can you use we in a essay

10 Better Ways To Say “Our” And “We” In Formal Essays

When writing formal essays, there are rules of English grammar that we need to follow. Sometimes, we need to change perspective, and instead of writing in the first person and saying ‘we,’ we need to stay in the third person. So, what are the best alternatives to saying ‘we?’

There are many alternatives to saying ‘we.’ The most preferred alternatives we use are ‘they,’ ‘the group,’ and ‘the team.’ These three alternatives are the more general alternatives that seem to be applicable in almost all contexts, especially ‘they’ as we simply remove ourselves from the narrative by using it.

‘They’ is the most general and preferred alternative to ‘we’ and ‘us.’ By using ‘they,’ we replace our first-person pronoun with a third-person pronoun that simply excludes ourselves from the narrative, making the essay sound more objective and formal. ‘They’ is also a pronoun that is applicable in all contexts.

Take a look at these examples below.

• Original: Humans are incredible creatures. We have so much creativity.
• Alternative: Humans are incredible creatures. They have so much creativity.
• Original: Our group will report tomorrow. We will talk about this month’s sales.
• Alternative: Their group will report tomorrow. They will talk about this month’s sales.
• Original: We simply hope the audience learned something from us.
• Alternative: They simply hope the audience learned something from them.
• Original: We’ve done our research, but we don’t have precise predictions yet.
• Alternative: They’ve done their research, but they don’t have precise predictions yet.

‘The group’ is a good, general alternative to saying ‘we’ in formal essays. However, this alternative specifies that we refer to ‘we’ as a group of individuals. Therefore, this alternative does not apply to populations of large scale like nations, humans, or races.

• Original: We were able to conclude the following findings.
• Alternative: The group was able to conclude the following findings.
• Original: We could not administer the test today due to certain circumstances.
• Alternative: The group could not administer the test today due to certain circumstances?
• Original: Our experimental set-ups did not yield any significant difference.
• Alternative: The group’s experimental set-ups did not yield any significant difference.
• Original: It is beneficial for us if more people participate in the study.
• Alternative: It is beneficial for the group if more people participate in the study.

‘The team’ is synonymous with ‘the group.’ It is another alternative to saying ‘we’ but implies that ‘we’ refers to a team or a group of individuals that are together for the same purpose. However, ‘the team’ does not apply to bigger populations, like an entire race or human population.

• Original: We are composed of individuals with a passion for learning.
• Alternative: The team is composed of individuals with a passion for learning.
• Original: The results of our work do not define our identity.
• Alternative: The results of the team’s work do not define the team’s identity.
• Original: We poured our best efforts into this project.
• Alternative: The team poured their best efforts into this project.
• Original: We do not tolerate any misconduct and violent behavior.
• Alternative: The team does not tolerate any misconduct and violent behavior.

‘The body’ is another alternative for saying ‘we’ in formal essays. We mostly use ‘body’ when referring to large groups of individuals like the audience, spectators, or students. However, we do not use it for extreme scales such as a race population, and the like.

• Original: We didn’t find the presentation interesting.
• Alternative: The body didn’t find the presentation interesting.
• Original: We have a lot of questions we want to ask the speaker after the talk.
• Alternative: The body has a lot of questions they want to ask the speaker after the talk.
• Original: We listened to different opinions on the issue.
• Alternative: The body listened to different opinions on the issue.
• Original: We were only able to watch the latter part of the program.
• Alternative: The body was only able to watch the latter part of the program.

The Organization

‘The organization’ is a more specific alternative for ‘we.’ In using this alternative, we refer to ‘we’ as an organization in the context we are talking or writing. This alternative is most applicable for organization-related things. However, do not use this alternative if the context does not involve an organization.

• Original: We will push through with the planned fundraising project.
• Alternative: The organization will push through with the planned fundraising project.
• Original: Our accomplishments this year are something we should be proud of.
• Alternative: The organization’s accomplishments this year are something they should be proud of.
• Original: We plan on collaborating with other organizations to plan the event.
• Alternative: The organization plans on collaborating with other organizations to plan the event.
• Original: We only accept people who have a passion for our advocacy.
• Alternative: The organization only accepts people who have a passion for their advocacy.

The Researchers

‘The researchers’ is a specific alternative to ‘we’ that we only use when we refer to ‘we’ as a group of researchers. We mostly use this alternative in writing research papers that need to be in the third-person perspective. However, we don’t use this alternative outside the scope of research.

• Original: We administered a total of three set-ups for the study.
• Alternative: The researchers administered a total of three set-ups for the study.
• Original: We encountered circumstances that provided the limitations of our research.
• Alternative: The researchers encountered circumstances that provided the limitations of their research.
• Original: After three months of observation, our conclusion is as follows .
• Alternative: After three months of observation, the researchers’ conclusion is as follows.
• Original: Our study would not be successful if not for the help of our research adviser.
• Alternative: The researchers’ study would not be successful if not for the help of their research adviser.

The Company

‘The company’ is another specific alternative for ‘we.’ We only use this alternative, if we are in the context that ‘we’ refers to a company. We use this mostly in business-related reports or presentations. Other than that, we don’t use this alternative for purposes that do not involve a company.

• Original: Our sales for this month are higher than last month.
• Alternative: The company’s sales for this month are higher than last month.
• Original: We only sell organic, vegan-friendly, and cruelty-free products.
• Alternative: The company only sells organic, vegan-friendly, and cruelty-free products.
• Original: We need to continuously track our demand and supply levels.
• Alternative: The company needs to continuously track its demand and supply levels.
• Original: Our vision and mission should guide us in all our endeavors.
• Alternative: The company’s vision and mission should guide the company in all its endeavors.

The Association

‘The association’ is also a specific alternative to ‘we.’ We only use this alternative if we are in a context to talk as part of or within an association. However, we do not use this alternative if we are not talking about, for, or as part of an association.

