Using I (the first person) in your essays

Some teachers will tell you not to use "I" in your essays, others will be more forgiving.

I am one of the more forgiving ones, but only up to a point.

If you have another teacher who says not to use "I", then don't. Simple. The practice of not using the first person will do you the world of good.

For me, the problem has to do with the intrusion of your voice in an essay. If you are trying to write convincingly, then the reader should be placed under the impression that what she is reading is objectively true.

If you include the pronoun "I", you are reminding the reader that your words are merely a matter of subjective opinion, which will tend to undermine the persuasive power of your scintillating prose.

Even if you have one of those lackadaisical teachers who winks at the occasional appearance of "I", you must never in any circumstance have recourse to phrases such as in my opinion, or I believe, or I think.

If I am reading your paper, I know already that this is what you think; I know it is your opinion (whose else's would it be?)

I do allow and even encourage the use of the first person plural "we", which is both a welcoming and a usefully ambiguous word that may mean "you the reader and I the writer" or "we humans in general" or even "those of us on this side of the argument".

Not all professors or readers like the use of "we", so, as always, remember who you are writing for.