: Re: Is using first person in academic/technical essays always bad? For as long as I can remember, my teachers have taught me never to use first person in an essay. Yet, some of the examples

Like with so many other issues of style, it depends on your audience.

For a school essay, your audience is your teacher. So write the essay your teacher wants, no matter if it's okay to do it another way elsewhere.

If you submit an essay or article for publication, the audience is the publisher, and you should follow its rules. A publisher curates for a larger audience and will have rules and expectations for authors that fit those needs.

Some academic essays need to be in first person. Imagine a college application essay written in 3rd person. I'm sure people have done it. I wouldn't advise it. If you're writing an essay to read out loud at a conference or other presentation, and it's about your work, you also need to use first person or it's just weird and confusing.

Figure out your audience and adjust your writing accordingly.

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: Re: Is using first person in academic/technical essays always bad? For as long as I can remember, my teachers have taught me never to use first person in an essay. Yet, some of the examples

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: Are run-on sentences always bad? (TW, depression related stuff?) In my AP Lang class, we've recently started an activity called Visiting Author, where a student does a cold read of a piece they

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