• Original: We will hold meetings every Friday to discuss weekly matters.
• Alternative: The association will hold meetings every Friday to discuss weekly matters.
• Original: Our job is to advocate and uphold democracy in our country.
• Alternative: The association’s job is to advocate and uphold democracy in our country.
• Original: Our goal directs the objectives of every endeavor we take care of.
• Alternative: The association’s goal directs the objectives of every endeavor it takes care of.
• Original: We are open to expanding the scope of its initiatives.
• Alternative: The association is open to expanding the scope of its initiatives.

‘Humans’ is a specific alternative for ‘we’ that we use only when we refer to ‘we’ as the entire human population. We cannot use ‘humans’ for small-scale groups like researchers or a company. We use this alternative only when we regard ‘we’ as the entire human population.

Take a look at the examples below.

• Original: We have so much potential inside us.
• Alternative: Humans have so much potential inside them.
• Original: Sometimes, even 24 hours isn’t enough for what we want to do in a day.
• Alternative: Sometimes, even 24 hours isn’t enough for what humans want to do in a day.
• Original: All of us have a desire to accomplish something in our lives.
• Alternative: All humans have a desire to accomplish something in their lives.
• Original: We cannot live without one another.
• Alternative: Humans cannot live without one another.

‘Society’ or ‘the society’ is an alternative to ‘we’ that we use when referring to ‘we’ as the society we are part of, or we are in. Like ‘humans,’ we do not use ‘society’ for small-scale groups, and we can only use this alternative for anything that involves our society.

• Original: We are so cruel towards others sometimes.
• Alternative: Society is so cruel towards others sometimes.
• Original: We have reached far and accomplished a lot collectively.
• Alternative: Society has reached far and accomplished a lot collectively.
• Original: Sometimes, we put up unrealistic standards for ourselves and for others.
• Alternative: Sometimes, society puts up unrealistic standards for oneself and for others.
• Original: We should start accepting everyone for who they are.
• Alternative: Society should start accepting everyone for who they are.

Is It Appropriate To Use ‘Our’ And ‘We’ In Formal Essays?

Whether to use ‘we’ or not depends on how formal you want your essay to be or how formal it needs to be. Some formal essays allow the use of first-person pronouns like ‘we’ and ‘us.’ However, omitting these pronouns do make your essays sound more professional, formal, and objective.

Martin holds a Master’s degree in Finance and International Business. He has six years of experience in professional communication with clients, executives, and colleagues. Furthermore, he has teaching experience from Aarhus University. Martin has been featured as an expert in communication and teaching on Forbes and Shopify. Read more about Martin here .

• Research On or In – Which Is Correct?
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• 10 Words For Working Together Towards A Common Goal
• Work On/In/With A Team – Preposition Guide (With Examples)

Should I Use “I”?

What this handout is about.

This handout is about determining when to use first person pronouns (“I”, “we,” “me,” “us,” “my,” and “our”) and personal experience in academic writing. “First person” and “personal experience” might sound like two ways of saying the same thing, but first person and personal experience can work in very different ways in your writing. You might choose to use “I” but not 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’re making without ever using the word “I.” So whether or not you should use first person and personal experience are really two separate questions, both of which this handout addresses. It also offers some alternatives if you decide that either “I” or personal experience isn’t appropriate for your project. If you’ve decided that you do want to use one of them, this handout offers some ideas about how to do so effectively, because in many cases using one or the other might strengthen your writing.

Expectations about academic writing

Students often arrive at college with strict lists of writing rules in mind. Often these are rather strict lists of absolutes, including rules both stated and unstated:

• 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. The 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 projects, ranging from reviews to research.

So 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. Although 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. Avoiding “I” can lead to awkwardness and vagueness, whereas using it in your writing can improve style and clarity. Using personal experience, when relevant, can add concreteness and even authority to writing that might otherwise be vague and impersonal. Because 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. The rest of this handout is devoted to strategies for figuring out when to use “I” and personal experience.

Effective uses of “I”:

In many cases, using the first person pronoun can improve your writing, by offering the following benefits:

• Assertiveness: In some cases you might wish to emphasize agency (who is doing what), as for instance if you need to point out how valuable your particular project is to an academic discipline or to claim your unique perspective or argument.
• Clarity: Because trying to avoid the first person can lead to awkward constructions and vagueness, using the first person can improve your writing style.
• Positioning yourself in the essay: In some projects, you need to explain how your research or ideas build on or depart from the work of others, in which case you’ll need to say “I,” “we,” “my,” or “our”; if you wish to claim some kind of authority on the topic, first person may help you do so.

Deciding whether “I” will help your style

Here is an example of how using the first person can make the writing clearer and more assertive:

Original example:

In studying American popular culture of the 1980s, the question of to what degree materialism was a major characteristic of the cultural milieu was explored.

Better example using first person:

In our study of American popular culture of the 1980s, we explored the degree to which materialism characterized the cultural milieu.

The original example sounds less emphatic and direct than the revised version; using “I” allows the writers to avoid the convoluted construction of the original and clarifies who did what.

Here is an example in which alternatives to the first person would be more appropriate:

As I observed the communication styles of first-year Carolina women, I noticed frequent use of non-verbal cues.

Better example:

A study of the communication styles of first-year Carolina women revealed frequent use of non-verbal cues.

In the original example, using the first person grounds the experience heavily in the writer’s subjective, individual perspective, but the writer’s purpose is to describe a phenomenon that is in fact objective or independent of that perspective. Avoiding the first person here creates the desired impression of an observed phenomenon that could be reproduced and also creates a stronger, clearer statement.

Here’s another example in which an alternative to first person works better:

As I was reading this study of medieval village life, I noticed that social class tended to be clearly defined.

