Three Tips for Writing with Personal Voice

By: Alyson Pinkham

Imagine your one hundred something year old science teacher blabbing on about chemical reactions in a continuously monotone voice. Now, think of your spunky English teacher, who made the class laugh with wit and engaged you with heavy sarcasm. That's the difference between writing that lacks, and writing that includes, personal voice.

Having personal voice means you include your own personality in a piece of writing. Having personal voice is vital to making writing read like the words were coming out of your own mouth, or like you are talking to a friend. Here are three tips for ensuring your personal voice stands out.

Tip 1- Use sensory details

Start off over describing everything. Bring the elements of your writing to life. Instead of “the chair” try “the baby blue, rough yet comfortable chair”. Honestly, the more descriptive the better, as long as your description makes sense and emphasizes the significance of the described object.

Tip 2- Use figurative language

Pull out all the tricks here, simile, metaphor, you name it. These comparisons emphasizes the point you are attempting to make. Instead of “I was excited to see her” try “I was more excited to see her than a dog is excited to see their owner after a long day apart”. These comparisons make your personal voice more compelling.

Tip 3- Use exaggeration

Exaggeration plays a key role in ensuring your personal voice can be heard in a paper. Additionally, it can add an element of interest to the paper. Instead of “I worked on the paper for a long time” try “after three coffees, four drafts, and five hours, I finally finished writing my paper”. This helps to emphasize your voice in a paper.

The most important part of personal voice is staying true to yourself. Do not attempt to sound like someone you're not, because your true voice will be lost. Be genuine, and your voice will follow.