Prácticas Discursivas III

Being Consistent in Writing

Point of view is the perspective from which a sentence or paragraph is written. Consistent point of
view means you should use the same person or personal pronoun throughout a sentence or
paragraph: first person singular (I), first person plural (we), second person singular or plural (you),
third person singular (he, she, it, one) or third person plural (they). Avoid confusing shifts from one
point of view to another.

POINTS OF VIEW IN WRITING

There are three different points of view that can be used in writing: first person, second person,
and third person. In academic writing, the third person point of view is usually clearer and allows a
writer to come across as more credible. Due to this and other reasons, the third person point of
view is considered the best in academic writing.
 • First person occurs primarily through the use of the pronoun “I.” This is the point of view
used when a writer is writing about himself. There may be times when it is okay to
incorporate personal examples into an essay (we will not be dealing wit essays in
Language 2 ) , and if so, the first person will be used. However, it is generally best to avoid
referring to yourself, as the writer. Statements like “I believe” or “I think” tend to weaken
writing and are better when written in the third person. (example: “The U.S. government
needs to pass this law” is better and stronger than “I believe the U.S. government needs to
pass this law.”)

• Second person involves the use of the pronoun “you” to refer to the reader. There are few
times to use the second person in academic writing, as it can alienate the reader. Let’s
look at the following example:

All beginning college students should learn how to write well. Doing so will allow you to do better
in school, and you will receive better grades.

Notice the shift that occurred from the first sentence, which is written in the third person, to the
second sentence, which is written in the second person. This second sentence alienates readers
who are not beginning college students since the information does not pertain to them. However,
if the second sentence is written in the third person, even people who are not beginning college
students can keep reading and learn from the essay:

• Revised: All beginning college students should learn how to write well. Doing so will allow
them to do better in school and receive better grades.

Third Person involves directly stating who is being written about without using the words I, me,
we, us, or you. In the example above, the use of both college students and they keeps this writing
in the third person.

To clarify, here are examples of sentences written in the various points of view:
First person: I should learn how to write well.

Second person: You should learn how to write well.

Third person: College students should learn how to write well.

As mentioned earlier, most academic essays ( and reports, which will be studied later on ) should
be written almost entirely in the third person. The second person should be avoided, and the first
person should only be used when using personal examples that help support claims made in the
essay and when telling personal anecdotes or any other genre that is not academic . In addition to
enhancing credibility, another reason to write primarily in the third person is because frequent
changes in point of view can create confusion for the reader.

THE PROBLEM

When we write quickly, we sometimes change the point of view of a sentence or a paragraph by
switching from one pronoun perspective to another. This switch in perspective is called a switch in
point of view or a pronoun shift. For a polished, professional writing style in English, it is important
that we maintain the point of view that we establish.

Let us take, for example, the first sentence in this paragraph. We could easily have written,
"When we write quickly, you sometimes change the point of view of a sentence or paragraph." In
this sentence, we started with the pronoun "we," which is 1st person plural, and we switched to
"you," which is second person (singular or plural).

This switch detracts from our writing style. Once we establish a point of view through the use of a
pronoun, we should maintain that perspective, unless we have good reason to switch it.

EXAMPLES OF PRONOUN SHIFTS

• As we rode into town, you could hear the silence of the frightened residents.

• When I listened to Bach, you could almost feel a mathematical rhythm taking
over your thoughts.

• If we did not text while we drove, you would not have as many accidents as there are.

These three sentences exhibit a shift in perspective. The point of view changes because the use of
pronouns changes. In the first sentence, we start with the pronoun "we" (first person) and shift to
the pronoun "you" (second person). This shift hurts our writing style.
THE SOLUTION (CORRECTING PRONOUN SHIFTS)

We can maintain a consistent point of view and avoid shifts in pronouns in two ways.

1. Use the same pronoun in our sentences.

2. A better solution is to use a noun in the first part of the sentence. In this manner, the
pronoun use in the second part becomes almost obvious.

CORRECT EXAMPLES

• Good: As we rode into town, we could hear the silence of the frightened residents.

Better: As the soldiers rode into town, they could hear the silence of the frightened residents.

• Good (and Better): When I listened to Bach, I could almost feel a mathematical rhythm
taking over my thoughts.

When we use the pronoun "I" (first person) we really cannot use a noun. Referring to ourselves in
the third person sounds odd.

• Good: If we did not text while we drove, we would not have as many accidents
as we have.

Better: If drivers did not text while they drove, fewer accidents would occur.

Sometimes we must revise the sentence to avoid a shift in pronoun. Sometimes this revision
makes the sentence shorter, better, and clearer.

This page covers maintaining a consistent point of view in sentences. To do so, we must maintain
the perspective we establish in the beginning. Take a look through this page. With the exception of
this sentence, you will notice a "we" (first person plural) perspective. Remember this: To improve
our writing style in English, we must maintain a consistent point of view in our sentences and
throughout the entire paragraph or essay.

Example of Confusing Shift:

In this example, the writer shifts from the third person (students) to the second person (you and
your). To correct this mistake, use the same personal pronoun throughout the sentence. College
students soon see that they are on their own. OR In college, you soon see that you are on your
own. You should also be consistent in using the right singular or plural pronoun. If the noun that
the pronoun refers to is singular, use the singular pronoun for that person. If the noun is plural,
use the plural pronoun.

Example of Incorrect Pronoun: A teacher should grade their papers promptly. To correct this
mistake, use a third person singular pronoun or use the plural noun. A good teacher grades his or
her papers promptly. Good teachers grade their papers promptly. Note: In the second corrected
sentence above, the verb (grades) must be changed from singular to plural (grade) to agree with
the plural subject (teachers).

Practice Correct any inconsistencies of person in these sentences. If necessary, change the verbs
to make them agree with any new subjects. Make your corrections above the lines.

Each hiker should bring your own lunch.

1. Jane treats me like family when I visit her. She always makes you feel at home.

2. A student has to show their identification card in order to borrow books from the library.

3. The first person at the counter gets their order filled quickly.

4. I love to go dancing. You can exercise, work off tensions, and have fun all at the same time.

5. If a person has lived in a city, you may find the country too quiet.

6. The cast members have discovered that you have to work together to prepare for the
performance.

7. A person with high blood pressure should watch their diet.

8. When Lee and I ride our bikes to work at 6 A.M., you can see the city waking up.