Where are YOU in your writing?

Do you feel like your voice is lost in your academic writing?  You are usually told not to write in the first person (“I”); not include personal opinion; and to reference everything. At worst this can make you feel disempowered and at best confused about how to show what you think about a topic.

Fear not, you do have a voice! As a participant in higher education you are becoming a scholar and, in their small way, your essays are part of the wider academic conversation in your field. By presenting and defending your position as you answer a question, you are demonstrating understanding of your subject. Although your writing is ultimately a conversation with your reader, your references allow you to bring other people into that conversation too.

Opinion versus voice

Opinion can be unsubstantiated, highly personal and emotive. Conversely, it can sometimes be well grounded and balanced – but when it comes to your own opinion it can be difficult to recognise the difference. This is why academics prefer to talk about ‘voice’. In its simplest terms, your academic voice comes through when you use effective, concise, academic language to explain/argue your position to your reader in your writing.

As you are not explicitly stating your opinion, it can often feel like your voice is lost amongst the voices of the authors you are referring to.  It can seem like you do not have a direct role in the conversation (essay).  But you do – in fact you have multiple roles. You decide who will have a part in your essay, you direct the parts they play and who gets to be centre-stage or standing at the back, and you also narrate the story – explaining what you think is going on to the audience (reader) and why. As such, your voice is implicit in how you articulate the voices of other authors and how you analyse their contribution to the argument. For example:

Cats make better pets than dogs. This is because their independent nature means you can leave them during the day without worry (Green, 2015) and they are not dependent on you for exercise (Brown, 2016). Dogs may give you more affection (White, 2017) but in today’s busy society, this is not enough to make them a better choice.

Versus

Dogs make better pets than cats. Whilst a cat’s independent nature (Green, 2015) and low demand for exercise (Brown, 2016) may make them more appealing, the amount of affection that a dog can give their owner (White, 2017) more than compensates for the lack of convenience that owning one may bring.

In both statements the same sources are used, but it is your job to present your position in how you explain their contribution to the argument.

In essence, your voice may be clearest in any areas without references (where you are explaining things to the reader), but it also comes through in how you integrate those references. You can present each source in a positive, neutral, negative or mixed way in relation to the overall argument. As such, while you should avoid directly stating your opinion, your stance will be evident by your writing.

It’s your essay – so it’s your chance to use your voice!