not using i in an essay

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How To Avoid Using “We,” “You,” And “I” in an Essay

• Posted on October 27, 2022 October 27, 2022

Maintaining a formal voice while writing academic essays and papers is essential to sound objective. 

One of the main rules of academic or formal writing is to avoid first-person pronouns like “we,” “you,” and “I.” These words pull focus away from the topic and shift it to the speaker – the opposite of your goal.

While it may seem difficult at first, some tricks can help you avoid personal language and keep a professional tone.

Let’s learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

What Is a Personal Pronoun?

Pronouns are words used to refer to a noun indirectly. Examples include “he,” “his,” “her,” and “hers.” Any time you refer to a noun – whether a person, object, or animal – without using its name, you use a pronoun.

Personal pronouns are a type of pronoun. A personal pronoun is a pronoun you use whenever you directly refer to the subject of the sentence. 

Take the following short paragraph as an example:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. Mr. Smith also said that Mr. Smith lost Mr. Smith’s laptop in the lunchroom.”

The above sentence contains no pronouns at all. There are three places where you would insert a pronoun, but only two where you would put a personal pronoun. See the revised sentence below:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. He also said that he lost his laptop in the lunchroom.”

“He” is a personal pronoun because we are talking directly about Mr. Smith. “His” is not a personal pronoun (it’s a possessive pronoun) because we are not speaking directly about Mr. Smith. Rather, we are talking about Mr. Smith’s laptop.

If later on you talk about Mr. Smith’s laptop, you may say:

“Mr. Smith found it in his car, not the lunchroom!” 

In this case, “it” is a personal pronoun because in this point of view we are making a reference to the laptop directly and not as something owned by Mr. Smith.

Why Avoid Personal Pronouns in Essay Writing

We’re teaching you how to avoid using “I” in writing, but why is this necessary? Academic writing aims to focus on a clear topic, sound objective, and paint the writer as a source of authority. Word choice can significantly impact your success in achieving these goals.

Writing that uses personal pronouns can unintentionally shift the reader’s focus onto the writer, pulling their focus away from the topic at hand.

Personal pronouns may also make your work seem less objective. 

One of the most challenging parts of essay writing is learning which words to avoid and how to avoid them. Fortunately, following a few simple tricks, you can master the English Language and write like a pro in no time.

Alternatives To Using Personal Pronouns

How to not use “I” in a paper? What are the alternatives? There are many ways to avoid the use of personal pronouns in academic writing. By shifting your word choice and sentence structure, you can keep the overall meaning of your sentences while re-shaping your tone.

Utilize Passive Voice

In conventional writing, students are taught to avoid the passive voice as much as possible, but it can be an excellent way to avoid first-person pronouns in academic writing.

You can use the passive voice to avoid using pronouns. Take this sentence, for example:

“ We used 150 ml of HCl for the experiment.”

Instead of using “we” and the active voice, you can use a passive voice without a pronoun. The sentence above becomes:

“150 ml of HCl were used for the experiment.” 

Using the passive voice removes your team from the experiment and makes your work sound more objective.

Take a Third-Person Perspective

Another answer to “how to avoid using ‘we’ in an essay?” is the use of a third-person perspective. Changing the perspective is a good way to take first-person pronouns out of a sentence. A third-person point of view will not use any first-person pronouns because the information is not given from the speaker’s perspective.

A third-person sentence is spoken entirely about the subject where the speaker is outside of the sentence.

Take a look at the sentence below:

“In this article you will learn about formal writing.”

The perspective in that sentence is second person, and it uses the personal pronoun “you.” You can change this sentence to sound more objective by using third-person pronouns:

“In this article the reader will learn about formal writing.”

The use of a third-person point of view makes the second sentence sound more academic and confident. Second-person pronouns, like those used in the first sentence, sound less formal and objective.

Be Specific With Word Choice

You can avoid first-personal pronouns by choosing your words carefully. Often, you may find that you are inserting unnecessary nouns into your work. 

Take the following sentence as an example:

“ My research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

In this case, the first-person pronoun ‘my’ can be entirely cut out from the sentence. It then becomes:

“Research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

The second sentence is more succinct and sounds more authoritative without changing the sentence structure.

You should also make sure to watch out for the improper use of adverbs and nouns. Being careful with your word choice regarding nouns, adverbs, verbs, and adjectives can help mitigate your use of personal pronouns. 

“They bravely started the French revolution in 1789.” 

While this sentence might be fine in a story about the revolution, an essay or academic piece should only focus on the facts. The world ‘bravely’ is a good indicator that you are inserting unnecessary personal pronouns into your work.

We can revise this sentence into:

“The French revolution started in 1789.” 

Avoid adverbs (adjectives that describe verbs), and you will find that you avoid personal pronouns by default.

Closing Thoughts

In academic writing, It is crucial to sound objective and focus on the topic. Using personal pronouns pulls the focus away from the subject and makes writing sound subjective.

Hopefully, this article has helped you learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

When working on any formal writing assignment, avoid personal pronouns and informal language as much as possible.

While getting the hang of academic writing, you will likely make some mistakes, so revising is vital. Always double-check for personal pronouns, plagiarism , spelling mistakes, and correctly cited pieces. 

 You can prevent and correct mistakes using a plagiarism checker at any time, completely for free.

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Using “I” in Academic Writing

Traditionally, some fields have frowned on the use of the first-person singular in an academic essay and others have encouraged that use, and both the frowning and the encouraging persist today—and there are good reasons for both positions (see “Should I”).

I recommend that you not look on the question of using “I” in an academic paper as a matter of a rule to follow, as part of a political agenda (see webb), or even as the need to create a strategy to avoid falling into Scylla-or-Charybdis error. Let the first-person singular be, instead, a tool that you take out when you think it’s needed and that you leave in the toolbox when you think it’s not.

Examples of When “I” May Be Needed

• You are narrating how you made a discovery, and the process of your discovering is important or at the very least entertaining.
• You are describing how you teach something and how your students have responded or respond.
• You disagree with another scholar and want to stress that you are not waving the banner of absolute truth.
• You need “I” for rhetorical effect, to be clear, simple, or direct.

Examples of When “I” Should Be Given a Rest

• It’s off-putting to readers, generally, when “I” appears too often. You may not feel one bit modest, but remember the advice of Benjamin Franklin, still excellent, on the wisdom of preserving the semblance of modesty when your purpose is to convince others.
• You are the author of your paper, so if an opinion is expressed in it, it is usually clear that this opinion is yours. You don’t have to add a phrase like, “I believe” or “it seems to me.”

Works Cited

Franklin, Benjamin. The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin . Project Gutenberg , 28 Dec. 2006, www.gutenberg.org/app/uploads/sites/3/20203/20203-h/20203-h.htm#I.

“Should I Use “I”?” The Writing Center at UNC—Chapel Hill , writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/should-i-use-i/.

webb, Christine. “The Use of the First Person in Academic Writing: Objectivity, Language, and Gatekeeping.” ResearchGate , July 1992, doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2648.1992.tb01974.x.

J.S.Beniwal 05 August 2017 AT 09:08 AM

I have borrowed MLA only yesterday, did my MAEnglish in May 2017.MLA is of immense help for scholars.An overview of the book really enlightened​ me.I should have read it at bachelor's degree level.

Your e-mail address will not be published

Dr. Raymond Harter 25 September 2017 AT 02:09 PM

I discourage the use of "I" in essays for undergraduates to reinforce a conversational tone and to "self-recognize" the writer as an authority or at least a thorough researcher. Writing a play is different than an essay with a purpose.

Osayimwense Osa 22 March 2023 AT 05:03 PM

When a student or writer is strongly and passionately interested in his or her stance and argument to persuade his or her audience, the use of personal pronoun srenghtens his or her passion for the subject. This passion should be clear in his/her expression. However, I encourage the use of the first-person, I, sparingly -- only when and where absolutely necessary.

Eleanor 25 March 2023 AT 04:03 PM

I once had a student use the word "eye" when writing about how to use pronouns. Her peers did not catch it. I made comments, but I think she never understood what eye was saying!

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How to Avoid Using Personal Language in Writing

Last Updated: June 14, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is a Licensed English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 137,217 times.

Learning how to write without using personal language can be tough. It’s especially tricky to find alternatives to clauses such as “I think” or “I will argue,” but don't worry if you're stuck. There are lots of ways to make your point without using personal pronouns. Additionally, you might use slang and other informal expressions without even realizing it. Check your work, and replace casual, subjective words with objective language. With a little practice, you’ll know the rules of formal academic writing like the back of your hand.

Following General Rules

• For example, replace “I think the most important part of your day is having a good breakfast,” with “A nutritious breakfast is an important part of a healthy diet.”

• Slang words and colloquialisms are casual expressions shared by a region or social group, like “photobomb,” “kick the bucket,” or “Bob’s your uncle.” Instead of, "He kicked the bucket in a doozy of a wreck," write, "He was killed in a serious car accident."
• Clichés are overused expressions that have become meaningless or boring, such as “only time will tell” or “cream of the crop.” Alternatives for these phrases could be "remains to be seen" and "the best."
• Examples of contractions include “don’t,” “wouldn’t,” hasn’t,” and “it’s.” Instead of using them, spell out the words in full.

• Additionally, avoid casual estimates, such as “a couple of studies,” “a lot of time,” or “a bunch of research.” Instead, use specific numbers, such as “The team spent 17 days collecting samples.”

• For instance, “An expert witness debunked the defense’s argument” is stronger than “The witness made an extremely convincing testimony that made the defendant look absolutely guilty.”
• Replace "to be" verbs like is", "am", "are", "were", "was", and "will be", with stronger verbs. For example, instead of saying, "The defense's argument was wrong because it was based on speculation" say, "The argument failed because it relied on speculative evidence."

Finding Alternatives to Personal Pronouns

• Compare the examples, “I think the nations’ economic relationship prevented war,” and “The nations’ economic relationship prevented war.” The second example is objective and sounds authoritative.
• Even if the other side presents a strong argument, keep an authoritative tone throughout. While you should acknowledge the other side, avoid using personal pronouns, as this could weaken your stance.

• Consider the sentence, “I strongly disagree with the defense’s attempt to blame the accident on a vehicle defect.” Stronger phrasing could be, “According to expert testimony from the manufacturer, the defense’s claims regarding a vehicle defect had no basis in reality.”

• For the example, “I will argue that market volatility led to the industry’s collapse,” just cut “I will argue that.”
• Tweak the phrasing for the sentence, “I will examine letters and journal entries to show how Charles Baudelaire’s life in Paris influenced his views of modernity.” You could start the sentence with “Examining letters and journal entries will show," and leave out “I will.”

• In passive voice, an action was done by someone or something: "This was done by them." Because of this construction, passive voice tends to be wordy. Active voice is crisper and emphasizes the doer: "They did this."
• Keep in mind that you should write in the active voice whenever possible. Write “Charles Baudelaire described modernity” instead of “Modernity was described by Charles Baudelaire. [11] X Research source

• Instead of “The painting overwhelms you with texture and color,” write “The painting overwhelms viewers with texture and color.”
• You can also just replace generalizations with tighter wording. Replace “You can see that the claim is false,” with “The claim is false,” or reword it as “The evidence disproves the claim.”
• Include formal generalizations in moderation. Using “one can see” or “one would think” too often will make your writing feel awkward.

Avoiding Informal Expressions

• For example, “The efficiency audit determined that streamlining the application process will generate interest,” refers to a reliable source and states a fact. “The application process is terrible and confusing,” expresses an opinion.
• If you're trying to make an emotional appeal to your audience, it is acceptable to use more emotional language, although you should still avoid using the first person.

• For example, “That guy was a real hater, so his boss gave him the third-degree,” features slang. “The manager reprimanded the cashier for insubordinate behavior,” is more specific and objective.

• Examples of common expressions include “easier said than done,” “sooner or later,” "at the end of the day", and “reached a happy medium.” Alternatives for these expressions could be “more difficult in practice,” “inevitable,” "ultimately", and “compromised.”

• Additionally, ensure your sentences are always complete and unabbreviated. For example, “The performer gave an excellent performance. Not a dry eye in the theater,” is grammatically incorrect and inappropriate for academic writing. [16] X Research source
• For resume writing, terse, incomplete sentences are actually preferred. Instead of “I reduced purchasing costs by 10%,” write, “Reduced purchasing costs by 10%.”

Expert Q&A

• Every discipline has its own writing standards. For specific advice about writing standards, check your field’s style guide, such as Chicago, MLA , or APA . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

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• ↑ Tristen Bonacci. Licensed English Teacher. Expert Interview. 21 December 2021.
• ↑ https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/ua/media/21/learningguide-objectivelanguage.pdf
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/specificity-in-writing/
• ↑ https://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/style_purpose_strategy/writing_clearly.html
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/academicwriting
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/using-evidence.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/should-i-use-i/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/passive-voice/
• ↑ https://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-bugs.html
• ↑ https://facultyweb.ivcc.edu/rrambo/tip_formal_writing_voice.htm
• ↑ https://www.nus.edu.sg/celc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/chapter03.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/sentence_fragments.html
• ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/types-of-english-formal-informal-etc/formal-and-informal-language

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First-Person Pronouns in Academic Writing

3-minute read

• 11th June 2018

During school, many of us were told to never use “I” in an essay. And so we went on to college, trying our best to write papers without using any first-person pronouns. But where does this rule come from? And is it really wrong to use “I” in an essay? Read on to find out!

When Not to Use “I” in Academic Writing

It is true that using too many first-person pronouns in a college paper will look bad. This is because it looks like you’re expressing an opinion rather than discussing facts. For instance:

I think the Watergate scandal had a big effect on American politics.

The “I think” here is unnecessary. Watergate was undeniably a major incident in American politics, so it is not simply an opinion. You could even cite sources where its impact is discussed.

Similarly, overuse of first-person pronouns can detract from the focus of your writing. Take the following example from a scientific paper:

I observed the sample through a microscope, and I noticed an unusual microbe.

Here, the focus is on the person conducting the study instead of the study itself. But scientific writing is supposed to be objective. It would therefore be better to say:

The sample was observed through a microscope. This revealed an unusual microbe.

By using the passive voice here, we make sure the focus is on the experiment, not the experimenter.

In both of these cases, then, it would be better to avoid use of the first person.

Using First-Person Pronouns Correctly

However, there are cases when it is correct to use first-person pronouns in an essay. These include:

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• To emphasize or clarify your own role in a study
• To position yourself in relation to other thinkers

For example, we could write the following without using the first person:

In studying queue formation in Starbucks, the issue of how social behavior is affected by caffeine withdrawal was explored.

However, this gives us no indication of who is conducting the study and the use of passive voice leads to an awkward sentence. We might therefore want to use first-person pronouns to ensure clarity:

In studying queue formation in Starbucks, we explored how social behavior is affected by caffeine withdrawal.

