I am Legion: The Various Voices of the First Year Composition Student

First Year Composition Students’ Voices

We go through most of our primary and secondary education being told how to write. We were taught to follow guidelines and were graded on our ability to do so. We go into college thinking that these guidelines still remain, yet all that changes our first year. College should be a time for us to be objective and speak up not to be close minded. In college we are expected to write the way professors want us to in order to pass and that's a fact! We lose our voice along the way. The identity we have developed over the years just to have someone tell us “ You need to change a what you wrote.”, or like a few professors will do, give you a flat zero. Nothing kills your spirit more than walking into class with this extremely long paper you've been working on just to turn it in and receive nothing but x's and scribbles all over it. As incoming college students we strive and crave uniqueness in everything! From our clothes style, down to the way we write. Many first year composition students have had a difficult time developing their own distinct voice. We are always trying to include as much of our voice into our writing, but is there really such thing as a unique voice, or is it just a reflection of what others are asking for? Those who crave to set themselves apart find that a voice must be flexible, so how is our voice altered by different situations and environments?

Developing the Writing Voice

Our voice is our identity, so how do we make sure that it isn't being torn from us? Bruce Lee, a student, a mentor and one of the most influential and inspirational people of his time stated in an interview with Pierre Berton that, “one must be formless, shapeless like water, you put water into a cup it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle it becomes the bottle, water can flow or it can crash.”(Bruce Lee 1971) Bruce Lee applied his philosophy into his martial arts career and his personal life. Through the years he has been able to influence others and even help first year students like ourselves, realize that we must not limit ourselves. Writers must be able to identify his or her own weaknesses and work towards developing them so that they may be able to mold themselves into any situation. Much like Bruce Lee, the author of “Looking and Listening for my Voice,” Toby Fulwiler, describes voice in writing by stating that, “even the most authentic voice-clearly changes so much, according to who is listening and why.”(Fulweiler 218) As a FYC student who craves singularity, having multiple voices can often be hard to maintain. Regardless of our never ending quest for distinctiveness, we still find that our voices need to adjust and the way we tailor our voice to fit into varying situations is where we believe our true voice lays. They way we develop that voice is how we are able to portray ourselves onto paper. As FYC students we must not feel that our voice is being stripped from us by teachers, but rather nurtured to help it grow. It’s as David Bartholomae wrote in, “Inventing the University” where he suggests that students write in a form that molds into what a specific audience is looking for. They not only find common ground with the audience, but also understand their argument. He states that one must “learn to speak our language, to speak as we do, to try the peculiar way of knowing.” (Bartholomae 4) It is a skill that is acquired throughout college life. He states it is a lesson taught from the beginning. One has to learn to write and alternate voices throughout their work.

During our discussion about voice students were confused as to what voice really was. For instance voice means something different to everyone and the term “voice” itself can be vague and confusing. Peter Elbow the author of “The Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries” states that terms like “style, ethos, and persona, are all terms that are better at helping the reader define differences between character in text and character in the author”(Elbow 183). However we must not completely disown the concept of voice in writing. It does have its uses and can be a valuable tool in certain types of writing. We believe that some people that can effectively write with voice give their writing a sense of liveliness, and make their writing sound like an actual person. This type of writing gives it more meaning to the reader and helps the readers by not having to work as hard to understand the message being conveyed. Yet Elbow believes that we mustn't argue about how voice is used and if voice really exists. The quote by Elbow that states “We benefit from both metaphors or lenses and we lose out if either is outlawed,”(Elbow 176) helps determine that voice must be balanced and that their is no right or wrong when it comes to proving or disproving voice. When students feel their voice being stripped from them, they must realize that they are actually developing themselves and in some sorts gaining insight into themselves.

Entering and Leaving college

When we enter college we have certain ideas and optimism that is soon crushed by demands. Who influences how you think? Why do we do we it? Often because a criteria or deadline that needs to be met. When we write we are forced by professors or teachers to write a certain way rather than the way we want to. Kim Brian Lovejoy, author and english professor, believes in giving students the freedom to write. In her article, “Self Directed Writing: Giving Voice to Student Writers” , she speaks about the different types of students there are and how everyone's personalities are different. Everyone comes from a different background so we can't expect everyone to share same ideas or be identical. Students should be able to write freely about topics they desire. “I invite students to explore their language as they write, the language that is most natural and comfortable, as well as the varieties they know or have heard but may not have used as writers.This is their opportunity to write about topics that matter to them in ways that seem fitting and natural” ( Lovejoy 83) A criteria shouldn't disable a student's self identity. She encourages students to express themselves in their writing to where they enjoy it rather than it being a drag.

