C. Why slip into 1 st person writing?

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1 Academic Writing in practice: writing in the 3 rd person ; 1 st person versus 3 rd person writing Contents: Introduction A. Understanding 1 st and 3 rd person forms of writing B. Why write in the 3 rd person? C. Why slip into 1 st person writing? D. Varying expectations of different subject areas: navigating the minefield E. Introducing 1 st person elements F. Getting your own views across while writing in the 3 rd person G. Acceptable use of 'we' and 'our' (1st person plurals) Introduction: This handout will be of interest to all students as it invites us to reflect carefully on how we effectively communicate information in writing and, specifically, about expectations in academic writing. Writing in an academic style can feel really daunting, as it appears to require us to write- in- seemingly- a- whole- new- language, with different sets of rules, removed from the English- of- the- everyday. In reality there is no singular academic style of writing: expectations and conventions will vary across different subjects and disciplines (which is why we can learn a lot gradually by considering how and why information is articulated in the way it is in the various journal articles and chapters of our recommended subject- readings). Traditionally, academic writing has sought to emphasise its neutral, considered approach to understanding its topics of investigation by articulating in what is known as the 3 rd person - or 'passive' - written form. In essence, this means avoiding personalisation in one's written style (for example, avoiding words and phrases like 'I', 'In my opinion' and 'I think'). Students often feel uncomfortable having to learn to write in the 3rd person, having had little or no experience of doing so prior to coming to university. They 1

2 often comment on this new form of writing as like 'a new language' and complain of experiencing difficulties understanding the rules that govern this language. Why do some academics obsess about the importance of students sticking rigidly to 3 rd person written conventions? Should this obsession about communication style matter? Isn't it 'surface artifice? Shouldn't it be about the content - the message - not the mode of communication? Why, in some subject areas more than others, does it appear that a more personalised style seems to be more accepted? In the course of the following sections, we will explore options we may have, in the context of our subject areas, for introducing selected elements of more personalised forms of writing. We will address how we may become more confident in understanding what is expected of our writing for University, and thus ensure that we are able to write our assignments with greater confidence. How can we - indeed, should we be even attempting to? - get our own views across in our work, if indeed we are expected to write in a detached, 'disinterested' 3 rd person academic written style? A. Understanding 1 st and 3 rd person forms of writing As noted above, the default- setting of academic writing or writing in an academic register is known as writing in the 3 rd person, which uses what is sometimes referred to as the passive voice. The difference between 3 rd person /passive writing and more personalised ( active ) writing of the 1 st person is demonstrated in the table below. Table 1: 3rd person versus 1st person 3 rd person ( passive ) 1 st person ( active )... this was done by The evidence seems to suggest I did this by It seems to me 2

3 (Source: Creme & Lea, 2003, ) Note how the same thing is being said, but the way in which it is said differs substantially between the 1 st and 3 rd person conventions. o The 1 st person writing in column 2 is active because the writer is clearly foregrounded to the centre of the account (the emphasis is on the writer: I did this ). o By contrast, in the 3 rd person writing style of column 1, the action or event enjoys the centre- stage. Creme & Lea describe this as the disappearance of the writer, though, critically, they add that the writer does not really disappear (2003, 100): the writer is still the one doing the evaluation, forming the conclusions. Perhaps, then, it is better to see the writer in the 3 rd person as more invisible or, better still, camouflaged rather than actually disappeared. o Let s think about the basics of the 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd person forms of how we address the reader. The table below outlines the forms of addressing the reader that constitute writing in the 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd person. Table 2: addressing in the 1 st, 2 nd and 3 rd persons Writing in the singular plural Level of acceptability in academic writing? 1 st person I / me / my we / us / our? (depends... as will be discussed below)... 2 nd person you / your you / your X... 3 rd person he / she / it him / her / it his / her / its they them their ü o Writing in the 2 nd person is never acceptable in academic writing, e.g., a sentence in your work that reads As you stated in your lecture... would be inappropriate. o The appropriateness of writing in the 1 st person is more complex and will be addressed in detail later. 3

