an essay without the letter a

You Won't Find the Letter "E" in Either of These Two Novels

By mental floss uk | aug 5, 2016.

by Aliya Whiteley

The letter "E" is so integral to many languages that it’s amazing to think that even a short conversation could be conducted without it. For instance, in one episode of How I Met Your Mother , Lily and Robin challenge their friend Barney to try and get a girl’s phone number while wearing a trash bag and without using the letter "E." Okay, so he succeeds, but the conversation isn’t very scintillating. (And the garbage bag is not a great look, either.)

"E" is the most commonly used letter in the English language. Not only that, it’s the most commonly used letter in lots of languages, including French, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, Danish, and Dutch. So there are easier letters to omit if you decide to construct a lipogram—a text that deliberately omits a particular letter—no matter what your nationality.

All of which makes the fact that not one but two authors managed to complete entire novels without ever using the letter "E" all the more amazing.

Written in 1939, Ernest Vincent Wright's Gadsby is a 50,000 word novel—and there’s not an "E" in sight (at least not once you get past the author's name or the introduction, in which Wright mentions how people often told him that such a feat was impossible). But Gadsby sticks to its own rules admirably. If there are abbreviations used, they are only ones that still would not contain the letter "E" if written out in full. In order to make sure he didn't accidentally cheat, Wright reportedly tied down the letter "E" on his typewriter.

Inspired by Wright, Georges Perec decided to write his own novel without the letter "E"—in his first language, French. Published in 1969, it was called La Disparition and was later, incredibly, translated into English in 1994 by Gilbert Adair, who renamed it A Void (as the direct translation would have been The Disappearance which, you might have noticed, contains three examples of the letter in question).

La Disparation has since been translated into many languages in the same lipogrammatic form, including German, Italian, Dutch, Swedish, Spanish, Turkish, Romanian, and even Japanese. You have to wonder who had the harder job here: the author of the original novel, or the writers who managed to stick to the rules when they translated it.

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Writing Exercise: Without any “E”

Heather over at RapturedHeart has inspired me to try something new and indeed a challenge.  She was inspired by this Plinky prompt :

Write a one hundred word story without using the letter “E.”

Some examples of works missing an e are Gadsby by Ernest Vincent Wright, a 50,000 word novel published in 1939 and La Disparition published in French in 1969 by George Perec, which was translated into English in 1995 as A Void .

The book Ella Minnow Pea by Mark Dunn in 2001 is a progressive lipogrammatic story where letters are one by one being banned by the city as they fall off of their cherished statue of “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.”  A delightful read, I recommend it.

Here’s my lipogrammatic short:

An arctic wind pulls my hair into tufts as I walk.  I don’t mind, it brings my mind thoughts of him.  Our passion was short and vivid, knowing his ship would sail at dawn into a polar sun.  War took him away that brutal Spring morning and holds him now in its burning grasp.  I will always miss him, long for him, and wait for him. Will I fall into his arms and kiss his lips again? Night is falling, cold nips at my thin hands. I allow cold to numb my soul and carry away my pain.

I know that many of you have tried this as well – please send the link to yours in the comments!

To see Heather’s, click here .

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18 responses to writing exercise: without any “e”.

Great little short, very lyrical. I remembered being assigned to read Gadsby in high school English and being blown away by a 200-page book with absolutely no “the” or “he” in it. What great exercise this must be for the brain!

It was liberating see just how many ways a thought could be expressed, however it also proves just how important it is to find and use the words that work best in a given setting.

Oh! Thanks for elaborating on this! A 50,000 word novel… now, that’s a bit much for me.

Can’t wait to see what people come up with.

The link takes you to the complete text – it’s amazing to read after trying to write without an E.

Pingback: Writing without “e” « Beneath the Lamp Post

Very good short.

These exercises (like the one syllable challenge I posted) cause us to be more conscious of word choice instead of reaching for our favorites off the shelf each time.

Thanks, Jo.

So true – I found myself thinking in circles for an hour after completing this exercise. Now I’m going to have to do the single syllable challenge!

His ship sailed at dawn? Oops. What about ‘his ship was to sail at dawn’?

Akk! You caught me – looks like this exercise is much more challenging than I thought at first. It’s fixed.

I’d never heard of lipograms. Seems like a very neat exercise to use with a high school English class.

For sure! They would get a huge kick out of it.

There’s an e in there! “sailed.” But this is amazing, what a cool exercise! 😉

Yep, I’m totally busted. I thought I was really careful when I checked it but it leaked through! This is why writers need to hire editors.

How can you ask this man – a hack, a fraud, a fool – to do such a thing? It is simply not within my brain’s grasp to spit out a string of words that lack this most tiny but critical part. Not if you want to follow my logic, that is.

Nice work on the vignette, by the way.

Fantastic! I dare say you have a poetic soul in there somewhere. I love how different each attempt turns out. Good work.

It is hard to say how to accomplish this. Lipograms try minds, forcing us to think in an unusual way. Common words vanish as particular symbols fall into inusitation. Such a story inhabits book racks but it is too dramatic to copy its motif. I will only go this far but no farther.

