Voice is connected to personal experience and our ability to make meaning of that experience. In other words, it’s what makes us human.

A sense of panic set in as I realized that somehow, I knew almost nothing about essay writing.

The abyss is not specific to professional writers—students experience it, too, often getting stuck before they’ve even started a writing assignment.

I tell students that in writing, voice includes details and perspective of our lived experiences, and the meaning we make from them.