4 B. Why write in the 3 rd person? We mentioned that 3 rd person writing is the default primary setting for academic writing. This is because, it is (and traditionally has been) seen as the best means by which we can convey our relationship to our research or subject matter as being one of impartial, considered detachment. In short, writing effectively in the 3 rd person (provided what we are stating is indeed considered and impartial!) is seen to lend emphasis to the academic quality of our work... reinforcing, if you like, the sense of academicness of our investigation. The object is to remove any sense of the writer from any personal interest in, the subject, in order to emphasise a dispassionate objectivity towards the topic. C. Why slip into 1 st person writing? Yet, alternative schools of thought challenge what is seen as slavish adherence to 3 rd person forms of writing. Typically, they might argue that we can never be wholly dispassionate and objective and therefore that locating the presence of the writer more visibly within the narrative (e.g., via 1 st person writing) creates a more honest form of writing than the camouflaging the interests, prior experiences, perspectives, etc. of the writer that tends to be a feature of traditional 3 rd person writing. What constitutes effective and appropriate academic writing should not be seen as 'fixed', that is, unchanging, but should be recognised as 'a contested space': contested, that is, across disciplines, subject areas and even among academics, researchers, etc. within single subject areas. The problem, for the student, is in navigating one's way around these different understandings and expectations, something which is not helped by the fact that these are often left implicit rather than fully explained. It can be argued that incorporating of selected elements of 1 st person writing can result in a more engaging and honest end- product, which allows the writer and his/her experiences and evaluations to shine through in what would otherwise risked being a stuffier piece of writing: in other words, that the vitality of academic writing can be enhanced by the more conspicuously visible presence of the author. OK, this is all very interesting... but where does that leave things, regarding writing my assignments? 4

5 D. Varying expectations of different subject areas: navigating the minefield Students are often confused as to whether and, if so, when they may use the 1 st person in their assignments. To be sure, different subjects & disciplines accord varying levels of acceptability to 1 st person writing ranging from it being encouraged, to it being tolerated, to being absolutely forbidden. Generally, it seems to be much more acceptable in humanities, education and arts subjects, perhaps less so in certain social science and business subjects, and would probably be discouraged in pure sciences. This confusion is surely compounded by the blurring caused by increased multi- & inter- disciplinarily, where students are more likely than before to encounter variations in expectations & requirements during the course of their studies, with certain modules having different expectations than others. Even so, Creme and Lea (2003, 98) note how even within single disciplines tutor expectations may vary considerably. Additionally, we need to be mindful that particular assignments may, by their very individual and specific nature, demand subtly different writing (and thinking) approaches. One obvious example where it is sometimes deemed more appropriate to write in the 1 st person is personal reflective writing, whether in the form of reflective essays or requirements as part of your Personal Development Portfolio (PDP). Even here, it is in fact possible - and may be a requirement in your specific area of study - to attempt to write personally reflective work in the 3 rd person. Yiiiiikes!!!... so how do I navigate this minefield? We should always read very carefully the assignment briefs in our module handbooks, to ascertain exactly what any individual assignment expects of us... and repeatedly refer back to this guidance as we progress to completion. In instances where we feel that further clarification is needed, we should not hesitate to consult our module leaders or module tutors about their written work preferences, whether in our seminar sessions, or one- to- one via office hours or by . 5

6 If still in doubt, writing fully in the 3 rd person is probably the safest option: it s quite possible to write an assignment entirely in the 3 rd person, getting your arguments and evaluation across, without ever having to slip in an I or in my opinion, as demonstrated in the table below. Table 3: converting 1st to 3rd person 1 st person > to 3 rd person In my view, insufficient consideration has been given to... I had considerable experience of this when working at... Insufficient consideration has been given to... This was very much the experience of the writer when working at... I found... It was found that... E. Introducing 1 st person elements We will see here that it is perfectly possible to articulate your thoughts about your topic and remain in the traditional 3 rd person written mode. However, if our subject area does allow us to write in a more personalised style, we might wish to exploit this to enhance the readability of our work. Creme and Lea (2003, 99) write of the various reasons that may justify use of the 1 st person selectively in academic writing. These include: The wish to write about your personal opinion at some points. Here, the use of the 1 st person may help to separate your opinion from points drawn from other sources (though, as noted above, it is possible to get your opinion across in the 3 rd person); How the use of I in the Introduction may allow students to establish their place in relation to their material, in contrast to the main body which may stick more closely to the 3 rd person passive in order to convey a more detached approach. It can establish a sense of relation between writer and reader and between the writer and her material. 6

7 Creme and Lea's first point here - the issue of writing 'your personal opinion' in your essays and other assignments - is an interesting one: Many students fear they will be marked down if they put their own views in their work. In fact, in the overwhelming majority of subject areas, the opposite is true: provided these views are carefully considered and link closely with careful consideration of the evidence and arguments in the relevant literature! In certain subject areas, most obviously degrees with strong vocational and/or practical bases, selective 1 st person writing is more likely to be encouraged. For instance, use of the first person I is often considered acceptable when conveying one s first- person experiences both as a practitioner and as a researcher immersed within one s research or working environment. We can often learn from recommended texts on our reading lists, by thinking carefully about how authors in our subject/discipline are communicating information: When, if at all, do they slip into 1st person writing? And why might they be doing so? In what types of instances do they prefer to stick to the 3rd person? Should you prefer, as the writer, to be more visible in your work, then a selective utilising of a 1 st person approach can enhance this objective. The key word here is selective. We need to be selective and also sparing in how we use words and phrases such as I and In my opinion. This is because a proliferation of I s, and the introduction of clumsy phrases such as I think, can render the appearance of work as decidedly unacademic. Below are some examples of successful and less successful 1 st person writing. Example 1a: less successful 1 st person writing I distributed 164 questionnaires and I received 46% back. From the results I found that children from broken homes tended to be stronger emotionally, which surprised me. (Source: To be or not to be, ECS student handout, kindly provided by Yolande Bruzon and Mickey Le Voguer, Early Childhood Studies degree, FSSH) This example jars because of the excessive use of I (three times in the space of 13 words!) and completely unnecessary me. 7

