How to Write an Essay about Yourself without Using I

If you have ever written a personal essay, you know the essence of knowing how to write an essay about yourself without using I. A personal essay or an essay about you is an essay that represents your feelings and thoughts. It is a free-wheel device for self-expression- grammar.ccc.commnet.edu. In college, lecturers will require you to write different essays with different instructions or requirements. A personal essay is a common essay in college especially when applying for admission. This essay comes with varied instructions including writing it without using the pronoun “I”.

The aim of writing an essay about you is to tell readers about yourself. You want to give them a convincing impression about your personality, strengths, passions and valued experiences. While trying to do this, many people find it almost impossible to write a personal essay without using the first person pronoun “I”. In fact, many people come up with a formulaic expression or a bland passive construction when they try to write a personal essay without the pronoun I.

Why you should know how to write an essay about yourself without using I

The pronoun “I” is a form of first person expression. It can improve your essay in various ways.

Similarly, when you know how to avoid it and still give your expressions the same effect, you will realize the following benefits:

• Assertiveness: There are cases when you are required to emphasize something in your personal essay. For instance, you may want to claim a certain unique perspective. When you know how to do that without using the pronoun “I”, you will give your expressions similar impact with those of an essay that uses “I”.
• Clarity: In some cases, your essay might have vagueness or awkward constructions when it avoids the pronoun “I”. Knowing how to avoid this pronoun enables you to craft a clear essay that does not sound vague and this improves your writing.
• Taking your position: You are writing about yourself and therefore you are at the core of the essay. If you know how to write a personal essay without “I”, positioning yourself becomes easy. Readers will know that you are writing an essay about yourself from the beginning because you will know how to construct expressions- writingcenter.unc.edu.

When you avoid this pronoun in a personal essay, do it in a professional manner. This will ensure that your readers do not lose the focus of the essay which is you.

A guide on how to write an essay about yourself without using I

Refer to a section of the essay or the essay instead of yourself

Instead of starting the sentence of your essay with I, use a reference to the essay. For instance, instead of saying, “I will describe my life in college in this essay”, say “This essay describes my life in college.”

Make direct statements

Instead of explaining that the statements reflect your thought or stance on something, make direct statements. For instance, when stating something and supporting it, say something like, “Y and Z show X”. This is better than saying “I believe that Y and Z show X.”

Use passive voice in your personal essay while describing events or activities

For instance, instead of saying, “I went to town to buy flour”, you should say, “Flour was bought”. Instead of saying, “I collected information,” say “Information was collected”-ehow.com.

Encourage the participation of readers

By involving readers in your essay, you avoid the use of I. For instance, instead of saying that “I realized that I had to make difficult decisions at some point”, you can say, “Every human being must make difficult decisions at some point.”

The second phrase is more interactive and it involves readers than the first one. When you use such statements in your personal essay, most readers will feel involved and they will see that you really know how to write an essay about yourself without using I.

Begin your sentences with nouns

Every time you start a sentence with “I”, you communicate that you want to say something vital. This is because the title of your essay is probably your name. Again, since your name is already in the title of the essay, there is no need to always start sentences with “I believe” or “I think.” Instead, start sentences with nouns like computer science, yoga or tennis. For instance, instead of saying “I believe that tennis is among the best sports for young people” say “Tennis is among the best sports for young people”. This way, you will avoid the number of “Is” that you may have to include in your personal essay.

Work around phrases that require you to use I

For instance, rather than saying, “I like bread” you can say, “As for me, bread is my preference.” Instead of writing, “I think” you can say, “According to my way of reasoning or thinking…” Using such variations will make your personal essay more interesting than when you use “I” everywhere you want to refer to yourself.

Avoid phrases that include “I”

There are avoidable phrases that lead you into including “I” in an essay about yourself. They include phrases like, “I think…” and “I believe…” You must avoid such phrases if you want to know how to write an essay about yourself without using I – actwritingtips.com.

Just like any other essay about yourself, there are things that you should include and things that you should avoid in a personal essay that does not use I.

What to target when writing an essay about yourself without using I

To write a great essay about yourself without using I, there are things that you should target.

They include:

• Authenticity and sincerity

The essay should be written from your heart. Say what you think your readers would like to hear. For instance, include encomia about an honor or award’s namesake. Tell your readers about defeat or flaw but use proper finessing.

• Tone consistency

A personal essay requires you to include personal information. Therefore, maintain a single tone throughout the essay. Failing to maintain a single tone in the essay makes it sound like it was ghost written or if it was for a college application it will sound flippant.

• Connection between your personal characteristics and topics

Showing your readers how your personal characteristics are connected to your topic is very important. It enables readers to understand what you are telling them better.

• Making readers want to meet you

Strive to write your personal essay in a way that captures the interest of the readers. Make them want to meet you after reading the essay.

Things to avoid in an essay about yourself apart from “I”

Among the things that you should avoid throughout the essay in addition to the pronoun I include:

• A response that looks like a family tree

Readers are interested in you not your family. You can mention your father, mother, sister and/or brother because this gives readers insights about you and your life. However, do not overdo it by including great-great-grand parents.

• Boasting

Do not boast about specific accomplishments more so the important achievements. Instead, tell readers about your achievements, challenges and failures. Most readers want to hear more about the challenges that you have faced in life and how you overcome them.

• Comparing yourself to others

You should not compare yourself with another person whether dead or alive. You should also not claim to that you deserve more than others for any reason. Leave readers to decide this on their own.

Although using pronoun “I” in a personal essay is acceptable since it is a first person expression, most writers feel self-conscious about its excessive use. This is because they are used to avoiding first person or simply because they consider themselves modest. In most formal writings, this pronoun is not allowed and second person is encouraged. Nevertheless, using pronoun “I” can make your writing livelier.

However, beginning every sentence with this pronoun is not acceptable in most cases when writing a personal essay. This is because you are at the core of the essay and your readers are aware of that- indiana.edu. Therefore, it is not advisable to use “I” excessively when writing an essay about yourself. Even if your instructor has not included it in the instructions, avoid using this pronoun excessively. Instead, learn how to write an essay about yourself without using I in a livelier way.

Get help to write an essay about yourself without using I

If you encounter difficulties while writing an essay about yourself without using I, contact us for professional assistance. You can also visit the home page of our website for more information about our writing services. Alternatively, continue reading for more guidelines on how to write an essay about yourself without using I on this blog.

Sources

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/composition/personal.htm

http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/should-i-use-i/

http://www.ehow.com/how_7886431_write-essay-using.html

http://www.actwritingtips.com/can-i-use-i-in-my-essay/

http://www.indiana.edu/~wts/pamphlets/personal_statements.shtml