So, I’m wondering about audience (which voice is highly dependent upon). Should we teachers have students write for various audiences? Elbow suggests writing for different teachers and friends, and Woodworth suggests writing for grandparents, friends, coworkers, etc. I just wonder about this at the college level. I think I’d feel cheated in a way, as a freshman, if I was told to write to Grandma when I should be practicing to write for Dr. So And So. Then again, if the pedagogy was explicit, if students were told that they were writing this way to try out their voice for different audiences, maybe then it would make sense to them? I wonder…
I wonder if I could have my students write about this and get their feedback? Is that appropriate? Is that reasonable? Could I ask such a thing of freshmen? Of course, the sample is skewed because these students have had me for six weeks, and I haven’t focused on audience any more than they are preparing to write for an academic audience.
But if we’re only preparing students for academic writing, what good is that? I mean, does the world need another million academics every year?
No, we should be teaching students to write with authority. So, the question is, does writing for different audiences (e.g., friends, grandparents, teachers) help students find their authority?
The answer is absolutely yes, though I realize your class is long over by now. Writing to various audiences allows the writer to be all the things that the writer may be. Sticking to a strictly academic voice is not enough. It’s a regular topic of discussion among myself and my minority colleagues. Many of us have considered it a tragic loss of our authentic selves, forcing our minds into such tongues, and yet, it is certainly necessary to strive for the discourse and symbols that your audience will recognize and resepct, when writing on academic themes.
I’ve found epistolary and poetic forms very helpful for all kinds of writing. Creative writing, in general, is a great entry point to developing one’s voice. It doesn’t matter if it’s a grandparent or not. What matters is that the audience is someone or some people that are important to the writer for whatever reason…
Tina is right, writing to various audiences will be a good choice.