academic writer: tone: we
Use of 'we'
If you wish to identify your reader with your own
viewpoint, you may wish to use 'we' rather than 'I'. This has the effect of 'carrying'
your reader with you as you develop your argument. It may have the effect of convincing
your reader of your point of view. It is a rather more subtle device than always using the
personal pronoun 'I' or such phrases as 'In my opinion'
You can use the following phrases with 'we':
We have seen how the religious houses were destroyed. Now let us turn to
the effects of their destruction on the people as a whole.
We have noted the effects of an unrestrained free market economy, for
examples the 'boom-bust' cycle.
We may wish to see more evidence in support of this viewpoint, but this
must await the publication of ongoing research.
EXAMPLE
| We live in a strange and precarious time that resembles at its heart the hysteria and superstitious fervor of the witch trials of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. There is today a "great fear" that grips our society, and that is fear of child abuse. Rightfully we wish to ferret out these genuine "enemies" and point every finger of accusation at them. But this does not mean, of course, that every perceived enemy, every person with whom we may have feuded, should be labeled in this same way. |