Response to "Voice in Writing..."

            In his article “Voice in Writing Again: Embracing Contraries”, Peter Elbow tries to explain to readers how voice in writing can be used to get a point across. He argues that voice can be used to persuade people in an argument by showing sincerity and resonance.

            This article is similar to the article “Argument as Conversation”. I use this comparison often because when reading these articles I am thinking about how it relates to my project topic. Both of these articles show how one can use arguments, and “Voice in Writing…” is showing how you can use voice to help win an argument.

            I found this article interesting yet confusing. I did not fully grasp the “Either/Or Battle” part, but I found his definitions of sincerity and resonance very helpful. I never thought about creating the illusion of being correct just by being sincere about a certain topic.

Before You Read

1.)

            Constructing an identity on Facebook is mainly done through your “Likes”, photos, friends and statuses. You can make a completely false identity on Facebook if you wanted; there are so many resources on the Internet. You could use pictures of someone else and even say you live in a place where you do not. On Facebook you can virtually be anyone.

Questions for Discussion and Journaling

1.)

            I would define voice as the self of speaking and writing. It is the expression of who you truly are, when you write/speak with your voice you are truly exposed. There are different definitions, anywhere from the literal (the sound produced in your larynx/mouth etc.) to Elbow’s definition. Elbow defines voice as the true self and rhetorical power.

2.)

            Online info graphics are not always voiceless. If they are trying to sell you something they usually are, but sometimes, in cases such as charities and other non-profits, they often have a voice, this voice is usually spoken by someone who has a connection to this subject emotionally. I do agree with Elbow in that we should also practice being voiceless for the transmission of pure information, such as with outlines. I think if we had a voice with these it would be too confusing, they key is to take a voiceless outline and add voice to it in order to expand and make a fully developed paper.

Applying and Exploring Ideas

1.)

            Sincerity is the innocent (or seemingly) persuasiveness. Resonance is the lively filling material. It was kind of difficult defining these terms due to the simplicity I had to use to put each into one sentence.

2.)

            When you listen to a passage rather than reading is silently you get an actual voice. This helps you indentify the sincerity and resonance easier in the material because you can actually hear how the material is spoken. “Ear training” has affected my comprehension a lot because I take into account the way someone says something with the material they say. It adds another dimension to the material. I think “ear training” is a tool that should always be used.

Meta Moment

To not compromise and still use both of his perspectives Elbow says you have to take extremes from both sides and use that to make a mix, you cannot just meet in some middle ground. I believe this to be possible, but it will be much harder and take more work, but will definitely be worth it in the end.