The Banned 2nd Person

Make Friends, not Enemies

Although it’s technically not bad grammar, writing 2nd-person sentences that address the reader as “you” is banned from academic writing.
Incorrect: You are far more likely to be pulled over for speeding if you are a teenager.
Correct: Teenagers are far more likely to be pulled over for speeding.

Notice that the best possible solution is to substitute a class noun
(in this case, teenagers)
as the subject to replace the banned “You.”

Never: YOU are far more likely to be pulled over
if YOU are a teenager.

Fails for Grammar

Using you, your, or yours, in academic essays for this class is a “Fails For Grammar” (FFG) offense. Practice several techniques to eliminate the 2nd person from your work, and always do a page search for “you” before posting.

Why?

Academic essays are arguments, but they’re persuasive, not contentious. We don’t lecture our readers, preach to them, or accuse them of holding particular beliefs. Every use of the 2nd person creates a regrettable distance between Author and Reader. It doesn’t mean to, but it makes Readers “the others.”

A Demonstration

Neutral Claim:

The United States has never had a woman president.

Use Inclusive Claims to keep Author and Reader on the same team:

It’s important to remember that we’ve never had a woman president.

Avoid Exclusive Claims that separate the Author (who knows what needs to be remembered) from the Reader (who needs to be reminded what’s important):

What you need to remember is that you’ve never had a woman president.

Remember, my beloved student you have never had a woman president, either. Don’t separate yourself from your readers. Join them in the outrage. We’ve never had a woman president! What’s wrong with us?

The Banned 2nd Person Task

  • Copy the 11 Problem Sentences.
  • Paste them into a new post called “2nd Person—Username.”
  • Fix them to remove all uses of the Banned 2nd Person.
  • Consider rephrasing in the passive to avoid pronouns completely.
  • The preferred pronouns for informal essays are we, our, and ours.
  • Do not use one as your pronoun.
  • Place your new post in the Banned 2nd Person category.

The 11 Problem Sentences

  1. Taxpayers wonder whether the amount spent on students makes a difference. If you really think about it, yes it does. Ask any parent whose child goes to an expensive school.
  2. There are different types of injuries that happen in each sport.  Would you object if you knew that a surgery performed before any injury occurs could make an athlete stronger?
  3. Imagine your body being consumed by a drug. You would do anything to get this drug and you don’t worry about the consequences that come with it.
  4. By inviting Syrians in, you’re causing more problems than you’re solving.
  5. Does the idea of not actually having your money on-hand sound trivial?
  6. That little green piece of paper in your pocket holds no actual value other than the cost it took to produce it, and yet you will work your whole life just to acquire more of those little green pieces of paper just so you can take them and stick them in a bank.
  7. So just remember the next time you read a bank statement or look at dollar bill that you’re holding an made up value that someone decided to make up. Without it, you might still be having to trade with goods like livestock and produce.
  8. I now understand that a dollar is only worth what you can receive in exchange for it.
  9. Being able to walk around with money without holding the money in your hand brings me back around to the idea of the stone because, just like stone currency, you don’t need to be in physical possession of these Bitcoins to own them.
  10. We hear people talk about the American Dream, which requires that you have enough of these pieces of paper to be financially stable. If you think about it deeply you will realize, that you receive these pieces of paper called money and base your whole life on them.
  11. Money is an adroit concept and its pursuit lasts a lifetime. Your goal from the moment you start school is to join the game of making enough of these pieces of paper to make your life more fun and acceptable.

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