Looking back at my high school and even middle school years, I can’t help but laugh at the fact that most of the lousy pieces of writings could’ve been better if the letter “I” was used. I never really understood why teachers made such a rule that we can’t express ourselves even though we’re the ones writing the reports, essays, and whatnot. Using the letter “I” is something flexible and critical where it can only be used in the right situation. To me, taking that away just makes a complicated piece of writing in which no one will enjoy reading due to the complexity. Now granted it does give future writers and researchers knowledge of how to improvise their writing skills, the issue is everyone else is not going to think like a writer and/or researcher therefore won’t comprehend the pieces of writing without a crystal-clear context.
This is where Kate McKinney Maddalena’s “I Need You to Say “I”: Why First Person Is Important in College Writing” answers all the questions in regard to first person point of view used in writing. She explains how using first person pronouns are supportive in a well written argument. While many of Maddalena’s points were strong and understandable, I want to get into more detail when she gets into clarifying who is saying or doing what since I believe this is her strongest statement. Especially when she states that,
“First of all, the more “voices” you add to the conversation, the more confusing it gets. You must separate your own interpretations of scholars’ claims, the claims themselves, and your argument so as not to misrepresent any of them. If you’ve just paraphrased a scholar, making your own claim without quite literally claiming it might make the reader think that the scholar said it.”
Maddalena pg 183
Maddalena further proves this by providing an example of other writers during the end of the article. Perception plays a huge role in writing as readers will need to understand the significance of the context, therefore would need to know who is saying what exactly. I highly encourage every college student to read this article as it emphasizes how important the letter “I” can truly be. Otherwise, have fun writing lousy essays and research papers by all means.
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