17.8: Other Considerations When Writing About Texts

Use of the First Person ("I")

Depending on your assignment, your instructor might want you to limit the use of the first person (I and we) in your paper. When writing about a text, work on simply removing the first person from your observations and claims, as shown in the example below.

Rough: In my opinion, "The Allegory of the Cave" can teach a modern person a lot.

Revised: "The Allegory of the Cave" can teach a modern person a lot.

When making observations about a text, it can be easier to refer to the reader or the audience in order to avoid "I," as shown below.

Rough: When I first read "Learning to Read and Write," I was surprised by the process Douglass undertakes to learn.

Revised: In "Learning to Read and Write," Frederick Douglass undertook a surprising process in order to learn.

Avoiding the second person (“you”)

The second person (you) is generally unacceptable in college level writing because it is informal and is not specific. "You" is also very broad-- you could be referring to anyone-- and it makes assumptions about your audience; for example, in the first rough sentence below, the writer seems a bit accusatory toward the reader. In order to fix this, work on referring to specific groups. Again, when you are writing about texts, you might find yourself frequently referring to the audience or reader, which is fine.

Rough: You need to think about what you can do to reduce your household waste.

Revised: Consumers need to think about what they can do to reduce household waste.

Rough: You need to try harder in college because it requires more critical thinking than high school.

Revised: Students need to try harder in college because it requires more critical thinking than high school.

Constructing a Works Cited Page

Some instructors may require you to construct a Works Cite for a non-researched paper over sources. If you are using texts from this book, use the MLA citations for entries in an anthology. You can find it below:

Author of essay First Name, Last Name. "Name of book entry." Book Title, edited by, edition number, publisher, year of publication, page range of entry.

Keller, Helen. "Everything Has a Name." Idea to Essay: Collected Strategies for the College Writer, 3rd ed, edited by Andrea Mccaffree-Wallace, Butler Community College, 2022, pp. 308-310.