Consistent Voice

Using Consistent Voice in Writing

There’s a reason that writers go to such lengths to establish a strong voice for their story, or a neutral voice for their papers. A consistent voice guides a reader’s understanding of a piece of writing.

For instance, in a medieval fantasy European setting, the writer might create a consistent tone by using old-fashioned language (e.g., twas and hitherto), different accents for the different classes (e.g., ‘ello there!), and words that evoke a medieval setting such as tapestry, sabatons, and gallivanting. These choices guide the reader, and help them to understand the writer’s creation. To consistently employ these things is to create a consistent voice.

Fig. 1 - A consistent voice suits your genre.

Imagine if a scholar was really jokey and insouciant in one paragraph of their paper and formal in the next. Imagine if he or she then changed from the second-person (e.g. You might think) to the first-person (e.g. I believe) in the next. Such a paper would be poor, totally lacking a consistent voice.

A consistent voice gives the reader a strong impression of what your piece of writing is like, and keeps them engaged with your writing appropriately. You don't want a reader to feel confused and unsure about what they are reading. A consistent voice keeps the reader looking for laughs in a humorous piece; keeps the reader in France in a novel set in France; and keeps the reader attentive while reading a piece of news.

Difference Between Consistent Voice and Shift in Voice

You might remember “syntax” being a part of voice. When striving for voice consistency at the syntactic level, you want to be certain not to mix the active and passive voice.

Active voice is when you put the subject before the object in a sentence. For example, “I pass the ball” is an active voice construction.

Passive voice is when you put the object before the subject in a sentence. For example, “The ball was passed by me” is a passive voice construction.

In formal writing, avoid the passive voice if you can, and remain consistently active. In any kind of writing, do not mix the active and passive within a single sentence. This is called a voice shift, which is not a good thing to do. Here’s an example.

The first part of this sentence is active, while the second part is passive. Given that this shift is far from necessary, and it doesn’t sound great, here’s a better way.

This is an example of a consistent voice in terms of the active and passive voice.

Note that a subject does not have to be provided in order for the passive voice to exist. The following is still a voice shift, even though it omits "by someone."

To identify the passive voice here, look to the "was-verb" construction. Remember, something is the object if it is acted upon by the verb. Because a yelp is the result of an action, it is the object.

Voice Consistency Rules

Aside from the active and passive voice, you might be wondering what other rules exist regarding a consistent voice. The truth is, though, there are few hard and fast rules when it comes to voice consistency because voice is subjective. Creating a consistent voice is perfecting an art style; it is not following a set of instructions.

That said, here are some tips to help you improve your voice consistency.

• Know your genre. Understand the hallmarks of your genre. Study what others have written in the genre, and see what they did to create a strong impression.

• Know what your audience needs. Figure out ways to make your genre excel for your audience. For essays, use impeccable grammar, never dip into informal language, and use topic-specific words that invite your reader into the space (e.g., referencing literary devices in a literature essay).

• Keep checking back. You want your voice to be consistent from beginning to end. To achieve that, there’s no better way than to compare your writing now to your writing before. See if your writing has remained consistent throughout your work!

Consistent Voice Example and Analysis

Here is an example of a strong, consistent voice from A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court (1889) by Mark Twain. In this story, the main character is Hank, a man from 1889, who takes a blow to the head and appears in 6th-century England. The novel is a satirical, humorous fantasy story, and you can see that plainly even in the following short passage.

When analyzing a passage like this one, first look at the elements of voice. Consider the genre, the narrator, and the characters.

This passage has a voice consistent with its genre: a humorous fantasy. The narrator is the main character, Hank, who is consistently intelligent, cunning, and modern. Hank’s narrative voice is consistent with his character’s dialogue, as seen in his banter with the peasant, who also retains his flowery "medieval" voice.

In sum, Marks Twain's voice is consistently fantastical, humorous, and appropriately modern or medieval depending on the character.

Fig. 2 - Mark Twain uses a consistent voice to show the tension between the medeival knight and the modern yankee.