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http://www.aims.edu/student/online-writing-lab/tools/point-of-view

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Points of View in Writing

There are three different points of view that can be used in writing: first person, second person, and third person. In academic writing, the third person point of view is usually clearer and allows a writer to come across as more credible. Due to this and other reasons, the third person point of view is considered the best in academic writing.

First person occurs primarily through the use of the pronoun "I." This is the point of view used when a writer is writing about himself. There may be times when it is okay to incorporate personal examples into an essay, and if so, the first person will be used. However, it is generally best to avoid referring to yourself, as the writer. Statements like "I believe" or "I think" tend to weaken writing and are better when written in the third person. (example: "The U.S. government needs to pass this law" is better and stronger than "I believe the U.S. government needs to pass this law.")

Second person involves the use of the pronoun "you" to refer to the reader. There are few times to use the second person in academic writing, as it can alienate the reader. Let's look at the following example:

All beginning college students should learn how to write well. Doing so will allow you to do better in school, and you will receive better grades.

Notice the shift that occurred from the first sentence, which is written in the third person, to the second sentence, which is written in the second person. This second sentence alienates readers who are not beginning college students since the information does not pertain to them. However, if the second sentence is written in the third person, even people who are not beginning college students can keep reading and learn from the essay:

Revised: All beginning college students should learn how to write well. Doing so will allow them to do better in school and receive better grades.

Third Person involves directly stating who is being written about without using the words I, me, we, us, or you. In the example above, the use of both college students and they keeps this writing in the third person.

To clarify, here are examples of sentences written in the various points of view:

First person: I should learn how to write well.

Second person: You should learn how to write well.

Third person: College students should learn how to write well.

As mentioned earlier, most academic essays should be written almost entirely in the third person. The second person should be avoided, and the first person should only be used when using personal examples that help support claims made in the essay. In addition to enhancing credibility, another reason to write primarily in the third person is because frequent changes in point of view can create confusion for the reader.

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Tools for Writing: Points of View in Writing

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There are three different points of view that can be used in writing: first person, second person, and third person. In academic writing, the third person point of view is usually clearer and allows a writer to come across as more credible.

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https://owl.english.purdue.edu/engagement/2/1/34/

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Welcome to the Engagement area of the Purdue OWL. This area houses resources dedicated to - and often developed with - local organizations in greater Lafayette and Indiana.

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http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/grammar/nounpronounagreement

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Academic Guides: Grammar: Noun-Pronoun Agreement

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Review some basic grammar in these instructional pages on the main parts of speech, sentence structure, and more.

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https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/572/04/

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This resource will help you write clearly by eliminating unnecessary words and rearranging your phrases.

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http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/concise.htm

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In addition to reading this section of the Guide and taking the quizzes at its conclusion, we urge you to visit William Strunk's Elements of Style, which has had a salutary effect on several generations of writers who have bought "the little book," and which is now, thanks to the Bartleby Project, online. (This online text is not exactly the same as the familiar text you'll find in bookstores, which was edited by E.B. White, but much of the really good stuff is the same.) We also recommend "The Perfectibility of Words," by Robert Hartwell Fiske, editor of the online journal Vocabula Review.

Whether it's a two-word quip or a 200-word bear, a sentence must be a lean, thinking machine. Here are some notes toward efficiency and conciseness in writing.

PRUNING THE REDUNDANT

Avoid saying the same thing twice.

Many uneducated citizens who have never attended school continue to vote for better schools.

A phrase that repeats itself—like "true fact," "twelve noon," "I saw it with my own eyes"—is sometimes called a pleonasm.

Redundant phrases are bad habits just waiting to take control of your writing. Beware of the following.

A special breed of redundancy is proliferating in our modern world as we increasingly rely on abbreviations and acronyms in the busyness of our technology. Some people insist it is redundant to say "ATM machine" because ATM means Automated Teller Machine. They add that it is redundant to say "HIV virus" because HIV means Human Immunodeficiency Virus, "AIDS syndrome" because AIDS means Acquired ImmunoDeficiency Syndrome, "CPU unit" because CPU means Central Processing Unit. It sounds particularly silly when we come up with a plural such as "CPU units" — Central Processing Unit units. It is perhaps too easy to get caught up in this, however. "CD disk" can be redundant, but nowadays the abbreviation CD can refer to a number of things, including the machine itself. Occasionally, an abbreviation — like CD, ATM — becomes more of an idea unto itself than a shortened version for a set of words, and the abbreviation ought to be allowed to act as modifier.

