Using first person in responses (1 Viewer)

[~ ReNcH ~]

In your opinion, is it ok to use first person in short answer responses? My teacher suggested that we do so for Assess, Evaluate questions e.g. "I think that...", "I believe..." however I'm rather reluctant to do so. I did it in my trials and it paid off, but I'm unsure as to whether it would be to my detriment if I did that in the HSC exam.

 

[Dreamerish*~]

I've always been unsure about that.

So I stick to "it could be said that...", "it can be seen that...", "according to...", "from the above arguments...", etc.

 

[meLoncoLLie]

i've asked three diff teachers at my school. my class teacher said when giving a judgement, it's better to use 'I think that...' 'I believe that...' to show explicitly that you've giving an opinion. however i wasn't convinced (isn't science supposed to be objective? yes you're giving a personal judgement, but still...)
so i asked two other teachers. they suggested that using an objective tone (like what dreamerish said, 'it can be seen that...' ) is better. as long as you've made it clear that a judgement is made, it's fine.

 

[wanton-wonton]

In some questions, they ask you for your own opinion or evaluation of things. In such instances, you're allowed to use first person, but only occassionaly, such as in conclusion. Usually, when you show the effect of something, you say 'the responder' or 'the audience'. Well, that's what I do anyway.

EDIT* Oh crap, this is CHEMISTRY. I thought it was ENGLISH!

Anyway....yes, use first person.

 

[helper]

If it is an evaluate or assess question make sure you do give your opinion and it is clear. An implied opinion will not always get you the marks.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

I tend not to use first person until the final concluding statement. I just present my argument and say "Therefore, I believe....". However, in previous class work I've used language such as that suggested by Dreamerish*~ e.g. "It is therefore evident that..." but I just get the feeling that it doesn't have the same conviction as using first person and therefore may not get full marks. That said, I like using Dreamerish*~'s style because I'm always reluctant to use first person in any exam, particularly for Chemistry.

 

[tennille]

I would refrain from using first person, even if it asks for your own opinion. I've always been told that.

The suggestion by Dreamerish is much better to use.

You could always lose marks for using first person. It just doesn't seem right in Chemistry.

 

[Casmira]

I always put stuff like "It is apparent..." or "From the discussion, it's apparent that..."

I cant lose marks for not saying its a judgement

 

[Jumbo Cactuar]

Yeah, scientific writing never uses first person. Writing "I think ..." etc is stupid; of course you think it, else wtf would you be writing it! All discussions about practical work should be past tense and in answering a posed question it should be in present tense.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

Yea. For the HSC, I think I'll revert back to my old style i.e. what Dreamerish said. I just have to think of more "creative" ways of expressing my judgement explicitly, but without the use of first person...something to work on over the next 8 weeks I guess.

 

[BlackJack]

My impression: "over-analysing".
But, this author concurs: to sound more scientific, definitely avoid 'I', unless it is specifically your personal opinions. This is just to be safe in case an 'over-analyzing' marker comes along.