Deciding on the topic to write your profile essay on is a huge leap. It means that you’re ready to take the next step and learn how to write a profile essay on a place.
Writing a profile essay on a place is quite like writing a regular descriptive essay on a place. When writing a profile essay on a place, you’re asked to provide a detailed description of a particular place. In other words, you’ll be telling your readers what it is about the place that’s worth knowing.
Whether or not you’ve visited the place in the past, you’ll be doing quite a lot of fact-finding. The facts, figures, stories, themes, etc. that you uncover will form the basis of your essay.
Whatever the case, below is a list of tips on how to write a profile essay on a place.
How to Write a Profile Essay on a Place?
When writing a profile essay on a place, understand that the goal is to portray facts and interesting aspects about the place. This means that you combine your storytelling skill with facts and figures to describe it.
Below are some steps to guide you:
1. Accuracy and Specificity
If the place has an interesting history, it’s worth mentioning. Be sure that all information you provide is verifiable and accurate. Otherwise, consider removing it altogether or attributing it to the source as a memory.
When writing your essay, if you imagine yourself as a visitor, starting won’t be difficult. See things through the eyes of a visitor or a tourist and talk about exciting aspects of your visit. Emphasize some parts that your audience can relate to and appreciate.
2. Let Your Excitement Show
As you write, intrigue your readers by showing how excited you felt as you discovered the new places. Tell the story of each location with interesting stories and facts about the place. Mention each fact briefly but with just enough details to keep your readers excited and interested. Make your descriptions as vivid as possible and carry your audience along at a healthy pace.
3. Be Truthful
If the place you’re writing about has some controversy or scandal linked to it, you can talk about it directly. Agreed, one might be tempted to avoid problematic topics and only harp on the good stuff. Don’t give in to that temptation.
Present the issue before your readers from another point of view that may have not been considered. If you refuse to address the issues, you might come off as someone who just wants to rip them off, or an untrustworthy person.
Be truthful, even with the bad stuff. How d’you think haunted houses got so famous that they attract tourists? The writers and advertisers increase the appeal of haunted places by presenting the facts upfront.
4. Where Possible, Add Pictures
One way to make sure your readers have a clearer picture of your writing is to add pictures. If you have pictures depicting historical facts you’ve talked about, add them. This will ensure that your readers will visualize properly what you’re saying.
Besides, when has a picture not drawn anyone in for a closer look at something?
5. Make Sure You Use Credible Sources
As said before, your sources have to be credible and verified by you and/ or another expert. Indeed, oral traditions and legends are the most problematic to confirm, but there are ways around those.
If you’ve come across something historical that you’d like to add but have no way of verifying, attribute it to memory. You could say something along the lines of:
“According to a local, Bert, ‘there was a large oak tree at the middle of the square when I moved here in 1991.'”
Putting it that way, your audience will get the message and trust that the information is credible since it’s coming from a local.
6. Always Credit Your Sources
I get it, you’re excited that you’ve put together this perfect profile essay on a place. You’re so excited that you forget to add or cite your sources properly. Try to avoid this mistake.
If you got information from the internet, add your sources as a footnote. If you used books and library records, cite them properly -include the titles, names, dates, etc. of everyone who contributed. Try to keep track of them.
Not only will this help you refer to them later, but it will also help your readers find the information quickly when the need arises. What’s more, citing your work makes it look more professional.
Yes, writing a profile essay about a place takes a lot of work, but it’s worth it. Choose a topic, adhere to the tips above, and let your creativity shine through paper.