Reducing Clauses to Phrases, Phrases to Single Words

Be alert for clauses or phrases that can be pared to simpler, shorter constructions. The "which clause" can often be shortened to a simple adjective. (Be careful, however, not to lose some needed emphasis by over-pruning; the word "which," which is sometimes necessary [as it is in this sentence], is not evil.)

Smith College, which was founded in 1871, is the premier all-women's college in the United States.

Founded in 1871, Smith College is the premier all-women's college in the United States.

Citizens who knew what was going on voted him out of office.

Knowledgeable citizens voted him out of office.

Recommending that a student copy from another student's paper is not something he would recommend.

He wouldn't recommend that a student copy from another student's paper.
(Or "He would never tell a student to copy . . . .")

Phrases, too, can sometimes be trimmed, sometimes to a single word.

Unencumbered by a sense of responsibility, Jasion left his wife with forty-nine kids and a can of beans.

Jasion irresponsibly left his wife with forty-nine kids and a can of beans.
(Or leave out the word altogether and let the act speak for itself.)

Intensifiers that Don't Intensify

Avoid using words such as really, very, quite, extremely, severely when they are not necessary. It is probably enough to say that the salary increase is inadequate. Does saying that it is severely inadequate introduce anything more than a tone of hysteria? These words shouldn't be banished from your vocabulary, but they will be used to best effect when used sparingly.

Avoiding Expletive Constructions

This sounds like something a politician has to learn to avoid, but, no, an expletive construction is a common device that often robs a sentence of energy before it gets a chance to do its work. Expletive constructions begin with there is/are or it is.

There are twenty-five students who have already expressed a desire to attend the program next summer. It is they and their parents who stand to gain the most by the government grant.

Twenty-five students have already expressed a desire to attend the program next summer. They and their parents stand to gain the most by the government grant.

Further information about expletive constructions is available on our page on The Verb "To Be".

Phrases You Can Omit

Be on the lookout for important sounding phrases that add nothing to the meaning of a sentence. Such phrases quickly put a reader on guard that the writer is trading in puffery; worse, they put a reader to sleep.

Eliminating Clichés and Euphemisms

A cliché is an expression that was probably, once upon a time, an original and brilliant way of saying something. Imagine being the first person to say something as clever as "She fell head over heels in love" or "She's cool as a cucumber." Sadly, though, such expressions eventually lose their luster and become trite and even annoying. Writers who indulge in tired language are not being respectful to their readers, and writers return the compliment by losing attention and going on to something else.

It is particularly galling when a writer or speaker relies on tired language to the point of creating a hodge-podge of mixed clichés and assorted vegetables. A mayor of Austin, Texas, once announced, to everyone's bewilderment, "I wanted all my ducks in a row, so if we did get into a posture, we could pretty much slam-dunk this thing and put it to bed."

Here is a list of trite expressions to look for in your writing and speaking. Create your own list of clichés by listening for them on radio talk-shows and casual conversation. Watch television ads and the headlines of sports columnists to find clichés that writers are playing with, adapting the meaning of a hackneyed expression until it turns into something clever (or, sometimes, not so clever). Click HERE for a handful of examples taken from the sports pages of The Hartford Courant.

We also recommend Brian Murphy's Big List of Clichés, for a truly exhausting (but fun) list of things to avoid saying.

acid test
at loose ends
babe in the woods
better late than never
brought back to reality
black as pitch
blind as a bat
bolt from the blue
busy as a bee/beaver
cat's meow
cool as a cucumber
cool, calm, and collected
crack of dawn
crushing blow
cry over spilt milk
dead as a doornail
dog-eat-dog world
don't count your chickens
dyed in the wool
easier said than done
easy as pie
feathered friends
face the music
flash in the pan
flat as a pancake
gentle as a lamb
go at it tooth and nail
good time was had by all
greased lightning
happy as a lark
head over heels
heavy as lead
horns of a dilemma
hour of need
keep a stiff upper lip
ladder of success
last but not least
looking a gift horse
in the mouth

meaningful dialogue
moving experience
needle in a haystack
open-and-shut case
pain in the _____
point with pride
pretty as a picture
put it in a nutshell
quick as a flash/wink
rat race
ripe old age
ruled the roost
sad but true
sadder but wiser
set the world on fire
sick as a dog
sigh of relief
slow as molasses
smart as a whip
sneaking suspicion
spread like wildfire
straight as an arrow
straw that broke
the camel's back
strong as an ox
take the bull by the horns
thin as a rail
through thick and thin
tired but happy
to coin a phrase
to make a long story short
trial and error
tried and true
under the weather
white as a sheet
wise as an owl
work like a dog
worth its weight in gold

A euphemism is a word or phrase that substitutes for language the speaker or writer feels is too blunt or somehow offensive. When people die, we say, instead, that they have "passed away" or "met their maker" or "gone to sleep." And, at the silly extreme, a garbage collector is a sanitation engineer, a janitor is a custodial engineer. What the writer must guard against is the tendency of euphemisms not only to shield readers from harsh reality but also to obfuscate meaning and truth. The military is especially guilty of this: bombing raids become surgical air-strikes and armies become peace-keeping forces. Good writing tells the truth and tells it plain.

