Elbow Voice in Writing Again Embracing Contraries

When constructing my identity on facebook I am conscious of what kind of image I display for myself. I only make posts if its something I think is important or that people will like. I dont post just to post like a lot of people do. Ive become more conscious of my pictures too. I only post ones that are most important or that I like the best. I think my facebook identity and home identity are pretty much the same. My facebook doesn't have pictures of me doing dumb or silly things because I dont need other people seeing that but obviously my family can see that in a home setting.


Summary: Peter Elbow's Article "Voice in Writing Again.." is about finding a voice in writing. In the beging he shows two sides of voice. The first side is from those that promote having a voice in writing. they say voice is important in texts and we should pay attention to it. the skeptics side is that we dont write with "voice"and that we mistake our selves in writing for a subject standpoint.  The audience in this article are students that are wanting to include their own style into their writing.

Synthesis:  I think Elbow's article could compare to a number of articles we have already read. One that comes to mind is Allen. I think it connects to Allen because she uses a lot of her own voice by adding personal stories to the article. They are discussing completely different topics but the concepts from Elbow about voice are seen n Allen's writing.

QD's

#1. I define voice has having your own opinions in an article. If you have a voice you are advocating for a cause. I think there are lots of definitions for voice. Another one would be to have a voice you are showing your own style. I think this one relates the most to what Elbow is saying. Voice is showing your identity in writing.

#4. I think that Elbow is playing his doubt/ believing game. And he plays it well, he discusses both sides of the argument to the point that its up to you which side you want to believe. The effect is that the audience then has to decide for them selves what the want to listen to.

AE#2 I think when listening to a passage you can focus more on what is being said or the stylistic choices a writer made. When reading the same passage you may be distracted by something little that didn't make since and when your listening you understand more of the big picture. I think listening to a passage could be effective, but at the same time I find listening to a tape sometimes harder to focus on than words on a page. I think the best of both worlds is listening to the passage while following along with the book.

Connecting to other readings.
Kleine says we adapt a scientific voice when we start to discuss facts and research. He says that we need to find a balance between hunting and gathering information, researching information, and discovering new information on their own. Elbow is about finding a voice in writing, when you are balancing the information you are writing about then it is easier to add your own voice in your writing.

MM:  I think its possible for both sides of Elbows voice to exist together. I think in order to achieve this though I believe you would need to focus on one side of voice first and then go back and add the other. One part that made since to me was when he said. " handwriting is more personal and body connected than typing. so handwritten words are often experienced as more voiced.  I think this is true If i write something first it feels like I have written it versus typing it first. I think this is where the balance is though, maybe you write your paper first with the "voice" and then when you are typing add the second " voice"

Thoughts: I thought the first 3 pages were interesting and engaging and then after that it just goes on for ever about reasons for the voice and not for the voice and it seemed really repetitive to me. I think Elbow inital thoughts on the voice and compromise are interesting though and could come in use.