Another alternative would be using “the researcher” or “the author” to refer to ourselves in the third person. But this can also be problematic. For instance:

While Ving and Rhames (2001) argued that tea drinkers are more violent, the researchers have not found evidence to back up this claim.

The identity of “the researchers” here could be ambiguous. Does it refer to Ving and Rhames? Another study by someone else? Or is it the authors of this paper? It would therefore be better to say:

While Ving and Rhames (2001) argued that tea drinkers are more violent, we have not found evidence to back up this claim.

With this simple change, we can immediately what this sentence is saying. In general, then:

• DO NOT use the first person if it makes your work sound overly subjective or draws focus from what you are meant to be discussing
• But DO use the first person if it helps to ensure clarity and concision in your writing

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• Academic writing
• Taboo words in academic writing

Words and Phrases to Avoid in Academic Writing

Published on February 6, 2016 by Sarah Vinz . Revised on September 11, 2023.

When you are writing a dissertation , thesis, or research paper, many words and phrases that are acceptable in conversations or informal writing are considered inappropriate in academic writing .

You should try to avoid expressions that are too informal, unsophisticated, vague, exaggerated, or subjective, as well as those that are generally unnecessary or incorrect.

Bear in mind, however, that these guidelines do not apply to text you are directly quoting from your sources (including interviews ).

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Table of contents

Too informal, too exaggerated, too subjective, generally incorrect, other interesting articles.

Academic writing is generally more formal than the writing we see in non-academic materials (including on websites). It is also more formal than the ways in which we normally speak. The following words and phrases are considered too informal for a dissertation or academic paper.

Informal sentence starts

Some words are acceptable in certain contexts, but become too informal when used at the beginning of a sentence. You can replace these with appropriate  transition words  or simply remove them from the sentence.

Receive feedback on language, structure, and formatting

Professional editors proofread and edit your paper by focusing on:

• Academic style
• Vague sentences
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Using vague terms makes your writing imprecise and may cause people to interpret it in different ways. Always try to be as specific as possible.

Academic writing is usually unadorned and direct. Some adverbs of frequency (such as always and never ) and intensifiers (words that create emphasis, such as really ) are often too dramatic. They may also not be accurate – you’re making a significant claim when you say something is perfect or never happens.

These terms do sometimes add value, but try to use them sparingly.

Some words and phrases reveal your own bias. For instance, if you state that something will obviously happen, you are indicating that you think the occurrence is obvious – not stating a fact.

Expressing your opinion is appropriate in certain sections of a dissertation and in particular types of academic texts (such as personal statements and reflective or argumentative essays ). In most cases, though, take care when using words and phrases such as those below – try to let the facts speak for themselves, or emphasize your point with less biased language.

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Certain words and phrases are often used incorrectly, even by native speakers of a language. If you’re exposed to such mistakes often enough, you may start to assume they are correct – but it’s important that you don’t let them creep into your writing.

You should also bear in mind that some of these mistakes relate to things we all frequently mishear (for instance, we often think the speaker is saying would of instead of would have ).

In general, you should also try to avoid using words and phrases that fall into the following categories:

• Jargon (i.e., “insider” terminology that may be difficult for readers from other fields to understand)
• Clichés (i.e., expressions that are heavily overused, such as think outside of the box and at the end of the day )
• Everyday abbreviations (e.g., approx. , ASAP, corona, stats, info )
• Slang (e.g., cops , cool )
• Gender-biased language   (e.g., firemen , mankind )
• Generally unnecessary (e.g., redundant expressions that do not add meaning, such as compete with each other instead of simply compete)

Reflective reports and  personal statements  sometimes have a less formal tone. In these types of writing, you may not have to follow these guidelines as strictly. The preface or acknowledgements of a dissertation also often have a less formal and more personal voice than the rest of the document.

If you want to know more about AI for academic writing, AI tools, or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

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30+ Ways to Avoid Repetition of “I” in First-Person Writing

First-person narrative engages readers, who experience the world from your narrator’s perspective — including intimate thoughts and feelings. However, it’s easy to overplay constructions such as I did this and I thought that and I wanted something else.

Many people claim the I, I, I approach is permissible because I is an invisible word like said .

Don’t believe them.

Prose or poetry with an overabundance of the same words or structures will seem off. Readers might not be able to tell you what’s wrong, but they know they’re unsettled by something .

Consider the Following Two Story Snippets

I answered the irresistible beckoning of the backyard. I watched brightly colored birds there frolicking in the breeze as they fluttered toward the creek. I closed my eyes and felt the warmth of the sun . I smelled the fragrance of the clover underneath my feet, a fragrance so sweet I could almost taste it. I heard fledgling robins twittering in a nearby tree.

I thought to myself , This is the life. I knew I never wanted to leave this place.

I decided to phone the real estate agent and tell her to take the FOR SALE sign off my lawn. She acted as though she had expected my call.

I told her in a firm voice that my mind was made up, and yes, I understood she would still receive her full commission.

I realized I didn’t care about the money.

The backyard beckoned with its irresistible sights and sounds. Frolicking in the breeze, brightly colored birds fluttered toward the creek. The sun warmed my closed eyelids, and my nostrils were flooded by the sweet fragrance of clover underneath my feet, a fragrance so sweet it almost sugared the taste buds. In a nearby tree, fledgling robins twittered.

This is the life. Who in their right mind would ever leave this place?

The real estate agent acted as though she had expected my call when asked to take the FOR SALE sign off the lawn.

My voice was firm. “Yes, my mind is made up. … Understood. … You’ll still receive your full commission.”

Hah! Who cares about the money?

Beware Verbosity

Rewrites could result in bloat, and the wrong words could make you seem pretentious or long-winded.

The second snippet reduces, rather than increases, word count.

The first example would be even shorter with the removal of to myself. Who else would you think to? Your editor? Your cat? Or maybe your dictation software?

Did You Notice the Changes?

Almost every sentence in the first example begins with I.

In the rewrite, note the removal of several filtering phrases:

I watched I … felt I smelled I could … taste I heard I thought I knew I decided I told I understood I realized

Whenever you filter thoughts and senses through your narrator’s eyes, you distance readers from your story — like a selfie of a selfie. Use the direct approach instead.

Passive voice appeared once to vary sentence structure. “I smelled the fragrance of the clover underneath my feet ” became “my nostrils were flooded by the sweet fragrance of clover underneath my feet.”

A so-called rule of writing is not to use passive voice. However, you’ll find times such as this when it’s warranted.

The phrase could also have been written as “my nostrils flooded with the sweet fragrance of clover underneath my feet.”

Reread the examples. Compare again. You’ll notice subtle changes that make the text flow smoother.

A Partial List of Filter Words

Watch for these or their equivalents. They all have the potential to weaken your writing:

A to W assume, be able to, believe, can, decide, experience, feel (or feel like) , hear, know, look, note, notice, realize, remember, see, seem, sound (or sound like), taste, think, touch, watch, wonder

Change the Focus

Just because you’re writing in first person doesn’t mean you, the storyteller, should be the most important character in the piece.

If you concentrate on the activities of other characters, readers will feel as though they are you. They still know you’re the narrator, but you become invisible.

Try These I Alternatives

I agree: We are in agreement

I am convinced that: In my opinion

I am sure that: Correct me if my opinion is wrong

I believe: The experts say (or, in Dothraki , “It is known”)

I decided: It was my intention

I disagree: You are wrong

I dislike that: That’s not for me

I don’t know: That’s an excellent question

I feel: In light of the evidence

I have experience in: My experience includes

I interpret the results: The results indicate

I like: It’s one of my favorites

I was nearly hit by a car: A car nearly hit me

I’ll show you: The report will show you

I’m hungry: My stomach is growling

Beware the Me-My Snare

In an attempt to remove instances of I, you might introduce excessive repetition of me and my .

For instance, “I felt an irresistible urge to buy the shoes” could become “An irresistible urge to buy the shoes came over me .”

“I saw three chickadees sitting on the fence” could end up as “Three chickadees sitting on the fence came into my view.”

As shown by the strikeout, you can often omit my .

Rely on Your Ears

They’re excellent critics.

Read your text out loud or harness your computer’s text-to-speech capabilities and listen to your writing . Repetitions that hide from notice during a silent read often become obvious and irritating when processed by the ears .

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28 thoughts on “ 30+ Ways to Avoid Repetition of “I” in First-Person Writing ”

how can we replace i in this sentence i had a dream to spend a beautiful day at an island

Sleep, peaceful sleep, filled the night, interrupted only by the dream of an idyllic day on a tiny island.

Hello Kathy,

Me again. Since reading your article, I have made a greater conscious effort in avoiding the use of “I” in my first-person stories. However, in doing so, I’m noticing I am starting to use “-ing” words to begin sentences more often, and I understand that’s something to use sparingly in fiction writing.

I may be over-analysing my works (that’s a bad habit of mine), but if using “I” in a sentence, whether it’s beginning a sentence or in the middle of it, creates a clearer structured sentence when compared to using a “-ing” word, would you say it’s okay to use “I”, or to try and figure out another way of structuring the sentence to avoid either?

On a side note, sometimes when I do avoid both, the sentence gets written in passive voice, as that seems to be the only way to structure it, while keeping it clear and precise. For example, a sentence within a story of mine read: “Rather than wasting time on breakfast, I can use it for more important things, such as training.” After re-editing it, it became: “Rather than wasting time on breakfast, it can be used for more important things, such as training.”

I’m really just trying to determine out of “I”, “-ing”, or passive voice, which is the best to use. Apologies if this is unclear. Sometimes that’s my thought process for you. There’s logic in there, but you’ve gotta dig past all the dribble to find it.

Kind regards, Footrot Flats

Phrases such as the following can help eliminate some instances of “I”:

– experience has shown – statistics indicate – events suggest – circumstances often require

Regarding your sentence: “Rather than wasting time on breakfast, it can be used for more important things, such as training.”

Try something like: “[Whatever ‘it’ is] can focus on activities, such as training, which are more important than breakfast.”

Remember: The goal is not to eliminate words but to eliminate their overuse.

Thank you for the response, Kathy!

I’ll keep those phrases in mind and see if they can be used anywhere that fits. Thank you for the suggestion as well.

I understand it’s okay to use “I”, just not too often, which is what I’m trying to do, but also figuring out how often “I” is fine to use. Finding that ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is my next challenge. If it’s used once every few paragraphs, it doesn’t stick out at me, but if I see two (or more) I’s in the same field of view, that’s when I tend to change it.

I may or may not pop up again sometime in the future. If I don’t, your article and advise has helped me immensely, so thank you for the time and effort you have put in. It’s much appreciated.

All the best, and stay safe too! Footrot Flats

When writing stories, I’ve always tried avoiding the usage of I’s (same goes for adverbs). 95% of the time, there’s an alternative way of describing a scene, whether it’s action, thoughts or dialogue, but something, every now and then, there just doesn’t seem to be a way to avoid using I (or an adverb).

Like adverbs, would you say it’s okay to use ‘I’ sparingly?

In some cases, the word ‘I’ gets replaced with an adverb, and then I enter a never-ending cycle.

Your approach is astute, FF.

Words exist for a reason, including adverbs and I . The goal is not to eliminate them but to reduce their frequency and make them “invisible” to readers. That turns them into useful tools.

Good luck with your writing, and please stay safe! (Exclamation points, em dashes, and parentheses are more useful tools — when used sparingly. 🙂 )

Thank you for the reply Kathy.

I agree that making them “invisible” rather than eliminating them completely is the better approach. Everything would provide a greater impact when used sparingly.

All the best, and stay safe too. Footrot Flats

Hello Kathy, the article above really helped me but i am still just a little confused. . . . would it be alright if you could un-I-ify my story. i haven’t written much and i probably wont be using it, but just to get a rough idea on how i could do it.

I was sitting on the train minding my own business and reading a book, when I casually looked out the window. It was pretty dark and rainy, but I could still see the blurry silhouette of the woods turning into a dim lighted village. As I was about to turn away, I started to sweat and felt a pounding in my head. My heart felt as if I had just run a marathon 3 times and I could hear my blood rushing through my ears. My hands shook and my breathing turned uneven. My vision went all blurry. I had to get away. I did not want to be on a train while having a panic attack. I stood up and hit my knee on the table but I ignored the pain. I grabbed my book and backpack and yelled for assistance. An assistant quickly rushed over and asked if I needed anything. I told her to stop the train. “But ma’am, we don’t have a station here, we can’t stop here-” “Just stop the train. NOW! Please!” I cut her off. “Ma’am, are you feeling ok? You should probably sit down.” She offers. “STOP THE TRAIN! NOW!” I shout. She nodded to me and swiveled around and quickly rushed to the front of the train. My mouth started to feel dry and I could feel tears coming starting to form at the corners of my eyes. By this time I was shaking. I turned to the nearest compartment and grabbed the glass of water on the table. I took one big sip and looked up at the young bloke who was sitting there. My mouth felt a bit better knowing it was hydrated and I could say my words without them sounding raspy. “I am so sorry. I really needed that drink.” I grabbed my backpack and took out £2 and put it down on the table. “I’m really sorry about the drink, I know you paid for that so here’s the money. I know it was 3 pound but this is all I can find right now.” I blurted out. I could feel the train slowing down and felt nauseous. I sat down in the young blokes compartment seat and looked down. I could feel the guy’s eyes staring at the top of my head which made me feel uncomfortable.

sorry if thats too much. thank you 🙂

Thanks for stopping by, Astoria.

I’ve retired from editing, but you can join online critique groups free of charge.

Scribophile and Critique Circle are two popular sites.

Good luck with your writing, and stay safe!

Undertaking a short story/flash fiction assignment for Open University. Word count is up to 800 words. The premise is in hand, and I’ve done a plan.

Really want to do it in First POV, though I know third is easy to fall back on. Your advice is brilliant, I am just so nervous of the structure and grammar. I don’t envision that creative writing is for me, as the strain of English Lit etc scares me.

You can do this, Louise. I hope you’ll be able to use some of the advice in this post.

Good luck, and stay safe!

This is so frustrating, As I edit my work I can’t think of anything to replace my ‘I’ overuse!!!

Think less of how you control the action and more about how the action happens, period. The suggestions in this article will help.

Thanks for stopping by, Max!

Great article. Chuck Palahnuik is an expert at submerging the ‘I’, and I’m constantly perplexed about how to avoid the pitfalls you mentioned when following his advice. This has helped a great deal.

Thanks, Tom. May your muse be ever with you — and stay safe.

I get it, I just don’t know how to repair the problem. Online English class?

There’s no magic one-size-fits-all approach. You have to examine each occurrence to determine a suitable remedy. This requires time and effort; but as you edit, you become more proficient at creating solutions.

Thanks for stopping by!

