Using "I," "you," and "we" in your thesis?

For your thesis and other academic texts, there are a number of forbidden words to avoid using. "I", "you" and "we" usually fall under that category. In academic texts, you should write impersonally. Therefore, you do not address the reader or write from your perspective.However, there are some exceptions to this rule. You can find out exactly what they are in this article. 

The general rule for academic texts is not to use the I, you, and we form. This does not suit the academic writing style, where texts should be mostly formal and impersonal. "I," "you," and "we" are considered too informal. Also, your thesis is generally not about your personal opinions or ideas, but about what is factually apparent from your research and literature review.

The rule of not using "I", "you" and "we" does not apply to every text and chapter within a text. Sometimes, these words are allowed. 

For instance, you often do write an internship report or essay from a first person perspective. This is because it revolves around your experience of the internship, or your view on a particular problem or development. "I" is allowed in this case, as is "we". 

Note that "you" is not commonly used in these reports either. You are not addressing the reader directly in an internship report or essay. 

Furthermore, you usually write the preface and reflection of your thesis using the "I" form. It is also permitted to address your reader in the foreword. In the foreword, you often thank people who helped you with your research or wish the audience a pleasant read. You can then address the reader as "your" or "you," depending on which is most appropriate.

A final exception applies to interview transcripts. In transcripts, you record the interviewee's original and exact words. Chances are that the interviewee will occasionally use words like "I," "you," or "we". That, of course, is not a problem. You can include those words in your transcript.

If you are just starting to write your thesis, it may feel uncomfortable not to write using "I" or "we." Fortunately, there are several ways to rewrite sentences so that you don't need these words. 

Now, it is sometimes advised to use the suffering form instead of "I" and "we," as in this example:

Wrong: "In this study, I'm going to look at how..."

Right: "This study looks at how..."

Our advice is not to use the suffering form (sentences with "become") too often. This is because it makes your text less pleasant to read. There are other ways to avoid "I" or "we." Here are a few examples:

Wrong: "I surveyed 35 respondents for this study."

Right: "For this study, 35 respondents were interviewed."

Wrong: "In this chapter, I address..."

Right: "This chapter addresses..."

Wrong: "We have noticed a decline in..."

Right: "A decline is visible in..."

Wrong: "Based on this research, I conclude that..."

Right: "Based on this research, it can be concluded that..."

Wrong: "To analyse the survey results, I used SPSS."

Right: "SPSS was used to analyse the survey results."

Note that "I" and "we" are not the only words forbidden in your thesis. For the same reasons, you should not use words like "me," "mine," or "my" in academic texts, except in the preface, reflection, and interview transcripts.

You are not supposed to address the reader in your thesis, except possibly in the preface or in an essay. This is often quite easy to avoid by rephrasing sentences to be written impersonally instead. 

For example:

Wrong: "You can find the transcripts of the interviews in Appendix 5."

Right: "The transcripts of the interviews can be found in Appendix 5."

Wrong: "As you can see in the table below, there is..."

Right: "The table below shows that..."

Wrong: "You might think that..."

Right: "It may seem logical that..."

Besides "you" and "your," it is also best not to use the words "you" and "you", except in the preface. 

When writing or speaking colloquially, we use "you" not only to address someone. You also often see this word as a synonym for "one." Take a look at the following sentences: 

• "You need self-confidence to give a good presentation."

• "There is currently no procedure for when you should put emails through the SPAM check and when not to."

Here, you could replace "you" with "one." We usually advise against using "one." This comes across as very formal,making your text unpleasant to read. 

Thus, you should rewrite the above sentences into the following:

• "It takes self-confidence to give a good presentation."

• "There is currently no procedure for when it is and is not necessary to put emails through the SPAM check."

Want to make sure your thesis complies with an academic writing style, and that you have not used "I," "you," and "we" when you shouldn’t have? Our editors will check your thesis for this and much more! Get a language check done to make sure your thesis is well-written and free of language errors.