The Role Of Identity In Academic Writing

When creative writing comes to mind, people generally do not think of it relating directly with academic writing. However, creative writing can benefit authors by introducing various techniques to insert identity into academic papers. Typically, lecturers teach students that identity should never be present in academic writing, but in reality, “identity is always present in writing… the idea that any writing can be disconnected from identity is absurd” (Williams, 712). Without it, the paper loses that touch of cultural diversity. Identity also represents those who simply write because they are extremely passionate about it. With it, the article can provide the reader with an “experience” that can be “as thrilling and inspiring as a symphony …show more content…
Essentially, the technical or emotional skills “apply to all kinds of writing… the experience of writing in all disciplines and genres is similar” (McVey, 290). However, Antoniou points out that “academic writing, even … in its formative stages… is always required to appear polished, and is rarely seen by others in a raw and rambling state” (165); it is important to share the scrambled rough stages of the paper with peers. Academic writing is usually presented this way most likely due to time restraints and the need to have it appear more sophisticated. I when I write academic papers and creative papers, there is a distinctly difference progress I use for each one. For academic papers, I try to have it organized, almost polished, and with minimal edits for the first draft. On the other hand, my creative writing rough drafts are all over the place, with phrases scratched out and paragraphs written out of order. I feel as though I have more freedom with the way I write creatively than the way I do with my academic papers. In an interview I conducted with Ashley Yuscavage, creative writing provides a place for “introspection, which academic writing rarely includes. That introspection can help a writer grow as an individual” and have a significant impact on academic writing. By allowing writers to explore themselves, they are able to insert identity and express their thoughts in an academic paper with ease. Through the exploration of the self through creative writing, writers are able to self-reflect. Academic writers should be placed into a setting that would provide the “safety of free expression or a climate of trust and safety in which self-confession is viewed as an important research paradigm” (Hains-Wessen, 329),