Can you please give me some examples of books written in first person, without the overuse of ‘I’? My 13 year old daughter is in an Academic Excellence class and has had her eyes opened and mind blown buy how removing the ‘I’s, it makes you live the story. She has Aspergers and dyslexia and has always loved writing, it is her get away. We would be truly grateful for some guidance.

Warmest wishes Michelle Australia

Hi, Michelle. Thanks for stopping by.

The books that stand out in my mind are To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, all The Hunger Games books by Suzanne Collins, and Ready Player One by Ernest Cline. They should keep your daughter busy for a while.

Thank you very much Kathy. I am truly grateful.

May you too keep safe.

Warmest wishes Michelle

Thank you so much. I always put I’s in my stories and it bothered me because ‘I’ use it repeatedly. That’s when ‘I’ started to notice it also want to thank you for the alternatives to making my story look as if a professional wrote it. Well I’m no professional but hopefully one day. 4 years later and came across this website. Thank you btw. (PS I was embarrassed now because I used my I’s a lot in this comment lolz so I had to fix it to make it right ) Anyways I’m forever grateful and have a good year in 2020!

Thanks for stopping by, Nora. Yes, those Is can be slippery little creatures. You’ve made the most important step by recognizing the problem.

You have a great 2020 too, and may the muses favor your writing!

Excellent, as per usual. 🙂

Thanks, Jenn!

Another excellent post, Kathy. This is exactly what I was looking for. As an added bonus, I now know what filter words are. Time for another edit on my latest WIP. (Heck – I’ve just noticed two I’s in the above comment. Oh no, there’s another two!)

Thanks, Tom. I laughed out loud as I was reading your reply. Next week I’ll be posting an open letter to book pirates. Arrgh! Three I ‘s.

Let’s see …

As my eyes scrutinized your reply, a humongous LOL burst from my lips. Next week’s blog post will feature an open letter to book pirates.

Doesn’t have the same snap, does it?

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How to Replace I in Essays: Alternative 3rd Person Pronouns

replacing I in essays

Learning how to write an essay without using ‘I,’ ‘We,’ or ‘You,’ and other personal languages can be challenging for students. The best writing skills recommend not to use such pronouns. This guide explores how to replace ‘I,’ ‘We,’ or ‘You’ in an essay and the methods to avoid them.

For those of us who have been able to overcome this, you will agree that there was a time when you experienced a challenge when finding alternatives to clauses such as “I will argue” or “I think.”

The good thing is that there are several methods of communicating your point and writing an essay without using ‘I’ or related personal language.

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Why Avoid Using Pronouns in Formal Writing

Before identifying the communication methods without using personal language like “I,” it is best to know why we should avoid such language while writing essays.

The most important reason for avoiding such language is because it is not suitable for formal writing such as essays. Appropriate professional English should not include any form of personal pronouns or language.

The second and equally important reason to avoid using personal language while writing an essay is to sound impersonal, functional, and objective.

In formal English, personal pronouns conflict with the idea of being impersonal, functional, and objective because they make redundant references to the writer and other people.

Personal pronouns will make an essay seem to contain only the writer’s perspectives and others they have deliberately selected. Again, they will make the work appear subjective.

Another reason to avoid personal language while coming up with an essay is to avoid sounding as if you have an urgent need to impress the reader through wording.

Personal pronouns like “you” and “I” tend to suggest something important that is away from what the writing is all about.

By continually using “I,” “we,” or “you,” you are taking the reader’s attention from the essay to other personal issues. The essay becomes all about the writer. 

That being said, let’s explore how to replace “I” in an essay.

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Ways of avoiding pronouns “i,” “you,” and “we” in an essay.

You can replace the pronouns ‘I’, ‘You’, and ‘We’ by replacing them with acceptable wording, applying passive voice instead of pronouns, Using a third-person perspective, adopting an objective language, and including strong verbs and adjectives.

In our other guide, we explained the best practices to avoid using ‘you’ in essay writing and use academically sound words. Let us explore each of these strategies in detail.

1. Replacing it with an Acceptable Wording

This is a very good strategy for replacing “I” in an essay. The problem is that it is often difficult to find the right word to replace the personal pronoun. Though this is the case, “I” has some alternatives.

For example, if the verb that follows it revolves around writing and research, such as “…will present” or “…have described”, it is best to replace “I” with text-referencing nouns such as “the essay.”

If you wanted to say “I will present” or “I have described”, then the alternative will be “the essay will present,” or “as described in the essay.”

Another method of replacing “I” in an essay is using appropriate wording like “this writer” if the verb’s action is not within the text.

While this is sometimes acceptable, it is often advised to have no words here by using passive verbs or their equivalents.

A wording that may also be used but rarely suitable is “the researcher”. This alternative can only be used when your actions as a writer are completely detached from the writing.

2. Using Passive voice Instead of Pronouns

Another way to replace “I” and other personal pronouns in an essay is to use passive voice. This is achieved by transforming an active verb passive.

Though this is the case, the strategy is often difficult, and it may create sentence structures that are not acceptable in formal writing and language.

The sentences in which “I” can be successfully changed using this strategy is when an active verb describing an object is transformed into its passive form. 

3. Using a Third-Person Perspective

This is a very important and applicable strategy when replacing “I” in an essay. This is where you avoid using first-person and second-person perspectives.

When referring to the subject matter, refer directly to them using the third person. For example, if you were to write, “I think regular exercise is good for mind and body”, you can replace it with “Regular exercise is good for mind and body”.

4. Use of Objective Language

Objective language is lost when a person uses informal expressions like colloquialisms, slang, contractions, and clichés. It is the reason why we discourage the use of contractions in essay writing so that you can keep things formal.

While informal language can be applicable in casual writing and speeches, it is not acceptable when writing essays. This is because you will be tempted to use a first-person perspective to convey your message.

5. Being Specific and using Strong Verbs and Adjectives

In most cases, essays that have been written using a lot of personal pronouns tend to be imprecise. When you want to avoid using “I” in your essay, try to be exact and straight to the point.

Personal pronouns tend to convey a subjective message, and it is up to the writer to explain their perspectives through writing.

Here, a writer will use a lot of “I think…” or “I believe…” to express their opinion. By doing so, the writer will end up wasting a lot of time explaining a concept.

Instead of doing that, it is best to look for appropriate verbs and adjectives to explain the points. Also, use objective language. Refer to the suggestions given by credible evidence instead of basing your arguments on what you think.

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Words to use Instead of Personal Pronouns like “You” and “I”

As noted, it is important to avoid using personal pronouns such as “You” and “I” when writing an essay.

By eliminating them or finding alternatives to them, your essay will be formal and objective. You can decide to eliminate them in a sentence.

For example, you could be having a sentence like “I think the author makes a valid point concerning capitalism.”

In this example, you can eliminate the personal language and write, “The author makes a valid point concerning capitalism.”

The second sentence goes straight to the point and is objective.

Other words to use instead of personal pronouns, like “You” and “I,” can be created when personal judgment words are avoided.

Instead, it is best to replace those words with those that refer to the evidence.

Examples of Ways to Replace Personal Pronouns

Below are examples of how personal judgment words can be replaced by words referring to the evidence.

• I feel – In light of the evidence
• From I think – According to the findings
• I agree – It is evident from the data that
• I am convinced – Considering the results
• You can see that – From the results, it is evident that

Using the third-person or “it” constructions can be used to replace personal pronouns like “You” and “I.” Such words also help to reduce the word count of your essay and make it short and precise.

For example, if you write “I conclude that, “replace those words with “it could be concluded that. ” Here, “it” constructions are helping replace personal pronouns to make the sentence more objective and precise.

To be more specific, words to replace personal pronouns like “I” include “one,” the viewer,” “the author,” “the reader,” “readers,” or something similar.

However, avoid overusing those words because your essay will seem stiff and awkward. For example, if you write, “I can perceive the plot’s confusion,” you can replace “I” by writing, “Readers can perceive the plot’s confusion.”

Words that can be used instead of personal pronouns like “You” include “one,” “the viewer,” reader,” “readers,” or any other similar phrases. It is similar to words that replace first-person pronouns.

For example, if you write “you can see that the poet’s tone is serious and urgent,” you can replace “You” by writing “readers/one can see that the poet’s tone is serious and urgent.”

Words to use Instead of “My” in an Essay

Since “My” demonstrates the possessiveness of something, in this case, the contents or thoughts within an essay, it makes the writing subjective. According to experts, writing should take an objective language . To do this, it is important to replace it.

You can replace the word “My” with “the”. For example, if you write, “My final thoughts concerning the issue are”, you can write, “The final thoughts concerning the issues are”.

In this case, the article “The” makes the sentence formal and objective.

Another method is eliminating the word “My” from the sentence to make it more objective and straight to the point.

In the same example above, if you write “My final thoughts concerning the issue are”, you can write “Final thoughts concerning the issue are”.

The major difference here is that the word “my” in the first example makes it subjective, and eliminating it from the sentence makes it sound formal and objective.

Final Advice

Therefore, when writing an essay, it is important to avoid personal pronouns like “You”, “I,” and “My.” Not all papers use third-person language. Different types of essays are formatted differently, a 5-paragraph essay is different from a 4-page paper , but all use third-person tones.

This is because an essay should be written in formal language, and using personal pronouns makes it appear and sound informal. Therefore, writing an essay without using ‘I’ is good.

Formal language makes your essay sound objective and precise. However, do not remove the first-person language when writing personal experiences in an essay or a paper. This is because it is acceptable and formal that way.

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How can I stop overusing "I" in my writing?

I won't edit this question, so you can see how much I use it. The current count is 3 times. I've been told that the solution is to revise, revise, revise, but is there a particular strategy for editing that I should be taking? I never really learned editing strategies other than to just...do it. Are there patterns I can look out for to avoid this while writing something, so I can retrain myself? Are there resources for writing less casually in the area somewhere between non-fiction and technical writing?

"When is it acceptable to use the first person ("I", "we") in technical reports" doesn't help, because not everything is a technical report. It could be a comment on GitHub, an email, or especially some of my longer Stack Exchange posts, where I found my preferred initial style is to build a narrative that mirrors how I thought about communicating a problem or figuring something out. Part of this habit comes from the perceived need to couch every scientific statement I've ever made with some "I think-" or "Most likely"-type language, and it seems to have pervaded my writing ever since the end of undergrad. The result is long blocks of text that ramble too much and contain anywhere between one "I" every two sentences to two "I"s every sentence. Writing a science PhD dissertation did not break this habit.

Here and here are concrete examples. Upon rereading, maybe these aren't so bad, but I at least perceive them to overuse "I" because of their rather casual style.

• technical-writing
• academic-writing

• I agree that the use of "I" in the question is too much. Just so we are all on the same page that there is a problem. I experience the same problem in My writing. –  MXMLLN Commented Aug 24, 2020 at 10:36

8 Answers 8

You can talk about you..

This is a sales letter trick, often used in manuals as well. Make all your "narrative" lines as "you," (the reader), or some equivalent.

I will also try to show that the unrelaxed difference density is still not equivalent to the transition density.

Hopefully you will see the unrelaxed difference density is still not ...

I can't find the definition of {a} in the paper,

You will not find a definition of {a} in the paper ...

Importantly, we always start from the set of ground-state MO coefficients

It is important you start from the set of ground-state MO coefficients ...

Because I don't want to mess with the block-diagonal structure of PΔMO, I will transform T to the MO basis:

You don't want to mess with the block-diagonal structure of PΔMO, so you can transform T to the MO basis:

I am not sure if the MO coefficients in the double sum can be simplified, but it doesn't matter; assume they are unity.

Whether or not the MO coefficients in the double sum can be simplified or not, you will find it does not matter. For example, [you can] assume they are unity.

And so on. Everything you attribute to "I" or "We", rewrite to attribute to the reader.

Several studies of this technique in Sales have shown it is strangely and wildly effective; far more people will read to the end of a sales letter if it addresses them specifically as "you" and "your". It is talking about you, your children, your home, your car, your retirement, your entertainment options. Do you want to put all that at risk? We want to hear from you, listen to you, help you achieve your goals. You might think people would see through such a transparent trick, but you'd be mistaken, it still works for advertisers, and it can work for you too.

• Switching from 1st person to 2nd person is really clever. –  MXMLLN Commented Aug 24, 2020 at 10:39

You go through piece by piece because you will want to assess each instance. Sorry. That's my answer. Someone may have an easier answer, but easy does not mean better. Look at each instance. Just do it.

Start a list of phrases to swap. i'll edit your piece and bold the edit's. This is one quick pass.

I won't edit this question, so you can see how much I use it. The current count is 3 times. Some say the solution is to revise, revise, revise, but is there a particular strategy for editing that one could take ? I never really learned editing strategies other than to just...do it. Are there patterns to look out for to avoid this while writing something, to retrain myself? Are there resources for writing less casually in the area somewhere between non-fiction and technical writing? "When is it acceptable to use the first person in technical reports" doesn't help, because not everything is a technical report. It could be a comment on GitHub, an email, or especially some of my longer Stack Exchange posts, where (deleted) my preferred initial style is to build a narrative that (deleted) communicates a problem or figures something out. Part of this habit comes from the perceived need to couch every scientific statement (deleted) with some "I think-" or "Most likely"-type language, and it seems to have pervaded my writing ever since the end of undergrad. The result is long blocks of text that ramble too much and contain anywhere between one "I" every two sentences to two "I"s every sentence. Writing a science PhD dissertation did not break this habit. Here and here are concrete examples. Upon rereading, maybe these aren't so bad, but they seem to overuse "I" because of their rather casual style.

Are you female? Are you young (under 30)? Here's some reporting that shows youth and gender impact use of first person pronouns.

Knowing that, and knowing that 'old white men' are generally in charge and have been historically within my culture, was enough for me to break habits I did not personally want.

If you'd like to cede your power (as an anonymous individual) in writing, you can ignore that information. When I see a post riddled with "I's" I assume youth.

If you'd like to understand trends in society, you can take the data and interpret it to your best ability, however you like, your schema, what fits your experience.

Again, those particular data were enough to help me break habits. Just do it. There are enough roadblocks up to young people. Appearing self-indulgent works against you.

• I couldn't have put it any better than you, @DPT. Good one! –  user31677 Commented Jul 7, 2018 at 8:53
• 1 Are you suggesting to use more Is in order to resist „old white men“? I am genuinely confused! –  Ludi Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 20:47
• @Ludi I am saying only that people speak differently from one another. It doesn't break firmly along gender or age, but there are definite trends (as linked). I've got no idea about the effect of so-called 'race' on language, (elsewhere there are arguments that 'race' doesn't exist) . I don't care what any individual chooses for their own writing, but ... making oneself aware of data and thinking about it seems like a no brainer. I linked one that show gender/age and it fits my reading experience. –  SFWriter Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 20:59
• @DPT I am not asking with a particular stance in mind. I genuinely don’t understand. Is your point to keep writing as you do, so as to come off as young and female, but you still corrected her text in order to fulfill the requirements of StE? –  Ludi Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 21:03
• 1 @Ludi The OP asked how to use fewer I's. I gave two answers. (1) Use your brain. This means go through and change each. That will reduce the "I"s. (2) Use your gut. There is a certain authoritative tone associated with a certain demographic. Recognizing this at a gut level may reduce one's use of "I." Consider this: The OP has a reason to want to reduce his use of the word I. Does this make sense? To answer your direct question: A person can write however they like. A person can even tailor their writing to the occasion. (mind blown). The possibilities are endless. –  SFWriter Commented Jul 9, 2018 at 22:35

I see this a lot in unpublished writing (including my own early drafts): "I entered the room and saw a red couch and a bookcase. I thought it was a particularly nice red. I heard the clock ticking."