This study of medieval village life reveals that social class tended to be clearly defined.

Although you may run across instructors who find the casual style of the original example refreshing, they are probably rare. The revised version sounds more academic and renders the statement more assertive and direct.

Here’s a final example:

I think that Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases, or at least it seems that way to me.

Better example

Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases.

In this example, there is no real need to announce that that statement about Aristotle is your thought; this is your paper, so readers will assume that the ideas in it are yours.

Determining whether to use “I” according to the conventions of the academic field

Which fields allow “I”?

The rules for this are changing, so it’s always best to ask your instructor if you’re not sure about using first person. But 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 objectivity and impersonality they are seeking to create. But conventions seem to be changing in some cases—for instance, when a scientific writer is describing a project she is working on or positioning that project within the existing research on the topic. Check with your science instructor to find out whether it’s o.k. to use “I” in their class.

Social Sciences: Some social scientists try to avoid “I” for the same reasons that other scientists do. But first person is becoming more commonly accepted, especially when the writer is describing their project or perspective.

Humanities: Ask your instructor whether you should use “I.” The purpose of writing in the humanities is generally to offer your own analysis of language, ideas, or a work of art. Writers in these fields tend to value assertiveness and to emphasize agency (who’s doing what), so the first person is often—but not always—appropriate. Sometimes writers use the first person in a less effective way, preceding an assertion with “I think,” “I feel,” or “I believe” as if such a phrase could replace a real defense of an argument. While your audience is generally interested in your perspective in the humanities fields, readers do expect you to fully argue, support, and illustrate your assertions. Personal belief or opinion is generally not sufficient in itself; you will need evidence of some kind to convince your reader.

Other writing situations: If you’re writing a speech, use of the first and even the second person (“you”) is generally encouraged because these personal pronouns can create a desirable sense of connection between speaker and listener and can contribute to the sense that the speaker is sincere and involved in the issue. If you’re writing a resume, though, avoid the first person; describe your experience, education, and skills without using a personal pronoun (for example, under “Experience” you might write “Volunteered as a peer counselor”).

A note on the second person “you”:

In situations where your intention is to sound conversational and friendly because it suits your purpose, as it does in this handout intended to offer helpful advice, or in a letter or speech, “you” might help to create just the sense of familiarity you’re after. But in most academic writing situations, “you” sounds overly conversational, as for instance in a claim like “when you read the poem ‘The Wasteland,’ you feel a sense of emptiness.” In this case, the “you” sounds overly conversational. The statement would read better as “The poem ‘The Wasteland’ creates a sense of emptiness.” Academic writers almost always use alternatives to the second person pronoun, such as “one,” “the reader,” or “people.”

Personal experience in academic writing

The question of whether personal experience has a place in academic writing depends on context and purpose. In papers that seek to analyze an objective principle or data as in science papers, or in papers for a field that explicitly tries to minimize the effect of the researcher’s presence such as anthropology, personal experience would probably distract from your purpose. But sometimes you might need to explicitly situate your position as researcher in relation to your subject of study. Or if your purpose is to present your individual response to a work of art, to offer examples of how an idea or theory might apply to life, or to use experience as evidence or a demonstration of an abstract principle, personal experience might have a legitimate role to play in your academic writing. Using personal experience effectively usually means keeping it in the service of your argument, as opposed to letting it become an end in itself or take over the paper.

It’s also usually best to keep your real or hypothetical stories brief, but they can strengthen arguments in need of concrete illustrations or even just a little more vitality.

Here are some examples of effective ways to incorporate personal experience in academic writing:

• Anecdotes: In some cases, brief examples of experiences you’ve had or witnessed may serve as useful illustrations of a point you’re arguing or a theory you’re evaluating. For instance, in philosophical arguments, writers often use a real or hypothetical situation to illustrate abstract ideas and principles.
• References to your own experience can explain your interest in an issue or even help to establish your authority on a topic.
• Some specific writing situations, such as application essays, explicitly call for discussion of personal experience.

Here are some suggestions about including personal experience in writing for specific fields:

Philosophy: In philosophical writing, your purpose is generally to reconstruct or evaluate an existing argument, and/or to generate your own. Sometimes, doing this effectively may involve offering a hypothetical example or an illustration. In these cases, you might find that inventing or recounting a scenario that you’ve experienced or witnessed could help demonstrate your point. Personal experience can play a very useful role in your philosophy papers, as long as you always explain to the reader how the experience is related to your argument. (See our handout on writing in philosophy for more information.)

Religion: Religion courses might seem like a place where personal experience would be welcomed. But most religion courses take a cultural, historical, or textual approach, and these generally require objectivity and impersonality. So although you probably have very strong beliefs or powerful experiences in this area that might motivate your interest in the field, they shouldn’t supplant scholarly analysis. But ask your instructor, as it is possible that they are interested in your personal experiences with religion, especially in less formal assignments such as response papers. (See our handout on writing in religious studies for more information.)

Literature, Music, Fine Arts, and Film: Writing projects in these fields can sometimes benefit from the inclusion of personal experience, as long as it isn’t tangential. For instance, your annoyance over your roommate’s habits might not add much to an analysis of “Citizen Kane.” However, if you’re writing about Ridley Scott’s treatment of relationships between women in the movie “Thelma and Louise,” some reference your own observations about these relationships might be relevant if it adds to your analysis of the film. Personal experience can be especially appropriate in a response paper, or in any kind of assignment that asks about your experience of the work as a reader or viewer. Some film and literature scholars are interested in how a film or literary text is received by different audiences, so a discussion of how a particular viewer or reader experiences or identifies with the piece would probably be appropriate. (See our handouts on writing about fiction , art history , and drama for more information.)