I find it incredible (yes, I’m done now) that anyone could continue without letters for more than a few paragraphs. Especially in French.

I love how yours turned out!

Almost made it, farther has one! Love it, thanks for taking a crack at it – these have been fun for everyone.

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Should I Use “I”?

What this handout is about.

This handout is about determining when to use first person pronouns (“I”, “we,” “me,” “us,” “my,” and “our”) and personal experience in academic writing. “First person” and “personal experience” might sound like two ways of saying the same thing, but first person and personal experience can work in very different ways in your writing. You might choose to use “I” but not make any reference to your individual experiences in a particular paper. Or you might include a brief description of an experience that could help illustrate a point you’re making without ever using the word “I.” So whether or not you should use first person and personal experience are really two separate questions, both of which this handout addresses. It also offers some alternatives if you decide that either “I” or personal experience isn’t appropriate for your project. If you’ve decided that you do want to use one of them, this handout offers some ideas about how to do so effectively, because in many cases using one or the other might strengthen your writing.

Expectations about academic writing

Students often arrive at college with strict lists of writing rules in mind. Often these are rather strict lists of absolutes, including rules both stated and unstated:

• Each essay should have exactly five paragraphs.
• Don’t begin a sentence with “and” or “because.”
• Never include personal opinion.
• Never use “I” in essays.

We get these ideas primarily from teachers and other students. Often these ideas are derived from good advice but have been turned into unnecessarily strict rules in our minds. The problem is that overly strict rules about writing can prevent us, as writers, from being flexible enough to learn to adapt to the writing styles of different fields, ranging from the sciences to the humanities, and different kinds of writing projects, ranging from reviews to research.

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.

Effective uses of “I”:

In many cases, using the first person pronoun can improve your writing, by offering the following benefits:

• Assertiveness: In some cases you might wish to emphasize agency (who is doing what), as for instance if you need to point out how valuable your particular project is to an academic discipline or to claim your unique perspective or argument.
• Clarity: Because trying to avoid the first person can lead to awkward constructions and vagueness, using the first person can improve your writing style.
• Positioning yourself in the essay: In some projects, you need to explain how your research or ideas build on or depart from the work of others, in which case you’ll need to say “I,” “we,” “my,” or “our”; if you wish to claim some kind of authority on the topic, first person may help you do so.

Deciding whether “I” will help your style

Here is an example of how using the first person can make the writing clearer and more assertive:

Original example:

In studying American popular culture of the 1980s, the question of to what degree materialism was a major characteristic of the cultural milieu was explored.

Better example using first person:

In our study of American popular culture of the 1980s, we explored the degree to which materialism characterized the cultural milieu.

The original example sounds less emphatic and direct than the revised version; using “I” allows the writers to avoid the convoluted construction of the original and clarifies who did what.

Here is an example in which alternatives to the first person would be more appropriate:

As I observed the communication styles of first-year Carolina women, I noticed frequent use of non-verbal cues.

Better example:

A study of the communication styles of first-year Carolina women revealed frequent use of non-verbal cues.

In the original example, using the first person grounds the experience heavily in the writer’s subjective, individual perspective, but the writer’s purpose is to describe a phenomenon that is in fact objective or independent of that perspective. Avoiding the first person here creates the desired impression of an observed phenomenon that could be reproduced and also creates a stronger, clearer statement.

Here’s another example in which an alternative to first person works better:

As I was reading this study of medieval village life, I noticed that social class tended to be clearly defined.

This study of medieval village life reveals that social class tended to be clearly defined.

Although you may run across instructors who find the casual style of the original example refreshing, they are probably rare. The revised version sounds more academic and renders the statement more assertive and direct.

Here’s a final example:

I think that Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases, or at least it seems that way to me.

Better example

Aristotle’s ethical arguments are logical and readily applicable to contemporary cases.

In this example, there is no real need to announce that that statement about Aristotle is your thought; this is your paper, so readers will assume that the ideas in it are yours.

Determining whether to use “I” according to the conventions of the academic field

Which fields allow “I”?

The rules for this are changing, so it’s always best to ask your instructor if you’re not sure about using first person. But here are some general guidelines.

Sciences: In the past, scientific writers avoided the use of “I” because scientists often view the first person as interfering with the impression of objectivity and impersonality they are seeking to create. But conventions seem to be changing in some cases—for instance, when a scientific writer is describing a project she is working on or positioning that project within the existing research on the topic. Check with your science instructor to find out whether it’s o.k. to use “I” in their class.

Social Sciences: Some social scientists try to avoid “I” for the same reasons that other scientists do. But first person is becoming more commonly accepted, especially when the writer is describing their project or perspective.

Humanities: Ask your instructor whether you should use “I.” The purpose of writing in the humanities is generally to offer your own analysis of language, ideas, or a work of art. Writers in these fields tend to value assertiveness and to emphasize agency (who’s doing what), so the first person is often—but not always—appropriate. Sometimes writers use the first person in a less effective way, preceding an assertion with “I think,” “I feel,” or “I believe” as if such a phrase could replace a real defense of an argument. While your audience is generally interested in your perspective in the humanities fields, readers do expect you to fully argue, support, and illustrate your assertions. Personal belief or opinion is generally not sufficient in itself; you will need evidence of some kind to convince your reader.

