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Timothy Roberts’ profile of Patrick Tillman represents an unorthodox approach to the sequence assignment, profiling an individual without completing an interview, but it does incorporate quotations from and first person observation of its subject. The essay highlights Tillman’s attributes within the context of the writer’s prior expectations; Roberts’ approach defines his subject’s personality in contrast with his mistaken assumptions about someone who has achieved at least modest celebrity status. The profile also incorporates narration and cause-and-effect elements into its thesis, but the effect of having known Tillman is left undeveloped. Would development of that idea enhance the profile? Or would it weaken the essay by drawing attention away from Tillman?

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