Women’s Studies: Women’s Studies classes tend to be taught from a feminist perspective, a perspective which is generally interested in the ways in which individuals experience gender roles. So personal experience can often serve as evidence for your analytical and argumentative papers in this field. This field is also one in which you might be asked to keep a journal, a kind of writing that requires you to apply theoretical concepts to your experiences.

History: If you’re analyzing a historical period or issue, personal experience is less likely to advance your purpose of objectivity. However, some kinds of historical scholarship do involve the exploration of personal histories. So although you might not be referencing your own experience, you might very well be discussing other people’s experiences as illustrations of their historical contexts. (See our handout on writing in history for more information.)

Sciences: Because the primary purpose is to study data and fixed principles in an objective way, personal experience is less likely to have a place in this kind of writing. Often, 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. Of course, if you’re working in the social sciences, case studies—accounts of the personal experiences of other people—are a crucial part of your scholarship. (See our handout on  writing in the sciences for more information.)

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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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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Can You Use I or We in a Research Paper?

4-minute read

• 11th July 2023

Writing in the first person, or using I and we pronouns, has traditionally been frowned upon in academic writing . But despite this long-standing norm, writing in the first person isn’t actually prohibited. In fact, it’s becoming more acceptable – even in research papers.

 If you’re wondering whether you can use I (or we ) in your research paper, you should check with your institution first and foremost. Many schools have rules regarding first-person use. If it’s up to you, though, we still recommend some guidelines. Check out our tips below!

When Is It Most Acceptable to Write in the First Person?

Certain sections of your paper are more conducive to writing in the first person. Typically, the first person makes sense in the abstract, introduction, discussion, and conclusion sections. You should still limit your use of I and we , though, or your essay may start to sound like a personal narrative .

 Using first-person pronouns is most useful and acceptable in the following circumstances.

When doing so removes the passive voice and adds flow

Sometimes, writers have to bend over backward just to avoid using the first person, often producing clunky sentences and a lot of passive voice constructions. The first person can remedy this. For example: 

Both sentences are fine, but the second one flows better and is easier to read.

When doing so differentiates between your research and other literature

When discussing literature from other researchers and authors, you might be comparing it with your own findings or hypotheses . Using the first person can help clarify that you are engaging in such a comparison. For example: 

 In the first sentence, using “the author” to avoid the first person creates ambiguity. The second sentence prevents misinterpretation.

When doing so allows you to express your interest in the subject

In some instances, you may need to provide background for why you’re researching your topic. This information may include your personal interest in or experience with the subject, both of which are easier to express using first-person pronouns. For example:

Expressing personal experiences and viewpoints isn’t always a good idea in research papers. When it’s appropriate to do so, though, just make sure you don’t overuse the first person.

When to Avoid Writing in the First Person

It’s usually a good idea to stick to the third person in the methods and results sections of your research paper. Additionally, be careful not to use the first person when:

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●  It makes your findings seem like personal observations rather than factual results.

●  It removes objectivity and implies that the writing may be biased .

●  It appears in phrases such as I think or I believe , which can weaken your writing.

Keeping Your Writing Formal and Objective

Using the first person while maintaining a formal tone can be tricky, but keeping a few tips in mind can help you strike a balance. The important thing is to make sure the tone isn’t too conversational.

 To achieve this, avoid referring to the readers, such as with the second-person you . Use we and us only when referring to yourself and the other authors/researchers involved in the paper, not the audience.

It’s becoming more acceptable in the academic world to use first-person pronouns such as we and I in research papers. But make sure you check with your instructor or institution first because they may have strict rules regarding this practice.

 If you do decide to use the first person, make sure you do so effectively by following the tips we’ve laid out in this guide. And once you’ve written a draft, send us a copy! Our expert proofreaders and editors will be happy to check your grammar, spelling, word choice, references, tone, and more. Submit a 500-word sample today!

Is it ever acceptable to use I or we in a research paper?

In some instances, using first-person pronouns can help you to establish credibility, add clarity, and make the writing easier to read.

How can I avoid using I in my writing?

Writing in the passive voice can help you to avoid using the first person.

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• Academic Writing / APA 7th Ed

A “We” Problem

by Purdue Global Academic Success Center and Writing Center · Published December 18, 2020 · Updated December 17, 2020

In informal writing, the use of the first-person plural pronoun “we” is commonplace, as in, We tend to use language willy-nilly when writing informally . Some of you might not think twice about my use of “we” in that last statement (which is fine), but some of you might be saying, “Wait a minute. Hold on. Whether I am writing informally or not, I am always paying attention to the language that I use. Words matter. How dare you presume to know what I think?”

And thus the problem with using what’s called the editorial “we” becomes clear. When using the editorial “we,” the writer is speaking not only for the writer but also for others as well–folks who may or may not be part of the group that “we” entails. Instead of writing We tend to use language willy-nilly when writing informally,” write Some writers use language willy-nilly when writing informally. Using “some writers” in place of the more general and all-encompassing “we” tempers the statement because the word choice is more specific. Indeed, regardless of the relative informality of “we,” what is worth keeping in mind is using the most precise language possible. Instead of using “we,” which may confuse readers, use a more specific word.

I recall reading a paper pre-pandemic by a female student who was arguing that women who choose to breastfeed their babies have every right to do so in public and should not feel ashamed. The student wrote (and here I am quoting from memory) “We have every right to breastfeed our babies on park benches, at youth sports events, and in restaurants” to which I thought, Me ? I’m a male. Did you mean to include me in the “We”? 

If you think about the rhetorical situation, the writer would not be arguing her view to an audience that agrees with her, so the inclusion of “we” created a confusing moment in the paper–especially if you are male! The writer could have avoided the confusion entirely by using a more specific word or phrase for “we” such as “Women who choose to breastfeed.”  

