Can you use first person in apa

Can I use the first person voice in my academic writing? Toggle menu visibility. Search for information. Ask us. Answered By: Jonathan Faerber. Last Updated: Nov 04, Views: Reference American Psychological Association. Toggle action bar FAQ Actions.

Point of view is one of the elements that can determine how information is received by a reader. Three different points of view exist: first person, second person and third person. First person reflects the writer's voice with pronouns such as:.

Third person uses a more general voice that reflects neither the writer nor reader specifically, using words like "students" and "participants" and pronouns such as "he," "they" and "it. Good writing typically begins in one point of view and retains that perspective throughout in order to avoid confusion for the reader.

Most formal writing, including APA papers, uses the third person point of view. Third person makes ideas sound less subjective since it removes direct reference to the writer. It also creates a more generalized statement. It will remain online until , but will not be updated. There is currently no equivalent 7th edition page, but we're working on one.

Thank you for your patience. Writing in APA is more than simply learning the formula for citations or following a certain page layout. APA also includes the stylistics of your writing, from point of view to word choice. When writing in APA Style, you can use the first person point of view when discussing your research steps "I studied Use first person to discuss research steps rather than anthropomorphising the work. For example, a study cannot "control" or "interpret"; you and your co-authors, however, can.

In general, you should foreground the research and not the researchers "The results indicate Avoid using the editorial "we"; if you use "we" in your writing, be sure that "we" refers to you and your fellow researchers. It is a common misconception that foregrounding the research requires using the passive voice "Experiments have been conducted This is inaccurate. Rather, you would use pronouns in place of "experiments" "We conducted experiments APA Style encourages using the active voice "We interpreted the results