This weekend Joseph emailed me about using the pronoun I in academic papers. After sending my response, I thought it might be useful to post it up to the blog for all to read, as it’s a fairly common question. See below.

That’s a good question. I think using the pronoun “I” depends on the context of the paper you are writing, but in general it’s fine. You should avoid using the pronouns “you” and “we” in academic writing because it generally leads to assumptions you (the writer) are making about the reader. For instance:

“We all know that freedom, above all, is what unites us as a country.”

That sentence is problematic because if the reader disagrees with the statement because he or she is from a different country with different values, you’ve just written a sentence that is needlessly polarizing. They may stop reading right there, and your argument will be lost. 

A better way to approach a statement like the one above would be something like:

“Freedom, above all, is a uniting force for many Americans.”

The pronouns are removed, and the language is less absolute. Notice it says “many Americans” instead of “all Americans.” It’s a subtle but distinct difference. 

But “I” in general is OK, because no one is going to mistake “I” for anyone else but the writer writing the piece.