I'm starting an assignment for my English class today. We are to pick from a list of topics and take three minutes to write about why we think that topic is true/false and our opinion on it. The first group of topics to pick from are: You have to know your thesis before you start, You have to be objective, You can't use the pronoun I, You can use your own experiences and observations as evidence, You can us your own writing voice, You're writing mostly for the instructor, and You're supposed to use your own opinions.
Step 1: You can't use the pronoun I.
I think that is false because if you plan to give personal examples of your life in a paper, you will have to have the word I in there. If it becomes a repetitive thing I could see it being a problem unless you start your paper out with "I believe..." I feel that using the word I in a paper gives it more of your voice and helps you to get your point across without having to say one would think or one something instead of it.
For step 2, we are to pick other topic and state if you agree or disagree with it and explain why.
Step 2: People are entitled to their opinion, and no one opinion is better than another.
I agree with this statement because I believe that everyone has their own opinion and neither opinion is better than the other one. I have had many times in my life that people would think that their opinion was better than mine and that they were always right. I have also seen it happen in other cases, like in my former church for example. Everyone thought that their opinion was better than the next person and it lead to a ton of drama in the church. It was very upsetting to me because I looked up to those people.
I really like the points that you have made using "I" in a paper. I totally agree that it is necessary to create a distinguished voice. This helps to set the author a part from another source or other authors. By using "I" the paper is personalized yet still academic because it uses personal experience, relating back to the topic at hand.
ReplyDeleteConcerning your second point, I agree as well. I noticed that almost everyone thinks that their own opinion is better than everyone else's opinion. I think that this is just human nature because if you have a different opinion than someone, you obviously believe that you are right. I like the point that this isn't true though, because it shows that even though people have differing opinions, doesn't mean that one is greater than the other or more true. It's an opinion both are true and equal.
Jess, your perspective that all opinions are on a level playing field got me thinking. We obviously value some opinions over others. For example, I value my friend Eve's fashion advice more than my grandfather's. Why? Because Eve is more likely to keep up with current fashion trends and she's a woman; these facts make her opinion more credible to me. So, while everyone is entitled to their opinion, how do we differentiate in academic conversations which opinion is more valuable?
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