JOUR245
Interviewing: Profile Writing
Telling someone else’s life story is challenging. For a fully rounded portrait, you have to incorporate your subject’s personal and professional achievements and capture his or her temperament and personality. Whether you’re writing a book, magazine, newspaper story, or personal history, a good profile will leave your readers with the feeling that they know the subject, even if he or she is a complete stranger.
Instructor: Jackie Wong
This course is available only as part of the New Media Journalism Certificate.
What will I learn?
By the end of the course, you will be able to do the following:
- Choose a worthy and engaging candidate for a profile
- Determine the best way to tell your subject’s story
- Identify print or online publications that might be interested in publishing your story, and tailor your profile to fit their needs
- Use background research to prepare for your interviews
- Draw out your subject’s story using effective interview skills
- Identify friends, family, colleagues, and even critics or adversaries who can tell you more about your subject
- Focus on the key elements of your candidate’s story without getting bogged down by too much information
- Write a profile that will give your readers a real sense of who your subject is and what he or she has accomplished
How will I learn?
- Lectures
- Class discussions
- In-class exercises
- Homework assignments
- Recommended reading
How will I be evaluated?
You will receive guidance and feedback on your interview skills and a take-home writing assignment.
Textbooks and learning materials
You will need a copy of the Canadian Press Stylebook. To purchase an online subscription to the book, visit the Canadian Press website.
We will provide other custom course materials.