Academic Writer
academic writer: tone: expressing personal opinions
Expressing personal opinions
It is often good academic practice
to AVOID using the pronouns 'I' and the phrase 'in my opinion'. This is because there will be many
occasions when you will want to create a neutral and objective tone in your academic
writing. So you can use 'one' , 'we', words such as 'interestingly' or 'admittedly', or
the impersonal
'it' , instead of constantly saying 'I'. However, there may be instances when it is
necessary and effective to use the pronoun 'I'. For example:
- when you are outlining what you are going to do in a paper
- when you explaining how and why you came to write about a particular topic
- if you are describing a piece of primary research in which you have a very personal
interest and close involvement
- if you are writing about something which is very close to your heart (if you do the
latter, it is advisable to 'frame' your comments in a wider and more objective argument.)
EXAMPLE 1
The introduction of technology into any organization, brings with it fear and apprehension, as well as enthusiasm, which if not correctly controlled can cause failure at an early stage of development. Having come from an industry where the introduction of technology in processes and systems helped bring about the loss of some 60,000 jobs, I am well aware of the consequences on the individual and society. |
EXAMPLE 2
Before concluding I would like to highlight the role of language in my study . I decided early in my work that I would like to examine the effect that Virtual Reality had on learning. I realised that establishing the contribution made by any technology or experience is very difficult. And in my case, this situation was going to be made almost impossible because my field work was only very small scale (and very short-term). |
Academic Writer 2000