what "voice" means in an essay - Foothill College

what "voice" means in an essay
"Voice" in an essay means the writer, as a unique human being, is heard/present in the writing. The essay has
personality. Voice is achieved through the writer's use of personal stories (if appropriate to the assignment),
insights, word choice, connections made, emotions expressed, and more.
The essay sample below has NO voice. Though the sentence skills are good, the writing is
essentially only a cut and paste from the sources; the writer, as a person, is not present. The
audience sees clearly that the writer has no emotion for or involvement in the topic.
Literacy is a subject many people write about. Malcolm X, Richard Rodriguez, and David Raymond all share their
experiences with reading and writing.
Malcolm X, Rodriguez, and Raymond found reading and writing difficult. Malcolm X in The Autobiography of
Malcolm X can't write or read. He says, "words might as well have been in Chinese.” Rodriquez in Hunger of Memory wasn't
encouraged by his parents to read and is confused in school. He needed to “look up whole paragraphs of words in a dictionary."
Raymond in "On Being 17, Bright, and Unable to Read” couldn't even read his name. He didn't know words written on the board
and says he was embarrassed: "I just felt dumb. And dumb was how the kids treated me."
The writers are motivated to improve their literacy skills by another person. Malcolm X was inspired by Bimbi, a
fellow inmate. He says, “...Bimbi...made me feel envy of his stock of knowledge.” Rodriquez was guided by a teacher in his school,
a nun. He recalls, “I smiled just to listen to her.” Raymond feels better when he goes to a summer camp and learns other kids have
reading problems. He is most inspired by learning that famous people, like Einstein, had reading problems.
The two samples below have voice: the writing is powerful/emotional and each writer, as a
person, is clearly present in the text. The audience sees that the writer cares deeply about the
topic.
Most people in the world have problems with literacy but tend to try and hide the fact. Some of us read faster, some
listen better, and others do well in math. But we all deal with problems learning. Literacy has been standing in the way of people's
lives for many years. Literacy can break you or make you. I have had problems with reading and writing, and I share common
experiences with well-known people who dealt with their own literacy experiences.
In the Autobiography of Malcolm X, he talks about his literacy problems; David Raymond published "On Being 17
Bright and Unable to Read" to talk about his problems with literacy, and Thomas Cottle wrote "Overcoming an Invisible
Handicap," in which he tells a story of a woman, Lucille Elmore, who went back to school to overcome her literacy problems.
These people are basically telling my life story.
I started to realize that I had problems with literacy early on in school. I was afraid to read. It was the only thing I was
afraid of growing up. That's why Raymond's article really stood out to me. He would try to get away from reading. I still do that (so
don't call on me!). Raymond says, "It was embarrassing and I felt dumb." I can relate to that; it hurts to not be able to express
yourself. Being illiterate drove me to the streets. The streets were my escape from reading and school. Out there I didn't need
school. I learned to be street smart, but it didn't take me far. That part of my life makes me think of Malcolm X.
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School has never been very interesting for me. I’ve always done the bare minimum in order to pass, until I started
college. College was exciting because I didn’t actually have to go. No one was going to call my house and tell my mom that I
didn’t show up. And no one would know if I didn’t pass. Except me. After a couple of semesters of not going and dropping classes,
it all started to catch up to me so I took some time off. Then I started to realize that in order for my life to go where I want, I have
to take initiative. I have to find the motivation in myself to get through school and actually try. Similarly, in an excerpt from
Hunger of Memory by Richard Rodriguez, “I Just Wanna Be Average” by Mike Rose, and “Overcoming an Invisible Handicap” by
Thomas Cottle, the authors all talk about people not being thrilled by school.
Like me, Rodriguez, Rose, and Cottle didn’t always value education. They didn’t make it a priority. Rodriquez didn’t
think reading was important because he never saw his parents read for pleasure. It always seemed to just be a necessity. He said,
“Their reading consisted of work manuals, prayer books, newspapers, recipes…” Rose had learned how to tune out because of the
terrible atmosphere in vocational school. He had the capability to earn good grades but he lost interest and didn’t try. He said, “the
years of defensive tuning out in elementary school had given me a way to escape quickly while seeming at least half alert.” Cottle
talks about Lucille Elmore and how she always thought work was more important than school. She thought that she could just
“…read on her own and make up for any lack of education.” School wasn’t a priority for any of them, and it wasn’t a priority for
me either.

An essay can have voice without a writer's personal information. Writers may not
want to share personal stories, and, for many assignments, personal information is
not appropriate to include. In either situation, personality and originality (voice) can
be expressed with insights, reflections, and, as in the example below, with unique
connections: voice is heard not by personal information but by the continued use of
the metaphors "wings" and "flying."
"I believe I can fly" is a famous song written by R. Kelly, a black singer. This song is about a man
who thinks one day he can be totally free. The “fly” represents freedom. To be able to fly, we need “wings.” So,
what is our "wings"? I didn't know the answer until I read the story of Malcolm X, Richard Rodriguez, and
Lucille Elmore. I found out our "wings" is literacy. Literacy makes them free. Literacy gives them the power to
“fly."
What happen if you don’t have “wings”? In The Autobiography of Malcolm X, Malcolm X went to
school until 8th grade, but he still is unable to read or write. Later, in jail, when he wants to read something,
"nearly all of the words…might as well have been in Chinese." A similar problem happened to Lucille Elmore
in the article “Overcoming An Invisible Handicap,” by Thomas J. Cottle. Elmore finished high school, but when
she was getting older she feels illiterate. She said, “I didn’t know books, I didn’t know history, I didn’t
know…” She couldn't fly. Like Malcolm X and Elmore, Richard Rodriguez has problems with his school and
also at home. In the excerpt from Hunger Of Memory, he was not encouraged to read at home. At school, he
was confused and feels lonely. He recalls, "I needed to look up whole paragraphs of words in a dictionary." This
sentence best represent his poor reading and writing skill during that period of time. These four have the same
big problem, being illiterate. So, how do they find their "wings"?