Writing and Punctuation / Academic Style / Writing objectively - avoiding 'you'(1)

M aking your writing more objective.

In general, academic writing tends to be objective and avoids using ‘I’, ‘you’ or ‘we’.

Use ‘It is..’

You can cut the price	It is possible to cut the price.
We must cut the price	It is necessary.

It is	important	to	understand.. examine…
	essential
	possible
	useful
	necessary
	easy
	difficult

Use the passive

Active	Passive
We administered the survey…	The survey was administered.
I will discuss the arguments for and against…	The arguments for and against will be discussed.
We can see that there is strong evidence for this.	It can be seen that there is strong evidence for this.
We found that 90% of the respondents were male.	It was found that 90% of the respondents were male.

Use ‘there is / there are’

We have many different approaches	There are many different approaches.
You have arguments on both sides.	There are arguments on both sides.

Rewrite these sentences, avoiding ‘you’.

1. Even though you can separate these two methods, you must know which one you should apply.

2. We have many aspects where you can find cultural differences.

3. When you examine the Norwegian way of negotiating, you have to look at Norwegian culture in general.

4. First, we must look at the reasons behind this.

5. We can see easily that Napoleon had an inferiority complex.

Possible answers

1. Even though these two methods can be separated, it is important to know which one should be applied.

2. There are many aspects where cultural differences can be found.

3. When the Norwegian way of negotiating is examined, it is important to look at Norwegian culture in general.

4. First, the reasons behind this must be looked at

First, it is important to look at the reasons behind this.

5. It can be easily seen that Napoleon had an inferiority complex.

It is easy to see that Napoleon had an inferiority complex.