Remember that we, the readers, know that the words and ideas are coming from you, the writer. So you can just say stuff rather than saying that you think it.

Look for "I thought..." "I saw..." "I felt..." and in a surprising number of cases you can delete that phrase and tweak the wording a bit.

So... "In the room was a red couch and a bookcase. It was a particularly nice red. The clock ticked."

As a crazy, obviously not to be taken seriously suggestion: have you considered not writing in English? English places a lot of importance in the subject, and therefore in pronouns. English also places way too much importance on the self. The self is so important, it is written with a capital letter! Maybe it could explain some things about how North American culture shaped itself. Thing is, other languages have many tools to avoid repetition of the singular form of the first person: latin languages have several tools to imply you are talking about yourself without actually using pronouns, and Japanese has several ways to present yourself, which give way more information about your person and your personality than the English "I".

Obviously you can't change your mother language, and learning a new language is not something you can do in a fingersnap, so onto the more realistic side of the answer, consider not using first person when writing literature in English. Many (English) writers consider first person narrators the mark of an amateur, probably because the repetition of the first person pronoun feels wrong, and unless you make a conscious effort to avoid it as much as possible, it will look bad. This phenomenon doesn't happen as much in other languages due to not having to repeat the same pronoun over and over being way easier, contrary to how difficult it is to do in English, depending on what you want to express.

As a more generic advice, consider revising every single one of your sentences containing an "I", and check if you can use conjuctive words to take advantage of your first reference to the subject in order to not have to repeat yourself. Consider as well to refer yourself as "we" when it makes sense, or using the passive voice, and when there is no other way but to refer to yourself and only yourself, not your actions or your work, embrace the "I", for English was designed for this.

As a sidenote, this post was written with avoiding the singular form of the first person in mind. In cursive are marked the expressions where an "I" accidentally slipped in the first draft of the answer. "Maybe" used to be "I guess" (it is uncertain for everyone, so it makes no sense to explicitly self-signal myself, for my guess is as good as everyone else's), and "consider" replaces "I would consider" (because why should you care who makes the recommendation, specially considering it isn't coming from an authority in this subject?). So it is certainly possible to avoid referring to the self when expressing an opinion, it just takes a conscious effort and some proofreading, but it's not like anyone will object if they read a few "I", so don't sweat it too much.

Put it in Neutral.

As if YOU did not write the paper, but must describe the action line by line. An example from your first linked example:

An attempt will be made to show the unrelaxed ...

The paper apparently contains no definition of {a} ...

It is important to start from the set of ground-state MO coefficients ...

The block-diagonal structure of PΔMO is preserved by transformation to the MO basis:

Whether the MO coefficients in the double sum can be simplified or not will not matter; assume they are unity.

And so on.The "couching in qualifiers" speech pattern is something we called Programmer's Disease when I was in college (four decades ago), but plagues scientists generally; a side-effect of learning that damn near everything has exceptions and to be accurate requires qualifiers. So you gain accuracy by restricting the domain of cases you are describing.

However, to laymen and undergrads, every qualifier subtracts certainty from what you are talking about, thus the more qualifiers you use, the closer you asymptotically approach the state of having said nothing at all they can understand.

If they push back with questions or qualifiers of their own, they prove their ability to process a restricted domain, so acknowledge your overreach in the interest of simplicity and use qualifiers to restrict the domain then.

• Passive voice (as you're using in your examples) is worse than the use of 'I'. Passive voice tries to deflect responsibility: "An attempt will be made to show the unrelaxed..." - oh yeah? by whom? –  Hobbes Commented Aug 28, 2018 at 7:45
• 1 In some cases, passive voice is accepted as a way to take emphasis off the subject. Academic writing relies on passive voice just for that reason. –  user8356 Commented Aug 28, 2020 at 15:41
• Hobbes: By the author(s) of the paper, obviously, that is implied. There is no attempt to "deflect responsibility". –  Amadeus Commented Aug 29, 2020 at 16:16

The following information may just help you to stop overusing “I” in your writing. It's a powerful technique because it draws on nothing less than your desire to stay alive. Got your attention? Then read on.

I'm currently engrossed in a book called Ageless Body, Timeless Mind by Deepak Chopra. In it he describes the implications of a study about Heart Disease by Larry Scherwitz, a University of California psychologist who:

taped the conversations of nearly six hundred men, a third of whom were suffering from heart disease, the rest of whom were healthy. Listening to the tapes, he counted how often each man used the words I, me, and mine. Comparing his results with the frequency of heart disease, Scherwitz found that men who used the first-person pronoun most often had the highest risk of heart trouble. In addition, by following his subjects for several years, he found that the more a man habitually talked about himself, the greater the chance he would actually have a coronary. Counting the times a person said "I" was an ingenious way to quantify self-absorption, and to me, there's something very fitting in the fact that the less you open your heart to others, the more your heart suffers. The antidote, Scherwitz concluded, was to be more giving: " Listen with regard when others talk. Give your time and energy to others; let others have their way; do things for reasons other than furthering your own needs." In those words, he goes beyond the quantifiable data to issues of love and compassion, which appeal very much to our intuitive sense that an open, loving person should age well.

You can draw your own conclusion from this, but if it doesn't give you a little more desire to stop overusing 'I' in your writing then I don't know what will.

Good luck with your writing.

Generalizing some answers here:

• Use a different perspective - "I" is 1st person, switching to a neutral , 3rd person or 2nd person (" you ") will implicitly prevent the use of "I".
• Third person pronouns - E.g., "one could take", "some say". See DPT's answer for more detail . You should be able to use this style with 1st person perspective.
• First person pronouns - Specifically "my". Switching between the two would presumably lead to a 50% reduction in the use of "I". Adding "we" and "our" could be another consideration.

Often, you can avoid or elide the subject by adjusting the phrasing. This is more passive, but easily understandable. To avoid too much passive voice, you can also make other items the subject.

The method we used was... The method used was...

I found that the second device operated more efficiently... The second device operated more efficiently...

After I modified the algorithm, the result were closer to the ideal case. With a modified algorithm, the results were closer to the ideal case. Using a modified algorithm produced results closer to the ideal case.

Technical writers have to do this all the time to avoid portraying computers and software as actors in sentences, and to avoid personifying concepts.

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Table of Contents

Collaboration, information literacy, writing process, using first person in an academic essay: when is it okay.

• CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by Jenna Pack Sheffield

Related Concepts: Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community ; First-Person Point of View ; Rhetorical Analysis; Rhetorical Stance ; The First Person ; Voice

In order to determine whether or not you can speak or write from the first-person point of view, you need to engage in rhetorical analysis. You need to question whether your audience values and accepts the first person as a legitimate rhetorical stance. Source:Many times, high school students are told not to use first person (“I,” “we,” “my,” “us,” and so forth) in their essays. As a college student, you should realize that this is a rule that can and should be broken—at the right time, of course.

By now, you’ve probably written a personal essay, memoir, or narrative that used first person. After all, how could you write a personal essay about yourself, for instance, without using the dreaded “I” word?

However, academic essays differ from personal essays; they are typically researched and use a formal tone . Because of these differences, when students write an academic essay, they quickly shy away from first person because of what they have been told in high school or because they believe that first person feels too informal for an intellectual, researched text. While first person can definitely be overused in academic essays (which is likely why your teachers tell you not to use it), there are moments in a paper when it is not only appropriate, but also more effective and/or persuasive to use first person. The following are a few instances in which it is appropriate to use first person in an academic essay:

• Including a personal anecdote: You have more than likely been told that you need a strong “hook” to draw your readers in during an introduction. Sometimes, the best hook is a personal anecdote, or a short amusing story about yourself. In this situation, it would seem unnatural not to use first-person pronouns such as “I” and “myself.” Your readers will appreciate the personal touch and will want to keep reading! (For more information about incorporating personal anecdotes into your writing, see “ Employing Narrative in an Essay .”)
• Establishing your credibility ( ethos ): Ethos is a term stemming back to Ancient Greece that essentially means “character” in the sense of trustworthiness or credibility. A writer can establish her ethos by convincing the reader that she is trustworthy source. Oftentimes, the best way to do that is to get personal—tell the reader a little bit about yourself. (For more information about ethos, see “ Ethos .”)For instance, let’s say you are writing an essay arguing that dance is a sport. Using the occasional personal pronoun to let your audience know that you, in fact, are a classically trained dancer—and have the muscles and scars to prove it—goes a long way in establishing your credibility and proving your argument. And this use of first person will not distract or annoy your readers because it is purposeful.
• Clarifying passive constructions : Often, when writers try to avoid using first person in essays, they end up creating confusing, passive sentences . For instance, let’s say I am writing an essay about different word processing technologies, and I want to make the point that I am using Microsoft Word to write this essay. If I tried to avoid first-person pronouns, my sentence might read: “Right now, this essay is being written in Microsoft Word.” While this sentence is not wrong, it is what we call passive—the subject of the sentence is being acted upon because there is no one performing the action. To most people, this sentence sounds better: “Right now, I am writing this essay in Microsoft Word.” Do you see the difference? In this case, using first person makes your writing clearer.
• Stating your position in relation to others: Sometimes, especially in an argumentative essay, it is necessary to state your opinion on the topic . Readers want to know where you stand, and it is sometimes helpful to assert yourself by putting your own opinions into the essay. You can imagine the passive sentences (see above) that might occur if you try to state your argument without using the word “I.” The key here is to use first person sparingly. Use personal pronouns enough to get your point across clearly without inundating your readers with this language.

Now, the above list is certainly not exhaustive. The best thing to do is to use your good judgment, and you can always check with your instructor if you are unsure of his or her perspective on the issue. Ultimately, if you feel that using first person has a purpose or will have a strategic effect on your audience, then it is probably fine to use first-person pronouns. Just be sure not to overuse this language, at the risk of sounding narcissistic, self-centered, or unaware of others’ opinions on a topic.

Recommended Readings:

• A Synthesis of Professor Perspectives on Using First and Third Person in Academic Writing
• Finding the Bunny: How to Make a Personal Connection to Your Writing
• First-Person Point of View

Brevity – Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence – How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow – How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity – Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style – The DNA of Powerful Writing

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How to avoid using I's so frequently

When I write in English I use "I" a lot. Especially when I talk about something I have done or an experiment or any thing. My English is upper intermediate. What is the reason behind this? Which skill should I improve to solve this issue?

Have you noticed how many I's I have used in this post? :)

• 2 When you speak or write in the first person, it's not remarkable that you find yourself using the first person pronoun! You can say "When writing in English..." instead of "When I write in English." You can say "...when talking about something.." instead of "...when I talk about something..." –  P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Commented Jun 30, 2017 at 21:57
• 1 Why do you describe this as an "issue"? "I" is a common word. This post seems bizarre, like if you asked for advice on how to use the word "the" less often. Using a certain word "a lot" is not a problem; using a word too much is, and you haven't given any explanation of why you think you use "I" too much. –  sumelic Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 1:07
• 1 @sumelic I believe the real problem is sentence variety, not overusing "I". For that reason, I recently updated my answer to shift focus to that topic. –  user57618 Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 1:38
• 2 Please consider reopening this question. It's actually a very well-focused request to illustrate ways of varying sentence structure in English—an important part of learning the language for an intermediate-level learner. Foreign-language learners often find themselves sticking to relatively few, "safe", "known" sentence structures; at some point, they need to see what freedom the language really offers. At least, that's what my Italian teacher told me at one point. :) There's an opportunity here to write a good answer not only for the OP but for many intermediate-level learners. –  Ben Kovitz Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 3:02
• 4 @ColleenV Chiming in to +1 Ben. When I first looked at the question, I thought "too broad" immediately. Then after a facile snark ("Stop talking about yourself") I realized that the question is not about "talking about myself". It's about how to break out of the safety cage that Ben mentions. –  P. E. Dant Reinstate Monica Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 3:14

2 Answers 2

There is nothing wrong with using "I" and you can't really use it "too much". A more reasonable concern would be not having enough sentence variety, and what appears to be using "I" too much is just a symptom of that.

You can use -ing verb forms instead of writing the subject ("I") in each dependent clause. Compare "when I write in English" to "when writing in English", and "when I talk about something" to "when talking about something".

The subject ("I") can also be removed from independent clauses by using the passive voice . Compare "which skill should I improve" to "which skill could be improved", and "how many I's I have used" to "how many I's have been used".

Often, reusing possessives like "my" is not necessary. In "rewrite my post to get rid of the I's" you already referred to the post, so you can simply say "the post" instead of "my post".

You can also describe things themselves instead of your experience of them, for example "The water was very cold" instead of "I thought the water was very cold", unless your experience is relevant to the discussion.

Remember, these are techniques to improve variety, and overusing them simply would make it harder to read!

• One can use "I" too much. Such a person often talks about himself so much he quickly becomes a bore and a poor conversationalist. –  green_ideas Commented Jul 2, 2017 at 1:27
• @Clare That's not what the asker intended. The asker is specifically asking about writing style, and you can talk about yourself too much without "I", too. For more information, you can see the comment chain on the OP, in which we're trying to improve the clarity of the question, to prevent confusion like your own (there have been three independent incidences of "stop talking about yourself" jokes that all were retracted by their authors). In addition, the question originally asked a bit more directly about writing style, but that component was edited out for other reasons. –  user57618 Commented Jul 2, 2017 at 3:44
• If the user is asking about writing style the question is offtopic. Comments are not part of the question. –  green_ideas Commented Jul 2, 2017 at 20:12

Since you have mentioned experiments—scientific writing tends to use passive constructions that omit the doer. You can readily avoid the first person in that kind of writing.

• 2 Maybe it's OK in scientific writing, but very often that makes for horrible reading. –  user22427 Commented Jul 1, 2017 at 15:22

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How to Write an Essay Without Using I

Kimberley mcgee, 27 jun 2018.

Although it's all about you, it really isn’t if you want to get your point across with good effect. Keeping clear of using the first-person point of view in an important composition, such as an essay, cover letter or thesis can feel like a daunting endeavor. However, there are a few ways to write around the first-person conundrum that can send fledgling essayists over the edge.

