The Ab Fab duo says, "Only the simply marvelous are born with a voice." This suggests that a writer should try on a variety of voices and schemes. In doing so, the student must, Bartholomae says, "appropriate (or be appropriated by) a specialized discourse, as though the writer were easily and comfortably one with the audience, as though the writer were a member of the academy or an historian or an anthropologist or an economist." (Bartholomae 460) These students need to "invent" themselves by "approximating" the discourse they seek to enter. Bartholomae says, "they begin with a moment of appropriation, a moment when they can offer up a sentence that is not theirs as though it were their own. By such approximations students will learn to write their way into a position of privilege." (Yancey xv)
The composition classroom should be a place where various selves are heard and explored. The more writers are able to discover where they have been, where they are, and where they are going, the more enjoyment students will have from writing. (O'Leary 1) In writing, some voices will speak the loudest, drowning out others for a time depending on the circumstance. No matter what, though, voices shift and deepen throughout life.
In the beginning of voice exploration, voice will help connect ideas. An individual's intonation patterns will hold large chunks of discourse together. (Hickey 13) Once voice is established, Hickey says, "organization and coherence often take care of themselves." Papers, then, can be injected with a purer voice -- strong opinions, feelings, and sentiments students are encouraged to put in their writing.
It is important to no dismiss the fact, as Peter Elbow says, that "Voice has nothing to do with the words on a page, voice has to do with the relationship of the words to the writer. Therefore, the same words could have real voice when written by one person and lack it when written by someone else." (Elbow 299) Furthermore, "Real voice is not the sound of an individual personality redolent with vibes, it is the sound of a meaning resonating because the individual consciousness of the writer is somehow fully behind or in tune with that meaning." (Elbow 311)
an interview on why voice is important in the business and technology world