns asking questions). Listen to what is being said, and respond with follow-up questions as needed. Take notes not only on what is said (quoting or summarizing) but also on the way it is said. For example, does the interviewee appear to be bored or animated, authoritative or uncertain?

Part 2. Discuss what you learned about profiles and about conducting an interview:

  • What did you learn about how profiles can make information interesting? For a profile to be effective, it must depict the subject vividly and be thought provoking. Take turns identifying one thing the interviewee said—–for example, an illuminating fact, an amusing anecdote, or a surprising judgment—–that would be likely to engage the interest of an audience.

  • What did you learn about conducting an interview? Compare your thoughts with those of the others in your group on what was easiest and hardest—–for example, preparing questions, listening and following up, taking notes, or considering what might be interesting to an audience.