Essay Writing (Content): 1st Person Voice

Wednesday, January 30, 2019

1st Person Voice

Page 3

Defining “Voice”

I’m sure that at some point in your academic writing career you have heard about ‘voice,’ but more than likely it was confusing to you as the instructor threw out terms such as 1^st person, 2^nd person, and 3^rd person voice.

There is more to voice than just the pronoun usage in the writing, but we must start there.

Defining 1^st Person Voice

1^st person voice will NOT be used in academic writing—unless—your instructor specifically states that it will work for the assignment.

1^st person voice is when you refer to yourself—in 1^st person—using “I,” “Me,” or “My”.

This type of voice can work for a narrative-style essay, and if done well, can hold a reader’s attention as you retell your narration (story).

The reason 1^st person is acceptable in narration is that it is about you—a story—and if it is written in 3^rd person point of view, it comes off awkward and strange.

Discussion Board Writing

A mix of voice styles

When writing in the Discussion Boards for online classes, you will often use 1^st person voice, and this is perfectly fine. You are reflecting on a reading, an advertisement, a writing, or a video. However, when you are presenting your feelings and ideas and you bring the resources to defend why you feel that way, you must shift to 3^rd person voice.

I highly suggest practicing 3^rd person voice as often as you can. However, when writing from the personal perspective, 1^st person voice works well.

A Discussion Board post in an online class is NOT an essay. Even though I will remind you time and time again to write in our 3-part-layout (introduction, body, and conclusion groupings), this does not mean that you are crafting an essay. This means that you are crafting writing that leads in, presents, and leads out. No matter your field-of-study, you will always write in a 3-part-layout.