The Relationship Between Voice Development and the Quality of EFL Writing: A Study on First-Person Pronouns in the Revision Process

Abstract

This article investigates the formative influence of voice on the argumentative writing performance of intermediate students of English. Its aim is to achieve a better understanding of how the students’ voice develops in the revision process in relation to the rubric and the essay scores. The data consist of Chinese sophomores’ multi-draft essays. As first-person pronouns are the most visible representation of a writer’s voice, this article gives a detailed description of the features and developmental patterns of first-person pronouns (FPPs). The results reveal that revision-induced changes in FPP can be beneficial to the quality of essay writing but only in a limited number of cases if the students are not formally instructed in voice, which carries pedagogical implications to empower students’ self-identity in EFL writing.