What is a boundary?
In this particular context, the boundary we are talking about is not a physical obstacle, but a genre convention. Each genre has its own conventions and its the job of the professor to enforce those conventions. In a way, the professors expect their students to follow the conventions of the genre, which ultimately means that the conventions make up some part of their (the audience’s) expectations. However, oftentimes those conventions (if too strictly implemented) limit students’ creativity and individual voice.
Students have become conditioned through their years of schooling to write in a certain way. They put their grades above their creativity and as a result, write standard 5-paragraph essays that sound monotonous and robotic. It may get the job done, but so many students don’t know the value of writing for advancement rather than writing for a grade. They don’t dare use “I” or “we” in their writing because they are afraid to. It isn’t “allowed.” In response to this, I found an article that helps us understand the opposite.
This research article written by the Duke University Writing Studio contains a lot of information on how to use the first person in academic writing and what has been taught in the University about the matter. The article mentions many examples of how the use and non-use of “I” can effectively portray a person’s voice while maintaining a reliable authorial presence. It is aimed at the scholarly writer who struggles with incorporating the right amount of personality in their papers.
So, how do we solve this problem?
Here at Limitless Academy, we strive to give each and every individual the chance to be who they were meant to be. Anyone can be a writer as long as they can put words together, and every writer has a voice. We are here to help you find that voice and use it in your writing. In everything there is a balance and there is a way to balance audience expectation with personal voice.
We will help you push the boundaries set by the convention and help you write with voice while staying within the genre. You just need to push far enough to add your own flavor to the mix but not go over into an entirely different genre.
For more information, please email us at limitless@gmail.com or check out the Contact Us page on this blog. Together we can break the mindless voiceless formula writing that has become so common in today’s academics.
