Can You Say “You”, “My” in a Research Paper

Every student knows that there are strict rules about the writing of academic papers. According to these requirements, some vocabulary should be omitted, but other words are recommended to be used. Following such rules will help you to get the perfect paper and good grade. For that reason, you need to get acknowledged with the general peculiarities of the academic language before you start completing your research paper. One of the most complex themes is the use of personal pronouns in academic writing, particularly the words you, my, us, our, and they.

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Can you say “You” in a research paper

If you are a student who is completing your academic paper for the first time, you may struggle to understand if you can use You in research papers you are going to write. If you want the quick answer to this question here it is – no, you mustn’t use the word “you”. It may surprise you as it is appropriate to use “you” when you are appealing to someone.

However, the research paper is not a personal letter or a fictional composition that allows using different techniques to attract the audience. The research paper is an academic assignment, and you should remember that the research community will read you. Writing with “you” sounds too conversational and informal lessening the quality of your paper. Additionally, using this word in your research paper shows the low level of your intelligence.

Remember that a research paper is academic writing, not a direct personal conversation with one reader. Think carefully about which phrases could help you to avoid the unnecessary word and try to write properly.

Can you say “My” in a research paper

While you are completing an academic paper, particularly the research paper, you should be extremely careful to use the word “my”. That could not satisfy you but using personal bias in academic writing should be avoided. The reason is obvious: when you use this word you accentuate the audience’s attention only on your own experience.

However, your experience is not enough to complete an academic paper. Accentuate more on the concrete details and facts to create a perfect research paper. In order to avoid the word “my” prepare some alternative objective phrases that would not make a focus on your person but will accentuate on the research facts and results.

Remember that your goal is to sound persuasive and qualified. Additionally, if you are a student, you want to receive the highest grade for your paper. For that reason, do everything you can to develop your writing skills and stick to the rules.

Can you use “Us” in a research paper

If you strongly decided to create a perfect research paper, try to avoid using any 1st person pronouns, including the word “us”. You should always keep in mind that such word makes you sound too informal and not intelligent enough. When you are completing group research, you may automatically use the word “us” and similar ones but make sure you avoid them. Remind yourself that you must sound objective in your paper.

It is not your personal conversation with the lector or the instructor from the college. It is academic writing, and it requires academic language to be used. If you are a beginner writer and have not yet developed enough writing skills, you should be careful with such little words that show the lack of your competence. Try to avoid all of them to achieve the better results. Also you can use word We in research paper.

Can you say “Our” in a research paper

Like all the other words mentioned above, the word “our” should not be used in any academic writing and the research paper is not an exception. So, if you are wondering whether it is allowed to build the sentences with the pronoun “our,” we can give you the direct answer: “No, it isn’t”.

The word “our” accentuate on the first person, in this case, it may be a group of people that were doing the current research. There is no doubt that the observation and experiments you have done are successful and worth to be taken into consideration, but you should not attract the reader’s attention to the person. You aim to present the result of the research, supporting them by facts and details discovered in the process of completing the paper.

For that reason, try to present the facts in your research paper objectively and avoid using first-person pronouns.

Can you use “They” in a research paper

The word “they” is another personal pronoun that often confuses the students while they are completing an academic paper. There is no the strict rule of using this word as it mostly depends on the context in which the word is placed. You should stick to the one rule: every word in your research paper should make a sense and not be meaningless.

Keep this in your mind and whenever you want to use the word “they,” ask yourself: “Who exactly are they?” If it is obvious from the context who they are, you surely can use this word. However, if you want to sound more qualified and proficient try to find more objective alternatives instead of using the personal pronouns too many times. Do not forget that it is an academic paper and you are supposed to be formal and considered.