Zach Watts
6-29-14
English 2010
Kati Lewis
How are profiles and memoirs similar? Different? Be specific. Compare and contrast the memoir and profile samples. Explain what you learned about profile writing/composing from the chapter reading and the sample profiles.
Profile- when readers get a brief image of what someone/something looks/feels/smells like. It’s a writer’s way to put a picture in the readers mind without actually putting a picture in the paper.
Memoir- a historical account or biography written from personal knowledge or special sources.
Profiles and memoirs have many similarities in writing. Both forms of writing are giving the reader an insider’s view. They are both non-fictional writing. Profiles and memoirs are in depth writings with tons of attention to little details that make it seem like you are there.
The differences in these two writings are a profile is someone writing about someone else from doing research on the individual. Memoirs are the writer talking about experiences they had. When reading a memoir you will get a personal feel of how the writer felt in that moment. When reading a profile the reader will get a deep description of how something or someone looks.
Both of these writings are very comparable. Both go in depth with explaining different feelings and emotions, but at the same time if you had to write a memoir and a profile on the some subject you would get two totally different papers. Both genres of writing help readers put a picture in their mind of what is going on. Memoirs are more along the lines of the feelings you would feel during the experience. Profiles give a lot more description and details as to what things look like.
The writing examples helped me figure out how I should organize my paper and what I should include in my memoir and profile. Some key information I learned was to hook the reader right away. One thing I learned is to always announce your focal points in your writing. Before reading this chapter I would think to state focal points in a memoir.
