Personal response. Expository essay. Argumentative essay. Letter writing. Business writing. The variety of assignments you receive throughout your high school English and social studies classes are broad and, ideally, mimic what you would do in every-day situations once you hit the real world. Unfortunately for you, oh young student, is that you need to use different tactics for each type of assignment; fortunately, all it takes is a little shift in your use of point of view—and I’m not talking about your opinion. I’m talking about your use of pronouns (you know, he, she, it, you, etc.) Using different pronouns changes the point of view of your non-fiction, which is something you’ll need to do regularly if the above list is any indication. I have, for your reading pleasure, created the three core points of view you need to complete all the above tasks in style.
1st person
The first person point of view is characterized by the I, me, mine pronouns. You’d typically use this point of view in any kind of personal response or personal letter/email. You could be writing a narrative essay—of course, in narrative essays, you need to give personal information, and so the first person point of view would be appropriate, here—or a letter to a friend. I’ve seen a couple assignments pop up where students need to pretend to be an immigrant or some such person and need to write a letter home. Here, of course, you need to use the first person to express your thoughts and opinions.
However, where the first person point of view is inappropriate is in expository essays and argumentative essays. Also, try to stay away from the first person in any kind of business writing (more on this later). Essentially, with expository essays, you are in explanation mode. You are not supposed to use your personal experience to explain an idea—to do so would be considered a logical fallacy. Just think to yourself, “Should an anecdote be used in any kind of professional or academic writing? Should I write about my own life to prove something scientifically?” Obviously, no, you should not. Ditto for argumentative essays. In order to state an objective opinion, you need to take your subjectivity out of it. And when stating your opinion, stay away from the “I believe” or “I think” preambles. They are clumsy and, guess what, everyone can tell what your position is on the topic without reading the “I believe.” It’s redundant.
2nd person
The second person point of view is characterized by the you, yours pronouns. The best place to use this point of view is in business writing. Remember when I said to stay away from the first person in business writing? Well, use this instead. You see, in business writing, you need to keep your writing focussed on the client and state why it is important to him/her. For example, look at the difference in these two sentences:
1. I have activated your account.
2. Your account has been activated.
See the difference? The client doesn’t care if you activated their account; all they care about is whether or not the account has been activated. Additionally, try using the second person when you are giving advice. These articles are great examples of me giving you advice using the second person. But! Be aware that using the second person in this way suggests an informal tone. Again, my articles are very casual and conversational, and one of the reasons for that tone is my use of the second person.
Now, when shouldn’t you use the second person? The short answer is: In an academic setting. Expository and argumentative essays should not use this point of view, ever. Why? Well, when you use the second person, you are usually assuming something about your reader that may not be true—the same goes for these articles. I am making some assumptions about you, the reader, which are that you are A) in high school and B) need advice. My mom, who turns 60 years old in this April, might feel a little out of place if she read this article because of the way I use ‘you.’ So please, stay away from the second person in any kind of academic setting. Doing so will not only help your writing but also save you some deductions.
3rd person
The third person point of view uses he, she, it, they, and related pronouns. Basically, everything except I and you pronouns. These are great for expository and argumentative essays. And they are what you want to stick to in academic writing. Basically, you will need to cite sources, and that means reading related literature about your source material that is written by other academics. Usually you will use peer reviewed material to supplement and support your opinions and to explain your ideas more thoroughly. Doing so ensures that your argument or explanation is backed up and thorough. When it comes to point of view, the third person is best, here. Of note, there is something called ‘second mention’ in academic writing. Whenever you are citing sources or even your source material, make sure that you use the writer’s full name on first mention. After that, you just need to use his/her last name. Take care to cite your sources scrupulously because, if you don’t, you may get slapped with plagiarism.
In sum, there are appropriate places for all points of view. If you are writing a personal letter or email or even a personal response, use the first person. Second person is most effective in business writing. Similarly, use the second person when you are giving advice. Note that it has a slightly conversational, informal tone when used in this way. Finally, the third person is your best pick for academic writing. Use it to your best advantage. That’s all for today, folks! Write like crazy and read every day!