Just as speakers transmit emotion through voice, writers can transmit a range of attitudes through writing, from excited and humorous to somber and critical. These emotions create connections among the audience, the author, and the subject, ultimately building a relationship between the audience and the text.

A friend who tells you about her weekend may speak excitedly about a fun skiing trip. An instructor who means business may speak in a low, slow voice to emphasize her serious mood. Or, a coworker who needs to let off some steam after a long meeting may crack a sarcastic joke.

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Saying each writer has a unique voice does not mean that each writer has a radically different style from anyone else. In academic writing, voice comes down to small habits and personal preferences. Think about it this way: if all the students in your class were told to explain a complex concept, none of them would do it in the same way.

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Voice refers to elements of the author’s tone, phrasing, and style that are recognizably unique to her or him. Having a distinctive, persuasive voice is crucial to engaging your audience — without it, your paper risks falling flat, no matter how much research you’ve compiled or how well you’ve followed other directions.

As a writer, it is important to know your audience and to consider which content will be appropriate for that audience. Once you have determined these basic steps in your writing process, you can begin to consider how to shape and develop your voice to be academic and appropriate to the discipline in which you are writing.

Content is also shaped by tone. When the tone matches the content, the audience will be more engaged, and you will build a stronger relationship with your readers. Consider the third grade audience mentioned earlier; you would choose simple content that the audience will easily understand, and you would express that content using an enthusiastic tone.

After selecting an audience and a purpose, you must choose what information will make it to the page. Content may consist of examples, statistics, facts, anecdotes, testimonies, and observations, but no matter the type, the information must be appropriate and interesting for the audience and purpose. An essay written for third graders that summarizes the legislative process, for example, would have to contain succinct and simple content.

For example, you update your status on a social networking site with the awareness of who will digitally follow the post. If you want to brag about a good grade, you may write the post to please family members. If you want to describe a funny moment, you may write with your friends’ senses of humor in mind. Even at work, you send e-mails with an awareness of an unintended receiver who could intercept the message.

the role the audience plays in your writing