Because You Asked . . .

Here's that sample profile from class, the one about the garbage collector.

Comments on the Profile Drafts

With profile rough drafts, I tend to repeat the same comments. That's why I have a document like this one, which you possibly have looked at before, that walks through the issues I tend to see using student draft examples. There's something to be said, anyway, about learning to self-diagnose, so please use the linked file to examine what you have.

I've also put together this document, as an additional approach to working through those common issues. It's in the form of a checklist. 

Please know that I'm always more than happy to comment in-depth on revisions, the idea being that you've already gone in and attempted to develop and polish the piece on your own before asking for me to take another look. That's true for any of the projects. Just e-mail me or bring a hard copy in if you prefer handwritten feedback. If you e-mail me, simply ask me to look at your revised piece. I can go back in Drive and find it. 

Don't re-share it, unless you're going to add a message asking me to look at the revision. If you simply re-share, I won't know what you want—I'll merely get another e-mail telling me you've set up a share. I tend to delete those! Just communicate with me about what you need, that's all :)

Lab Helpers Today (3/8)

I have a horribly sore throat today, gang, and I will try and speak as little as possible today. You're going to have some time to work, and here's our plan:

1. I do want you to share your draft with your "row": so whoever is sitting in your lab row, please set up shares for the profile draft. As we did last time, go into those other drafts and leave some comments, but try to focus on what you think might be "missing" in the draft. If there aren't a lot of quotes, leave a simple question about that (Will you add more?). If there are no stories, you can comment on that (A story would really be great . . .). If there's no organization, or the structure isn't engaging for you as a reader, you can probably find a way to say something about that (I got most engaged in X section . . .). Please don't just leave a lame pat on the back. Or say, "good draft!" Offering up ONE or TWO serious comments would be better than leaving platitudes strewn about; plus, even though you think you're being polite with that kind of thing, you're actually being a bit of the opposite. 
2. I do have a handout with tips on how to punctuate quotes and edit them. You can Google to find answers to other questions you have, when you have them. It would take you 30 seconds, likely, to get an answer about how to use quote marks. Figure it out.
3. Continuing on with editing, here's the slideshow we worked with today on TRANSITIONS!
4. The final draft of the profile, because it involves you citing research (your interview!), requires a Works Cited page. Here's how to do that entry, since you won't find an example for it on Fister (that MLA guide that's our required text for the course):
   
   Smith, Jane. Personal interview. 12 Oct. 2014.
   
   Remember, at the end of that essay, you should make a Page Break (find that on the Insert menu), since a Works Cited page needs to be on its own page at the end of your paper. At the top of that page, type "Work Cited" (since there's only one "work"!), then give us your entry after that. 

Draft Deadline 3/8 11:59 PM

Group, please remember to share your profile draft with me before midnight tonight!

Planning Your Profile Draft, and a Reminder about Tuesday

Group, this document can help you think about the material you got from your interview in a way that can potentially keep you from merely narrating your interview experience (which you really want to avoid!).

For those of you who want a little more help, here is a handout I've often used--one that is an analysis of an entire class's drafts. So it captures the common problems people tend to have with the piece, and uses student examples to illustrate the struggles and what to do about them. You'll save yourself a lot of time, probably, by working with this document. I will likely do another one once I see your drafts, to show how our class is dealing with the drafting process.

Finally, remember that the draft will be DUE on Tuesday (3/8), 11:59 P.M. We'll be in the lab on Tuesday, and we will likely do some draft shares as well as work on some revision techniques. So: HAVE A DRAFT, obviously, so we can be productive.

Interview Question Workshop

Here's the slideshow from today's class.

Taking a Portrait of Your Interviewee

For your reference, here are some examples of photographs of people that might give you some inspiration:

• This article from the Digital Photography School website has tips and a quick set of photos that might help you think of what's possible here. 
• In another article, this time from Nikon's website, professional photographer Gary Small shares great advice and before-and-after examples of portraits.

What You Should Do for Tuesday, 2/23

There's no survey for next class, but I want you to continue with the work we started today. Given that it would be ideal to interview someone next week or next weekend at the latest, you should consider:

• The time frame for the project (in fact, READ the project now, posted under "Project Requirements" in the menu above, if you haven't already). 
• Your possible interviewee's and your schedule—can you make it work, given the deadlines?
• What focus you'd have with that person. If it's their job or some other activity they do, is there a chance you could interview them at that location? It would be helpful for some of the observable details you'd have for inclusion in the piece.
• How close you are to the interviewee. That is, be forewarned that interviewing a significant other, a parent, a sibling . . . can be a challenge. Sometimes the piece ends up being more about YOU and how much you love/admire them. A profile isn't about you. Sometimes the piece ends up being unfocused, because you're so close to the person you can find a focal point, and so write about everything. If you interview someone close, try to be as objective as you can, and still set up a formal interview time. Also, word of advice: keep yourself out of the essay. 
• Get working on writing questions. In fact, I'd like you to BRING A DOZEN QUESTIONS, TYPED. I'LL BE COLLECTING THEM AND COUNTING THEM AS AN ACTIVITY. If it helps, here are the sample Q's we looked at in class, and here is the slideshow, too.

Slideshow from Class 2/16 on Profiles

This slideshow captures some of your survey comments, but it also presents some of the features of a written profile . . .

At-Home Activity (due 8AM Thurs., 2/18)

So, we spent Monday talking about biography VERSUS profile, in order to understand what profile is all about. But we've also been working with VIDEO versions of the form. What's a WRITTEN profile look like?

Well, here's an example of a written profile. It's a profile of Al Yeganeh, who ran a very popular New York City soup restaurant. In fact the place was so popular (and he was so interesting as a person) that he was the inspiration for the "Soup Nazi" character on Seinfeld.

Read the piece (it's short!) for Wednesday, but just as important, head over to the survey to start thinking about the piece. 

At-Home Activity (due 9 AM Tues., 2/16)

This task will help get us ready for a new unit, which will be about writing a PROFILE of a person. Over the weekend, you're going to start thinking about what that IS exactly by watching a visual version of one . . . and contrasting that with a visual version of another kind of exploring people's lives, the BIOGRAPHY. You'll see some obvious differences between the two, differences that are important (and useful) as we switch over to the written version of the form.

So, here's what to do before 9 AM Tuesday!

• Start off by going here, to a search I set up for A&E Biography videos. Pick one, and watch the first ten minutes of it. I want you to think about how that film attempts to present a person's life . . . How does the piece begin? Why are they talking about the person you chose, anyway? What kind of info do we get so far?
• The thing I need you to watch in its entirety is a short film by Errol Morris (he's one of the most significant filmmakers of our time, and I LOVE HIM OKAY). Morris is a documentary filmmaker, and he did a tv series called First Person, where he PROFILES people. You're going to watch his profile of Joan Dougherty called "Soaking in It." View the film below; it's in three parts. I will warn you that Joan's job, which is a focal point, is pretty gruesome (she's a crime scene cleaner, so she deals with death). But she's an amazing and interesting person, and my students usually really, really like the video. As you watch, think about how different the piece is from the BIOGRAPHY example you saw. 
• As always, I've got a survey for you. It's short, and mostly I want to make sure you're seeing the differences between these two ways of documenting people's lives!

Please note that if there's something going on right now with you that makes the idea of watching a video about a crime scene cleaner particularly challenging, e-mail me (just don't wait too long). We can try to find another vid for you. But honestly, my students really like learning about Joan's life.