David Foster Wallace wrote “This is Water” to show the reader that everything around us is life. Everyone looks at life from their personal perspective, but Wallace says that if we choose to look at it from other people’s point of view, you’re able to see life in a completely different way. Upon delivering the speech, Wallace was said to be nervous and did not have very good speaking skills. However, it was his use of compelling argument that made the students focus in and listen to him. The author uses intellectual word choices to convince the reader of his reliability. He speaks on a personal level in first person to let the audience know that he has been in the same situation and had to take a look around. Wallace also uses long, drawn out sentences to convey his point that water is life. In my opinion, it makes it seem like he has a bit more credibility. 

Wallace uses his intellectual word choices to convince the reader of his opinions. He is very careful in the words that he chooses. It seems like he thinks that the larger the word, the more likely the reader is to believe him. He says, “Given the triumphal academic setting here, an obvious question is how much of this work of adjusting our default-setting involves actual knowledge or intellect.” The vocabulary used in this example is not what most people would utilize in their everyday lives. Because of the way David Foster Wallace worded this sentence, he has automatically convinced the reader of his idea. For the average person, this sentence sounds sophisticated and smart; who would have any reason to not believe what he is saying? I am not accusing his idea of being false, but it could be completely bogus and most people would not even think of questioning him. Wallace also says, “Stated as an English sentence, of course, this is just a banal platitude — but the fact is that, in the day-to-day trenches of adult existence, banal platitudes can have life-or-death importance.” Again, the average reader or listener is not going to know what this means right off of the bat. Chances are, no one is going to take the time to interoperate either. Although what Wallace is saying might be true, it could also be completely false. Wallace’s use of large and intellectual words, allows him more of a cushion to convince his readers and listeners. It is a tactic that works for him. He is able to convince the reader of how they should perceive life, while using was is seen to be as logic, to back it up.

Throughout this literary work, David Foster Wallace is constantly speaking on a personal level. This tactic makes the audience more involved and willing to listen. If the author or speaker is communicating on a personal level, then the reader is more inclined to listen. Wallace says, “But please don't worry that I'm getting ready to preach to you about compassion or other-directedness or the so-called virtues.” It feels like Wallace is having an actual conversation with the audience which in response, is making them more inclined to listen and pay attention to him. The author also uses cuss words, which in any formal speech is not usually done. This alone puts David Foster Wallace on the same level as the young adults that he is speaking too. Putting himself at a personal level with the audience allows him to tap into their minds and to really get them thinking about his point. 

If you take a look at the manuscript of the speech, you will notice that the sentences are not short and choppy. Most of them are long and drawn out, allowing Wallace to take more time to make his point. Often times, Wallace is repeating something that he has previously said, just in a different way. The longer the sentence, the more it looks like Wallace has a lot of details to back up his view points. The reader will most likely believe that the author is telling the truth because it seems like he knows what he is talking about. In reality, he’s just taking a lot of unnecessary steps to fluff up his ideas. David Foster Wallace places a lot of details into this speech and uses a lot of examples. He has so much information about his topic that the reader or listener probably would not even question him. As a college freshman, would you bother to test someone who had pages and pages of information and told you it was true? Most likely, you are probably not going to. On the other hand, everything Wallace is saying could be true, but his use of long sentences and detailed work makes him seem more credible and the audience more vulnerable to believe. 

David Foster Wallace did a tremendous job of reeling in his audience and getting them to pay attention. He used great word choices that made him seem more credible. The audience believed him and wanted to listen to what he said because his word choices were so different from their everyday speaker. Wallace broke everything down onto a personal level and made friends with the audience. He spoke in a “matter of fact” manner and never gave anyone the chance to question him. The speaker spoke with authority and rightfulness. He used long sentences with a lot of details to pull the audience in and convincing them to give him a chance and listen. Each of these tactics played to his advantage and he walked away with an audience that viewed life in a completely different way: they viewed life how he viewed life. Life is the things that surround us every single day. Life is water. 