The theme of this week’s blog post is a writer’s identity and authority. In my opinion, a writer’s identity is always evolving. A writer’s identity is compiled of various aspects of human existence. A few examples of areas of life that impact a writer’s identity are personal history, familial relationships, friendships, societal experiences, personality, interests, etc.. With that said, we are always experiencing life at all times, even when we are sleeping which means we are (hopefully) always growing and changing. When it comes to writing, a writer’s identity can also be shaped by their earliest memories of learning how to write. Some people may claim to not like writing or feel as though they are not “good” at it because of their history. The red marks on their short stories in fourth grade or the vague comments on their five paragraph essay in eighth grade may have instilled beliefs that they are not good at writing.
I really grabbed onto the idea that articles/other pieces covering the same topic are viewed as conversation not just supporting sources. I guess in my experience learning to write, I always felt like I had no authority and had to mostly agree with what I was reading. The concepts of student and teacher or author and reader always made me think my thoughts were not correct because I didn’t have the same authority. I never considered that many articles are just opinions supported by research but that doesn’t necessarily mean it is the only opinion/answer. Of course, I am fully aware that there are always different opinions and perspectives on various issues but when in relation to academic writing, I never feel like I have any authority to be speaking on a subject. Additionally, using conflicting claims to form my own definition was never really presented to me and I was always just on the same wavelength as Janet as far as picking one that supported my ideas and utilizing that definition.
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