April 13, 2015
By Eden Meirow
In the past, you might have had problems getting that polished, professional feel to your essays, but you couldn’t quite figure out why. Are your ideas too underdeveloped? Is your thesis statement not good enough? Do you not have enough support for your arguments?
Sometimes the problem with your essay is simply the point of view you choose to write in. Using third-person writing can make a world of difference in giving your essay the right tone.
Three Different Points of View
If you’re not sure what the different points of view are, I’ll give you a run-down and some examples to help you see more clearly. And, for an addedbonus, I’ll give you a couple clips from the king of narration himself, Morgan Freeman.
First-Person Writing
When you write in first person, you use I and me. Think of yourself as the “first person”–any pronoun that indicates something you do or think is going to be first person. You see this a lot when you’re reading books from the main character’s perspective.
Typically, however, first-person writing is not very effective in writing essays. (We’ll get to why that is in a second.)
Example: I believe that third-person writing is the best point of view when writing an essay.
First-person writing or narration also uses us and we, as you’ll see in this example:
Second-Person Writing
Second-person
point of view uses the pronoun you. Second-person writing is the
equivalent to a choose-your-own-adventure novel or a self-help book. It speaks
directly to the audience.
However,
the conversational tone of writing in second-person is not usually ideal for
academic writing.
Example: You would do better on your essays
if you wrote in third person.
It
is important to note that when you aren’t writing strictly in third person, the
point of view can shift from sentence to sentence. In, the next example, you’ll
notice that all three points of view are present, but the second person is used
heavily around the 1:00 mark.
Third-Person Writing
Third-person
writing uses the pronouns they, him, her, and it,
as well as proper nouns. This is the type of writing you would see in a novel
with an outside narrator.
Example: Teachers and students agree
that third-person writing makes essays sound better.
Here’s
one last video example, this one using third-person perspective, from the man
with the golden voice:
Why Third-Person Writing is Important
Third-Person Writing Makes Your Essay Sound More Assertive.
If
you write your essay in first person, you risk the chance of statements like “I
think” or “I believe.” These kinds of statements sound more passive than just
stating your facts. Notice the difference between the following sentences:
This is why I believe jazz is the first form
of truly American music.
This is why jazz is the first form of truly
American music.
The
second sentence–the one that uses third-person–sets a more definite tone. You
are presenting the sentence as a statement of fact instead of a personal
belief.
Third-Person Writing Makes Your Support Sound More Credible.
On
a related note, first-person writing makes your support sound like it’s coming
from a non-credible source. Presenting facts or opinions with “I think” or “I
believe” in front doesn’t give any validity to the statement.
Third-person
writing encourages you to use other sources to validate your claims. The
following two sentences will illustrate this further:
I believe that children should consume less
sugar because it leads to higher risk of obesity.
According to the Obesity Action Coalition,
children who consume a lot of sugar have an increased risk of obesity.
The
second sentence pulls an authoritative source to support the claim instead of
you, the writer. This makes the claim more credible to the reader.
Third-Person Writing Sounds Less Conversational and More
Professional.
As
I mentioned before, writing in the first or second person leads to a more
conversational tone. While this may be good for some forms of writing (this
blog post, for example), you want your academic writing to take on a more
formal tone. Consider the following examples:
When writing a novel, you should think about
what kind of tone you want to portray before choosing which point of view you
want to use.
When writing a novel, authors should think
about the kind of tone they want to portray before choosing which point of view
they want to use.
The
first sentence creates a more intimate and conversational tone with the reader,
but the second sentence tells the reader what kind of person (authors) would
benefit from reading the sentence.
It
is more specific and, therefore, creates a more formal tone.
Exceptions to the Third-Person Writing Rule
I
won’t ever tell you that it’s always a good idea to write one
specific way. Third-person writing is usually a good idea in academic writing,
but there are cases where first-person writing is a better call. [Always
ask your instructor. If it is an
Argument Paper or a Persuasive paper, you can bet it is to be in 3rd
person voice.]
When You’re Writing A Personal Narrative.
Personal narrative essays are designed to tell the reader
something that has happened in your life, so first-person writing would be the
preferred choice here. Whether it be something that embarrassed you, angered
you, or made you proud or happy, narrative essays are all about real-world life
experiences. [Always ask your instructor for
final clarification. Many instructors at
the college level still expect much 3rd person in a Narrative, with
1st person and 3rd person voice carrying the writing of the
Narrative. You will not use 2nd
person voice in academic writing.]
When You’re Talking About Your Own Opinions.
Like
narrative essays, using your own opinions in essays may sometimes require the
use of the first person, especially if you are drawing on personal experiences.
Usually, this will happen in persuasive essays.
It
is important to note that you should…[always]…use third-person writing for your
persuasive essays because, as I mentioned earlier, it will give a more formal
tone and more credibility to your argument. However, if some personal
experience is especially relevant, it would be okay to use the first person
(unless your teacher says otherwise, of course). [Always ask your instructor for final
clarification.]
When You’re Doing Other Informal Types of Writing.
Essays
are not the only types of writing assignments you’re likely to receive. Short
stories and poetry pop up in classes from time to time, and these can be
written any number of ways. Short stories can take the first- or third-person
perspective–they rarely use second person. Poetry can use any of the three
points of view.
(For
more, read When to Use
First-Person Writing in Your Essays)
When
you are concentrating strictly on academic essays, third-person writing is
(usually) crucial. And it’s not hard to do. Just look at any references to
yourself or the reader and change around the sentence to eliminate the I,
me, you, we, and us pronouns. Doing so will make your
writing stronger, clearer, and professional.
If
you still can’t quite get the hang of third-person writing, there’s no need to
stress out over it. Just seek help from the Writing Center on campus. They can walk you through one of your own
writings and show you how to modify the content to be in 3rd person
voice.
Note from Professor Dick:
None of the content posted above is
my own writing.
The links and content above comes
from Kibin at https://www.kibin.com/essay-writing-blog/third-person-writing/.
Contact
Kibin or visit the webpage for more assistance.
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