Many are taught not to use first person pronouns at all in their academic writing, and the kind of miscue in this example is a good reason why such lessons are taught. What does APA Style have to say about the editorial “we”? APA Style advises writers to adopt a more formal approach to writing and avoid the editorial “we” when referring to people in general. 

Another awkward usage instance of editorial “we” worth discussing is in a situation where the writer–a singular entity–refers to oneself in the plural, as in this example: We will discuss the merits of a green burial given an ever-increasing human population and less and less earth. Why would the author use “we” in this sentence if it is only the one author who will do the discussing? As a result of this sloppy use of “we,” the sentence lacks clarity and may leave readers scratching their heads. 

That said, if, however, a work has more than one author, then using “we” would make sense because “we” would be referring to the coauthors. APA Style makes this point clear on its website , writing, “If you are writing a paper with coauthors, use the pronoun ‘we’ to refer to yourself and your coauthors together.”

The issue is not limited to just “we”; in fact, other first-person plural pronouns such as “us” and “our” are equally problematic. Take a loaded sentence like this one: It’s up to us to make sure our children have all the same opportunities we had. 

As a reader, you may wonder, what if I don’t have children? How does the sentence relate to me and my experiences? The statement also makes an assumption about those who are part of “we” in that, apparently, those folks all had the “same opportunities.” The lack of precision in the sentence is troubling from a writing teacher perspective, and from any other perspective, the sentence illustrates the issues related to using “we” and other first-person plural pronouns. So how might this last sentence be revised for greater specificity and precision?

Here’s one revision: Society must ensure that today’s youth have the same opportunities as previous generations. 

I like the idea of pointing the finger at society, but the word “society” is not terribly precise. How about this sentence? The community needs to take steps to ensure that young people have the same opportunities as previous generations. In this revised sentence, the confusing use of  both “us” and “our” are eliminated, and the statement is no longer making assumptions about the audience by using the imprecise “we.” While writers certainly will use pronouns–even pronouns like “we,” “us,” and “our”–the key is for the writer to pay attention to the language used and make sure such pronoun usage doesn’t create unintended confusion. In many cases, being more specific with the word choice makes all of the difference. 

Now in fairness to writers who inadvertently use “we” in confusing ways, the intention is strategic in that “we” is being used to establish some kind of common ground with readers in a we’re-all-in-this-together sort of way that in some contexts does work, but which often misses its mark, so it’s a good idea to avoid this language pitfall if at all possible. We may not be language experts, but we can follow some practical advice. After all, what else can we do?

Until next week–

Kurtis Clements

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Can You Use First-Person Pronouns (I/we) in a Research Paper?

Research writers frequently wonder whether the first person can be used in academic and scientific writing. In truth, for generations, we’ve been discouraged from using “I” and “we” in academic writing simply due to old habits. That’s right—there’s no reason why you can’t use these words! In fact, the academic community used first-person pronouns until the 1920s, when the third person and passive-voice constructions (that is, “boring” writing) were adopted–prominently expressed, for example, in Strunk and White’s classic writing manual “Elements of Style” first published in 1918, that advised writers to place themselves “in the background” and not draw attention to themselves.

In recent decades, however, changing attitudes about the first person in academic writing has led to a paradigm shift, and we have, however, we’ve shifted back to producing active and engaging prose that incorporates the first person.

Can You Use “I” in a Research Paper?

However, “I” and “we” still have some generally accepted pronoun rules writers should follow. For example, the first person is more likely used in the abstract , Introduction section , Discussion section , and Conclusion section of an academic paper while the third person and passive constructions are found in the Methods section and Results section .

In this article, we discuss when you should avoid personal pronouns and when they may enhance your writing.

It’s Okay to Use First-Person Pronouns to:

• clarify meaning by eliminating passive voice constructions;
• establish authority and credibility (e.g., assert ethos, the Aristotelian rhetorical term referring to the personal character);
• express interest in a subject matter (typically found in rapid correspondence);
• establish personal connections with readers, particularly regarding anecdotal or hypothetical situations (common in philosophy, religion, and similar fields, particularly to explore how certain concepts might impact personal life. Additionally, artistic disciplines may also encourage personal perspectives more than other subjects);
• to emphasize or distinguish your perspective while discussing existing literature; and
• to create a conversational tone (rare in academic writing).

The First Person Should Be Avoided When:

• doing so would remove objectivity and give the impression that results or observations are unique to your perspective;
• you wish to maintain an objective tone that would suggest your study minimized biases as best as possible; and
• expressing your thoughts generally (phrases like “I think” are unnecessary because any statement that isn’t cited should be yours).

Usage Examples

The following examples compare the impact of using and avoiding first-person pronouns.

Example 1 (First Person Preferred):

To understand the effects of global warming on coastal regions,  changes in sea levels, storm surge occurrences and precipitation amounts  were examined .

[Note: When a long phrase acts as the subject of a passive-voice construction, the sentence becomes difficult to digest. Additionally, since the author(s) conducted the research, it would be clearer to specifically mention them when discussing the focus of a project.]

We examined  changes in sea levels, storm surge occurrences, and precipitation amounts to understand how global warming impacts coastal regions.

[Note: When describing the focus of a research project, authors often replace “we” with phrases such as “this study” or “this paper.” “We,” however, is acceptable in this context, including for scientific disciplines. In fact, papers published the vast majority of scientific journals these days use “we” to establish an active voice.   Be careful when using “this study” or “this paper” with verbs that clearly couldn’t have performed the action.   For example, “we attempt to demonstrate” works, but “the study attempts to demonstrate” does not; the study is not a person.]

Example 2 (First Person Discouraged):

From the various data points  we have received ,  we observed  that higher frequencies of runoffs from heavy rainfall have occurred in coastal regions where temperatures have increased by at least 0.9°C.

