Foundational Concepts for Transitioning Writers: Point of View
Whether you are new to APA style and academic writing, or
are returning to this type of writing and considering some refresher tips,
there are some core aspects of academic writing that are important. Topics such as establishing context for your paper and the use of evidence. Another
important aspect for academic writing is establishing a formal
point-of-view.
Point-of-view is important in academic writing as it relates
to scholarly voice and tone. Point-of-view refers to ways that information is
presented to an audience such as via first-, second-, and third-person pronouns.
Thus, one consideration for adhering to appropriate scholarly voice and tone is
how pronoun use represents the writers’ point-of-view.
First-Person Point-of-View
Writing from a first-person point-of-view means using
pronouns such as “I,” “we,” and “our.” Use of first-person “I” is acceptable in
some instances. For example, when an assignment calls for a personal reflection
on the writer’s own experience the use of “I” is needed as the subject of a sentence to avoid passive voice. As well, the use of “I” would be appropriate
in other instances to avoid passive voice, such as when discussing what will be
covered in a paper or what research steps will be taken. That said, the use of
“I” should not be used when making claims since doing so presents claims from a
Examples of acceptable uses of “I”:
- Reflecting upon my classroom practices, I plan to improve my knowledge of multimodal classroom activities
- In this paper, I will discuss x, y, and z
- I will interview 20 writing instructors who teach writing online
Examples of unacceptable uses of “I”:
- I believe that multimodal classroom practices should xxxx
- I disagree with Winston’s (2017) argument because xxx
- Now that I have discussed [x topic], I will now discuss [y topic]
While the use of “I” can be used in certain instances and
not in others, the use of other first-person pronouns such as “we” or “our”
should be avoided because they assume who the audience is and are too casual in
tone.
- As nurses, we should support patients’ concerns
- As teachers, it is our responsibility to incorporate multimodal learning tools
These examples illustrate not only how the use of “we” and
“our” produces a casual tone, but also how the use of these pronouns can
alienate members of the writer’s audience. To be clear, when a writer uses “we”
as a pronoun to represent a group of people (such as nurses or teachers), some
audience members might feel alienated because they are not part of that group.
So, use first-person “I” when appropriate and avoid using “we” or “our.”
Second-Person Point-of-View
What about second-person point-of-view? Like first-person
use of “we” or “our,” second-person should not be used in academic writing. Second-person point-of-view includes the
pronouns “you” and “your” which, like first-person “we” or “our,” are too
casual in tone and assume the audience.
Example of why second-person use should be avoided:
- You should consider if and how multimodal classroom delivery affects students with disabilities
Like the use of first-person “we” or “our, the tone in this
example is too casual as the audience is directly addressed. As well, since the
audience is directly addressed, the use of “You” here assumes something about the
audience.
Third-Person Point-of-View
Third-person point-of-view includes pronouns such as “he,”
“she,” and “it.” Generally, third-person pronouns such as “he” and “she” are
casual in tone; thus, using specific nouns would be more appropriate for
scholarly tone and voice.
Example of third-person use:
- She stated xxxx (Watson, 2017)
- Revision: Watson (2017) stated xxxx
In the first example, the use of “she” not only produces a
casual tone, it also makes it unclear who “she” refers to (does this refer to Watson
or someone cited in Watson?). In the second, revised, example, the tone is more
formal and the author is clearly attributed. With this in mind, “it” is another
pronoun that should be avoided for clarity since using “it” as a pronoun creates
a lack of clarity regarding the subject of the sentence and or what “it” refers
to.
Veronica Oliver is a Writing Instructor in the Walden Writing Center. In her spare time she writes fiction, binge watches Netflix, and occasionally makes it to a 6am Bikram Yoga class.
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