Avoiding You and I in Academic WritingIn academic writing, the first person pronouns (I, we, me, us, my, and our) and personal experience is used to make any reference to your individual experiences in a particular paper, or you might include a brief description of an experience that could help illustrate a point you are making without ever using the word I. tudents often arrive at college with strict lists of writing rules in mind. !ften these are rather strict lists of absolutes, including rules both stated and unstated" #ach essay should have exactly five paragraphs. $o not begin a sentence with %and& or %because.& 'ever include personal opinion. 'ever use %I& %you& in essays. (e get these ideas primarily from teachers and other students. !ften these ideas are derived from good advice but have been turned into unnecessarily strict rules in our minds. )he problem is that overly strict rules about writing can prevent us, as writers, from being flexible enough to learn to adapt to the writing styles of different fields, ranging from the sciences to the humanities, and different kinds of writing pro*ects, ranging from reviews to research. )herefore, when it suits your purpose as a scholar, you will probably need to break some of the old rules, particularly the rules that prohibit first person pronouns and personal experience. +lthough there are certainly some instructors who think that these rules should be followed (so it is a good idea to ask directly), many instructors in all kinds of fields are finding reason to depart from these rules. +voiding %I& can lead to awkwardness and vagueness, whereas using it in your writing can improve style and clarity. ,sing personal experience, when relevant, can add concreteness and even authority to writing that might otherwise be vague and impersonal.-ecause college writing situations vary widely in terms of stylistic conventions, tone, audience, and purpose, the trick is deciphering the conventions of your writing context and determining how your purpose and audience affect the way you write. In many cases, using the first person pronoun can improve your writing, by offering the following benefits" +ssertiveness " In some cases you might wish to emphasi.e agency (who is doing what), as for instance if you need to point out how valuable your particular pro*ect is to an academic discipline or to claim your uni/ue perspective or argument. 0larity " -ecause trying to avoid the first person can lead to awkward constructions and vagueness, using the first person can improve your writing style. 1 2ositioning yourself in the essay " In some pro*ects, you need to explain how your research or ideas build on or depart from the work of others, in which case you will need to say I, we, my, or our3 if you wish to claim some kind of authority on the topic, first person may help you do so. 4ere is an example of how using the first person can make the writing clearer and more assertive" Original example" In studying +merican popular culture of the 1567s, the /uestion of to what degree materialism was a ma*or characteristic of the cultural milieu was explored. Better example using first person" In our study of +merican popular culture of the 1567s, we explored the degree to which materialism characteri.ed the cultural milieu.)he original example sounds less emphatic and direct than the revised version3 using I allows the writers to avoid the convoluted construction of the original and clarifies who did what. 4ere is an example in which alternatives to the first person would be more appropriate"Original example" +s I observed the communication styles of first8year 0arolina women, I noticed fre/uent use of non8verbal cues. Better example" + study of the communication styles of first8year 0arolina women revealed fre/uent use of non8verbal cues.In the original example, using the first person grounds the experience heavily in the writer&s sub*ective, individual perspective, but the writer&s purpose is to describe a phenomenon that is in fact ob*ective or independent of that perspective. +voiding the first person here creates the desired impression of an observed phenomenon that could be reproduced and also creates a stronger, clearer statement. 4ere&s another example in which an alternative to first person works better"Original example" +s I was reading this study of medieval village life, I noticed that social class tended to be clearly defined. Better example" )his study of medieval village life reveals that social class tended to be clearly defined.+lthough you may run across instructors who find the casual style of the original example refreshing, they are probably rare. )he revised version sounds more academic and renders the statement more assertive and direct. 4ere&s a final example"Original example" I think that +ristotle9s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases, or at least it seems that way to me.Better example" +ristotle9s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases.In this example, there is no real need to announce that that statement about +ristotle is your thought3 this is your paper, so readers will assume that the ideas in it are yours.)he rules for this are changing, so it9s always best to ask your instructor if you are not sure about using first :person. -ut here are some general guidelines"Sciences" In the past, scientific writers avoided the use of I because scientists often view the first person as interfering with the impression of ob*ectivity and impersonality they are seeking to create. -ut conventions seem to be changing in some cases;for instance, when a scientific writer is describing a pro*ect she is working on or positioning that pro*ect within the existing research on the topic. 0heck with your science instructor to find out whether it&s o.k. to use I in hiseferences to your own experience can explain your interest in an issue or even help to establish your authority on a topic. ome specific writing situations, such as application essays, explicitly call for discussion of personal experience. ?Chemistry and Physics" -ecause the primary purpose is to study data and fixed principles in an ob*ective way, personal experience is less likely to have a place in this kind of writing. !ften, as in a lab report, your goal is to describe observations in such a way that a reader could duplicate the experiment, so the less extra information, the better. $uring my *ob hunt, I found that regular exercise helped reduce my stress levels (first person),$uring your *ob hunt, you may find that regular exercise helps reduce your stress levels (second person)@any find that regular exercise helps reduce the stress of a *ob hunt (third person)$uring a *ob hunt, reduce stress by finding time to exercise regularly (directive).!n a related topic" some people have been taught never to use the first person in their writing. )here is something to this" your attention should be on the work you are discussing, not on yourself (unless, of course, the assignment specifically calls for a personal essay). (rite about the text, not about yourself, and there is no need for endless /ualifications" I think, I believe, it seems to me. )he convention in much academic writing is to write with minimal reference to yourself as an author. )he reason for this lies in a tradition of needing to present your work ob*ectively, as the work of a dispassionate and disinterested (that is, unbiased) researcher.!ne of the features of academic writing is a general absence of the first person pronoun I.)his can be difficult, as lecturers often say, tell me what you think.(ell, they do want to know what you think, but presented as a rational, ob*ective argument.=or this reason we also avoid using emotive language3 instead we let the facts 8 or our reasoned argument 8 make the point for us.It is important to note that while the avoidance of I has long been part of the academic tradition, these days some academics consider its use to be acceptable. >egardless of your particular lecturer&s views, you will need to learn how to use I sparingly. )here are several ways to avoid using the first person"!ne way is to let the assignment speak for itself" for example, I show... becomes )he report shows... I interpret the results as... becomes )he results indicate... +nother way to avoid the first person is to use the passive voice construction"(active voice) (e administered the /uestionnaire... (passive voice) )he /uestionnaire was administered...(active voice) I surveyed the literature (passive voice) )he literature was surveyed(active voice) I took a sample... (passive voice) + sample was taken )elevision shows and advertisements do not only stick to traditional stereotypes, but also focus on renewing gender roles and images within society (0ourtney, 156?" :A).In the ollowing essay! I willbrieflylook at television as a social communicator and then look at the ways its programmes and commercials construct and reinforce gender stereotypes. http"