Whose voice is right when I wright? Identity in academic writing
Date
2016
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
SUN MeDIA
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Paré (2010:40) relates a story of a student who sees the postgraduate journey as
being on a bus and says, “I’m not quite sure yet where it’s going. The scary part is
that I am the one driving the bus.” I, on the other hand, as a mature student who
returned to an academic pursuit after many years, saw my postgraduate journey as
far more arduous than a bus trip. I felt as if I had to summit a mountain, the peak of
which remained shrouded. Every inch of my climb produced further challenges (not
to mention the heady rush of vertigo I experienced most of the time). Sometimes,
I had to retrace my steps to find a safer, easier way to keep up the momentum. At
other times, I was ready to admit that I was no mountaineer and that I had taken
on the impossible. What I found to be the most difficult was to get started; to settle
down and write. Something kept blocking me. It did not mean that I had not read
sufficiently, that my data was inadequate, or that I did not know what I wanted to say;
I simply found starting to write challenging. There is a great deal of advice available
to people who have writer’s block. “Just start writing”, people say cheerfully, “and it
will all come to you”. Others advised, “Write early and write often” (Lee & Aitchison
2009:94). The problem is that it is only once you have found your way on the
mountain, which you eventually do, that this advice makes sense to you.
Description
CITATION: Robertson, C. 2016. Whose Voice is Right when I Write? Identity in Academic Writing, in L. Frick, P. Motshoane, C. McMaster & C. Murphy (eds.). Postgraduate Study in South Africa: Surviving and Succeeding. Stellenbosch: SUN PRESS. 145-155. doi:10.18820/9781928357247/13.
The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.za
The original publication is available from AFRICAN SUNMeDIA - www.sun-e-shop.co.za
Keywords
Universities and colleges -- Graduate work, Education, Higher, Higher education, Scholarly writing
Citation
Robertson, C. 2016. Whose Voice is Right when I Write? Identity in Academic Writing, in L. Frick, P. Motshoane, C. McMaster & C. Murphy (eds.). Postgraduate Study in South Africa: Surviving and Succeeding. Stellenbosch: SUN PRESS. 145-155. doi:10.18820/9781928357247/13.