Explore this article

• Cardinal Rules
• When to Use the Second Person

1 Cardinal Rules

Why is it such a no-no to interject an “I” or two into your work? If you pepper your paper with first-person references, you make the work appear less objective. The reader is turned off by your constant reference to yourself because it can make you sound biased. Stand on the facts and let them fly while presenting them in the second person. Rely on the names of authors, institutions you’ve worked for and titles of major works to present your case.

In some cases, you may find yourself absolutely stuck with referring to yourself. In that case, you can refer to yourself in the third person, such as “In this writer’s opinion” or “This author concludes” to avoid using the lowly “I” that tears the reader’s attention away from the point. Dump the passive voice for stronger sentence structure. For example, “I gathered the results” is changed to “The results were gathered.”

Often, you can turn the perspective around to avoid using the first person. If you find yourself discussing yourself, return the reader to the subject at hand by saying, “This thesis will reveal” rather than “I will describe in this thesis.”

Be direct in your statements and avoid interjecting your opinion. The information should be strong enough to stand on its own without your opinion supporting it into fact.

2 When to Use the Second Person

It’s not ideal, but there are a few instances in which using second-person references can work to your advantage. Be careful, though, as using the second person “you” gives a more conversational connotation to your piece. This can be welcome in some instances, but it can also throw the reader off your subject and downplay the strength of your work. Alternatives to “you” can be “people,” “one” or “the reader.” This is best used for academic works where the second person “you” may lessen the impact of your work.

Take your time and go through your finished piece to find all references to the first person, including “I,” “me” and “mine.” Rework the sentence with the suggestions above and you'll have a stronger piece overall. Remember to emphasize the experience, event, article or business before interjecting yourself.

• 1 Essay Homework Help: When and How to Write an Essay About Yourself Without Using I
• 2 The Writing Center: Should I use "I"?

About the Author

Kimberley McGee is an award-winning journalist with 20+ years of experience writing about education, jobs, business and more for The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Today’s Parent and other publications. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from UNLV. Her full bio and clips can be seen at www.vegaswriter.com.

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How to Replace 'I' in essays and formal writing

You have probably written personal essays, admission essays, memoirs, or narrative essays that call for using first-person pronouns. Writing such personal essays without using "I," "we," "my," "us," and "you," among others, is practically impossible and sometimes very challenging. Nevertheless, when writing academic essays that require research, critical thinking, and a formal tone, the use of a first-person perspective becomes taboo.

For many college students, confusion looms because first-person pronouns are technically prohibited when writing middle and high school essays. Therefore, we can say this early that although you can use first-person pronouns in academic essays, you have to restrict it only to some types of essays and writing perspectives, as discussed widely in this guide.

Using personal experience or person pronouns does not mean you have weak writing skills. We explore everything you need to know about using first-person pronouns in academic essays, when to and when not to use them, and alternatives to utilize instead of "I," "we," and "you."

We will also answer areas surrounding giving opinions or introducing arguments using "I think/believe/forecast/hold" and "I argue/opine/contend," respectively.

Why is using Person Pronouns a Taboo in Formal Writing?

Using person pronouns "I," "we," and "you" in an essay is discouraged in formal writing unless necessary because it makes an essay sound subjective, personal, unofficial, or informal, and not critical.

More often than not, academic essays that use personal pronouns are subjective in that the writer's perspective reigns over what experts or scholars in the field have discovered or advised.

Again, using personal pronouns also makes your readers get bored easily. As the writer is at the center of every argument, the flow of ideas is lacking in such essays.

At the same time, the tone of such essays is show-off or bragging, especially if you are too subjective and blind to scholarly findings. Citing essays written in a personal perspective or tone is also not easy.

It is easy to plagiarize other people"s ideas when writing an essay in the first person. There are also high chances of repetition and redundancy, making reading and marking such essays difficult.

Deciding when to use "I" based on academic field conventions

As you may have rightfully discovered, some academic fields outrightly permit using the first person when writing essays.

The rules about the use of first-person pronouns change continuously. Therefore, students must consult their instructor on whether to use the first-person perspective. However, the following guidelines can also assist you in deciding when to use "I."

The use of "I" in humanities essays will depend on the view of your instructor. Humanity subjects essays often offer personal language analysis, artwork, or ideas.

Writers in this discipline tend to emphasize agency and value assertiveness. Therefore, the first person is used appropriately in many instances. 

In many cases, writers may apply the first person less effectively, following assertion phrases such as "I believe," "I feel," and "I think" to manifest real argument defense. Though your audience is interested in your view about the field, they expect you to support, argue, and elaborate your assertions fully.

Personal suggestions do not support your view; you require concrete evidence to convince the audience. Technically, this means blending in some scholars' concepts, facts, and opinions and citing them altogether.

Social sciences

Generally, several social scientists shun the use of the first person, probably because scientists also ignore it. It leads to a subjective perspective or tone and conflicts with the ideals of scientific writing . However, using the first person is persistently accepted in social sciences, especially when describing a personal perspective or project. You can use the first person when writing an internship report, reflection essay, and other papers if allowed to do so by your instructor.

Scientific writers eschewed the application of "I" in the past because they considered the first person affects the impersonality and objectivity impression they intend to create. However, conventions seem to transform over time. For example, when you describe a particular project you are working on or link the project with the existing research topic. In this case, you must check with your instructor to determine whether you can use the first person.

Other writings

Several writing situations apply first person. For example, speech writing uses the first and second person to create a desirable relationship between the listener and the speaker. However, when writing a resume, you should ignore the use of the first person and describe your education. Skills and experience without employing personal pronouns.

Instances that permit the use of the first person in an academic essay

You are allowed to write your essay in the first person. However, that has a limit beyond which punitive measures will apply. You might lose a good grade because you did not follow instructions.

Again, always read your prompt before planning and writing an essay. It helps clarify various conventions to be observed and those to be bypassed.

After all, the main audience of your essay is your tutor, professor, or instructor, so their say matters more.

Clarification of passive constructions

As a writer, when you ignore the use of the first person in academic essays, you may create confusing and passive sentences. Using the first person is sometimes critical in making your essay clearer.

For example, when writing an essay about word processing automation, you want to elaborate on the point that you are employing Microsoft Word to write your paper. If you try to ignore first-person pronouns, the sentences might read, "Right now, this paper is being written in Microsoft Word."

Even though this statement is correct, it is passive in nature- the subject is acted upon, and there is no action in the sentence. However, the sentence "Right now, I am writing this paper in Microsoft Word "sounds better to many people.

When you analyze the two sentences, you will find that the second sentence is clearer, and this is due to the application of the first-person pronouns. Generally, the use of the first person is vital in improving the clarity of the sentence.

Defining your view about other positions

Argumentative essays sometimes provide you with an opportunity to define your opinion concerning the topic. This dimension is critical in informing your audience about your stand. Therefore, it is sometimes vital to put your personal opinion in the essay.

As stated in the point above, as an essay writer, you can imagine the clarity of your sentence in case you omit the first-person pronoun. So an important hint here is applying personal pronouns to clear and sounding sentences that make your points clear.

Developing your credibility

Credibility is defined by ethos is an ancient Greece word that means character in the sense of credibility.

A writer can create ethos by convincing the reader that he or she is a credible source. The best way to create ethos is to become personal to a certain extent- inform the reader about yourself.

For example, when you are writing an argumentative essay about dance as a sport. Using personal pronouns occasionally to inform your audience that you are a skilled dancer and that you have scars and muscles to prove it will establish your ethos and prove your argument.

Generally, the use of the first person will not annoy or distract your audience because it is reasonable.

Incorporating personal anecdote

An anecdote refers to a strong hook that is used in an essay to attract the reader's attention in your essay introduction . The best hook involves an existing story about yourself or a personal anecdote in many cases.

Therefore, in this case, using the personal pronoun is unnatural; your audience will be excited with your personal touch that can convince them to explore your essay. Using the first-person pronoun in creating anecdotes in an essay introduction is one of the ideal instances in academic essay writing.

The instances that we listed above are not exhaustive. We recommend that you use personal judgment and consult your instructor when you agree not certain about their perspective concerning using the first-person pronoun.

Ultimately, it is fine to use the first person when you feel it will serve a purpose or convey strategic influence on your readers. However, it is important not to overuse the first person because it may lead to a self-centered essay.

How to avoid using "I" in an essay

Sometimes your instructor may be categorical on the use of personal pronouns like "I," "we," and "You" in your essay. Many students have been asking how to avoid using "I" in an essay.

Writing without using the first person can be cumbersome for some students. In addition, it is sometimes challenging to get alternatives to personal clauses. Nonetheless, there are numerous ways to avoid this problem in your essay writing, especially when instructed not to use a personal pronoun.

Practicing the following methods will introduce you to the guidelines of formal academic writing and assist you in producing an exemplary essay.

1. Follow General Rules

Below are some suggestions on avoiding the deliberate use of first-person pronouns in formal writing.

• Apply third-person perspective. It is formal to use the third-person point of view to limit the use of the first-person point of view. Additionally, you should also ignore the use of a second person. It is critical to write the content matter of your essay in the third person point.
• Use objective language rather than informal expressions: Informal expressions involve colloquialisms, contractions, clinches, and slang. The use of objective language is fundamental in eradicating informal expression. For example, when referring to evidence, you can say: As per X and Y", "Given the evidence," considering the findings", From the findings of the study," X asserts that, "X opines that," etc.
• Be specific : Personal language is imprecise, while formal writing is exact and clear. Being specific will assist you as a writer avoid using the first person in your essay.
• Think about strong verbs and adjectives: as a writer, refrain from using personal language. Instead, you should develop solid adjectives that relate to facts and are free from personal opinions. Then, you can use the thesaurus to make references to find the word that conveys your point formally.

2.  Get an alternative to the first-person point of view

• Put your claims directly: Sometimes, you require to avoid the use of the first person. Putting your claims directly will guarantee the elimination of personal pronouns in your essay. Undertake your research to garner concrete evidence that can ensure direct claims in your essay. as a writer, you should maintain an authoritative tone throughout your essay and avoid using personal pronouns that can affect your stance. Also, comparing the examples will help you as a writer to consider the direct claim that is free from the first-person point of view.
• Refer to the supporting evidence rather than personal thoughts: Many students are tempted to use personal claims when writing an essay, thinking that they make the claims stronger. However, this is not true; to make your claims stronger, you should refer to the evidence provided by secondary sources. Mentioning an authoritative source is vital in making your claims credible.
• Outline your essay without employing personal pronouns: As an academic essay writer, it is crucial to ignore personal pronouns when you develop the structure of your paper. However, you can make adjustments if you cannot delete personal pronouns from your outline.
• Utilize the passive voice to stress an action without stating yourself: You can apply passive voice sparingly to describe a procedure and map your argument. However, as an academic writer, we recommend the extensive use of active voice where possible to make the essay formal.

Personal Pronouns in Academic Writing

Personal pronouns can be employed to replace places, people, or things to make the sentences shorter and clearer.

Personal pronouns comprise I, it, we, she, he, you, and they.

Your personal pronoun preference predicts whether your paper is in the third person or the first person.

Second Person (You)

The second person pronoun is least used in academic writing, and it addresses the audience directly. In many cases, it is regarded as chatty and, therefore, commonly avoided in academic writing. However, the second person is used in writing presentations where the readers are addressed directly.

When are you required to use the second person?

This is one of the questions that many students have asked. The second person is used to offer advice, explain, or give directions. It permits the author to connect with the readers by concentrating on the audience directly. It includes pronouns such as "you," "yours," and "your."

When should you avoid the use of the second person?

This is one of the questions that many students ask. Unfortunately, writing your essay in second person perspective can lead to ineffective arguments and research papers.

Using second papers can make the essay sound like the writer is persuading or advising the audience. consequently, the use of second-person perspective is avoided in many academic essay writings except when ideal guidelines are provided by your instructor that allows its use.

As a writer, you should avoid using the second person to ensure compelling arguments and research papers rather than persuasive and advising papers.

How to avoid using second person

One common guideline for writing academic papers is avoiding the second person. This is because formal academic papers are not intended to address the audience directly. However, many students find s it challenging to write an essay without the inclusion of the second person pronouns because the second person is one of the main components of speech. There are numerous ways of refraining from using the second person without interfering with the meaning of your text. The following are some of the tips that can assist you in overcoming this challenge.

Apply the word "one."

The word "one" can be used to replace you in many sentences without sacrificing the meaning of the sentence. For example:

• Second person : you can perceive danger from a distance.
• Revision : one can perceive danger from a distance.

Use somebody or someone

Somebody or someone is a third-person perspective that can be used to replace the second person without interfering with the meaning of the sentence. For example:

• Second person : You may feel sad about the decision.
• Revision : Someone may feel sad about the decision.

Replace You with the word people

In many cases, the use of the word people serves to replace the second person better without changing the meaning of the sentence in your essay. For example:

• Second person : you know the consequences of heavy rains.
• Revision : people know the consequences of heavy rains.

Reconstruct the sentence

in some instances, it is possible to rearrange your sentence to eliminate the second person without affecting the meaning of the sentence. For example:

• Second person: after reading the script, you will be ready to do the experiment.
• Revision: this script describes how the experiment was conducted.

Eliminate the unnecessary second person

Unnecessary use of a second person is common in most academic essays. This makes the sentence sound vague and advising in nature. Therefore, it is vital to peruse through your work and eliminate the unnecessary second person. For example:

• Second person : you should initially make sure all issues are addressed.
• Revision : Initially, make sure all issues are addressed.

We as a personal pronoun is commonly used in instances where co-authors write the paper. In most cases, students use we to refer to all historians, humankind, historians. However, this should be avoided as possible because it makes the audience guess your reference. It is recommended to use a noun instead of a pronoun in this perspective. Also, you can switch to third person   

Third-person (she, he, her, it, her, its)

The third-person point of view is applied in scientific writings. It involves the use of indefinite pronouns to refer to the subject. 

However, the rule is not n stringent, and there are several exceptions. For example, employing the first person in introductions, discussions, conclusions, and abstracts is acceptable. However, the use of "I" in this case is still not allowed, and as a writer, you should use "we" to describe the group of researchers who took part in the study.

The third person is used to write results and methods sections. As a writer, it is crucial to maintain consistency, and switching from one point to another within the parts of your text can be discouraging and distracting.

It is always the best idea to check your assignment guidelines to make sure your piece is free from nanny grammatical errors that might result from inappropriate third-person pronouns.

Avoiding personal pronouns in academic writing

Students, in many instances, are advised to avoid using personal pronouns when writing academic essays. However, this rule is not permanent, and it depends on the supervisor's preference.

When you write your essay, you should make sure that you withdraw the reader's attention rather than yourself. Generally, when you are writing an academic essay, you should be professional. Using personal pronouns makes your essay sound personal, making it more informal. The following strategies can help you avoid using the personal pronoun in your essay writing.

