Skip to content

Ask an Academic

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us
Teaching a class of students

Essays: first person or third person

September 23, 2019 by AskanAcademic.com

First person refers to the grammatical mode in which statements are indexed against the speaker. This produces sentences which use the...

Question

Should I use first person or third person when writing an essay?

Answer

First person refers to the grammatical mode in which statements are indexed against the speaker. This produces sentences which use the pronouns I (singular) and we (plural). For example:

  • I think that the pears are nice this year.

By contrast, when using the third person, statements are indexed against neither the speaker nor the person they are speaking to, but to another party. This produces sentences which use the pronouns he, she or it. For example:

  • It is said that the pears are nice this year.

Because first person language reports the subjective state of the speaker, it can come across as untrustworthy – as a matter of opinion or perspective. On the other hand, third person language is used to report statements of objective fact, independent of the state of the speaker. For this reason, third person language appears to be more authoritative.

The decision over whether to use first or third person language therefore depends on the purpose of the essay. Academic essays are almost always concerned with presenting objective facts about the world (or at least, appearing to do so). As a result, you are almost always expected to use the third person when writing these types of essay.

However, for some courses you may be expected to write a reflective essay, which involves reporting your own feelings and experiences about a topic. For this type of assignment, you are almost always expected to use the first person, since this is appropriate to convey the authority of your subjective condition.

References

Post navigation

Previous Post:

How is male violence against women a patriarchal (structural and systemic) phenomenon, not an individual issue?

Next Post:

The temple of Isis; Pompeii and Herculaneum

Search Q&As

Categories

  • Art Media and Literature (74)
  • Business and Management (256)
  • Computing and ICT (14)
  • Construction and Engineering (35)
  • Education (90)
  • Environmental Sciences (2)
  • Finance and Economics (91)
  • Health (64)
  • Languages (12)
  • Law (88)
  • Mathematics and Statistics (2)
  • Medical Sciences (19)
  • Politics and International Relations (83)
  • Research Methodology (1)
  • Science (49)
  • Social Sciences (101)

Archives

Who We Are

Askanacademic.com is owned and operated by All Answers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. VAT Registration No: 842417633. Data Controller No: Z1821391.

Registered office:
Venture House
Cross Street
Arnold
Nottingham
NG5 7PJ

Main Navigation

  • Home
  • Ask a Question
  • Contact Us

Legals

  • Cookie Policy
  • Privacy Policy

Popular Categories

  • Business and Management
  • Law
  • Finance and Economics
  • Health
An an Academic Logo
© 2023 Ask an Academic | WordPress Theme by Superb Themes
This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Reject
Read More
Privacy & Cookies Policy

Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary
Always Enabled
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Non-necessary
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.
SAVE & ACCEPT