Website has moved. Please see Character Sketch
Due: Dec. 14, 2009
If you have successfully fulfilled the blog requirements, you will not have to write the character sketch. Read the blog requirements carefully!
Assignment
Write a 5-7 page typed paper (double-spaced) which describes a person you either know or a person you have interviewed. Because it is impossible to write a detailed report about a person’s entire life in such a short paper, the paper will describe only part of the person’s life. The person you choose to write about must be your parents’ ages or older (unless you receive permission from me), and the person must agree to be interviewed by you.
Suggestion
Generally, the students who most enjoy this assignment are students who select a person who is much older (like grandparents). Because there is a large discrepancy in the ages of the interviewer and interviewee, the writer often learns fascinating information that he would never read about in a history book.
Steps for Completing the Assignment
- Select a person to interview and obtain that person’s permission.
- Create a list of questions to ask the person.
- Interview the person. If you plan to use a tape recorder or video recorder, obtain the person’s permission first.
- After the interview, send a Thank-You card to the person you interviewed.
- Review your notes or tapes and determine what part or parts of the person’s life you will emphasize in your paper. For example, if you interview someone who fought in World War II, you might concentrate on the person’s military service in your paper. Or, you may decide to concentrate on the person’s youth.
- Write a rough draft of your paper. Proofread and Revise.
- Write your final paper. If you want to include pictures in your paper, that would be wonderful; however, because there is a chance that pictures could get lost in the grading process, do not include any valuable pictures with your paper. Use digital photography and incorporate pictures in your report. (Keep in mind that if you include pictures in the text of your paper that your paper should be longer than the 5-7 page requirement.)
- Turn in your final paper and also send a copy of the final paper to the person you interviewed.
Character Sketch Basics
Although this assignment is a major grade, you do not have to follow traditional, composition requirements for an essay. For example, it is acceptable to include first-person references. However, you should still make sure that you follow all rules of grammar and mechanics.
Introduction
The introduction of your paper must contain the following.
- full name of the person you interviewed
- date and place of birth of the person
- date of the interview
- relationship between you and the person you interviewed or a sentence about how you met the person
- 4-5 sentences about the background of the person
- a thesis statement which includes the part of the person’s life you will emphasize in the paper
Quotations
Because of the nature of a character sketch, you will most likely include many quotations from the person you interview. In the lead-in to the quotation, make sure you make it clear that the following words are the person’s words. In quotations, do NOT change grammar. Include the exact words that your person said. Again, because of the nature of the character sketch, you will NOT include parenthetical documentation for quotations.
Please don't forget to submit your paper to Turnitin.com!
