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Personal pronouns are used to indicate a point of view, or the perspective from which a paper is written. In scholarly writing, first-person and third-person point of view are common, but second-person point of view is not.

Third-Person Point of View


A paper written in third-person point of view uses pronouns such as "he," "she," "it," "they," "him," "her," "his," and "them."

Nurses are critical to improving patient health outcomes. They provide comprehensive care, educating and advocating for their patients.

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Third-person point of view is common in scholarly writing, as it helps establish an objective tone.

First-Person Point of View


A paper written in first-person point of view uses pronouns such as "I," "me," "we," and "us."

I distributed the surveys, and then I collected and compiled the results.

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While less common than third-person point of view, first-person point of view is acceptable in scholarly writing, if it reduces wordiness and promotes clarity. Here, the use of “I” clarifies that the writer—not a third-party researcher—took the steps of distributing surveys and collecting and compiling results.

Second-Person Point of View


A paper written in second-person point of view uses pronouns such as "you,” “your,” and “yourself.”

To be prepared for an emergency fire situation, you must be familiar with the emergency exits as well as the building's fire safety plan.

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Generally, it is best to avoid second-person pronouns in scholarly writing because they remove the distance between the reader and the writer. Instead, try to use first or third person pronouns to enhance clarity.

While using the first-person point of view can improve clarity and reduce wordiness, this perspective tends to be overused in scholarly writing. Explore the tabs below to identify and correct common instances of problematic first-person perspective. 

Inappropriate Use of the First-Person Plural: We can stop obesity in our society by changing our lifestyles.

Readers would not necessarily know who "we" refers to, and using a phrase such as "our society" can immediately exclude readers from outside your social group.

Appropriate Use of the First-Person Plural: Two other nurses and I worked together to create a qualitative survey to measure patient satisfaction. Upon completion, we presented the results to our supervisor.

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In this sentence, “we” and “our” are clearly defined as “two other nurses and I.” For clarity, restrict the use of "we" and "our" to yourself and any coauthors or coresearchers.

Inappropriate Use of the First-Person “I”: I feel that eating white bread causes cancer.

Using the pronoun “I” to state your opinion creates unnecessary wordiness and weakens your credibility. Instead, avoid phrases like “I think,” “I feel,” and “I believe” in your writing and support claims with credible sources.

Appropriate Use of the First-Person “I”: I surveyed 2,900 adults who consumed white bread regularly.

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In this case, using the pronoun “I” is necessary because it clarifies that the writer completed the action of the sentence, surveying 2,900 adults.

The third-person perspective is common in scholarly writing, but it can create confusion. The example below demonstrates a problematic use of the third-person and offers a possible revision:

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Confusing Use of Third-Person:

The researcher found that the authors had been accurate in their study of helium, which the researcher hypothesized at the start of their project.

In this example, it’s not clear whether “the researcher” refers to the writer or to a third-party researcher.

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Possible Revision: 

I found that Johnson et al. (2011) had been accurate in their study of helium, which I hypothesized at the start of my project.

The use of first-person pronouns (“I” and “my”) clarifies that the writer completed both actions in this revised sentence. Replacing “the authors” with a narrative citation also improves clarity by specifying which study the writer is referring to.

Key Takeaways

  • Personal pronouns indicate one of three points of view: first-person, second-person, or third-person.
  • First-person and third-person are common in scholarly writing; second-person point of view is not.
  • Avoid the first-person if it creates unnecessary wordiness and diminishes credibility (“I think”/ “I feel”/ “I believe”).
  • Avoid the third-person if it leads to confusion around who or what completed the action of the sentence.

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