Introduction
Who am I as a writer?
I consider myself to be a mostly academic writer. Granted, academic writing is what I have gained the most experience in over the last four years, but also what I have developed most in. As an academic writer, I work mostly in the disciplines classified as the humanities and social sciences. More specifically, I write most often in the disciplines of sociology and German. These disciplines represent two academic discourse communities that I am a part of. The goal of this portfolio is to show my growth in mastery of social science and humanities writing, particularly within the disciplines of sociology and German. Another goal of this writing portfolio is to show my adaptability as a writer--I am confident in working in a variety of genres, especially those that pertain directly to my fields. An analogy that represents what I hope to achieve through this writing portfolio is that of a barista who has learned to create delicious cups of coffee that are beyond the cream and sugar. Much like the currently-popular concept of latte art, I hope to show my sophistication and skills as a writer through my creations--by using words instead of blonde roast (but while probably also enjoying some).
How did I get here?
Fellow writer Terry Pratchett can be quoted as follows: “If you do not know where you come from, then you don't know where you are, and if you don't know where you are, then you don't know where you're going.” My portfolio is designed to span my growth as a writer and “map my trajectory”. The portfolio relies on early pieces to set the stage and serve as cornerstones, while simultaneously pointing out that the destination has not yet been reached and there is still ample room for growth. Ideally, a reader should be able to view my early and more recent pieces and chart the growth between them. For example, many of my early German papers are shorter than the later examples; as my confidence and language proficiency have increased, paper length and complexity have increased to match. As my vocabulary and grammatical knowledge have expanded, so has the sophistication of my German writing.
My hope is that you will see in particular my mastery of two genres, or forms/structures/styles of writing that are relevant in a specific context. The two genres I want to highlight in my portfolio are literature review sections of research articles and literary analysis essays. This type of writing is what I have focused on primarily in upper-level classes; I’ve learned how to write in these genres for the discourse communities, or audiences who share common knowledge, terminology and interest in a subject, of sociology and German.
What does my writing look like?
I am a member of at least two discourse communities, which means I often write for different audiences in at least two different fields. These distinct discourse communities are comprised of others who know the concepts and terminology of my discipline and share similarities in terms of writing goals and the use of discipline-specific jargon, which are criteria listed by linguist John Swales as being distinct and necessary for a discourse community. For each community, the goal is to participate in a conversation about a topic within the discipline. In order to participate in scholastic discussion as a member of these communities, I rely on discipline-specific jargon that supports my writing by being meaningful within the field. In sociology, examples of such terms are “the sociological imagination”, the “micro” level and the “macro” level of societal study, and the “functionalist” and “symbolic interactionist perspectives”, etc. In German, such terms may be “Bildungsroman” or “Gesellschaft”. Such terminology acts as a key-word or touchstone for other members of the community and allows me to share ideas in a way that both peers and professor can understand.
These communities also share some similarities in terms of the writing itself, such as having an argumentative element or thesis. Much of my writing is argumentative and evidence-based, relying on research studies or works of literature to develop and support my position. Within both of my discourse communities, I execute argumentative writing by first deciding on a topic and gathering evidence from sources, then using source information to inform and develop my position.
In the sociology community, the genre I write in most often is the literature review. The conventions of this genre require me to take the discourse of scholars in the field of sociology in the form of research articles and create a conversation between them. By doing so, I can provide a summary of existing research and simultaneously provide exigence by pointing out gaps in the literature for further research.
In the German community, my writing often takes the form of analytical essays that are usually examining one or more elements of literature. These literary analysis essays rely on the knowledge of the German language for discourse and, more specifically, the language used to analyze works of literature in German. The goals of my German writing are to hone my language ability and gain further access to this community of scholars as well as providing a critical review of material pertaining to the discipline in essay form.
Also included in my portfolio are examples from general education classes that I have taken such as my First Year Seminar, Introduction to African Religion class and Introduction to Journalism. I have included pieces from these courses to show my writing development outside of sociology and German, as I am an Interdisciplinary Writing Minor. Skills that I have developed that are showcased in some of these pieces are thesis development and organization.
My Voice--Loud and Clear?
The idea of voice in writing is defined by Ken Hyland (2012) as something that “acknowledges the authorized ways of speaking as a community member”. Voice is reader-oriented and makes meaning within the discourse community. Essentially, voice is a way of presenting writing in order to gain and maintain respect within a discourse community. Voice can involve the aforementioned use of jargon to connect readers through discourse, or it can be enacted through taking a stance.
In my writing, voice is a shifting concept. For my academic, research-oriented pieces, my voice mostly comes through via use of jargon and hedging. When making an argument, I am aware and try to make the reader aware of the specific context surrounding my argument, bearing in mind that there are possible counter-arguments and points of disagreement or certain circumstances in which my argument takes place. Because this is the case, I use hedge words such as “usually”, “often”, “mostly” or “in this case” to frame my argument in context. I also hedge my writing to show respect for those in my disciplines who have greater credentials than I do currently.
As previously mentioned, my “voice” shifts when I’m writing, primarily because I am able and asked to think critically in more than one language. A game-changing moment for me in writing was taking the advice of one German professor to compose entirely in German. No translating, no thinking in English, just compiling my thoughts on the play or poem or historical time period in German. Honestly, that advice was very scary at the time because I felt so limited in terms of expressing myself in another language as a sophomore undergraduate.
The language I am writing in not only influences my thinking and composing process, but also the final outcome--when writing in German, I tend to use more directive statements or to discuss the events and characters of a novel in a matter-of-fact way. Though the writing process for German papers is less straightforward, I propose that the outcome is more straightforward than papers for other classes. Overall, my voice in writing is reflective of the audience and circumstances, as is my writing in general.
It is my sincere hope that this compilation of my writing shows you how I have grown and changed as a writer throughout my undergraduate career. My writing is continually being shaped by my interests and experiences, especially by writing to audiences in sociology and German and also by the genre in which I am writing. Thank you for taking the time to read this introduction, and I hope you enjoy my work.