Use of personal voice in english (1 Viewer)

[topdeck]

I was wondering if any of you could help me with a question i have in relation to both Advanced English and Ex 1. At the moment, both my teachers are saying that the rules of HSC english have changed, and now all essays have to be written in a personal voice, i.e. "I belive..." "we can see...". I was taken aback when they told me this, and when i went to confirm with them they were like "I know why this is weird for you. All throughout school we've told you NEVER to write in a personal voice. But the requirements have changed, and you'll get marked down if you don't do it.

I just wanted to see if any one else has been told this? It seems strange to me that they would make essays be written this way and i'm not sure how reliable my teachers are....

Any comments would be greatly appreciated!

 

[sle3pe3bumz]

well I do use things like "We can see .. " but i never use "I".

How have you set out your essays ?

 

[Triangulum]

My impression of it in my HSC year was that you'd use 'I think...' if the question is along the lines of 'What is your personal opinion of X?', but not in a question like 'Explain the significance of character Y's depiction in Book Z'. So you'd use personal voice in a question asking for your personal response. If your teacher's saying that guidelines have changed, though, I'd suggest trawling the Board of Studies site and seeing if you can find anything.

 

[z600]

hummm..havent heard of that before, where did the teacher get the info from?

 

[Forbidden.]

well I do use things like "We can see .. " but i never use "I".

How have you set out your essays ?

Depending on the question, generally you use third-person.
In last year's HSC English AOS Paper 1, the question for Section III was:

"More than anything else, physical journeys are about the interpretation of the new.
Do you agree?
Argue your point of view.
In your answer, refer to your prescribed text, ONE text from the prescribed stimulus booklet, Journeys, and at least ONE other related text of your own choosing."

Then first-person can be used, or a "personal voice" to argue your point of view.

 

[shaaali]

we havnt heard anything about it either...

i'll ask my teacher come monday.