Written by Bess Chan

Your opinions, or your voice, are important in academic writing. To show your voice, you’re generally advised to first read your sources critically, including asking questions about the texts and making critical notes, and then formulate your paragraphs using the PEEL structure, adding evaluative language, and synthesising source information.

What if you are at the stage of revising or proofreading a piece of academic writing? How can you effectively check whether your writing is insufficiently critical and needs more of your voice and evaluation? Here are a few things you can do to check your work:

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Check the paragraph first – what is it mostly doing?

Examine each sentence closely to identify its function. Is it showing:

• a description
• a piece of evidence
• an analysis (e.g., interpretation of evidence and significance of source information)
• or an evaluation (e.g., strengths, weaknesses, and implications)?

If your paragraph consists mostly of description and evidence, it is descriptive, and you’ll need to add more analysis and evaluation. Although examining each sentence can be quite tedious, this step is an effective way to see whether a paragraph reflects your voice.

Find out more about paragraph structure here.

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Identify where to add your voice

Some students may rely too much on evidence to explain a point. Ask yourself these two questions:

• Have I added a follow-up explanation after a citation?
• Have I ended a paragraph with a conclusion rather than a reference?

If your answer to either question is “no”, consider adding one of the following to demonstrate your voice:

• Explain why the evidence matters
• Evaluate how convincing it is
• Compare it to alternative views or contrasting evidence
• Connect it to the argument

For example, if using the evidence “Several studies indicate that assessment feedback improves student performance in subsequent assessments (Smith, 2020; Brown, 2026)”, you can add your voice in the following ways:

• Explain why the evidence matters:
  Several studies indicate that assessment feedback improves student performance in subsequent assessments (Smith, 2020; Brown, 2026). This evidence matters because it highlights feedback as an active factor in performance improvement, suggesting that without meaningful engagement with feedback, students may struggle to progress.

• Evaluate how convincing it is:
  Several studies indicate that assessment feedback improves student performance in subsequent assessments (Smith, 2020; Brown, 2026). The consistency of findings across both studies strengthens this claim; however, the sample size of these studies may not be large enough to generalise the results.

• Compare it to alternative views or contrasting evidence:
  Several studies indicate that assessment feedback improves student performance in subsequent assessments (Smith, 2020; Brown, 2026). However, Jones (2023) and Lee (2024) argue that feedback has limited impact unless students are trained in feedback literacy, suggesting that feedback alone may not automatically lead to improved performance.

• Connect it to the argument:
  Several studies indicate that assessment feedback improves student performance in subsequent assessments (Smith, 2020; Brown, 2026). This pattern suggests that feedback not only justifies a grade but also actively guides students to recognise gaps in their understanding and adjust their learning strategies. Therefore, feedback functions as a key mechanism for enhancing learning because it enables students to make targeted improvements over time.

Find out more about voice in academic writing here.

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Realise that your voice does not have to start with “I”

Students who are not familiar with academic style may assume only sentences beginning with “I” show their voice. However, “I” is generally not accepted in academic writing, as it is too subjective in tone. Instead, third-person pronouns like “it” and “they”, as in “it means” or “they imply”, should be used when you make an evaluation, weigh evidence, or draw reasoned implications.

If you feel uncomfortable showing your voice without the first-person pronoun “I”, try to write a sentence that begins with “I think” or “I believe” first. After writing the whole sentence, remove “I think” or “I believe” and qualify the sentence by adding hedges (e.g. could, would, likely, possibility, and appear to), boosters (e.g. must, absolutely, definite, and certainty), and attitude markers (e.g. surprisingly, significant, critical, and desirable).

Find out more about ways to show subtle differences in evaluation here.

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Review your work against a checklist

Before submitting your work, ask yourself:

• Have I explained why this evidence matters?
• Have I evaluated how strong or limited the claim is?
• Have I linked this paragraph back to my overall argument?
• Does the paragraph show my reasoning, not just my reading?

If the answer is “no” to more than one question, you should revise your work to ensure your voice is clear.

Lastly, if you’re unsure whether you’ve written critically, I encourage you to book 1-2-1 meetings with me, Bess Chan, your London-based EAP Tutor, via email or the booking form.