A1 Business Hearts and Guts Writing the Personal Profile Essay
Prewriting and planning are essential to writing an effective essay, so for this week’s assignment, you will complete the prewriting and planning steps of the process for developing the Profile Essay. To complete the prewriting assignment, you will submit one document (using the Profile Essay Prewriting and Planning Template) that includes ALL of the following:
- Answers to the prewriting questions (40 points).
- A complete outline of your essay (60 points).
Read Bill Mitchell’s (2002) article “Hearts and Guts: Writing the Personal Profile” prior to completing this assignment. Mitchell’s (2002) article mentions a full-life profile. Your essay should focus on a shorter period of time, as stated in the Profile Essay Instructions.
Being able to see a person beyond a diagnosis, a role (such as a patient, friend, parent, or supervisor), or a physical attribute enables nurses to see each patient as an individual with unique experiences, hopes, fears, and needs. For the Profile Essay, you will closely examine a person you personally know, such as a patient, family member, educator, co-worker, or friend. The profile should not resemble a biography, which examines a person’s lifetime (or a significant stretch of it). Rather, the Profile Essay should focus on a shorter period of time, such as a single day, several months, or even a significant moment that takes place over an hour.
Overall, the goal of the Profile Essay is to show readers who this person is. For example, the profile may highlight a patient’s strength that carried him through his battle with cancer, a parent’s dedication to always putting his children’s needs above his own, or a friend’s always positive attitude despite the challenges that she faces.
Most importantly, remember that the essay is not about you. The focus should be on the individual who is profiled.
Your essay must do the following:
- Create a vivid depiction of the individual
- Focus on a short period of time that highlights the trait(s) that you wish to focus on
- Incorporate strong, vivid descriptions and examples, including dialogue
- Show instead of tell
Your essay must include the following:
- An introduction with a hook and strong thesis statement
- Developed body paragraphs with strong topic sentences and concluding sentences
- A word count of 1,000 words, at a minimum (excludes cover page)
Before you prepare your final draft, review the Profile Essay Instructions, so you are well aware of all of the requirements for this assignment. Make sure you are meeting every one of the requirements listed there before you turn in your assignment.
