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:

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).

Actively reflect on how the narrator’s point of view and intended audience may affect the voice of a text.

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.

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).

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:

Rewrite the endings of news articles and stories to change the “moral” of the story.

Rewrite texts from the third to the first or second person, or experiment with active vs. passive voice.

Write on topics about which they have very strong opinions, or which are controversial (depending on
students’ ages and the teaching context).

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:

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.

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.

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