Thanks to the COM352 students for contributing a bunch of new pages! I'll be moving these pages into the main area of the wiki soon.

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[edit] Narrative Response

Brian Donnelly’s personal narrative is based around the personal attributes, interests and environments that make up his life. He covers the topics of physical attributes, family, music, religion and life in general. Brian’s use of the rhetorical situation does him justice.

Creating an ethos in a personal narrative is relatively easy. Who is more of an expert on Brian than Brian himself? When he writes that his family life has shaped his own life greatly, or that he loves football and music, or that he questions organized religion, who are we to question this? Brian logically displays ethos while explaining different parts of himself.

The experiences that Brian writes about are ones that everyone can relate to. Who has not been touched by certain types of music? Who (over a certain age) hasn’t experienced the transition after high school? In his narrative, Brian doesn’t write to a specific audience. The narrative is simple enough for most people to read, yet it covers complex ideas, and uses points of reference that everyone can relate to.

The examples in Brian’s writing serve a dual purpose. Besides their use as a way for the audience to relate to Brian, they also put Brian’s views and ideas in context. I do not see a person questioning religion when all he/she says is ‘I’ve been questioning religion.’ Human thought is often comparative in nature and Brian uses the example of tool lyrics to tap into the audience’s minds.

Brian’s paper shows the huge advantages to the use of example, experiences, and etcetera to relate the world and thought. Of all the choices offered, I would say this is a "The Contexts That Make Me" narrative. Brian uses various examples to put himself in context for the reader. As a writer, his thoughts are clear; Embrace what life offers, and squeeze out more.