Style vs. Error

Today we went over an essay in class. I thought it was very well-written and presented her ideas well for the most part, but it got me thinking; why did I find this essay to be so well written? I thought that because she wrote in a tone which was academic but not overly complicated and because her thoughts were clear, she did a good job. Many of her sentences were simple and easy to read and represented her voice. Interestingly enough, her essay was on the importance of voice in writing. She argued that while it is important to include citations from other sources to strengthen your argument, the strength of the essay relied on the analysis and thought of the writer, or his or her voice. I think this is a very important and relevant point to the class as a whole. When we begin working in the writing center, we are trying to help students convey their voice. We want them to have opinions rather than to simply re-hash information that they have already learned in class. Not only will the clarification of their argument help improve their essays, but in the long-run will help them become better thinkers. Many students have the ability to summarize effectively, but it takes a higher caliber of thinking to convey one's voice in his or her essay.