Avoiding "You"

Hey, guys. (All y'all)


I imagine some of you were surprised to learn that "you" is considered off-limits in academic writing!

Here is a great link that explains why: Grammar

Unfortunately, eliminating "you" from your writing is much harder than "I" -- but the link above also provides wonderful examples of how to do this.

Now, you all may wonder why I am allowed to use "you"! Well, this is because I actually do mean YOU, a specific student or students, when I use it. The problem with "you" is that usually the audience is undefined and vague, which weakens your credibility.

I hope this information helps! This tends to be the #1 habit my students need to break, by the way...