COMMENTS

  1. Can I use the first person in my college essay?

    Using first-person pronouns (like 'I' and 'me') is absolutely fine when you're writing your college essay. In fact, it's encouraged because the essay is your opportunity to showcase your own voice and experiences. Remember, the admissions officers want to get to know you as a person, so writing in the first person can help you connect with them ...

  2. Using First Person in an Academic Essay: When is It Okay?

    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 ...

  3. Should I Use "I"?

    Each essay should have exactly five paragraphs. Don't begin a sentence with "and" or "because.". Never include personal opinion. Never use "I" in essays. We get these ideas primarily from teachers and other students. Often these ideas are derived from good advice but have been turned into unnecessarily strict rules in our minds.

  4. PDF First Person Usage in Academic Writing

    Using First-Person Pronouns. In most academic writing, first-person pronouns should be avoided. For instance, when writing a research project, words such as "I," "we," "my," or "our" should probably not be used. The same principle applies to lab reports, research papers, literature reviews, and rhetorical analyses, among many ...

  5. Using First Person Pronouns in Academic Writing: Is It Allowed?

    Writing stories and opinion pieces with first person pronouns can have a powerful impact on the reader. However, students must verify if their instructor/university has any exclusive guidelines for first person use in such writing. ... Rather than conveying a personal opinion (unless an essay explicitly requires the writer to do so), a thesis ...

  6. First-Person Pronouns in Academic Writing

    It may have involved at least one of these guys. 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.

  7. The Use of Personal Pronouns in the Writing of Argumentative Essays by

    The difference between the numbers of personal pronouns used in the essays may have been caused to some extent by the topics. In my corpus there were three essays and the topics - university students having part-time jobs, illegal drugs, and individualism - appeared to cause differing patterns of personal pronoun usage.

  8. Personal Pronouns

    Revised on February 24, 2023. Personal pronouns are words like "you" that refer to the person speaking or writing, to the person they're addressing, or to other people and things. Like other pronouns, they are used in place of nouns to allow us to speak and write more concisely.

  9. Unit 17 Pronouns

    Unit 17 Pronouns. Learning Objectives. To learn personal, indefinite, and demonstrative pronouns. To understand the common uses of pronouns as in subject, object, possessive, and reflexive forms. To apply the noun-pronoun agreement rule and other uses of pronouns through multiple examples and a variety of writing situations.

  10. First-Person Pronouns ~ Correct Use, Rules & Examples

    STEM fields and natural sciences avoid first-person pronouns, though they began allowing them more than a few years back.; Humanities and social sciences fields allow first-person pronouns frequently.; Check with your supervisor or teacher before using first-person pronouns in your academic paper. Additionally, remember that they are mostly used for more personal assignments like a college ...

  11. An Introduction to Personal Pronouns

    You can use a personal pronoun to replace the name of someone or something once you've established who or what you're talking about. Some examples are I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, and them. Let's look at a sentence with no personal pronouns: My cat is named Ollie. Ollie likes to look out the window and watch the birds.

  12. PDF Pronouns: Personal Pronouns

    The noun that a pronoun refers back to, or replaces, is called an antecedent. A noun is a person, place, or a thing and, most often, the subject or object of your sentences. Jane wrote the essay. In the example above, Jane is the subject of the sentence and the essay is the object of the sentence. Look at the sentence below.

  13. Writing academically: Personal pronouns

    First or Third. Second. We. They/Their. Personal pronouns are used to replace people, places or things to make sentences shorter and clearer. Examples of personal pronouns include: I, we, it, they, you, and she. Your choice of personal pronoun will determine if you are writing in the first person or the third person.

  14. Appropriate Pronoun Usage

    Indefinite Pronouns. Using the masculine pronouns to refer to an indefinite pronoun (everybody, everyone, anybody, anyone) also has the effect of excluding women. In all but strictly formal uses, plural pronouns have become acceptable substitutes for the masculine singular. Original: Anyone who wants to go to the game should bring his money ...

  15. Personal Pronouns

    First-person is the speaker or writer him- or herself. The first person is personal ( I, we, etc.) Second-person is the person who is being directly addressed. The speaker or author is saying this is about you, the listener or reader. Third-person is the most common person used in academic writing. The author is saying this is about other people.

  16. Pronouns In Academic Writing ~ Explanations & Examples

    Pronouns in Academic Writing - In a Nutshell. Academic writing would have been repetitious and clumsy if pronouns did not exist. Using these words correctly is next to mastering your academic writing and passing academic essay papers. Therefore, you should understand the following: The different types and when to use them; The antecedents

  17. Style and Tone Tips for Your College Essay

    Prioritize using the first-person singular. Unlike in some other kinds of academic writing, you should write in the first-person singular (e.g., "I," "me") in a college application essay to highlight your perspective. Avoid using "one" for generalizations, since this sounds stilted and unnatural. Use "we" sparingly to avoid ...

  18. Personal Pronouns

    Personal pronouns are pronouns that take the place of common and proper nouns and refer to people and things. Essentially, they "stand in" for people and things when you want to make sure you are not repeating yourself by having to rename people and things all the time. Let's look at an example. My brother is staying up late to watch a ...

  19. Personal Pronouns in Academic Essays: Can You Use ...

    Since writing your essay without using personal pronouns can be cumbersome, I have outlined ways in which you can eliminate them in your paper. Also see: Can you use contractions in an essay? How to Eliminate Personal Pronouns from Your Academic Essay 1. Remove Them. In some scenarios, you can remove the pronouns.

  20. Can I use "they" as a singular pronoun in college essays?

    Yes. That's still correct in the English language. This is entirely dependent on the context of the sentence, but generally speaking yes you can do that. If you're unsure which pronoun to use, read the sentence out loud switching out the pronoun to see what sounds best to your own ears.

  21. Can You Use Personal Pronouns in an Argumentative Essay?

    This essay challenges the notion that personal pronouns have no place in argumentative essays and advocates for their reasonable and strategic use. By employing personal pronouns, we can foster a stronger connection between the writer and the reader, enhance our arguments' overall clarity and impact, and inject a sense of authenticity into ...

  22. Can you use Personal Pronouns in Essays for IELTS?

    Another advantage of using personal pronouns in essays for IELTS is that it makes your opinion very clear. The examiner will expect to be able to clearly see what your opinion is (in opinion essays). There is a possibility that if you use impersonal language the examiner will not realise it is your opinion. This is not to say you have to use ...