"I" in academic and scholarly writing

[rm]

This is not a search for advice. This is a point of curiosity to me, because my education was sort of extreme and obsessive on this point, and it occurs to me that perhaps other fifth-graders were not scarred for life by writing papers that said things like "this author feels that Disney World would be an idea summer vacation destination for her family."

So, inquiring minds and all that....

[Poll #1563413]

Comments

[thunderemerald.livejournal.com]

I was pretty much taught "NO NO NEVER EVER," and I railed against it till graduation. It felt like I was being deprived of the right to an opinion.

My current job, reading other people's manuscripts, is a constant relief in this way. If I give people notes, they HAVE to be personal. It's all stuff like "when you pull focus away from this character, it's harder for me to relate to her," or "I was emotionall invested in this part, but that faded when this other bit went haywire." Hurray for getting paid to read fiction!