1st Person Singular Some say not to use the word I in an essay. Others say it is fine. If you do use it, it is best to use I only in an introduction (and to a lesser extent, the conclusion), rather than in the body of the essay. But use it sparingly; otherwise you can come across as too self-important.
Effective uses of “I”:
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.
Personal writing, such as for a reflective essay, or a "personal response" discussion posting, can be written in the first person (using "I" and "me"), and may use personal opinions and anecdotes as evidence for the point you are trying to make.
APA prefers that writers use the first person for clarity and self-reference. To promote clear communication, writers should use the first person, rather than passive voice or the third person, to indicate the action the writer is taking.
"One," "the reader," "readers," "the viewer," or something similar sometimes can be used effectively in place of first-person pronouns in formal papers, but be careful not to overuse these expressions. You want to sound formal, not awkward and stiff.
The first person point of view is considered informal, and is not encouraged in academic writing. First person can appear to weaken the credibility of the writer in research and argument, as it reads as the writer's personal opinion.
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.
Take a Third-Person Perspective
Changing the perspective is a good way to take first-person pronouns out of a sentence. A third-person point of view will not use any first-person pronouns because the information is not given from the speaker's perspective.
Try recasting sentences that start with 'I' more objectively, so that the focus is on the what – the emotion, the object, the person, the action and so on – rather than the sense being used to experience it or the I-narrator doing the experience. Use the principles of free indirect speech to reduce your 'I' count.
In most contexts, you should use first-person pronouns (e.g., 'I', 'me') to refer to yourself. In some academic writing, the use of the first person is discouraged, and writers are advised to instead refer to themselves in the third person (e.g., as 'the researcher').
Use the first person singular pronoun appropriately, for example, to describe research steps or to state what you will do in a chapter or section. Do not use first person "I" to state your opinions or feelings; cite credible sources to support your scholarly argument.
Use formal, academic diction (word choice) in a literary analysis. Therefore, write in the third person. First person (I, me, our, we, etc.) and second person (you) are too informal for academic writing, and most literature professors prefer students to write in third person.
A piece written in first person can include only what that main character sees. This limits the amount of information or background in the story. The reader doesn't get to see the action from any other character's point of view. The story gives one main person's experience and view on anything that happens.
First Person
In this point of view, the readers experience the world vicariously through the narrator. The advantage of first person is that you can immediately connect with the reader. The disadvantage is that the author is limited to writing from one perspective.
You may be tempted to use these words interchangeably, because they all refer to the same thing. But in fact, each one has a specific role in a sentence: 'I' is a subject pronoun, 'me' is an object pronoun, and 'myself' is a reflexive or intensive pronoun.
In most contexts, you should use first-person pronouns (e.g., “I,” “me”) to refer to yourself. In some academic writing, the use of the first person is discouraged, and writers are advised to instead refer to themselves in the third person (e.g., as “the researcher”).
In academic writing the convention is to write in the third person. This means not using personal pronouns (words such as I, me or my), and avoiding referring to yourself or your reader.
First-person is often a narrative perspective that's tricky to get right. The first-person narrator, more than any other type of narrator, is inclined to lapse into self-centered telling, in which the narrating character overpowers the story at the expense of other characters and even the plot itself.
Generally, it is best to avoid second person pronouns in scholarly writing because they remove the distance between the reader and the writer. Instead, try to use first or third person pronouns to enhance clarity. Most Walden programs and APA (2020) allow the appropriate use of first person.
J. K. Rowling utilizes third-person limited narration in the Harry Potter novels. Even though the narrator is not Harry, and Harry is referred to as 'he,' the reader is allowed into Harry's thoughts—what he is wondering without saying out loud.
This point of view allows the reader to understand the story from the main character's thoughts and feelings. This creates an intense emotional connection between the character and the reader, because they are influenced by this character's perspective.