Insert Voice in a Last Minute Essay

Deciding on the Voice of an Essay

Most papers are unintentionally written--and it shows. 

The words look like they have been spilled on the page.

Teachers dislike papers that look like they are written without forethought. Of course this is exactly how most papers are written, since time is always a factor. 

Still even with a last minute paper, you can hide that it was a night before paper. The strategy is to plan the voice of your paper before hand. 

Suppose you have an essay to write tonight. Simply go through the list of questions below, answering each—and stick to that plan. Try to imagine the benefit of not only knowing how you are going to write the paper, but also knowing your paper will read more professionally.

Distance from the Reader?
Will I take a stance by directly stating what I think or will my stance be implied by the way I state things. 

For example:
 The government’s economic plan was a failure. 
Versus
The government’s underperforming economic plan...

Pedagogy?
Do I let my reader draw his or her own conclusions or do I make the conclusions for my reader?

Tone?
Will I try to convince my reader using forceful reason or will I assume a more conspiratorial stance? 

The first strategy is directive and you almost imagine a hostile reader. The second approach tries to share your reasoning with the reader (rather than bully them). This is an important choice since it significantly changes the feeling your reader will have (regardless whether they agree with you or not). 

Emotional Colour?
What will be the emotional colour of my essay? Light-hearted? Angry? Cold? Whimsical? Contentious? 

Synthesis or Natural Selection?
Will I attempt to bridge the gap among ideas and try to make them work together or will I be attempting to find why some ideas are superior to others?

Synergy?
Will I approach ideas holistically or reductively? In others words, will I examine how things work together or how they break down?

Direction?
Will I move from a small focus (particular issue) to a larger focus (universal issue) or the other way? 

This choice will determine if the conclusion attempts to apply itself to a wider issue or if the conclusion will use a larger discussion to understand a particular issue? For example, will you be talking about Beagles and suggest what this may mean for dogs or talk about dogs and suggest what this might mean for Beagles?

Best of Luck Folks, 
The Insider