ShmoopTube

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Can My Essay Be in First Person? a la Shmoop. So you’re writing an essay and you have

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something exciting to say. Don’t you always?

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Or worse, you’re writing a boring essay and you need to spice it up a bit.

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Is it okay to use the first-person pronouns I or me when writing an essay? It is your

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essay, after all…

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The short answer is… it depends on the essay.

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The slightly longer answer is… it depends on the essay… and on your teacher.

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Let’s talk about essays first.

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There are certain essays where it’s more appropriate to use the first-person pronoun…

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…just like there are some places where it’s more appropriate to wear a rainbow bobble

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hat.

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If you’re writing a personal narrative, you should be using the first person pronoun.

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You’re the star of that show. You should be I-ing and Me-ing that essay to death.

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Any writing genre that involves the writer’s own taste, recollections, or feelings can

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absolutely use first person.

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Now let’s talk about teachers.

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You may have heard from teachers that the first person is never appropriate in an essay.

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Those teachers are wrong.

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However, if your teacher says you shouldn’t use the first-person pronoun, don’t do it.

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You can rework it later into what you ideally envisioned from the start… versus something

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that gets a good grade… for that quirky online journal with the unusual name that

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you love.

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If they leave it up to your discretion, well, that’s when things get complicated.

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In critical, expository, or research papers, the first-person can be used like a spice

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for a stew.

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If you are writing about, say, Tom Sawyer getting kids to whitewash that fence… an

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essay that has been written more times than there are people on the planet… you’re

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going to want to jazz it up a bit.

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Include a personal anecdote. An anecdote is a great way to demonstrate reading comprehension.

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You’re showing that you really understand what Tom Sawyer did and why he did it.

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You’re also showing yourself to be kind of a manipulative jerk if you identify with

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him, but whatever. Own that.

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Just make sure the paper isn’t about you, you, you.

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Yes, you’re awesome, but your critical essay isn’t the place to talk about yourself.

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So, if you’re writing a personal essay, go for it. First-person all over the place.

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You can liberally use the first-person when you’re writing a review that expresses your

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personal opinion.

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You can sparingly use the first-person in critical, research, or expository writing.

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But if your teacher says no, just don’t do it.

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Standing under the spotlight for too long burns.

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Even if you’re wearing a rainbow bobble hat.

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