Teachers’ views on the use of first-person pronouns in academic writing

Abstract Although there is a growing body of research on first-person pronouns (e.g. I, me, we) in academic prose, English for Academic Purposes (EAP) teachers’ views on their use in academic writing have received little attention. Our study addresses this gap by investigating EAP teachers’ views on the use of first-person pronouns in academic writing, according to discourse functions (e.g. expressing self-benefit, stating a purpose). Data were collected from an online survey and semi-structured interviews. All the interviewees are currently teaching at the tertiary level in the Asia-Pacific region. Our study shows that teachers’ views on the use of first-person pronouns are fairly positive, particularly for low-risk functions (e.g. stating a purpose), but they feel less comfortable using them in high-risk functions (e.g. stating a claim). Our analysis shows that teachers’ views are guided by a consideration for risk-taking and genre. The three most common sources that influenced teachers’ views are published research articles, university writing experience and academic writing textbooks. Our statistical analysis shows that teachers with publication experience tend to have a positive view of pronoun use.