Use passive voice to replace pronouns

As we stated earlier, the use of personal pronouns such as "I," "You," and "We" can make your essay sound informal in most instances.

Employing passive voice in place of these pronouns may deem your essay formal. Therefore, as a student, you should avoid these pronouns as possible and instead employ passive voice.

Employ third-person perspective

The third person is an ideal perspective that you can use to replace the first-person and second-person points of view. In addition, the use of the third person is significant in elevating the formality of your essay.

When to use personal pronouns in formal academic writing

Formal academic writing demonstrates impression and knowledge of the topic to the audience. It incorporates information that displays the writer's respect to the audience and indicates the seriousness of the writer concerning the topic.

The use of the personal pronoun in formal academic writing is not common. However, they are allowed in tasks that require the inclusion of personal information.

First-person pronouns

It is advisable not to use first-person pronouns in your formal essay because they can make your paper wordy. In addition, this reveals that the writer is less confident in expressing the ideas, resulting in an informal tone in the essay.

Moreover, the use of the first person will discourage your readers, making them speculate that you are using your thoughts. Therefore, in this context, you should avoid expressions such as I believe, in my opinion, or I think.

Second person pronoun

Using the second person in your essay affects the formality of your essay. It can bring false assumptions to an essay. To ensure your essay is formal, you can replace the second person with third-person perspectives.

Third-person pronouns

Third-person pronouns are the best choice in most college or academic writing. However, they can be sued in writing research reports and formal essays. Therefore, they are used to replace the first and second-person points of view.

Essays involve evaluating the topic, and I rely on the writer's experience and ideas rather than researched information. The second person does not imply because the essay entails the writer's thoughts and not the audience's thoughts. Using the second person indicates the reader's thoughts, especially when the reader is your instructor.

Additionally, using the first person is unnecessary because the reader can easily speculate that the points addressed in the essay are the writer's perspectives. After all, the writer's name is indicated in writing.

Research reports

Research report involves writers" analysis of other sources. When writing research reports, the use of the third person is critical in providing concrete evidence to the paper. The use of the third person in writing research reports assists the writer to credit other people"s perspectives concerning the topic. For example:

• James suggested that the formation of a peace club is essential in solving wars
• Records of the past show that the formation of a peace club is essential in solving wars (James)

In instances where the source is not accredited, the reader may assume that those are the writer's thoughts without the use of the first-person pronoun. Generally, the use of third-person pronouns is vital in ensuring the formality of academic writing.

Related Read: How to write a perfect narrative essay.

How to express the personal experience in your academic writing

The role of personal experience in academic writing depends on your paper's purpose and context. 

Papers that seek to evaluate data or objective principles as in anthropology reduce the use of personal experience because they may distract the writer from the purpose of the paper.

Nonetheless, you may need to explain your stand as a researcher based on your topic in some cases.

Personal experiences can be used to explain how theory or idea is applied or apply the experience as a proof or demonstration of a certain principle.

Overall, personal experience plays a legitimate role in academic writing. Applying personal experience effectively means presenting your argument rather than making it the end of your paper.

Additionally, it is critical to keep your hypothetical stories concise. However, they can support arguments required for vitality and concrete illustrations.

Below are some different ways to use personal experience as part of your academic writing:

• Anecdotes: as we stated before, incorporating anecdotes is the best way to include your personal experience in the introduction part of your essay. for example, writers use real hypothetical experiences to explain principles and ideas in philosophical arguments.
• Most specific writing conditions like application essays require the inclusion of personal experience as part of the discussion.
• Making references to personal experience is significant in developing your authority about a certain subject. This applies when writing internship reports, practicum reports, reflection essays , and narrative essays , among others.
• When writing a research proposal for a thesis, dissertation, term paper, or research paper

Discipline-Specific Suggestions on Incorporating personal experience in your academic writing

Let"s explore how different disciplines allow you to incorporate personal experiences when writing a formal paper.

Religion permits the use of personal experience in most cases. Nevertheless, many religion courses involve a textual, historical, or cultural approach that requires impersonality and objectivity.

Therefore, despite possessing powerful experiences or strong beliefs in this discipline, they could not support scholarly analysis.

But it would help if you asked your instructor to confirm whether you can include personal experiences, especially in response papers

Women"s studies

Women"s studies are taught from feminist perspectives. This perspective is interested in the manner in which women perceive gender roles.

In this case, personal experience can be used as evidence for argumentative and analytical papers in this discipline.

Also, in this field, you can be asked to maintain writing that necessitates the application of theoretical concepts derived from your experiences.

As we explained earlier, science as a discipline involves the study of fixed principles and data objectively. Therefore, including personal experiences is minimized as possible in this type of writing.

When you write lab reports, you must primarily describe observations so that the audience can redo the experiment.

Consequently, providing minimal information is effective. However, when you are working on case studies in social sciences, including people's personal experiences may be the fundamental part of these writings.

The analysis of the historical period does not require the inclusion of personal experience because it is less likely to advance your intended objectivity.

But some historical scholarship presumes the investigation of individual histories. Therefore, though you may not reference your individual experience, you may as well discuss the illustrations of people's historical experiences.

Literature, fine arts, Film, and Music

In most cases, including personal experience is vital in writing projects in this field. For example, personal experience is vital in response paper or any assignment that enquires about your experience as a viewer or reader.

Many literature and film scholars are concerned with how their audience perceives their literary work. Therefore, the discussion about the viewers, or audience's personal experience is appropriate.

Also, personal experience plays an integral part in this field because it provides the writers with hints on how to improve and make the changes that conform to the reader's requirements.

Philosophical writings involve evaluating and constructing existing arguments or developing personal arguments. In most instances, doing this efficiently incorporates the presentation of hypothetical illustrations or examples.

In this scenario, you may find that recounting or inventing your experience can assist in the demonstration of your point.

Personal experience may play an integral role in philosophical papers as much as you consistently explain to the audience the relationship between your experience and your argument.

As a student, your decisions on the use of personal experience will be controlled by the type of discipline that your paper belongs to. Moreover, the instructor's choice is also very fundamental in writing a particular paper. Therefore, it is critical to check with your instructor to be sure whether to include a personal experience or not.  

Which personal pronouns to use? Third (it) or First (I)

Generally, your choice of the type of personal pronoun to use in your academic writing depends on your discipline or the nature of your assignment.

• Discipline . As stated earlier, fields such as social sciences or sciences recommend the third person. However, some components of humanities demand to be addressed in the first person. This still relies on the assignment. Consequently, it is vital to refer to your handbooks, module or speak with your instructor to confirm.
• Nature of your assignment. A s a student, you must write your academic assignment using the third person. However, the major exception is when you are required to write reflexively, where you link your thoughts with experiences. In this case, the use of the first person is appropriate.

Final Remarks

As you set out to write your essay, you are likely to wonder when to use and when to avoid using personal pronouns like "I," "You," and "My" in an essay. Although using personal pronouns is allowed in formal academic writing conventions, there is a limit.

Although there are different types of essays, each formatted differently, they mostly use a third-person tone. It is a preferred way of doing things in the scholarly realm to make it objective, reasonable, and credible. Using the first person can increase concreteness and authority in your essay, which might be impersonal and vague .

We have discussed, at length, alternatives to use instead of personal pronouns, when to use personal pronouns, and how to weave in personal perspective when writing an essay or other academic papers, and we are confident your questions are answered.

Thus far, we advise that you maintain a formal tone and language when writing academic essays. Most importantly, consult with your instructor or professor before writing an essay, which is great if you read the prompt and are still confused.

Gradecrest is a professional writing service that provides original model papers. We offer personalized services along with research materials for assistance purposes only. All the materials from our website should be used with proper references. See our Terms of Use Page for proper details.

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How to decide whether I should use “we” in an essay? [duplicate]

The answers to this question promote a view that the personal pronoun we is acceptable in an academic paper. But I did not see an answer there, or more generally on this site, that discourages the use of we. This question is different to the one mentioned above because it queries whether the word we should be used at all, not just to ask whether I or we is more appropriate.

The economics department at my university (UCT) discourages the use of personal pronouns in an essay – I was marked down in my essay for my use of the word we. At the end of my essay, I wrote

In conclusion, we note that the European sovereign debt crisis created uncertainty in the global financial market, and South Africa was one of many countries that dealt with this.

I decided to use we in my essay because I had grown accustomed to seeing it in mathematics textbooks, so I assumed that it was formal enough. But the economics department says that it is not formal enough.

Even though it seems acceptable to use we in some circles, it seems that it is a point of debate. What guidelines should I be using in order to make my decision about whether to use we or not?* Should I continue to use we as I see fit, except for economics essays? Or, should I apply this rule to all my academic essays (I also study public policy & administration)?

It would ostensibly be silly to have different writing styles emanating from the same person. The problem has not been brought up before, and I have used the word in a number of sociology essays in first year, and one public policy & administration essay in second year. In those essays, I used the word in the following ways.

In this section, we discuss motivations for why provincial government should be restructured.

Applying this model to provincial government, we can graph a U-shaped function of long-run average cost.

Approaching the question from the side of the teacher, we find that inequality can be caused via culturally insensitive teaching methods.

As a final clarification, I do prefer to use the word.

* Edit: Although it was not initially made clear, I have not been provided with style guides. However, I doubt that I would ask this question if I were provided with style guides. Saying that I should "follow the style guide" makes perfect sense, but doesn't really help me in my situation. I asked this question on academia.SE so that I could ask others to brainstorm ideas about how I could make the decision without a style guide (e.g. how were those rules formed in the first place?).

• writing-style

• 6 "It would ostensibly be silly to have different writing styles emanating from the same person." - why? You adapt your writing style according to the community you write for, the kind of document (general announcement, grant application, paper on finished results, ...), and the format of the publication (formal document, newsfeed announcement, press release, ...), anyway, do you not? –  O. R. Mapper Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 12:09
• " discourages the use of personal pronouns in an essay " I'm confused: did you mean the first person plural personal pronoun or any personal pronoun? If you can't use a personal pronoun, which pronoun would you use instead? Are you expected not to write any sentences that use the active voice? –  Dan Romik Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 19:45
• Please provide a couple of example sentences from your essay that have "we" in them. –  aparente001 Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 3:48
• @aparente001 I found that I actually only used the word once in my economics essay. It is now quoted in the question. –  ahorn Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 10:53
• @DanRomik they do not have a style guide, so I am just saying what I remember being told. I don't think they were that specific, but I think they don't want me to use any personal pronouns at all. That means that I should use words such as one and the author instead of personal pronouns as a way to make the tone more abstract. –  ahorn Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 11:00

4 Answers 4

As already noted, there is usually little you can do against a styleguide, unless it’s blantantly against every convention. Be prepared to encounter styleguides with much weirder rules, in which, e.g., the punctuation at the end of this sentence is “correct.”

That being said, you can impose some guidelines. I am aware of the following occasions on which we (or I) can be used in an academic paper:

To describe experiments or simulations you performed, e.g.:

We transmogrified 500 apples and determined their contrafibularity.

To refer to the results and other work from the same paper:

In comparison to Smith’s transmogrificator, our method has the advantage that […]

In derivations (most common in mathematics):

Combining equations 23 and 42, we obtain: […]

To summarize the paper in an abstract or introduction:

We here present a new method to transmogrify bananas.

In this review, we summarise recent advances in the transmogrification of fruit.

In phrases such as:

We note that […]

In the acknowledgements :

We thank Jane Doe for constructive comments.

Now, if you are writing an economics essay, you are probably not performing experiments or deriving new theories, which excludes reasons 1–3. In fact, most review papers use we only for reasons 4–6. Moreover, you likely do not have a summary in the style needed for reason 4. Using we only due to reason 5 would be so rare that it can be considered inconsistent style, in particular since it can usually be avoided easily.

Thus, I expect that the reason for which you were marked down was that you used we in a way that is not considered appropriate in academic writing at all, or because you used it only due to reason 5 only.

If you want a general guideline (if none is obviously imposed): If you describe experiments, derivations and similar of your own, use we. In the abstract or introduction of a review paper or something similar, you can use we. If you are doing neither, avoid using we except in the acknowledgements.

• 2 I think economics papers can easily have (social scientific) experiments, and there are plenty of theories and derivations (economics can be very mathematical). So I think all the points apply. –  ahorn Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 18:28
• @ahorn: Sure, but does this apply to essays too? –  Wrzlprmft ♦ Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 18:45
• True. There is less likely to be primary research in an undergraduate essay. –  ahorn Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 11:03

You're doing a postgraduate degree, so you should have been taught / be about to be taught the basics of academic writing.

Here is one of the basic rules.

• Follow the style guide.

You've been told what the style guide for your coursework says about personal pronouns: it says don't use them. Follow it. Don't use personal pronouns in your coursework.

When you write for something with a different style guide, follow that style guide instead.

Different style guides have different rules. That's what makes them different.

No, it is not ostensibly silly to have different writing styles from the same person, assuming that person can comprehend and follow Rule 1, above.

• Thanks for the advice. I have requested the style guide from the department, although I don't think they have one yet. I am an undergraduate. –  ahorn Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 18:31

Styles differ by (sub-(sub-))discipline, so if you work in different disciplines you'll do a lot better if you adapt your style to that discipline. Its unfortunate, but I don't think there is a real solution to that.

As can be seen in the comments, it is also discipline specific whether you should use "we" or "I" if you are the only author, and opinions are quite strong on that. So here the same rule applies: you will be most successful in communicating what you want to communicate if you just follow the conventions of the discipline you are aiming at.

• 10 However, I think it is a real mistake to use the word "we" if there is only a single author. — The I/we distinction is also field-dependent. This is an issue of culture, not logic. The standard fiction in mathematics is that "we" means the author(s) and the readers , who after all are not merely letting the symbols wash over their eyes, but are actively working through the results with the paper as a guide. –  JeffE Commented Nov 12, 2015 at 21:16
• @JeffE I see what you mean, and edited the answer. In my discipline, this is interpreted as the author trying to delegate part of her or his responsibility to the reader. It is the task of the author, and only the author, to make her or his case. –  Maarten Buis Commented Nov 13, 2015 at 8:05

style guide avoid personal pronoun -gender

(could someone edit that to center it or at least move the margin over a little bit, please?)

and found plenty of people recommending avoidance of I and we . Apparently, whoever graded your essay is one of those people.

Here's your we sentence again (thanks very much for posting it):

I'm a big believer in "rules are made to be broken," but in this case, even without your department's stuffy rule, I don't see a need to include the "we note that". I could sort of see it in an outline of the content of your article -- as a tour guide might describe the different places your article goes.

Look how much stronger a statement this is:

In conclusion, the European sovereign debt crisis created uncertainty in the global financial market, and South Africa was one of many countries that dealt with this.

By the way, there are a few other things you could do to increase the impact of your final sentence. By its location, it is already clear that it is the conclusion. So let's give "In conclusion" the axe.