[Note: Introducing personal pronouns when discussing results raises questions regarding the reproducibility of a study. However, mathematics fields generally tolerate phrases such as “in X example, we see…”]

Coastal regions  with temperature increases averaging more than 0.9°C  experienced  higher frequencies of runoffs from heavy rainfall.

[Note: We removed the passive voice and maintained objectivity and assertiveness by specifically identifying the cause-and-effect elements as the actor and recipient of the main action verb. Additionally, in this version, the results appear independent of any person’s perspective.] 

Example 3 (First Person Preferred):

In contrast to the study by Jones et al. (2001), which suggests that milk consumption is safe for adults, the Miller study (2005) revealed the potential hazards of ingesting milk.  The authors confirm  this latter finding.

[Note: “Authors” in the last sentence above is unclear. Does the term refer to Jones et al., Miller, or the authors of the current paper?]

In contrast to the study by Jones et al. (2001), which suggests that milk consumption is safe for adults, the Miller study (2005) revealed the potential hazards of ingesting milk.  We confirm  this latter finding.

[Note: By using “we,” this sentence clarifies the actor and emphasizes the significance of the recent findings reported in this paper. Indeed, “I” and “we” are acceptable in most scientific fields to compare an author’s works with other researchers’ publications. The APA encourages using personal pronouns for this context. The social sciences broaden this scope to allow discussion of personal perspectives, irrespective of comparisons to other literature.]

Other Tips about Using Personal Pronouns

• Avoid starting a sentence with personal pronouns. The beginning of a sentence is a noticeable position that draws readers’ attention. Thus, using personal pronouns as the first one or two words of a sentence will draw unnecessary attention to them (unless, of course, that was your intent).
• Be careful how you define “we.” It should only refer to the authors and never the audience unless your intention is to write a conversational piece rather than a scholarly document! After all, the readers were not involved in analyzing or formulating the conclusions presented in your paper (although, we note that the point of your paper is to persuade readers to reach the same conclusions you did). While this is not a hard-and-fast rule, if you do want to use “we” to refer to a larger class of people, clearly define the term “we” in the sentence. For example, “As researchers, we frequently question…”
• First-person writing is becoming more acceptable under Modern English usage standards; however, the second-person pronoun “you” is still generally unacceptable because it is too casual for academic writing.
• Take all of the above notes with a grain of salt. That is,  double-check your institution or target journal’s author guidelines .  Some organizations may prohibit the use of personal pronouns.
• As an extra tip, before submission, you should always read through the most recent issues of a journal to get a better sense of the editors’ preferred writing styles and conventions.

Wordvice Resources

For more general advice on how to use active and passive voice in research papers, on how to paraphrase , or for a list of useful phrases for academic writing , head over to the Wordvice Academic Resources pages . And for more professional proofreading services , visit our Academic Editing and P aper Editing Services pages.

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We Vs. They: Using the First & Third Person in Research Papers

Writing in the first , second , or third person is referred to as the author’s point of view . When we write, our tendency is to personalize the text by writing in the first person . That is, we use pronouns such as “I” and “we”. This is acceptable when writing personal information, a journal, or a book. However, it is not common in academic writing.

Some writers find the use of first , second , or third person point of view a bit confusing while writing research papers. Since second person is avoided while writing in academic or scientific papers, the main confusion remains within first or third person.

In the following sections, we will discuss the usage and examples of the first , second , and third person point of view.

First Person Pronouns

The first person point of view simply means that we use the pronouns that refer to ourselves in the text. These are as follows:

Can we use I or We In the Scientific Paper?

Using these, we present the information based on what “we” found. In science and mathematics, this point of view is rarely used. It is often considered to be somewhat self-serving and arrogant . It is important to remember that when writing your research results, the focus of the communication is the research and not the persons who conducted the research. When you want to persuade the reader, it is best to avoid personal pronouns in academic writing even when it is personal opinion from the authors of the study. In addition to sounding somewhat arrogant, the strength of your findings might be underestimated.

For example:

Based on my results, I concluded that A and B did not equal to C.

In this example, the entire meaning of the research could be misconstrued. The results discussed are not those of the author ; they are generated from the experiment. To refer to the results in this context is incorrect and should be avoided. To make it more appropriate, the above sentence can be revised as follows:

Based on the results of the assay, A and B did not equal to C.

Second Person Pronouns

The second person point of view uses pronouns that refer to the reader. These are as follows:

This point of view is usually used in the context of providing instructions or advice , such as in “how to” manuals or recipe books. The reason behind using the second person is to engage the reader.

You will want to buy a turkey that is large enough to feed your extended family. Before cooking it, you must wash it first thoroughly with cold water.

Although this is a good technique for giving instructions, it is not appropriate in academic or scientific writing.

Third Person Pronouns

The third person point of view uses both proper nouns, such as a person’s name, and pronouns that refer to individuals or groups (e.g., doctors, researchers) but not directly to the reader. The ones that refer to individuals are as follows:

• Hers (possessive form)
• His (possessive form)
• Its (possessive form)
• One’s (possessive form)

The third person point of view that refers to groups include the following:

• Their (possessive form)
• Theirs (plural possessive form)

Everyone at the convention was interested in what Dr. Johnson presented. The instructors decided that the students should help pay for lab supplies. The researchers determined that there was not enough sample material to conduct the assay.

The third person point of view is generally used in scientific papers but, at times, the format can be difficult. We use indefinite pronouns to refer back to the subject but must avoid using masculine or feminine terminology. For example:

A researcher must ensure that he has enough material for his experiment. The nurse must ensure that she has a large enough blood sample for her assay.

Many authors attempt to resolve this issue by using “he or she” or “him or her,” but this gets cumbersome and too many of these can distract the reader. For example:

A researcher must ensure that he or she has enough material for his or her experiment. The nurse must ensure that he or she has a large enough blood sample for his or her assay.

