Using the First Person in Academic Writing

There’s a long-standing tradition in academic writing of avoiding first person pronouns, such as ‘I’ and ‘we’. This is because using ‘I’ too much in your work can make it seem like you’re expressing an opinion rather than making an objective argument.

However, avoiding the first person entirely can be confusing, too, especially if you need to explain your role in a project or contrast your position with other theories. The real challenge is not to eliminate the first person from your work, then, but to use it effectively.

The First Person Gone Wrong…

The reason many are cautious about the first person is that it can make your work sound overly subjective, such as in the following:

In my opinion, markets today are increasingly globalised.

Here, there’s no need to include ‘in my opinion’. The reader will know it’s the author’s opinion because they wrote it. Moreover, framing this statement as an opinion introduces an element of doubt, making it less persuasive.

Even when subjectivity isn’t an issue, it’s usually best to avoid the first person for the sake of clarity and concision. For example, this statement:

According to my research, many companies are seeking new entry modes for foreign markets.

This would be more succinct if rewritten as:

Many companies are seeking new entry modes for foreign markets.

An exception would be if you were comparing your work with other research, since specifying ‘my research’ emphasises the contrast:

Blake (1975) states that existing entry modes can cope with globalisation. However, according to my research, many companies are seeking new entry modes for foreign markets.

How to Use the First Person Effectively…

The main situations in which the first person should be used are to:

1. Emphasise agency
2. Ensure clarity
3. Position yourself compared to other thinkers

If you need to refer to yourself in your work, it may be better to use the first person than discussing yourself as ‘the researcher’ or ‘the author’.

For instance, this sentence if fairly clear:

While Blake (1975) recommends surveys for qualitative research, I chose to use interviews based on past experience of similar experiments.

Whereas, in this sentence, it is not obvious who ‘the researcher’ is:

While Blake (1975) recommends surveys for qualitative research, the researcher chose to use interviews based on her past experience of similar experiments.

The passive voice is also confusing, as it doesn’t say who made the choice:

While Blake (1975) recommends surveys for qualitative research, interviews were chosen based upon past experience of similar experiments.

With the first person, these issues are answered instantly.

Of course, conventions differ on whether using the first person is acceptable in academic writing, so if you’re unsure about anything your best option is to consult your lecturers or your university’s style guide.