How to Create Voice in TESOL Writing

by Iva Skobic

Upon getting her driver’s license in high school, my friend Teresa became a terror on the streets.
She chatted on her cell phone while driving, consistently failed to check her side mirrors before
changing lanes, and zoomed 10-15 miles over the speed limit at any given time. I, on the other
hand, drove hunched nervously over the steering wheel, eyes darting from side to side, usually
crawling at around 2-3 miles under the speed limit.

And yet, I was the first of the two of us to get a traffic ticket.

Teresa had been stopped before, sure, but when she just widened her eyes, teared up, and
apologized profusely, the police officers let her off with a warning. Upon finding myself in the
same situation, however, I became so terrified that I went mute, barely squeaking out a “sorry”
before accepting my $120 ticket.

This experience serves as a reminder that how we present information is often as important as

the information we present. In writing, the “how” of presenting information - or the style,
personality, point of view, and tone of a text - is called the voice, and it affects how our message
is interpreted, and thus received, by our audience. The effective use of voice in writing can make
a big difference in the strength, clarity, and readability of a text, while allowing the writer to show
her/his personality, emotions, and ideas.

Unfortunately, even the best writing class may neglect voice in favor of grammar, structure,
information, and other more tangible writing skills. In fact, many teachers assume that voice
cannot be taught - that students must organically “discover” their voice through extensive writing.

As you may gather from this article, that is not our view on voice! Student writing that does not
employ appropriate or strong personal voice may not incur a traffic ticket, but it will make for
bland, uninspiring reading. There are a number of tactics English language teachers can use to
inspire and instruct students to write with strong and appropriate voice even as very novice
language learners. Here are some ideas, by level:

Basic levels: At basic levels, students need guidance, structure, and instruction. However, these
elements should not prevent them from “discovering” their voice! Writing assignments which
require students to draw on their own world knowledge and life experience naturally lead students
to develop voice in their writing, as do writing assignments that speak to students’ personal
interests and areas of expertise. In addition, asking students to write simple texts with a specific
audience in mind (a family member, a favorite sports player, a romantic partner) will achieve
much the same end.
Intermediate levels: The concept of voice may be explicitly introduced at the intermediate levels.
Students should be exposed to a variety of examples of texts that employ strong voice.
Vocabulary building and guided use of a thesaurus are particularly important at this level as
students struggle to understand increasingly complicated material and convey ever more complex
and subtle messages in their writing.

At this level, student may be asked to:

1. Read and evaluate simple scenarios written from a variety of points of view (for example,
a description of a trip to the grocery store written from a mother’s perspective, a child’s
perspective, a single person’s perspective, and the cashier’s perspective).
2. Actively reflect on how the narrator’s point of view and intended audience may affect the
voice of a text.
3. Read similar texts written for different audiences (an email to a college professor, a peer,
and a trusted adult, for example) and discuss how the voice of a text changes depending on
intended audience.
4. Rewrite texts from a variety of perspectives (e.g. recounting a trip to the grocery store
from the perspective of the car being driven to the store).
5. Perform “dramatic readings” or even put on plays based on their assigned reading as a
way to reinforce that writing can have drama, personality, and distinctive style and tone.

Advanced levels:

At advanced levels, students may be ready to independently identify voice in more sophisticated
texts, as well as evaluate the effectiveness of the voice used in assigned readings. Students
should be given examples not only of strong and appropriate voice, but also inappropriate or
weak voice to come to identify the difference between the two. Reading poetry may be especially
helpful at this level for gaining a grasp of the music of language, as well as how metaphors may
be used to strengthen a piece of writing.

Students may be asked to:

1. Rewrite the endings of news articles and stories to change the “moral” of the story.
2. Rewrite texts from the third to the first or second person, or experiment with active vs.
passive voice.
3. Write on topics about which they have very strong opinions, or which are controversial
(depending on students’ ages and the teaching context).
4. Include humor or irony in their writing, and to evaluate how this affects the quality and
impact of the text.

One particularly fun activity involves dividing the class into 4-5 groups. Each group is given a 1-2
sentence scenario and a list of adverbs (angrily, jealously, trustingly, innocently, etc.) and must
rewrite the scenario once for each adverb. The scenarios are written or projected on the board
and the other groups must compete to label each scenario with the appropriate adverb based on
the voice of the text.
General tips:

1. Continuously expand student vocabulary with vocabulary lists, vocabulary building

activities, and varied reading assignments. A sophisticated vocabulary, and especially the
ability to use a variety of strong verbs, adjectives, and adverbs, is vital for nuanced and
effective writing, as well as the development of individual voice.
2. When grading and providing feedback on student writing, do not completely rewrite
students’ sentences. Pointing out grammatical errors is fine, but changing the wording on
whole sentences may take away the subtleties of the student’s intended message.
3. Experiment with providing progressively looser guidelines for writing assignments,
allowing students to explore the writing styles and structures that works best for them.

The voice of a piece of writing allows the author to not only provide more subtle shades of
meaning in his or her writing, but also to show his or her personality to readers. Guiding students
in developing strong and situationally appropriate voice in their writing will ultimately help them
produce effective, clear, and attention-grabbing work in both English and their primary language.

Works Referenced

http://blog.penningtonpublishing.com/writing/how-to-develop-voice-in-student-writing/

http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/understanding-voice-and-tone-in-
writing#sthash.pcm1JQsH.dpuf

http://aprendeenlinea.udea.edu.co/revistas/index.php/ikala/article/view/2667/2130

http://www.brighthubeducation.com/high-school-english-lessons/12265-teaching-voice-in-writing/

Further reading:

http://mds.marshall.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1871&context=etd