Gary B. Larson ("Garbl") maintains three helpful Web pages on concise writing:

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In addition to reading this section of the Guide and taking the quizzes at its conclusion, we urge you to visit William Strunk's Elements of Style , which has had a salutary effect on several generations of writers who have bought "the little book," and which is now, thanks to the Bartleby Project, online.

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http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/thesis-statements/

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http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/writingcenter/scholarlyvoice/sentencestructure

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Varying Sentence Structure - Scholarly Voice - Academic Guides at Walden University

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Notice how the writer of this paragraph starts each sentence and clause with a personal pronoun. While the writer does alternate between "I" and "my", both pronouns refer to the same subject. This repetition of personal pronouns is most common when writing a Personal Development Plan (PDP) or other personal papers.

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https://www.roanestate.edu/owl/Sentence-Fragments.html

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Remember a group of words that begin with a capital letter and end with a period do not always make a complete sentence. Every COMPLETE sentence must have at least one subject, one verb, and must express a complete thought. If it doesn't, it is a fragment.

Example 1:

Incorrect: After an hour, the dancers changed partners. And learned a different dance.

Correct: After an hour, the dancers changed partners and learned a different dance.

The incorrect portion in the example leaves the reader with questions. We don't know who learned a different dance without using the previous sentence to figure it out. A complete sentence can stand on its own; if you were to take out everything around it an outside reader would still be able to understand its meaning. The bolded section is a fragment because it has no subject and does not express a complete idea. In the correct version, the sentence is complete because the idea that the dancers changed partners and learned a different dance is clear.

Correcting Fragments in Your Writing

Before we can correct fragments, we have to be able to identify them. Here are the three elements that a complete sentence must have:

1. a clear subject. The subject is the who or what the sentence is about.

2. a clear verb. The verb is what the who or what of the sentence does or is.

3. at least one independent clause. An independent clause is a word group consisting of a subject and verb that does not begin with a subordinating conjunction (dependent word- because, when, if, as, until, although, whenever, while) and expresses a complete thought or statement. If your sentence begins with a subordinating conjunction, be sure to add an independent clause after it to express a complete idea.

If our sentence is missing any one of these three elements, it is a fragment, and now that we know how to identify fragments, we can easily correct them.

Most fragments can be corrected by one of two methods:

1. connecting the fragment to a nearby independent clause (complete sentence).

2. revising the sentence itself by adding the missing element (a subject or verb or both).

First check to see if you can connect your fragment to a nearby complete sentence. Many fragments can be easily corrected by connecting the fragment to the sentence either before or after it. ( See example 1).

Example:

That summer, we had the time of our lives. Fishing in the morning hours and splashing in the lake after lunch.

That summer, we had the time of our lives, fishing in the morning hours and splashing in the lake after lunch. (Fragment is connected to the previous sentence by a comma.)

If there is no sentence to connect your fragment to, then you need to revise the fragment. Here are some guidelines for revising different types of fragments.
Dependent word fragments
Many times fragments start with a dependent word (subordinating conjunction) like because, when, if, as, until, although, whenever, while. Usually a dependent word fragment can be combined with a nearby sentence, but if it can't, the dependent word might need to be eliminated. Here is an example:

Example:

When the candidates either disagreed about priorities or pushed for different strategies.

The candidates either disagreed about priorities or pushed for different strategies.

Phrase fragments
A phrase fragment is a fragment that lacks a subject or a complete verb - or both. Phrase fragments often begin with verbals (words that sound like verbs but aren't) like "ing" words. Most of the time these fragments can be revised by connecting them to a nearby sentence, but if this doesn't work, the verbal needs to be turned into a subject and verb phrase. Here are two examples of revising a phrase fragment.

Example:

That summer, we had the time of our lives. Fishing in the morning hours and splashing in the lake after lunch.

That summer, we had the time of our lives. We fished in the morning hours and splashed in the lake after lunch. ( is turned into subject/verb group . Notice that we had to change to as well.)

