We transmogrified 500 apples and determined their contrafibularity.
In academic writing, sometimes "you" needs to be replaced with nouns or proper nouns to create more formality or to clarify the idea. Here are some examples:
If you want a general guideline (if none is obviously imposed): If you describe experiments, derivations and similar of your own, use we. In the abstract or introduction of a review paper or something similar, you can use we. If you are doing neither, avoid using we except in the acknowledgements.
While the writer might use formal diction in such sentences, too many short and simple sentences can make an essay sound informal, as if the writer is not recognizing that the audience is capable of reading and understanding more complex and longer sentences. Short and simple sentences can be used effectively in formal writing, but heavy reliance on such sentences reflects poorly on the writer and gives the writing an informal tone.
Combining equations 23 and 42, we obtain: […]
So when it suits your purpose as a scholar, you will probably need to break some of the old rules, particularly the rules that prohibit first person pronouns and personal experience. Although there are certainly some instructors who think that these rules should be followed (so it is a good idea to ask directly), many instructors in all kinds of fields are finding reason to depart from these rules. Avoiding “I” can lead to awkwardness and vagueness, whereas using it in your writing can improve style and clarity. Using personal experience, when relevant, can add concreteness and even authority to writing that might otherwise be vague and impersonal.
Because college writing situations vary widely in terms of stylistic conventions, tone, audience, and purpose, the trick is deciphering the conventions of your writing context and determining how your purpose and audience affect the way you write. The rest of this handout is devoted to strategies for figuring out when to use “I” and personal experience.
You should not sound "artificial" as you use formal diction. Instead, consider that different situations require different uses of language and that educated people are able to adapt their use of language to a variety of writing and speaking situations. Educated people have several different writing and speaking voices, and one voice is no more "genuine" than another. Instead, the different voices reflect choices based on the writing or speaking situation. Through your word choice in essays, you can portray yourself as an intelligent person who is aware of your audience--a group of well-educated people whom you do not know. Imagine the kind of language that you might use in a job interview for an important job. With formal diction, you can express yourself clearly, accurately, and effectively, without relying on the kind of language that you might use in less formal situations.
Thus, I expect that the reason for which you were marked down was that you used we in a way that is not considered appropriate in academic writing at all, or because you used it only due to reason 5 only.
The bosses at the company have decided that employees need a day of in-house training. Times have been scheduled for everyone. Several senior employees will be required to make five-minute presentations. One is not eager to speak in front of others since he’s very shy. Another one, however, is anxious to relate their expertise. The variation in routine should provide an interesting day for all people concerned.
Can I use “I” and “Me” in an academic essay?
Nonstandard diction refers to expressions that are not considered legitimate words according to the rules of Standard English usage. Nonstandard diction includes "ain't," "theirselves," "hisself," "anyways," "alot" (the accepted version is "a lot"), and "alright" (the accepted version is "all right"). Most good dictionaries will identify such expressions with the word "Nonstandard." Because nonstandard expressions generally are not regarded as legitimate words, I mark these expressions in essays as examples of "inaccurate word choice."
How To Avoid Using We,” “You,” And “I” in an Essay | Quetext Blog
Instead, use the pronouns they or them to refer to a person whose gender is undisclosed or irrelevant to the context of the usage: If a person is strong, they will stand up for themselves when they believe in something.
How to decide whether I should use “we” in an essay? [duplicate]
Now, if you are writing an economics essay, you are probably not performing experiments or deriving new theories, which excludes reasons 1–3. In fact, most review papers use we only for reasons 4–6. Moreover, you likely do not have a summary in the style needed for reason 4. Using we only due to reason 5 would be so rare that it can be considered inconsistent style, in particular since it can usually be avoided easily.
[PDF] How to avoid using you in formal writing
As can be seen in the comments, it is also discipline specific whether you should use "we" or "I" if you are the only author, and opinions are quite strong on that. So here the same rule applies: you will be most successful in communicating what you want to communicate if you just follow the conventions of the discipline you are aiming at.
Can I use our and we in a formal essay
In conclusion, we note that the European sovereign debt crisis created uncertainty in the global financial market, and South Africa was one of many countries that dealt with this.