{"id":2645,"date":"2015-04-06T17:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-04-07T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/blog\/?post_type=essay-writing-blog&p=2645"},"modified":"2018-11-20T14:34:51","modified_gmt":"2018-11-20T22:34:51","slug":"use-first-person-writing-essays","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kibin.com\/essay-writing-blog\/use-first-person-writing-essays\/","title":{"rendered":"When to Use First-Person Writing in Your Essays"},"content":{"rendered":"

The dreaded \u201cI\u201d word. How can one letter be so malignant when it comes to academic writing?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely that many of your teachers and professors have drilled it into your head that using first-person writing in your essays will immediately result in another unrelenting letter of the alphabet: \u201cF.\u201d<\/p>\n

As a curious student, you may be thinking that surely there must be some instances where using first-person writing is okay.<\/p>\n

If that\u2019s you, you\u2019re asking all the right questions. This post will cover when it’s okay to use first-person writing in your essays and when it’s better to stick with third-person.<\/p>\n

What Exactly Is First-Person Writing?<\/h2>\n

For instance, this adorable kitten is talking primarily in first-person perspective (the \u201cyou\u201d and \u201cyour\u201d there is second-person perspective<\/a>, which could be another blog topic entirely).<\/p>\n

First-person writing can get really boring really fast. For example, I\u2019ll write a short narrative about my day so far.<\/p>\n

\n

I opened my emails.<\/p>\n

I ate breakfast.<\/p>\n

The neighbor\u2019s dog annoyed me.<\/p>\n

I pet my cats and later pushed them off the couch.<\/p>\n

I thought about eating popcorn for breakfast…but didn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

My roommate and I could not decide whether or not to hang the art in our apartment.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While I might think I am fascinating,<\/i> you have probably stopped reading the list by now. You\u2019re done hearing about me, me, me<\/i>, right?<\/p>\n

Well, think of that as part of the reason your teachers might boycott first-person pronouns. If your professor wants you to write an essay about President Obama, he or she probably doesn\u2019t want to hear about what you (or the President for that matter) ate for breakfast.<\/p>\n

When Is First-person Writing Ineffective or Unwarranted?<\/h2>\n

Let\u2019s face it. Everyone likes to write about themselves. The problem with first-person perspective in academic writing is that it can sound<\/p>\n