Most fiction and nonfiction texts you read are written in third-person omniscient perspective. This is helpful to the author and the reader because it allows you to see everything happening at once rather than the view of one person. It’s the most commonly used perspective in academic papers, too, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only way you can write your research results.

Some people choose to use first person pronouns (the terms “I,” “we,” “me,” “my,” “us,” and “our”) in their writing because it gives them the opportunity to include their personal thoughts and experiences. However, some scholars strongly argue against using this perspective in academic prose as it can lead to biased reports.

Others take the stance that using first person can actually strengthen your writing because it allows you to include examples that help the reader understand the concept or point you’re attempting to make. Which argument is right? It depends on you as the author, who the audience is, and whether you can write in first person without including bias.

Rules in Academic Prose

As a college student, you’ve likely been inundated with different writing rules. Merging into the graduate school world, these rules have gotten stricter, although they’ve also given you more leniency as a researcher.

Gone are the days of five paragraph essays, rules against using “and,” “so,” and “because” to start sentences, or the no-no of personal opinions and “I” statements. These are rules that come from teachers who are trying to get you ready to write research papers, which, ironically, don’t follow those formats.

By the time you reach graduate level, those rules have been thrown out the window. It’s your research, and you can write it however you prefer. The only format you must follow is that of the journal you’re attempting to have your work published in, and they may have strict requirements.

Changing from first- to third-person in your academic prose helps you become flexible as a writer. You learn how to adapt your writing style as you switch fields and audiences. If you only know and are comfortable with one perspective, it can be awkward and difficult to switch when you have a new project that requires a certain point of view.

If first-person is something that enhances the scholarly writing you’re compiling, feel free to throw out the rules you grew up with. Keep in mind, however, that there are still certain things that are required in scientific writing that you must follow, and these are a bit more complicated when you’re writing in first-person.

How to Approach First-Person in Research Writing

Writing papers for college requires you to adapt to various conventions of style, tone, purpose, and audience. Research writing is similar, but as a scholar in a particular field, you’re usually more confident about the audience. Are you writing for a funder? A journal? A blog? Your own interest?

The style of writing you choose is often adjusted for your audience. For instance, chances are, a journal isn’t going to accept your manuscript if it’s written in the first person, and your funder will require third-person writing, as well. But if you’re writing for a blog, your social media following, or other less-stringent audiences, first-person can enhance your text.

You can use first-person in academic writing when you want to emphasize that an argument or perspective is your own. It’s also a good way to avoid confusion and vague ideas that could be more concise when you use the first-person.

There are some rules to remember for this to work well. When you’re writing in first person, always:

●      Avoid using repetitive “I” statements as it’s distracting to the reader and turns the focus to you rather than your work. A general rule of thumb is to limit your “I” statements to at a minimum of every third sentence.

●      Revise your work to reduce personal pronouns as much as possible. If there’s a way you can say the same thing without using a pronoun, try to use it.

●      Keep bias out of your work. This can be hard when you’re writing “I” statements, but the reason your articles are academic is that they’re unbiased.

With these rules firmly in place, you can write your manuscript and publish it for your audience. The next step is to check your work’s influence on Impactio. Use Impactio’s analytics tools to see how well your first-person writing is performing with your target audience, and adjust your next work accordingly. Impactio, America’s number one scientific networking and analytics platform, gives you everything you need to improve your scholarly reputation in one place.