Monday Morning Essay Tip: The “I” Trap
October 20th, 2008 | Posted in Monday Morning Essay Tips, Blogroll
While it is important to put yourself at the center of your stories, a common problem essay writers have is beginning many sentences with the word “I.” As a general rule, you should never have two sentences in a row that begin this way. Consider the following example:
“I worked for three years at ABC Plastics, a small injection molding company. I was responsible for overseeing the overall management of ABC Plastics, from day-to-day operations to strategic planning. I was the manager of 100 people. I worked very long hours, but I learned more than I ever imagined.”
Now consider the same few sentences reworked, but avoiding the word “I” at the beginning:
“For three years, I worked at ABC Plastics, a small injection molding company. My responsibilities at ABC included overseeing the overall management of the company, from day-to-day operations to strategic planning. As the supervisor of over 100 staff, my days were long, but I learned more than I ever imagined.”
As you can see, the second example reads much better than the first – and none of the sentences in the second example begin with the word “I.”
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