Voice in Textbooks: between Exposition and Argument

Abstract

The notion of voice has been discussed from different perspectives in academic discourse studies, often in relation to discursive identity and self-representation. A major concern has been the formation of student writer identity, with the literature on composition often highlighting the need to show individuality and personal expressiveness in discourse (Bowden, 1995). Literacy studies have also pointed to writers’ need to demonstrate awareness of the discourse practices of their community and to take a stance towards other social codes and voices (Ivanič, 1998), insisting that all writing reinterprets collective voice types in ways that locate users culturally and historically (Ivanič and Camps, 2001). Teachers are asked to draw attention to issues of discursive identity, to the resources we use to project other voices, and to the continuous process of becoming in discourse (Prior, 2001). Educational debate has often centred on different cultural traditions in writing, showing great interest in the potential disadvantage of L2 writers (Ramanathan and Atkinson, 1999) whose individual voice may differ from the experience and expertise of writers from other cultures (Le Ha, 2009). Many have warned against a tendency to associate voice with individualism and to overlook the voices of L2 writers (Matsuda, 2001; Hirvela and Belcher, 2001), in line with critical approaches to the multiplicity of voices manifested by each writer.