Joining the Conversation

All these authors provide insight into what they believe voice is, how it is developed and the way it changes, yet they did not mention how the students feel about this change. Do they acknowledge it or is something that happens without intention? Does the level of education a student have matter? In order to fill this gap in our research we set out to interview students from a broad range of levels.

We asked current students at the University of Texas Rio-Grande Valley about their personal experiences with writing at a college level. Based on the freshmen to graduate students asked most agreed that settings do alternate your personality. We become different people in a school environment , but when we are left to communicate through social media our true voice is shown. The college freshmen we spoke to stated , “Of course, there is a strict line between school and social life… I don’t think it would be appropriate to lack that professionalism in a writing assignment.” On social media we express our feelings differently than on paper. For example we use acronyms like OMG! or LOL! We found that a lot of students have changed their opinions and actions because of the judgment we receive on a daily basis in school. Yes, some students could see this is as a good thing; a way to expand their ideas. One other student stated “… Sometimes criticism can be looked at a positive way depending on the person. To me criticism is a way of building my confidence back up . It can help me to become a better writer and my writing skills have improved dramatically.” This issue we focused on was the different situations students have faced, but it has been demonstrated that most students(like ourselves) have had to adopt others opinions.

We were able to find that the students we interviewed already had a sense of how their voices were being developed. The students did not feel as if their voice was being taken away but rather saw it as it being sculpted. Throughout the range of education levels they always seemed aware that they change their voice. For example when interviewing a UTRGV senior, he was asked whether their voice had to change to meet certain expectations, he answered “I feel like I would have to change if it is necessary because not all audiences are the same. Depends what I'm talking about and the topic.” You would think that a freshman would have answered differently, assuming that the first two years we are learning to adapt to the demands of college life. In reality the freshmen students possess this trait early in their college life. The former college student states that, “for certain people you have to lower your vocabulary for them to understand, and I talk at a higher grade level with people that are also at the same level.” As a college graduate he has been exposed to the changing demands of college level writing and is able to understand that our writing is not stagnant but is always flowing or changing.

This flow that we speak of can be defined as development as well. Your voice will flow, you gain knowledge and you will grow. Writing is not supposed to be one basic voice, did you maintain the same voice you had in your middle school to what you had in high school? No? So how is it possible to expect to write the same? Our interviewees acknowledged that voice is developed. Our freshman stated “ there's always an ability to enrich and develop with time.” While our former student added “one must improve so that one can blend with the demands of college level writing.” They seem to understand that their voice is changing in order to mold into the demands of college.

Coping with Change

So why is it that as students we feel that part of our voice is being pilfered from us when we write? We set out to answer this burning and as we went along with our research we started discovering a pattern that led us to a new question that would help us come to a conclusion for our first question. From professional teachers writing scholarly articles, to fellow students in our university and the long-lasting impressions of one of the greatest mixed martial arts teachers showed us that as students we must learn to be flexible and understanding. So now we asked, how was it that a certain situation could change our voice so drastically that it made us feel as if our voice was being torn from our papers? We learned that we must change our writing and craft it so that it fits into any situation or audience. Almost like a singer that takes singing lessons, the singer practices by stretching their vocal cords so that they can reach new tones. As students we must also learn that the way we tailor and edit our own writing is what ultimately makes it our own. As students we all crave uniqueness and to stand apart from the crowd and shine. However when a situation demands that we change we must do so and do it correctly, and if we don't we risk losing the attention of the reader or the audience. So the next time you think a part of you is somehow being taken away, just think about out it for a minute and realize that you are not losing your voice, rather you are developing the one you already have and gaining new ones.

References

Bartholomae, David. “Inventing the University.” 1985. Cross-Talk in Comp Theory: A

Reader. 2nd Ed. Ed. Victor Villanueva. Urbana: NCTE, 2003. Print.

Elbow, Peter. “Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries”. College English 70.2 (2007): 168–188. Web…

Fulwiler, Toby. “Looking and Listening for My Voice”. College Composition and Communication 41.2 (1990): 214–220. Web…

Lovejoy, Kim Brian. “Self-directed Writing: Giving Voice to Student Writers”. The English Journal 98.6 (2009): 79–86. Web

Stetson, Maura. “Freedom of Voice”. The English Journal 85.6 (1996): 74-78. Web…

"THE LOST INTERVIEW." Interview by Pierre Berton. The Lost Interview. N.p., 1975. Web. 14 Apr. 2016.