Voice is a tricky thing. Personally, I think it is near impossible to teach; it is more of an innate ability. I see voice more in terms of creative writing than academic writing. Voice often comes out when you are freely writing about something personal or of importance to you. I’m not saying there is no place for voice in academic writing, but it is often hard to achieve or is overlooked. For academic writing, there is often a rigid set of guidelines and a particular audience to focus on, and using an authentic and personal voice may not be appropriate. Therefore, you have to use a particular, appropriate voice to effectively address the audience and the situation.
It takes experience to write in academic situations and still have a powerful voice. Beginning writers may feel intimidated when writing in academic situations, so their own voice is stifled by how they think they should be writing and what words they think are appropriate. This point is exemplified by Elbow’s claim: “The more criticism people get on their writing, the more they tend to use fake voices.” This insincerity or acting is often easy to see because the writing seems unnatural or forced. Gaining more experience, however, enables writers to know how to hone a particular voice depending on the situation.
As teachers, freewriting exercises are the best way to let students write without having to focus on an audience or adhere to certain guidelines. I don’t think they should turn these in, though. If they have to turn them in, they will be focusing on writing for the teacher (an audience) and thus not let their own feelings or real voice show through. I really don’t think you can teach voice; students have to be willing to figure it out on their own through experimenting.
The thing that I’m wrestling with is the idea of using a certain voice to serve the audience and the situation. Elbow seems to think people can write just for themselves. Personally, I believe we are always writing for an audience. Even when I write in a journal or diary—which is supposed to be a personal endeavor not meant for anything to see—I’m thinking about the possibility that someone else could read it, and it influences (maybe subconsciously) what I write. For me, it is important to have an audience in mind. Using voice effectively and powerfully means being able to reach and influence a certain audience.
It does seem as though the idea of combining your voice with writings of an academic nature is very difficult, if not impossible. When writing for an academic setting, it is very hard not to let your voice be changed or silenced by the expectations you assume the readers to have. It would seem, as said by Elbow, that having the ability to successfully combine both is a skill that takes practice and may take a long time to develop.
I agree that voice is difficult to teach but as Elbow explains, voice as we use it to speak, exists in writing as well. In any type of writing, voice is necessary to provide clarity for an audience, academic or otherwise.
I have the same difficulty when I’ve kept a journal – it’s impossible for me to write in such a way that I’m not at least somewhat conscious of a potential audience. I think some people (myself included) have to have the idea of a potential audience in mind simply in order to validate the writing experience.
Since we read Elbow’s article, I’ve been wondering a lot about technological changes that have taken place between now and when he wrote the article in 1981. Would his perspective and/or suggestions be any different? With all of the opportunities online for self-expression – Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, blogs, message boards, etc. – are teenagers (and incoming freshman) becoming more aware or less aware of the relationship between writer and audience? Do they find it more or less difficult to write for a particular audience? Depending on those answers, I think the methodology we teach in the classroom has to be adapted. I’m not sure if Elbow’s article, then, has given me more answers as much as it has more questions.
I like your point that voice cannot be taught. I agree that it would be difficult to teach voice; it’s something that must be developed and practiced over a long period of time. And because everybody has a different voice, a lesson prepared for a class of 30 students would not reach everyone. I think we could teach what makes good voice or bad voice, but we can’t actually teach the students to have a voice. That’s up to them.