Identity In Writing

Identity is a set of qualities that make a person or thing who/what they are. According to Villanueva’s “Writing Provides a Representation of Ideologies and Identities” people carry many identities. These different identities are specific to the audience, context, and/or the task in a specific situation. An example is writing to a professor you would be the student. Compared to writing to an audience about something you are knowledgeable about. Another example of this could be writing about politics. In this situation you could identify with different parties and explain your views on them. James Berlin, who is a compositionist explains that there are three conceptions on how writing works. The first being reflective which means a mirror of objective reality. The second is intentional, which is conveying what the author wants to express so that the reader can understand their intention. The third way writing works is or as or as constructed. In this way there is deliberation with the writer and their views on things and the readers’ views as well. Students often accept or agree with the first two ways of how writing works. Overall, identity can be discovered through writing and expressed through it as well.