Profile on Waterloo Iowa

¶ … Carl Wilkinson

Profile Writing Techniques: David Grohl and the Foo Fighters

A profile is an extensive look at a newsworthy person or group of persons (Marrs, 2005). It needs to show right from the onset why the subject is newsworthy, and why their story is worth the reader's time. It is up the writer to employ suitable writing techniques that will enable him to weave various aspects of the subject's life together into one coherent piece. In his profile, 'David Grohl and the Foo Fighters', Carl Wilkinson creatively achieves this through the extensive use of quotes and evergreen questions (Marrs, 2000). In paragraph 15, for instance, he makes use of Grohl's (the subject) own words -- "For 16 years, I've had to balance these things; my love and respect for Nirvana and my love and respect for the Foo Fighters" -- to show firsthand how the subject has struggled to build a career; and then he uses numerical facts such as the number of albums and music copies sold, and the group's surpassing of Michael Jackson to show that despite the difficulties, the subject still managed to pull through, and that is why his story is worth reading. The use of quotes and the subject's own spoken word animates the writing, giving it a more personal feel, and provides a sound basis for the writer to stay out of the picture and make the subject's personal experiences speak for themselves. Apart from the use of quotes, the writer makes sound use of description and character revelation throughout the piece (Rains, 2004). At the very onset, he uses sentences of character portrayal such as "he plays the drums, guitar, and piano; he sings and writes his own songs, and above all, he has both pedigree and credibility" (para 4). This not only introduces the reader to the subject, but also drives an urge for them to want to gain a sense of the subject's personality (Rains, 2004)

The writer further makes use of the comparing and contrasting strategy to demonstrate how the subject differs from the rest, and how being different may have contributed to his success in the music industry as suggested in the thesis statement. First, he differentiates the subject from other players in the music industry who are opposed to piracy and file-sharing, arguing that music should be used to do more than just make money; it should be used to inspire others to face musical opportunities presented to them (para 35). In another instance, he differentiates the subject from his colleagues, who faced with an underperforming music industry, opt to play music money and make money out of activities and elements that go against society's moral standing (para 29). This strategy makes the profile more compelling and helps the writer build on his description and character revelation technique. Moreover, the writer makes extensive use of questions. In fact, rather than use an abstract statement for his thesis, he puts it in question form, allowing his readers to make their own judgments regarding the subject's character. He is also seen to make use of evergreen questions such as "are you a control freak" (Para 36)? This enables him to not only rekindle the reader' concentration, but also draw their attention to the other side of the subject that had not been revealed in the preceding sections of the piece. Finally, the writer uses the scene (presented in para 5) to illuminate his theme and draw the reader's attention to the subject's life outside the studio. The scene depicts the subject as a person who is trying to balance between being a father, a family man and a musician, and this makes him more of a human character and less of a saint in the eyes of the reader.