"Dealt with this" is such a vague expression -- perhaps you could be more specific here about how South Africa dealt with the crisis? If your article doesn't get into that, but only shows how South Africa was affected by the crisis, then perhaps you could put in something about the particular way, or the particular degree to which, the country in your magnifying glass, South Africa, was affected.

What a shame, that you've got nasty people in your department penalizing you (in a vague, non-written form, yet) instead of giving you friendly edits.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged writing-style coursework .

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How not to write your college essay.

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If you are looking for the “secret formula” for writing a “winning” college essay, you have come to the wrong place. The reality is there is no silver bullet or strategy to write your way to an acceptance. There is not one topic or approach that will guarantee a favorable outcome.

At the end of the day, every admission office just wants to know more about you, what you value, and what excites you. They want to hear about your experiences through your own words and in your own voice. As you set out to write your essay, you will no doubt get input (both sought-after and unsolicited) on what to write. But how about what NOT Notcoin to write? There are avoidable blunders that applicants frequently make in drafting their essays. I asked college admission leaders, who have read thousands of submissions, to share their thoughts.

Don’t Go In There

There is wide consensus on this first one, so before you call on your Jedi mind tricks or predictive analytics, listen to the voices of a diverse range of admission deans. Peter Hagan, executive director of admissions at Syracuse University, sums it up best, saying, “I would recommend that students try not to get inside of our heads. He adds, “Too often the focus is on what they think we want.”

Andy Strickler, dean of admission and financial aid at Connecticut College agrees, warning, “Do NOT get caught in the trap of trying to figure out what is going to impress the admission committee. You have NO idea who is going to read your essay and what is going to connect with them. So, don't try to guess that.” Victoria Romero, vice president for enrollment, at Scripps College adds, “Do not write about something you don’t care about.” She says, “I think students try to figure out what an admission officer wants to read, and the reality is the reader begins every next essay with no expectations about the content THEY want to read.” Chrystal Russell, dean of admission at Hampden-Sydney College, agrees, saying, “If you're not interested in writing it, we will not be interested when reading it.” Jay Jacobs, vice provost for enrollment management at the University of Vermont elaborates, advising. “Don’t try to make yourself sound any different than you are.” He says, “The number one goal for admission officers is to better understand the applicant, what they like to do, what they want to do, where they spend the majority of their time, and what makes them tick. If a student stays genuine to that, it will shine through and make an engaging and successful essay.”

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Don’t Be Artificial

The headlines about college admission are dominated by stories about artificial intelligence and the college essay. Let’s set some ground rules–to allow ChatGPT or some other tool to do your work is not only unethical, it is also unintelligent. The only worse mistake you could make is to let another human write your essay for you. Instead of preoccupying yourself with whether or not colleges are using AI detection software (most are not), spend your time focused on how best to express yourself authentically. Rick Clark is the executive director of strategic student success at Georgia Institute of Technology, one of the first institutions to clearly outline their AI policy for applicants. He says, “Much of a college application is devoted to lines, boxes, and numbers. Essays and supplements are the one place to establish connection, personality, and distinction. AI, in its current state, is terrible at all three.” He adds, “My hope is that students will use ChatGPT or other tools for brainstorming and to get started, but then move quickly into crafting an essay that will provide insight and value.”

Don’t Overdo It

Michael Stefanowicz, vice president for enrollment management at Landmark College says, “You can only cover so much detail about yourself in an admission essay, and a lot of students feel pressure to tell their life story or choose their most defining experience to date as an essay topic. Admission professionals know that you’re sharing just one part of your lived experience in the essay.” He adds, “Some of the favorite essays I’ve read have been episodic, reflecting on the way you’ve found meaning in a seemingly ordinary experience, advice you’ve lived out, a mistake you’ve learned from, or a special tradition in your life.” Gary Ross, vice president for admission and financial aid at Colgate University adds, “More than a few applicants each year craft essays that talk about the frustration and struggles they have experienced in identifying a topic for their college application essay. Presenting your college application essay as a smorgasbord of topics that ultimately landed on the cutting room floor does not give us much insight into an applicant.”

Don’t Believe In Magic

Jason Nevinger, senior director of admission at the University of Rochester warns, “Be skeptical of anyone or any company telling you, ‘This is the essay that got me into _____.’ There is no magic topic, approach, sentence structure, or prose that got any student into any institution ever.” Social media is littered with advertisements promising strategic essay help. Don’t waste your time, energy, or money trying to emulate a certain style, topic, or tone. Liz Cheron is chief executive officer for the Coalition for College and former assistant vice president of enrollment & dean of admissions at Northeastern University. She agrees with Nevinger, saying “Don't put pressure on yourself to find the perfect, slam dunk topic. The vast majority of college essays do exactly what they're supposed to do–they are well-written and tell the admission officer more about the student in that student's voice–and that can take many different forms.”

Don’t Over Recycle

Beatrice Atkinson-Myers, associate director of global recruitment at the University of California at Santa Cruz tells students, “Do not use the same response for each university; research and craft your essay to match the program at the university you are interested in studying. Don't waste time telling me things I can read elsewhere in your application. Use your essay to give the admissions officer insights into your motivations, interests, and thinking. Don't make your essay the kitchen sink, focus on one or two examples which demonstrate your depth and creativity.” Her UC colleague, Jim Rawlins, associate vice chancellor of enrollment management at the University of California at San Diego agrees, saying “Answer the question. Not doing so is the surest way we can tell you are simply giving us a snippet of something you actually wrote for a different purpose.”

Don’t Overedit

Emily Roper-Doten, vice president for undergraduate admissions and financial assistance at Clark University warns against “Too many editors!” She says, “Pick a couple of trusted folks to be your sounding board when considering topics and as readers once you have drafts. You don’t want too many voices in your essay to drown you out!” Scripps’ Romero agrees, suggesting, “Ask a good friend, someone you trust and knows you well, to read your essays.” She adds, “The goal is for the admission committee to get to know a little about you and who better to help you create that framework, than a good friend. This may not work for all students because of content but helps them understand it’s important to be themselves.” Whitney Soule, vice provost and dean of admissions at The University of Pennsylvania adds, “Avoid well-meaning editorial interference that might seem to polish your writing but actually takes your own personal ‘shine’ right out of the message.” She says, “As readers, we connect to applicants through their genuine tone and style. Considering editorial advice for flow and message is OK but hold on to the 'you' for what you want to say and how you want to say it.”

Don’t Get Showy

Palmer Muntz, senior regional admissions counselor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks cautions applicants, “Don’t be fancier than you are. You don’t need to put on airs.” He adds, “Yes, proofread your work for grammar and spelling, but be natural. Craft something you’d want to read yourself, which probably means keeping your paragraphs short, using familiar words, and writing in an active voice.” Connecticut College’s Strickler agrees, warning, “Don't try to be someone you are not. If you are not funny, don't try to write a funny essay. If you are not an intellectual, trying to write an intellectual essay is a bad idea.”

Anthony Jones, the vice president of enrollment management at Loyola University New Orleans offers a unique metaphor for thinking about the essay. He says, “In the new world of the hyper-fast college admission process, it's become easy to overlook the essential meaning of the college application. It's meant to reveal Y...O...U, the real you, not some phony digital avatar. Think of the essay as the essence of that voice but in analog. Like the completeness and authenticity captured in a vinyl record, the few lines you're given to explain your view should be a slow walk through unrestrained expression chock full of unapologetic nuances, crevices of emotion, and exactness about how you feel in the moment. Then, and only then, can you give the admissions officer an experience that makes them want to tune in and listen for more.”

Don’t Be A Downer

James Nondorf, vice president and dean of admissions and financial aid at The University of Chicago says, “Don’t be negative about other people, be appreciative of those who have supported you, and be excited about who you are and what you will bring to our campus!” He adds, “While admissions offices want smart students for our classrooms, we also want kind-hearted, caring, and joyous students who will add to our campus communities too.”

Don’t Pattern Match

Alan Ramirez is the dean of admission and financial aid at Sewanee, The University of the South. He explains, “A big concern I have is when students find themselves comparing their writing to other students or past applicants and transform their writing to be more like those individuals as a way to better their chances of offering a more-compelling essay.” He emphasizes that the result is that the “essay is no longer authentic nor the best representation of themselves and the whole point of the essay is lost. Their distinctive voice and viewpoint contribute to the range of voices in the incoming class, enhancing the diversity of perspectives we aim to achieve.” Ramirez simple tells students, “Be yourself, that’s what we want to see, plus there's no one else who can do it better than you!”

Don’t Feel Tied To A Topic

Jessica Ricker is the vice president for enrollment and dean of admissions and financial aid at Skidmore College. She says, “Sometimes students feel they must tell a story of grief or hardship, and then end up reliving that during the essay-writing process in ways that are emotionally detrimental. I encourage students to choose a topic they can reflect upon positively but recommend that if they choose a more challenging experience to write about, they avoid belaboring the details and instead focus on the outcome of that journey.” She adds, "They simply need to name it, frame its impact, and then help us as the reader understand how it has shaped their lens on life and their approach moving forward.”

Landmark College’s Stefanowicz adds, “A lot of students worry about how personal to get in sharing a part of their identity like your race or heritage (recalling last year’s Supreme Court case about race-conscious admissions), a learning difference or other disability, your religious values, LGBTQ identity…the list goes on.” He emphasizes, “This is always your choice, and your essay doesn’t have to be about a defining identity. But I encourage you to be fully yourself as you present yourself to colleges—because the college admission process is about finding a school where your whole self is welcome and you find a setting to flourish!”

Don’t Be Redundant

Hillen Grason Jr., dean of admission at Franklin & Marshall College, advises, “Don't repeat academic or co-curricular information that is easily identifiable within other parts of your application unless the topic is a core tenant of you as an individual.” He adds, “Use your essay, and other parts of your application, wisely. Your essay is the best way to convey who your authentic self is to the schools you apply. If you navigated a situation that led to a dip in your grades or co-curricular involvement, leverage the ‘additional information’ section of the application.

Thomas Marr is a regional manager of admissions for the Americas at The University of St Andrews in Scotland and points out that “Not all international schools use the main college essay as part of their assessment when reviewing student applications.” He says, “At the University of St Andrews, we focus on the supplemental essay and students should avoid the mistake of making the supplemental a repeat of their other essay. The supplemental (called the Personal Statement if using the UCAS application process) is to show the extent of their passion and enthusiasm for the subject/s to which they are applying and we expect about 75% of the content to cover this. They can use the remaining space to mention their interests outside of the classroom. Some students confuse passion for the school with passion for their subject; do not fall into that trap.”

A Few Final Don’ts

Don’t delay. Every college applicant I have ever worked with has wished they had started earlier. You can best avoid the pitfalls above if you give yourself the time and space to write a thoughtful essay and welcome feedback openly but cautiously. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to be perfect . Do your best, share your voice, and stay true to who you are.

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I’m a writer blog

Guidelines for writing Poems, Stories and Tales

Writing FAQ

How to cut down on using too many pronouns (he, she, his etc.) while writing paragraphs (fiction).

March 30, 2022

How do you avoid using too many pronouns in writing?

• Connecting two sentences into one can help reduce pronoun usage in writing.
• Be mindful of where the spotlight is pointing and whether it matters.
• Let environment tell the story.
• Eliminate unnecessary details.
• Pronouns are still important.
• Putting method into practice.

How do you avoid using he or she in writing?

Gender Neutral Language

• Rewrite the sentence to avoid the need for any pronoun at all. …
• If necessary, use “one” instead of “he or she” or “his or her.” However, one should avoid this formulation as well, if possible, since the use of “one” can be awkward. …
• If necessary, change the subject from singular to plural.

How do you avoid pronouns in an essay?

Formal Writing Voice

• Do not use first-person pronouns (“I,” “me,” “my,” “we,” “us,” etc.). …
• Avoid addressing readers as “you.” …
• Avoid the use of contractions. …
• Avoid colloquialism and slang expressions. …
• Avoid nonstandard diction. …
• Avoid abbreviated versions of words. …
• Avoid the overuse of short and simple sentences.

How do you use less personal pronouns?

Ways of Avoiding Pronouns “I”, “You” and “We” in an Essay

• Replacing it with an acceptable wording. This is a very good strategy for replacing “I” in an essay. …
• Using passive voice instead of pronouns. …
• Using a Third-Person Perspective. …
• Use of objective language. …
• Being specific and using strong verbs and adjectives.

Can you overuse pronouns?

Essentially, when we say that a writer is overusing pronouns, it’s typically in a conversation or interaction between two (or more) characters of the same gender . Things can very quickly become muddled if character names aren’t used to designate who is speaking, thinking, performing the actions, etc.

How do you avoid using too much in first person?

To avoid using “I” in first-person writing, do two things.

• Use “my” or “mine” or “me” when possible.
• Describe what the person sees or does rather than say, “I did it.”

What to say instead of his her?

Instead of “he/she,” “him/her,” “his/her,” “his/hers,” and “himself/herself” it would be: “ey,” “em,” “eir,” “eirs,” and “eirself” , or.

How do I stop being repetitive in writing?

Tips to Avoid Repetition in Your Writing

• Reword it. If you’re repeating a sentence for the sake of solidifying a point, or to bring the reader back to the original idea, take a sentence you’ve already written and re-structure it completely. …
• Use a thesaurus. …
• Read your writing out loud. …
• Break it up.

What can I say instead of she?

What is another word for she?

Which pronoun is best avoided?

In academic writing, first-person pronouns (I, we) may be used depending on your field. Second person pronouns (you, yours) should almost always be avoided. Third person pronouns (he, she, they) should be used in a way that avoids gender bias.

How do I not use my?

Following General Rules. Use the third person point of view. Never use “I,” “my,” or otherwise refer to yourself in formal academic writing . You should also avoid using the second-person point of view, such as by referring to the reader as “you.” Instead, write directly about your subject matter in the third person.

How can I start a sentence instead of I?

The Quick Fix

• Start with a prepositional phrase. A propositional phrase lets us know where the subject of the sentence is in time or space, or what the relationship is between two entities. …
• Swap the clauses. …
• Cut out unnecessary actions. …
• Avoid filter phrases (I thought, I saw, I heard).

How do you avoid starting a sentence with a pronoun?

Try starting sentences with words other than pronouns and avoid the common use of pronoun, action, result —instead, switch it up. Ask yourself how each sentence can be rewritten. Can you use another word to start the sentence, or better yet, the paragraph?

How can I avoid using too much?

• In general, it’s good to avoid using any word too frequently. …
• However, simply substituting a synonym doesn’t really solve the problem. …
• If you find yourself using the same word too often in the same paragraph, the solution is usually to rewrite the entire paragraph from a different point of view.

How do I stop using he or she?

The key rule of thumb is to avoid using gender-specific language; resort to alternatives like “he or she” only if there is no way to write the sentence without the pronouns . In most cases, one can rewrite any sentence to avoid the need for gender-based pronouns.