These issues can easily be resolved by making the subjects plural as follows:

Researchers must ensure that they have enough material for their experiment. Nurses must ensure that they have large enough blood samples for their assay.

Exceptions to the Rules

As mentioned earlier, the third person is generally used in scientific writing, but the rules are not quite as stringent anymore. It is now acceptable to use both the first and third person pronouns  in some contexts, but this is still under controversy.  

In a February 2011 blog on Eloquent Science , Professor David M. Schultz presented several opinions on whether the author viewpoints differed. However, there appeared to be no consensus. Some believed that the old rules should stand to avoid subjectivity, while others believed that if the facts were valid, it didn’t matter which point of view was used.

First or Third Person: What Do The Journals Say

In general, it is acceptable in to use the first person point of view in abstracts, introductions, discussions, and conclusions, in some journals. Even then, avoid using “I” in these sections. Instead, use “we” to refer to the group of researchers that were part of the study. The third person point of view is used for writing methods and results sections. Consistency is the key and switching from one point of view to another within sections of a manuscript can be distracting and is discouraged. It is best to always check your author guidelines for that particular journal. Once that is done, make sure your manuscript is free from the above-mentioned or any other grammatical error.

You are the only researcher involved in your thesis project. You want to avoid using the first person point of view throughout, but there are no other researchers on the project so the pronoun “we” would not be appropriate. What do you do and why? Please let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.

I am writing the history of an engineering company for which I worked. How do I relate a significant incident that involved me?

Hi Roger, Thank you for your question. If you are narrating the history for the company that you worked at, you would have to refer to it from an employee’s perspective (third person). If you are writing the history as an account of your experiences with the company (including the significant incident), you could refer to yourself as ”I” or ”My.” (first person) You could go through other articles related to language and grammar on Enago Academy’s website https://enago.com/academy/ to help you with your document drafting. Did you get a chance to install our free Mobile App? https://www.enago.com/academy/mobile-app/ . Make sure you subscribe to our weekly newsletter: https://www.enago.com/academy/subscribe-now/ .

Good day , i am writing a research paper and m y setting is a company . is it ethical to put the name of the company in the research paper . i the management has allowed me to conduct my research in thir company .

thanks docarlene diaz

Generally authors do not mention the names of the organization separately within the research paper. The name of the educational institution the researcher or the PhD student is working in needs to be mentioned along with the name in the list of authors. However, if the research has been carried out in a company, it might not be mandatory to mention the name after the name in the list of authors. You can check with the author guidelines of your target journal and if needed confirm with the editor of the journal. Also check with the mangement of the company whether they want the name of the company to be mentioned in the research paper.

Finishing up my dissertation the information is clear and concise.

How to write the right first person pronoun if there is a single researcher? Thanks

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Can you use "we" in the essay?

<p>The essay topic for me was if it is okay for high schools to cut elective classes in order to deal with budget issues. In the essay I mentioned the famous words uttered by students and said: “When are we ever going to use this?”</p>

<p>I put quotes in there. Is this okay because the “we” was in a quote, or is it still bad? In retrospect it would have been to use “I” (“When am I ever going to use this?”)…</p>

<p>I don’t think one mistake can ruin the whole essay.</p>

<p>RickJ - I hope that’s true. I learned that you should NEVER use “we” or “you” in AP/SAT essays as it’s pretty much suicide (That your score will definetly go down, either by a lot or a little, if you use one of them). I wasn’t sure if that applied to the ACT as well.</p>

<p>I have never heard that. How could that be some common knowledge thing when the SAT has only had essays for like 2 or 3 years? If it’s a good essay I doubt that’s going to hurt you.</p>

<p>We had the discussion in AP English. It is preferred to stay away from WE but it really doesn’t detract a whole lot from your paper. </p>

<p>Remember that they just pretty much skim your essay and grade it by glancing over it. I think you’ll be fine. I didn’t have time to f inish my conclusion or proofread since I wrote so much. It’ll be ok. I got an 8 last time and wrote a ****ty essay. I am sure I’ll get at least a 9 this time.</p>

<p>They spend so little time reading the essay that they <em>probably</em> won’t notice. I wouldn’t worry about it.</p>

<p>What score on the ACT essay corresponds to the score on the SAT essay? For reference, I got a 730 on the SAT essay.</p>

<p>its best to use “one”</p>

<p>I bet the caution is a crutch to warn students away from several artificial forms of “we” that could crop up in an opinion-type essay:</p>

<ol> <li>the editorial or royal we</li> </ol>

<p>(important people using “we” to mean “me or I”)</p>

<p>“We are going to be elected in November”; </p>

<ol> <li>The editorial we (presuming to speak on behalf of a group)</li> </ol>

<p>" . . . via this logic, we can conclude that . . . "</p>

<p>It’s kind of crazy to find fault with “we” if you really mean the first-person plural, as in your essay (if I read the context correctly)</p>

<p>What about “our”? (It refers to something all humans must have, a brain)</p>

<p>I guess it depends on how you presented your essay. If you were giving a specific example about a class of yours or experience, I don’t think saying “we” is bad. If you threw it in there in a formal essay, then it’s inappropriate. Not a big deal though…</p>

<p>I’ve taken APs, the SATs 3 times, and the ACT once before this…I’m HORRIFIED of using personal examples (and with that, no personal pronouns like “we”, even though they insist you can use it, I usually stick to history or literature or something of the sort, but for this one I was feeling particularly stubborn at the end of the test and was kind of like eh, screw it, and wrote about “my friend”, thus using my, I…all that fun stuff. How can you give a personal example without it, though? Like…say you were talking about a story involving your family, what are you going to say, “The mother said this…” that doesn’t make sense. I don’t know, just trying to make myself feel better? I’m not sure.</p>

