Finding Authorial Voice in Multimodality

This article reports findings from a 2025 study conducted in the second-semester academic literacy module, ALL 125, at the University of Pretoria. It investigates whether integrating reflective writing into the writing process with translanguaging and Generative AI (GenAI)-generated imagery deepens first-year humanities students’ awareness of their authorial voice. Drawing on students’ multimodal assignments, the study examines how narrative reflection, multilingual expression, and visual representation shape understandings of academic writing and disciplinary participation. Findings suggest that this approach promotes inclusive meaning-making, strengthens students’ confidence in the writing process, and supports the emergence of authorial voice. However, its transformative potential is constrained by the generic nature of the academic literacy module and the persistence of institutional monolingualism. The study argues for embedded, multilingual, and multimodal approaches to academic literacy that more closely align with disciplinary contexts.