How do I stop second person?

Avoiding Second-Person Pronouns. Remove unnecessary second-person pronouns . Sometimes, you can simply take out the word “you” from the sentence to avoid addressing the reader at all. This is the simplest way to fix your sentence and tighten up your writing.

How do you remove you from writing?

Four ways to break the “you” habit include the following:

• Use nouns instead.
• Use indefinite pronouns (everyone, someone, anything) instead.
• Cut the “you” out altogether.
• Avoid giving commands (where “you” is the implied subject)

How do you stop using you in an essay?

Replace instances of “you” in your essay either by using “individual” or “one” to refer to a single hypothetical person and using “people” to refer to a large group to whom something you’re saying applies. Replace instances of “your” in your essay by using the possessive forms of “individual,” “one,” and “people.”

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No pronouns allowed in essays?

I am just downright confused. I just received instructions for the essays for a class. The instructions include not using pronouns in essays and in particular to "avoid the use of the words: this, that, he, she, it, they..etc."

I obviously wouldn't use first person pronouns, use a pronoun without an antecedent, etc, but I've never heard of using NO pronouns as best practice for academic writing. I'm having a hard time imaging an essay without any pronouns. It seems like the writing would be chunky and redundant.

The rubric shows a 20% grade reduction for using pronouns.

Is this really a thing?

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How NOT to write your college essay

Dean of Admissions Whitney Soule says that well-meaning editorial interference to polish the writing in a college application essay can take the personal “shine” out of the message.

June 24, 2024 ・ From Forbes

I Was Wrongfully Arrested Because of Facial Recognition Technology. It Shouldn’t Happen to Anyone Else

O n January 9, 2020, Detroit Police Department (DPD) officers arrested me on my front lawn in Farmington Hills, Michigan, in front of my wife and two young daughters, for a crime I had nothing to do with. They refused to tell me why, and I had to spend the night sleeping on a cold concrete bench in an overcrowded, filthy jail cell before finally finding out that I was being falsely accused of stealing designer watches from a Detroit boutique.

While interrogating me, a pair of detectives let it slip that I had been arrested based on an incorrect facial recognition identification, a technology that has been proven to be both racist and faulty—especially when used in real-world conditions, like with blurry security footage.

This week we finally reached a settlement in my wrongful arrest lawsuit against the City of Detroit that ensures what happened to me won’t happen again.

Facial recognition technology has access to massive databases with millions of photos — including, at the time I was arrested, a database of 49 million photographs comprising every Michigan driver’s license photo going back years. Anyone who has a driver’s license can be included in these databases. The technology scans them all for similar-looking faces and spits out some possible suspects. Police would tell you they only use this information as a “lead” and then conduct meaningful investigations but my own personal experience, and that of other wrongfully arrested people around the country, refutes that assertion.

Case in point, the system somehow returned my expired driver’s license photo as an “investigative lead” that might match the thief. Rather than investigate the accuracy of this purported match, police accepted the “lead,” putting my photo in a lineup along with five other photos of Black men—each of whom looked less like the thief since a computer algorithm hadn’t decided those photos looked similar enough to the thief to be a possible match. The witness (who hadn’t even seen the crime happen, but merely reviewed the security footage) chose my photo out of this rigged lineup. And that is all the evidence DPD relied upon to arrest me.

Read More: Artificial Intelligence Has a Problem With Gender and Racial Bias. Here’s How to Solve It

When I was finally released after 30 hours, I learned that my oldest daughter had lost her first tooth while I was in jail—a precious childhood memory now warped by trauma for our whole family.  She also turned around a photograph of our family because she couldn’t bear to see my face after watching the police haul me away. The girls even started playing cops-and-robbers games and telling me I was the robber. There have been many moments over the last four years where I’ve had to try to explain to two little girls that a computer wrongfully sent their father to jail.

The bogus charges were ultimately dropped, but not before I had to go to court to defend myself against something I didn’t do. Once they were dropped, I demanded that police officials apologize and urged them to stop using this dangerous technology. They ignored me.

Since my story became public in 2020, we’ve learned of two other Black people in Detroit, Porcha Woodruff and Michael Oliver , who were also wrongfully arrested for crimes they didn’t commit based on police reliance on faulty facial recognition technology searches.  Similar stories continue to pop up around the nation.

In a more just world, the cops would be banned from using this technology altogether. While this settlement couldn’t go that far, the DPD’s use of this dangerous and racist technology will now be much more tightly controlled. They will not be able to conduct a photo lineup based solely on a lead derived from facial recognition. Instead, they can only conduct a lineup after using facial recognition if they first uncover independent evidence linking the person identified by facial recognition to a crime. In other words, DPD can no longer substitute facial recognition for basic investigative police work.

Their obligations don’t end there. Whenever DPD uses facial recognition in an investigation, they must inform courts and prosecutors about any flaws and weaknesses of the facial recognition search they conducted, such as poor photo quality like in my case where grainy security footage was used. DPD will also, for the first time, have to train its officers about the limitations and inaccuracies of facial recognition technology, including how it falsely identifies Black people at much higher rates than white people.

What the Detroit Police Department made me endure changed my life forever. When I was being hauled off to jail, I felt like I was in a bad movie I couldn’t leave. For the past several years since my wrongful arrest, my family and I have traveled around Michigan and the country urging policymakers to protect their constituents from the horror I went through by stopping law enforcement from misusing this technology. I’ve repeatedly explained that I don’t want anyone to live with the fear and trauma that facial recognition technology inflicted on my family. With the settlement of my case, we take a big step toward that goal.

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The church I grew up in opposes IVF. Are my infertility struggles part of God’s design?

Most people in Los Angeles spend their Saturdays at the beach in the summer. I spend mine sitting on a bench outside a fertility clinic, praying to be pregnant. 

It’s been almost four years since my husband, Anthony, and I started trying for a baby. Like many couples, we thought time was on our side, so we spent our 20s getting degrees and advancing our careers. Kids would happen “someday”; we assumed we’d have two or three. In the meantime, we relished becoming the fun uncle, and the cool aunt. 

A few weeks after my 30th birthday, I scheduled an appointment to remove my IUD. Anthony had just turned 34. “Hopefully I’ll see you in a couple of months!” my gynecologist said before sending us off with recommendations for prenatal vitamins. Little did she know we would see her and so many other doctors frequently in the coming years, but never once for a pregnancy. 

According to reproductive endocrinologists, our issue is likely egg quality — though anyone who has experienced infertility knows this is often code for “we can’t figure it out.” 

Medical research for infertility is wildly underfunded despite declining fertility rates across the globe. A 2023 news release from the World Health Organization states that 17.5% of couples struggle to conceive. For some, the diagnosis is straightforward — endometriosis , blocked fallopian tubes, male factor infertility . For others, the diagnosis is unexplained, as has been the case for us. 

At the beginning of 2023, after two years of failing to get pregnant on our own, Anthony and I turned to in vitro fertilization (IVF) as a last resort. Until then, the cost had made IVF seem like an impossible option: in Los Angeles, one IVF cycle can be over $25,000. Many health insurance plans don’t cover fertility treatments, including ours. But if I’ve learned anything about infertility, it’s that it will make you both desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby. For us, this has meant taking out loans, borrowing money from family and working second jobs. 

If I’ve learned anything about infertility, it’s that it will make you both desperate and willing to do whatever it takes to have a baby. For us, this has meant taking out loans, borrowing money from family and working second jobs.

Still, the bills are suffocating, especially when you’re paying for something that doesn’t always work — like at our most recent appointment when my body didn’t respond to the birth control pills (yes, birth control is, ironically, used to help regulate your ovaries), and we were forced to cancel that IVF cycle. At the clinic where we go, we pay a package fee for every egg retrieval and embryo transfer. If a cycle is canceled because my body doesn’t respond to the medication, we back pay for all my appointments and blood work, which are now a la carte services. Two 15-minute appointments ran us $1,300.

The stress and grief Anthony and I have experienced in our journey to become parents is unlike anything I could have anticipated. It’s taken a toll on our mental health, our marriage and our bodies. Yet, in recent weeks, I’ve found this stress and pain to be exacerbated by current religious debates about the ethics of IVF and reproductive assistance in the United States, especially because I grew up in the church.

Two of the churches I attended as a child belong to the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), which recently voted against the use of assisted reproductive technology. Their biggest concern is embryo banking — the creating and freezing of multiple embryos — since they believe embryos are human beings. 

The report advocates “for the government to restrain actions inconsistent with the dignity and value of every human being, which necessarily includes frozen embryonic human beings.” It also emphasizes adherence to what the SBC perceives as “natural” reproductive methods, viewing IVF as an artificial intervention in God’s design. I have to wonder, though: Was it God’s design for my husband and me to have difficulty conceiving? 

I have to wonder: Was it God’s design for my husband and me to have difficulty conceiving?

While I no longer belong to any church or believe in the doctrines of the SBC, I feel overwhelmed and devastated for congregants who’ve used IVF to have their babies, or those who are in the throes of infertility. They must now wrestle with ethics and possible shaming from pastors and other church members, especially if they currently have frozen embryos waiting to be transferred. And with more than 13 million members, the SBC does not exist in a silo; its opinions hold weight, especially on the political stage. A day after the report, Senate Republicans blocked a bill that would have protected IVF access across the nation.

I wish my two frozen embryos were human babies; I really do. But the statistics don’t favor this wish. A 2018 study conducted by Reproductive Medicine Associates and presented at the annual meeting of the American Society for Reproductive Medicine found that three chromosomally normal embryos are needed for one live birth (a 94.9% chance of pregnancy). Sometimes it takes less, but often it takes more.

Last fall, for example, our first egg retrieval failed. I cried for weeks. The retrieval was textbook, and I had 19 follicles going into the surgery. But from those 19, doctors were only able to create one embryo. It arrested, or stopped developing, within hours. 

Embryo banking has never been an ethical concern for Anthony or me or the other people we’ve met doing IVF because we all know that our embryos are not compatible with life until they are reinserted into the uterus. Even then, the embryo has to implant, and the cells must continue to divide to form a fetus. So much can go wrong between transfer day and birth, especially for infertility patients. To have a chance at a family, creating multiple embryos is necessary. For cancer patients, too, embryo banking is a gift as it allows them to preserve their fertility. 

I also wish the SBC was correct in its assumption that IVF “routinely creates more embryos than can reasonably be implanted.” This may be true sometimes, but it isn’t our story. Anthony and I will have one embryo left after we transfer our first embryo this summer. Our doctor tells us there is a 60% chance it will lead to a pregnancy. We will likely need at least one more egg retrieval to have more than one child.

Back on the bench outside the fertility clinic, I think about how my parents raised me to believe that God can heal and perform miracles. According to the Bible stories I learned as a girl, Jesus walked on water and raised Lazarus from the dead. But my parents also taught me that God created the brains responsible for inventing modern medicine and that ignoring the medical interventions available to us would be like choosing to drown despite a nearby life raft.

“We commit to pray to our God who hears, sees, and remembers on behalf of those couples struggling with infertility” is how the SBC resolution ends. Anthony and I will continue to pray, too. But we will also rely on IVF.

Kayti Christian is a writer and editor living in Los Angeles. She is represented by Sallyanne Sweeney with MMB Creative and is currently writing a memoir about IVF and infertility. Find her writing about infertility on substack .

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GUNS, JUDGES, AND TRUMP

25 Pages Posted: 27 Jun 2024

Rebecca L. Brown

USC Gould School of Law

Lee Epstein

University of Southern California

Mitu Gulati

University of Virginia School of Law

Date Written: June 22, 2024

This Essay reports data on the impact of Bruen and its predecessor, Heller, on gun rights cases. Put mildly, the impact was significant, increasing not only the number of cases in the courts but also the partisanship displayed in the application of Bruen. And that partisanship increase was particularly large on the part of Trump-appointed judges. The Supreme Court has now decided Rahimi, its first opportunity to apply Bruen. While the Court's new decision blunted some of the sharpest concerns raised by Bruen, it did not eliminate the key concern, recommitting itself to a test that places considerable unguided discretion in judges, inviting partisan bias. Thus, the revolution that the Court has wrought through Bruen and Heller seems only to have just begun.

Keywords: Guns, Second Amendment, Trump Judges

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

USC Gould School of Law ( email )

699 Exposition Boulevard Los Angeles, CA 90089 United States 213-740-1892 (Phone) 213-740-5502 (Fax)

University of Southern California ( email )

2250 Alcazar Street Los Angeles, CA 90089 United States

HOME PAGE: http://epstein.usc.edu/

Mitu Gulati (Contact Author)

University of virginia school of law ( email ).

580 Massie Road Charlottesville, VA 22903 United States

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We Are Israelis Calling on Congress to Disinvite Netanyahu

By David Harel ,  Tamir Pardo ,  Talia Sasson ,  Ehud Barak ,  Aaron Ciechanover and David Grossman

Mr. Harel is the president of the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. Mr. Pardo is a former director of Mossad, Israel’s foreign intelligence service. Ms. Sasson is a former director of the special tasks department in Israel’s State Attorney’s Office. Mr. Barak is a former prime minister of Israel. Mr. Ciechanover received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 2004. Mr. Grossman is a novelist and essayist.

The leaders of the U.S. Congress have invited Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel to address a joint meeting of the Senate and the House of Representatives on July 24. Normally, we Israelis would consider the invitation recognition of our two nations’ shared values and a welcome gesture from our closest friend and ally, to whom we are deeply and morally indebted.

But Congress has made a terrible mistake. Mr. Netanyahu’s appearance in Washington will not represent the State of Israel and its citizens, and it will reward his scandalous and destructive conduct toward our country.

We come from a variety of areas of Israeli society: science, technology, politics, defense, law and culture. We are thus in a good position to assess the overall effect of Mr. Netanyahu’s government, and like many, we believe that he is driving Israel downhill at an alarming speed, to the extent that we may eventually lose the country we love.

To date, Mr. Netanyahu has failed to come up with a plan to end the war in Gaza and has been unable to gain the freedom of scores of hostages. At the very least, an invitation to address Congress should have been contingent upon resolving these two issues and, in addition, calling for new elections in Israel.

Inviting Mr. Netanyahu will reward his contempt for U.S. efforts to establish a peace plan, allow more aid to the beleaguered people of Gaza and do a better job of sparing civilians. Time and again, he has rejected President Biden’s plan to remove Hamas from power in Gaza through the establishment of a peacekeeping force. Such a move would very likely bring in its wake a far broader regional alliance, including a vision to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is not only in Israel’s interest but also in the interest of both political parties in the United States. Mr. Netanyahu constitutes the main obstacle to these outcomes.

The man who will address Congress next month has failed to assume responsibility for the blunders that allowed the Hamas assault, initially blaming security chiefs (then quickly backtracking ), and has yet to announce the establishment of a direly needed state commission of inquiry headed by a Supreme Court judge to look into the fiasco.

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