It is really important to own your writing. Kate McKinney Maddalena explained in her article ““I need you to say ‘I’”: Why First Person Is Important in College Writing”, she explains when it’s appropriate to use “I” and how to use it. It is true, I was taught in elementary school how to write in the third person perspective and that in a lot of situations using “I” is not acceptable. This idea carried on through middle school, high school and even some college. This is actually the first time I’ve heard that it’s okay to use “I” in my writing. “In college, you should start using first-person pronouns in your formal academic writing, where appropriate. First person has an important place—an irreplaceable place—in texts that report research and engage scholarship.” I call this owning your writing, making it seem more personal. I feel like without saying I, your statements are more general but once you add I to what you’re saying you really personalize it. Maddalena also talks about “clarifying who’s saying what”. A very basic example of this would be if you’re retelling a story involving multiple people, you have to make sure to put names of who says what. If you say something be sure to say “I said” when telling the story. If your friends name is Joe be sure to say “Joe said”. The overall point is knowing when it is appropriate to use “I” and when to just keep things “professional” or “general” as I like to call it.
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