As a college senior, I’ve written more essays, papers, and discussion posts than I can count. The one lesson that stands out the most is writing isn’t just about following rules. It’s about finding the right voice. We’re told not to use “I” in our writing, to remove ourselves for the sake of objectivity, but as Kate McKinney Maddalena explains in “I Need You to Say ‘I’,” using the first person enhances our objectivity and brings intellectual integrity to our work.
There’s power in showing up on the page. Writing in the first person doesn’t weaken your argument, but instead clarifies your stance and invites readers to engage with your perspective. Take scientific writing as an example. Maddalena notes that scientists increasingly use “I” or “we” to acknowledge the “observer effect.” This is a reminder that research is shaped by who we are and what we bring to the table, just like writing. This shift away from the passive voice is both about transparency and honesty. When I say “I argue,” I’m taking responsibility for the words on the page.
Beyond finding your own voice, being part of a writing community plays a huge role in shaping how you write. John Swales taught me the idea of the “discourse community,” that we’re never just writing in a vacuum. Whether it’s a classroom, workplace, or online forum, communities have their own goals, language, and ways of communicating. Swales focuses on six characteristics that define a discourse community, such as how shared goals and specialized language create a space where ideas can flourish. This is exactly what we do in college–learn the rules, the genres, the lexis of various academic communities. But in order to really make an impact, we have to add our voice to that space.
Writing the words isn’t just about stringing together sentences with perfect grammar. It’s about showing authentically in our writing and striking balance between our voice and the expectations of the communities we write for. As a first-generation, Dominican-American, and queer woman navigating academia, I’ve come to appreciate how my background shapes my perspective. It allows me to approach texts and discussions with my unique lens. My voice might not always align with the mainstream, but it adds a freshness to the conversation.
In the end, writing is a negotiation between personal voice and community expectations. It’s about knowing to assert “I” and when to lean into the shared goals of the discourse community. What I’ve learned as a college English major is that writing that right words isn’t about fitting into a mold but about finding your voice and letting it be heard in the spaces that matter.
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