Title

Action, Experience, and Responsibility: Using I and We in High School Writing

Document Type

Book

Authors

Corinne McCumber, University of Minnesota - MorrisFollow

Files

Description

In the field of composition studies, scholars often explore and debate how educators should train students to use the general forms of academic writing. Of particular interest, a trend has emerged in high schools where students are banned from using the words “I,” “me,” “we,” and “us” to avoid sounding subjective--even though composition studies scholars consistently employ these first-person pronouns for rhetorical effect. In this presentation, I closely examine how scholars use first-person pronouns in award-winning works. In particular, I show how scholars employ “I” and “we” to introduce personal examples, to call readers to action, and to reassert responsibility for their work. Then, I argue that high school teachers must accurately represent these rhetorical techniques, even to younger writers, and I suggest possible lesson plans to help students use their first-person pronouns responsibly.

Publication Date

4-14-2018

Keywords

English language--Pronoun; Secondary education; Rhetoric; English language--Grammar

Disciplines

Rhetoric | Secondary Education

Recommended Citation

McCumber, Corinne, "Action, Experience, and Responsibility: Using I and We in High School Writing" (2018). Undergraduate Research Symposium 2018. 9.
https://digitalcommons.morris.umn.edu/urs_2018/9

Primo Type

Conference Proceeding