Rhetoric and Composition: ENG 015 007: Blog Response #2

Storytelling first became critically important to me in my high school English class in tenth grade. My assignment was to write a narrative about literally anything that I have done in my life that I would consider memorable and important to me. I chose to write about my experience working on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina in a Rita's Italian ice while living with my grandparents. That had to be one of the best summers of my life. Spending all day on the beach either selling ices, or relaxing in the sun, it did not get better than that. I would say that I was successful in getting my story out to my audience (each student had to read their memoir to the class). I do not say this just because I received a good grade for the assignment, but because I was confident that my classmates walked away with a good idea of what my summer in South Carolina was like. The most important part in getting my message across was my body language, my tone, and my overall oral delivery. It was important for me to show my audience through my voice as well as my writing what my experience was like. I was mobile, I did not just stand in front of the class like a statue. I paced back and forth, I used my hands, I fluctuated my voice, and I used pauses in my speech. As far as my writing went, I implemented voice into my paper as well. I wrote as if I was talking, it was not very formal but it was very effective. I removed myself from the narrative at certain parts to better explain a part of the story. For example I would introduce my boss, and then I would say out loud, "I have to stop the story here and tell you a little bit about my boss..." and then I would proceed to give a short profile of my boss and then go on with the story. Overall I think the approach I took, lead to a casual story that my classmates could connect to.