8 By contrast, the next example is less effective, perhaps because there's less need for personalisation. Example 1b: more successful 1 st person writing 164 questionnaires were distributed and there was a 46% response rate. From the results I found it surprising that children from broken homes tended to be stronger emotionally. (Source: To be or not to be, ECS student handout) This solves the problems outlined above, while retaining one element of personalisation: a single I. However, given the arguable lack of need for personalisation, this might be better expressed entirely in the 3 rd person: Example 2: 3 rd person amended Research involved the distribution of 164 questionnaires and a response rate of 46% was achieved. The findings indicated that children from broken homes tended to be stronger emotionally. This contrasts with an emphasis in the literature on the damage caused by family breakdown. (Source: To be or not to be, ECS student handout) Note how so much more authoritative examples 1b and 2 are, in comparison with example 1a! Note, also, how the final sentence of example 2 ( This contrasts with... ), better emphasises the nature of the surprise : that is, how the findings appear to challenge assumptions in the literature. This demonstrates effective filling- out of points (that is, thinking carefully about what is useful for the reader to know), which will be addressed in the discussion on effective signposting, flow and filling- out of points. There s nothing wrong with getting our ideas down on the page initially in a more personalised style (indeed, it can be very helpful)... provided we understand the importance of refining our writing to ensure appropriate academicness of presentation before final submission. The upshot of this re- writing (careful redrafting and proofreading) is a critical factor in our study success, with its real benefits of improved quality of the writing. See the material elsewhere on proofreading for meaning. 8

9 F. Getting your own views across while writing in the 3 rd person In academic writing, there s especially no need for stating I believe, or I think or in my opinion when you want to get your own views across. In fact, it's quite possible to do this and write in the detached 3 rd person style. Example 3: extracting unnecessary personalizing ORIGINAL I ask myself what is an effective parent/carer partnership? I believe an effective partnership with parents/carers relates to building good relationships between practitioners and parents/carers, with the aim to promote children s learning and development. REWORKED: I ask myself What is an effective parent/carer partnership? I believe It is clear that an effective partnership with parents/carers relates to building good relationships between practitioners and parents/carers, with the aim to promote children s learning and development. (Source: Yolande Bruzon & Micky LeVoguer, FSSH) In this example, nothing actually changes in terms of textual meaning when we remove I ask myself, while 'I believe' can be replaced with 'It is clear...' or perhaps 'It would seem clear...' or other suitable phrase. The absence of referencing to any source evidence additionally implies that the thoughts here are the student's own. HOWEVER: this will only work if: o Our referencing is thorough and complete elsewhere in our writing in other words we are referencing each and every instance that we are taking ideas or writing from elsewhere. That is: if we are thorough with our references, in instances where no references occur these statements will be understood to be our own expressions. o It will also only work if we are putting considerable care and attention into the 'flow' of our writing, and, specifically, into 'signposting' clearly in our text where we are utilising the ideas of others in our work (not just relying on references to show that we are drawing upon evidence from chosen sources). These key concepts are discussed in the material on Signposting elsewhere in the Building Our Argument section of the website. 9

10 There are also some 'tricks' - useful phrases - for getting our views/experiences across in the 3 rd person: We may refer to ourselves as the writer, the author, the current writer, the present author, etc., as in: In the experience of the current writer,.... When we are discussing aspects of our study related to our research, we might refer to ourselves as the researcher, for example: The environment was familiar to the researcher.... In heavily vocational or practical subject areas, we might refer to ourselves as a practitioner thus: Drawing on personal experiences as a practitioner... (e.g., instead of Drawing on my personal experience as a practitioner ). These kind of techniques should, however, be employed sparingly, as overuse makes writing look clumsy through being repetitious. G. Acceptable use of 'we' and 'our' (1st person plurals) 1 st person- writing in- the- plural ( we / our ) is deemed more acceptable even in many subject areas that otherwise reject 1 st person intrusions, provided this is limited to use as a means to address/ engage the reader in the narrative (story). For example: We will examine... (meaning: you, the reader, and I, the writer, will examine... ). This is fine but, again, it is a technique should be used sparingly. To be clear: reference to we must only be used in this storytelling way. We must never use we as in we do this / we do that, in our setting. Likewise, if it is only your research, not shared research, we cannot state Our findings suggest... as a substitute for My findings suggest.... In such instances, the passive 3 rd person is best: The findings suggest