<p>First person will not affect your ACT/SAT essays like it will AP essays. Don’t overuse it, and I doubt the graders will take note. Honestly, I used “we” in both of my ACT essays. I didn’t receive a perfect score, but I did receive 11s on both, and I don’t think refraining from the first person would have bumped my score up a point.</p>

<p>Also, how much does length matter? My essay was only like 1.75 (~500-600 words)? It seems like everybody else wrote at least 2 pages though…(On the SATs I also wrote like 1.75 and got a 730, so I’m not sure…)</p>

<p>mine was 2 pages and like another 1/4 of a page… as long as its solid it will be okay… Length can actually hurt you because most of the time people bs their essays… i used “we” also because it stands as a marker for exemplifying details… soo yeah you can recieve a 12 if your essay is solid</p>

<p>Um, I’m pretty sure I put “we” in my essay at least once, as something like “we Americans” and still got 12/12. This was back in June BTW.</p>

<p>well ACT essays are different that SAT essays. SAT essays are more formal. I constantly used “I” in my ACT essay, because they ask about your own opinion and personal experience. “We” is acceptable. The graders wont give you a 2 on your essay because of it</p>

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Can I use 'we' and 'I' in my essay? Introducing corpus linguistics

This page was published over 6 years ago. Please be aware that due to the passage of time, the information provided on this page may be out of date or otherwise inaccurate, and any views or opinions expressed may no longer be relevant. Some technical elements such as audio-visual and interactive media may no longer work. For more detail, see how we deal with older content .

What is a corpus?

But what exactly is meant by a corpus? A corpus (plural corpora) is basically a collection of texts, selected and organised in a principled way, and stored on a computer so that you can search easily. It could be anything from a few hundred words (e.g. a collection of your Facebook status updates) or several billion words (e.g. corpora compiled from trawling webpages).

You can search corpora that already exist, using a 'concordancer' or other types of software, or you could even build your own corpus if you want to investigate a particular type of text and you can't find an existing corpus.

Googlefight

We're all now used to searching large collections of texts quickly. Every time you use a search engine you're effectively trawling through vast numbers of entries.

So why don't linguists just use Google as a large corpus to find out how language works? Searching the web works as a very rough and ready way of quickly getting a sense of how language items are used.

You might be interested in trying a 'Google fight' to resolve disputes over how frequently two words or phrases are used! Go to www.googlefight.com . Here's what I found when I searched for 'we' and 'I':

So 'I' wins the Googlefight. But what does this actually mean?

If you search the web using Google or another search engine, your search will include all sorts of webpages – and duplicates of webpages. You also don't have any idea about the kinds of text the word appears in or about the other words your search item is used with (the 'co-text').

If we want to know whether 'we' is more common than 'I' in student essays, for example, looking on Google wouldn't be a very good way to go about it. And if we wanted to know if one group of students (for example Engineering students) use 'we' in their academic writing more than another group (such as History students) then an internet search wouldn't be any help at all.

To answer the question in the title to this article, we'd get a more accurate result by searching a collection of student writing such as the British Academic Written English or 'BAWE' corpus (pronounced 'boar' like the animal).

This corpus contains not just essays but also lab reports, case studies, literature reviews, and other types of writing that undergraduate and masters students do at university. Here I've used the free site Sketch Engine Open and I've searched the whole BAWE corpus:

From this screenshot, we can see that BAWE contains 15,718 instances of 'we' (or 1,885 per million words). A similar search for 'I' reveals that there are 13,069 instances in the whole student corpus (or 1,568 per million words).

So in the BAWE corpus, 'we' is more frequent than 'I'; this is the opposite result to Googlefight. Searching a corpus of student writing gives us results from this type of text and not from all texts found on the web.

A concordancer (unlike Googlefight) also shows us the co-text, that is, the words appearing before and after our search term (in this case 'we'). Another piece of software that shows us the co-text to 'I' and 'we' is the 'Wordtree'. Below you can see a search for words occurring after 'we'. You can access the Wordtree online .

So, is 'we' or 'I' more common in essay-writing? The answer overall from our search of the BAWE corpus is that 'we' is more common. But to give a more useful and accurate answer, you might want to also look at particular disciplines such as English Literature or Biological Sciences.

And you might also want to consider whether you're writing an 'essay' or a 'literature review' or a 'lab report'.

But in overall student writing 'we' takes first place!

Follow-on links

Using sketch engine to explore the bawe corpus.

The free version of Sketch Engine gives access to several corpora, including BAWE. From the homepage of Sketch Engine, choose a corpus, then click ‘concordance’ and type a word or phrase in the text box. This will produce a list of concordance lines which can then be sorted. The ‘help’ function gives very clear guidance for more advanced searches.

Reading more about BAWE

You can find out more about the British Academic Written English corpus (BAWE) from the BAWE website .

Corpus linguistics resources

For useful links, look at this site . Click on ‘CBL Links’ for information on corpora, software and courses.

You could also look for free, short courses on Futurelearn, such as The University of Lancaster's Corpus Linguistics

And from The Open University...

• You might like The Open University course Exploring English Grammar
• Try a free sample of English Grammar In Context on OpenLearn
• If you're a bit more advanced, consider the postgraduate course Language, literacy and learning in the contemporary world - there's an OpenLearn course sample on learning a second language

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Ratings & comments, share this free course, copyright information, publication details.

• Originally published: Monday, 20 January 2014
• Body text - Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 4.0 : The Open University
• Image 'Should this be I or should this be we?' - Emanuele Rosso under CC-BY-NC-ND licence under Creative-Commons license
• Image 'A screengrab comparing the number of returns for I against We on Google' - Copyright: Googlefight
• Image 'Screengrab showing instances of the word 'we' in the British Academic Written English corpus as returned by SketchEngine' - Copyright: Sketchengine
• Image 'A screengrab from Wordtree showing the words which follow we' - Copyright: Wordtree

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