"For example" fragments
Watch for fragments that begin with words that introduce examples. Most of the time, the missing elements (both subject and verb) need to be added. Let's look at these examples.

Example:

Hansel and Gretel faced many dangers. For example, their cruel stepmother, the wicked witch, and the dangers of the forest.

Hansel and Gretel faced many dangers. For example, they had to contend with their cruel stepmother, outsmart the wicked witch, and survive the dangers of the forest. (We had to supply the needed subject and verb (they had) in order for this sentence to express a complete idea.)

The best tip for finding fragments:

Read your essay out loud from end to beginning (last sentence to first). This might sound strange at first, but it really works! Reading our sentences out of logical order forces our brains to read our words out of context; this causes us to really see if what we have written expresses a complete idea. Give it a try. You'll see that it works.

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Remember a group of words that begin with a capital letter and end with a period do not always make a complete sentence. Every COMPLETE sentence must have at least one subject, one verb, and must express a complete thought. If it doesn't, it is a fragment.

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https://writing.wisc.edu/Handbook/CCS_activevoice.html

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http://www.uwc.edu/students/academic-support/owl/comma-usage

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Five Most Common Comma Errors

Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, nor, for, & yet) when the conjunction is joining two independent clauses (complete sentences)
EXAMPLE
"Bob decided to go to the movies" is a sentence. "He didn't know what film to see" is also a sentence. Logically, these sentences could be joined with the conjunction "but." When you join two sentences with a coordinating conjunction, place a comma before the conjunction:

Bob decided to go to the movies, but he didn't know what film to see.

Note: Conjunctions can also be used to join two things that are not complete sentences; in these cases, no comma is needed:

Mary and Steve are in the same math class.

I went bowling and rolled a perfect game.

Use a comma after an introductory phrase or clause (group of words)

Frequently, writers begin sentences with clauses or phrases before the subject and verb are introduced. These introductions often provide more information about where, when, why, or how the action of the sentence happened. Place a comma after such an introductory phrase or clause.
EXAMPLES
Because my left leg was in a cast, I asked Maggie to drive the car.

When Roger heard his name announced at the graduation ceremony, he sprang to his feet.

Underneath the Johnson's front porch, the three boys plotted their scheme.

Surround transitional words and phrases with commas

Transitional words and phrases should be surrounded with commas regardless of where they occur in the sentence.
EXAMPLES
However, the Brewers lost the World Series in seven games.

The Brewers, however, lost the World Series in seven games.

The Brewers lost the World Series in seven games, however.

The following are some common transitional words and phrases that are almost always surrounded by commas: additionally, as a result, furthermore, in addition, moreover, in the same way, likewise, similarly, however, nevertheless, in contrast, first, second, third, finally, meanwhile, for example, for instance, indeed, of course, on the other hand, consequently, hence, therefore, thus.

Note: If you use a transition word to join two sentences, you must use a semicolon before it and a comma after it.
EXAMPLE
Bob decided to go to the movies; however, he didn't know what film to see.

Set off nonessential elements with commas

Sometimes a writer may supply extra information about a noun (person, place, or thing) that is NOT essential to the sentence; in other words, you would understand what person, place, or thing the writer is referring to without the extra information. Set off such extra information with commas.
EXAMPLES
Ernest Hemingway, author of For Whom the Bell Tolls, took his own life in 1961.

My new jacket, which my mother gave me for my birthday last month, came back from the cleaners with a large rip.

Mary is very happy with her new car, a Volkswagen Beetle.

In each of these cases, the sentence would retain its core meaning even if the stuff set off by commas was removed.

Note: Clauses that start with the word "which" are frequently (but not always) nonessential and should be surrounded by commas. Clauses that start with the word "that" are always essential clauses and should never be surrounded by commas. Example:

The tree that I just planted was run over by the lawnmower.

The small spruce tree, which I just planted, was run over by the lawnmower.

Use commas to separate items in a list or series
EXAMPLES
John, Mary, Bob, and Sue are graduating this semester.

I drove to the beach, parked my car, and stared at the waves for an hour.

Note: Although some experts say that using a comma before the "and" at the end of a list is optional, most style books recommend using one because it can help avoid confusion in some instances.
Always have a reason for every comma you use. It is also a good idea to figure out which comma rule(s) you violate the most and proofread carefully for it/them before turning in your essay.

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Five Most Common Comma Errors Use a comma before a coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, so, nor, for, & yet) when the conjunction is joining two independent clauses (complete sentences) EXAMPLE "Bob decided to go to the movies" is a sentence. "He didn't know what film to see" is also a sentence.