Where is "I" in this essay?

Note: This is the first in an occasional series of postings on general writing concerns. As always, your comments are welcome and encouraged.

One of the most frequently asked questions in my writings classes must be, “can I use the word ‘I’ in my paper?” I usually toss off a rather flip answer (did I ask you to write the paper? Do you refer to yourself as I?), but I’m in constant amazement about this question. Are there still legions of teachers out there telling people that I weakens a paper? Does anyone really think readers prefer the opinions and experiences of semi-anonymous constructs to the thoughts and ideas of their students? Or does no one really have an idea where I belongs in a paper?

Okay, some guidelines. Ask yourself, before you use I, if you are doing so because you’ve not been able to locate another reference who says what your about to say. If not, you may not be done with your research. If you can honestly say that no one in your research is saying what you’ve got to say, go for it. This of course means that you have to use I when you’re talking about personal experiences or observations. Which brings us to the real reason I can’t stand teachers who refuse to admit the first person singular to an academic paper.

Once upon a time, academic writing consisted of carefully researched and annotated prose. These were not the good old days; they were the days in which only certain things (things others had written about before) were admissible subjects for academic discourse. One of the major arguments of feminist writers in the late 60’s and early 70’s was to get I taken seriously in a world in which one was only taken seriously for his ability to refer to the experience of others.

Finally, I’m of the school of thought that if you can’t deny subjectivity, you might as well admit it wholeheartedly. An assignment to write a paper is an invitation to take your place in the ongoing conversation that is education. You are assigned to write because we want to know what you think about a given subject. So when you have made an original observation or have an original thought, and you’ve done your homework to be certain that it’s yours, use I fearlessly. Take your place in the conversation to which you’re invited.