TY - JOUR
T1 - Voice in academic writing
T2 - The rhetorical construction of author identity in blind manuscript review
AU - Matsuda, Paul Kei
AU - Tardy, Christine M.
PY - 2007
Y1 - 2007
N2 - Some researchers have argued that voice is irrelevant to academic writing and that the importance of voice has been overstated in the professional literature [Helms-Park, R., & Stapleton, P. (2003); Stapleton, P. (2002)]. To investigate whether and how a socially oriented notion of voice-defined as "the amalgamative effect of the use of discursive and non-discursive features that language users choose, deliberately or otherwise, from socially available yet ever-changing repertoires" [Matsuda, P.K. (2001)]-plays a role in academic writing, this study examined the construction of an author's discursive identity by peer reviewers in a simulated blind manuscript review process for an academic journal in the field of rhetoric and composition. The analysis of the written reviews as well as interviews with the two reviewers and the manuscript author indicated that the reviewers' constructions of the author's voice are related to their stance toward the author. The findings suggest that voice does play a role in academic writing and that there is a need for further research into the issue of identity construction from the perspectives of both writers and readers.
AB - Some researchers have argued that voice is irrelevant to academic writing and that the importance of voice has been overstated in the professional literature [Helms-Park, R., & Stapleton, P. (2003); Stapleton, P. (2002)]. To investigate whether and how a socially oriented notion of voice-defined as "the amalgamative effect of the use of discursive and non-discursive features that language users choose, deliberately or otherwise, from socially available yet ever-changing repertoires" [Matsuda, P.K. (2001)]-plays a role in academic writing, this study examined the construction of an author's discursive identity by peer reviewers in a simulated blind manuscript review process for an academic journal in the field of rhetoric and composition. The analysis of the written reviews as well as interviews with the two reviewers and the manuscript author indicated that the reviewers' constructions of the author's voice are related to their stance toward the author. The findings suggest that voice does play a role in academic writing and that there is a need for further research into the issue of identity construction from the perspectives of both writers and readers.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.esp.2006.10.001
DO - 10.1016/j.esp.2006.10.001
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:33847660128
VL - 26
SP - 235
EP - 249
JO - English for Specific Purposes
JF - English for Specific Purposes
SN - 0889-4906
IS - 2
ER -