How to Avoid Using Personal Language in Writing

Following General Rules

Use the third person point of view. Never use “I,” “my,” or otherwise refer to yourself in formal academic writing. You should also avoid using the second-person point of view, such as by referring to the reader as “you.” Instead, write directly about your subject matter in the third person. For example, replace “I think the most important part of your day is having a good breakfast,” with “A nutritious breakfast is an important part of a healthy diet.”

Use objective language instead of informal expressions. Informal expressions include slang, colloquialisms, clichés, and contractions. They’re common in speech and casual forms of writing, but they aren’t appropriate for academic writing. Slang words and colloquialisms are casual expressions shared by a region or social group, like “photobomb,” “kick the bucket,” or “Bob’s your uncle.” Instead of, "He kicked the bucket in a doozy of a wreck," write, "He was killed in a serious car accident." Clichés are overused expressions that have become meaningless or boring, such as “only time will tell” or “cream of the crop.” Alternatives for these phrases could be "remains to be seen" and "the best." Examples of contractions include “don’t,” “wouldn’t,” hasn’t,” and “it’s.” Instead of using them, spell out the words in full.

Be as specific as possible. Personal language tends to be imprecise, but formal writing should be clear and exact. For instance, “They exceeded expectations” is stronger than “They did a really good job.” Instead of “The difficulty went up over time,” write “The level of difficulty gradually increased. Additionally, avoid casual estimates, such as “a couple of studies,” “a lot of time,” or “a bunch of research.” Instead, use specific numbers, such as “The team spent 17 days collecting samples.”

Take the time to think of strong adjectives and verbs. Try to find strong, specific verbs instead of fluffing up your writing with adverbs. As for adjectives, your descriptions should relate facts, not express your opinion. If you’re stuck, check a thesaurus or run a quick internet search to find the word that best conveys your point. For instance, “An expert witness debunked the defense’s argument” is stronger than “The witness made an extremely convincing testimony that made the defendant look absolutely guilty.” Replace "to be" verbs like is", "am", "are", "were", "was", and "will be", with stronger verbs. For example, instead of saying, "The defense's argument was wrong because it was based on speculation" say, "The argument failed because it relied on speculative evidence."

Finding Alternatives to Personal Pronouns

State your claim directly instead of using “I think.” Sometimes, all you need to do is drop a clause such as “I think” or “I believe” from the beginning of a sentence. Getting rid of the personal pronoun is more objective, and it makes your statement sound more confident. Compare the examples, “I think the nations’ economic relationship prevented war,” and “The nations’ economic relationship prevented war.” The second example is objective and sounds authoritative. You might feel the urge to soften a claim by using a personal pronoun, especially if you’re unsure about it. Do your research! The more you know about your subject matter, the easier it’ll be to make strong, well-supported claims. Even if the other side presents a strong argument, keep an authoritative tone throughout. While you should acknowledge the other side, avoid using personal pronouns, as this could weaken your stance.

Refer to supporting evidence, not to your thought process. If you’re trying to strengthen a claim, you might be tempted to write “I am convinced,” “I am sure,” or “I strongly disagree.” However, referring to yourself won’t make your point stronger. Instead, mention an authoritative source to make your claim more credible. Consider the sentence, “I strongly disagree with the defense’s attempt to blame the accident on a vehicle defect.” Stronger phrasing could be, “According to expert testimony from the manufacturer, the defense’s claims regarding a vehicle defect had no basis in reality.”

Map out your paper without using personal pronouns. It might seem natural to write, “I will show,” “I will explain,” or “I will argue.” However, you should skip the personal pronouns when you introduce your paper’s structure. You might need to make minor adjustments if you can’t just delete the personal reference. For the example, “I will argue that market volatility led to the industry’s collapse,” just cut “I will argue that.” Tweak the phrasing for the sentence, “I will examine letters and journal entries to show how Charles Baudelaire’s life in Paris influenced his views of modernity.” You could start the sentence with “Examining letters and journal entries will show," and leave out “I will.”

Use the passive voice to emphasize an action without naming yourself. You may use the passive voice sparingly to map out your argument or describe a procedure. Instead of “I will prove,” you could write “It will be clear that.” In a scientific paper, “The sample was tested” is better than “I tested the sample.” In passive voice, an action was done by someone or something: "This was done by them." Because of this construction, passive voice tends to be wordy. Active voice is crisper and emphasizes the doer: "They did this." Keep in mind that you should write in the active voice whenever possible. Write “Charles Baudelaire described modernity” instead of “Modernity was described by Charles Baudelaire.

Use formal generalizations instead of “you.” When you make generalizations in conversation, it’s natural to say, “If you break the rules, you’ll get into trouble.” To avoid personal language, replace “you” with “one,” “the reader,” or “the viewer.” Instead of “The painting overwhelms you with texture and color,” write “The painting overwhelms viewers with texture and color.” You can also just replace generalizations with tighter wording. Replace “You can see that the claim is false,” with “The claim is false,” or reword it as “The evidence disproves the claim.” Include formal generalizations in moderation. Using “one can see” or “one would think” too often will make your writing feel awkward.

Avoiding Informal Expressions

Use formal, factual vocabulary instead of emotive language. Strong formal writing features specific, objective word choices and cites evidence. Subjective expressions might be grammatically correct, but they express opinions without stating facts. For example, “The efficiency audit determined that streamlining the application process will generate interest,” refers to a reliable source and states a fact. “The application process is terrible and confusing,” expresses an opinion. If you're trying to make an emotional appeal to your audience, it is acceptable to use more emotional language, although you should still avoid using the first person.

Replace slang with specific words and phrases. It’s easy to use slang language without realizing it, so check your work carefully for informal language. Try to imagine that you’re not a native speaker of your language. If you’re writing in English, look for words and phrases that would be unfamiliar if English wasn’t your first language. For example, “That guy was a real hater, so his boss gave him the third-degree,” features slang. “The manager reprimanded the cashier for insubordinate behavior,” is more specific and objective.

Check your writing for everyday language. Common sayings and idioms can be even harder to avoid than slang. While your writing should flow, it shouldn’t include the casual vocabulary of everyday speech. Do your best to avoid figures of speech and stick to formal, precise vocabulary. Examples of common expressions include “easier said than done,” “sooner or later,” "at the end of the day", and “reached a happy medium.” Alternatives for these expressions could be “more difficult in practice,” “inevitable,” "ultimately", and “compromised.”

Avoid using too many short, simple, and incomplete sentences. Keep in mind your sentences shouldn’t run on, and using short sentences strategically can improve readability. However, if every sentence is terse, your writing will feel mechanical. Additionally, ensure your sentences are always complete and unabbreviated. For example, “The performer gave an excellent performance. Not a dry eye in the theater,” is grammatically incorrect and inappropriate for academic writing. For resume writing, terse, incomplete sentences are actually preferred. Instead of “I reduced purchasing costs by 10%,” write, “Reduced purchasing costs by 10%.”