First-person pronouns

In written text, the uses of first-person pronouns usually mark personal narratives and/or examples that are often considered inappropriate in academic writing. Many researchers of academic discourse and prose have noted the highly depersonalized and objective character of academic prose that requires "author evacuation" (Johns, 1997, p. 57). The use of the first person pronoun I commonly occurs with verbs expressing stance, particularly in humanities disciplines, and particularly in spoken academic style. Such verbs include:

I consider it unlikely that instruction accounts for anywhere near as much vocabulary growth as does incidental acquisition from context during reading.

[pathology lecture]
Right. We've got production of toxins. An endotoxin or an extra toxin. Right.
I assume you know the difference between the two. So we won't go into it.

I can occasionally be used with a generic meaning, particularly in the discipline of philosophy:

We is typically used to refer to more than one author of an academic paper or article. Nowadays it is becoming less frequent for single authors to refer to themselves in the first person plural:

[paper by two authors]
In this paper we report our experience with ear-tattooing in order to compare it with other methods used for marking small mammals.

The other characteristic use of we is to refer to the speaker/writer and listener/reader together, creating a sense of an academic community shared by all participants in the discourse:

[virology lecture]

We know the molecular biology of this virus in very great detail. we know the sequence of the genome from end to end. Now we know the proteins encoded by that genome.

Single authors may sometimes use we as an inclusive strategy to carry the reader along with them in the unfolding argument or presentation of facts, even though it is the single author who has presented the arguments or facts:

In describing the process of gravitational instability we have oversimplified matters a little.

We also occurs in textual signposting, where the writer/speaker is orienting the reader in some way, or pointing to links within the text to other parts of the text:

It is true, as we have seen elsewhere in this book, that individual changes may aid or impair communication to a limited extent.

Profitability is especially useful for potential investors. Comparing Martin Marietta to its competitors over the profitability ratios, we can see that it performed well above the industry. The only concern is its business nature. Any political change will influence its business. If our perception toward the world future situation is same as current one, then Martin Marietta is a good buy. If not, then if the money you have is for the rest of your life then try some other industry. Otherwise, in the good time you get stable return and in war time, you get a lot more back. My recommendation is that if Martin Marietta gets new contracts in the new administration, you should buy their stock.

In this excerpt, the uses of first-person pronouns can be replaced by impersonal constructions:

• we can see: it is easy to see, one can see, an analysis can show
• If our perception toward the world future situation: in the future, if the situation remains the same/all things being equal, if the world does not change much/a great deal, if the present situation continues to hold/remain the same

Similarly, second-person pronouns can be replaced by the indefinite pronoun one (Jordan, 1997) or common nouns such as buyers/investors:

• if the money you have is for the rest of your life: if the money one/buyers/investors invest(s) is/represents their entire savings, if one invests all his or her money
• you (should buy their stock): one/investors/buyers/interested consumers