Other writing situations: If you’re writing a speech, use of the first and even the second person (“you”) is generally encouraged because these personal pronouns can create a desirable sense of connection between speaker and listener and can contribute to the sense that the speaker is sincere and involved in the issue. If you’re writing a resume, though, avoid the first person; describe your experience, education, and skills without using a personal pronoun (for example, under “Experience” you might write “Volunteered as a peer counselor”).

A note on the second person “you”:

In situations where your intention is to sound conversational and friendly because it suits your purpose, as it does in this handout intended to offer helpful advice, or in a letter or speech, “you” might help to create just the sense of familiarity you’re after. But in most academic writing situations, “you” sounds overly conversational, as for instance in a claim like “when you read the poem ‘The Wasteland,’ you feel a sense of emptiness.” In this case, the “you” sounds overly conversational. The statement would read better as “The poem ‘The Wasteland’ creates a sense of emptiness.” Academic writers almost always use alternatives to the second person pronoun, such as “one,” “the reader,” or “people.”

Personal experience in academic writing

The question of whether personal experience has a place in academic writing depends on context and purpose. In papers that seek to analyze an objective principle or data as in science papers, or in papers for a field that explicitly tries to minimize the effect of the researcher’s presence such as anthropology, personal experience would probably distract from your purpose. But sometimes you might need to explicitly situate your position as researcher in relation to your subject of study. Or if your purpose is to present your individual response to a work of art, to offer examples of how an idea or theory might apply to life, or to use experience as evidence or a demonstration of an abstract principle, personal experience might have a legitimate role to play in your academic writing. Using personal experience effectively usually means keeping it in the service of your argument, as opposed to letting it become an end in itself or take over the paper.

It’s also usually best to keep your real or hypothetical stories brief, but they can strengthen arguments in need of concrete illustrations or even just a little more vitality.

Here are some examples of effective ways to incorporate personal experience in academic writing:

• Anecdotes: In some cases, brief examples of experiences you’ve had or witnessed may serve as useful illustrations of a point you’re arguing or a theory you’re evaluating. For instance, in philosophical arguments, writers often use a real or hypothetical situation to illustrate abstract ideas and principles.
• References to your own experience can explain your interest in an issue or even help to establish your authority on a topic.
• Some specific writing situations, such as application essays, explicitly call for discussion of personal experience.

Here are some suggestions about including personal experience in writing for specific fields:

Philosophy: In philosophical writing, your purpose is generally to reconstruct or evaluate an existing argument, and/or to generate your own. Sometimes, doing this effectively may involve offering a hypothetical example or an illustration. In these cases, you might find that inventing or recounting a scenario that you’ve experienced or witnessed could help demonstrate your point. Personal experience can play a very useful role in your philosophy papers, as long as you always explain to the reader how the experience is related to your argument. (See our handout on writing in philosophy for more information.)

Religion: Religion courses might seem like a place where personal experience would be welcomed. But most religion courses take a cultural, historical, or textual approach, and these generally require objectivity and impersonality. So although you probably have very strong beliefs or powerful experiences in this area that might motivate your interest in the field, they shouldn’t supplant scholarly analysis. But ask your instructor, as it is possible that they are interested in your personal experiences with religion, especially in less formal assignments such as response papers. (See our handout on writing in religious studies for more information.)

Literature, Music, Fine Arts, and Film: Writing projects in these fields can sometimes benefit from the inclusion of personal experience, as long as it isn’t tangential. For instance, your annoyance over your roommate’s habits might not add much to an analysis of “Citizen Kane.” However, if you’re writing about Ridley Scott’s treatment of relationships between women in the movie “Thelma and Louise,” some reference your own observations about these relationships might be relevant if it adds to your analysis of the film. Personal experience can be especially appropriate in a response paper, or in any kind of assignment that asks about your experience of the work as a reader or viewer. Some film and literature scholars are interested in how a film or literary text is received by different audiences, so a discussion of how a particular viewer or reader experiences or identifies with the piece would probably be appropriate. (See our handouts on writing about fiction , art history , and drama for more information.)

Women’s Studies: Women’s Studies classes tend to be taught from a feminist perspective, a perspective which is generally interested in the ways in which individuals experience gender roles. So personal experience can often serve as evidence for your analytical and argumentative papers in this field. This field is also one in which you might be asked to keep a journal, a kind of writing that requires you to apply theoretical concepts to your experiences.

History: If you’re analyzing a historical period or issue, personal experience is less likely to advance your purpose of objectivity. However, some kinds of historical scholarship do involve the exploration of personal histories. So although you might not be referencing your own experience, you might very well be discussing other people’s experiences as illustrations of their historical contexts. (See our handout on writing in history for more information.)

Sciences: Because the primary purpose is to study data and fixed principles in an objective way, personal experience is less likely to have a place in this kind of writing. Often, as in a lab report, your goal is to describe observations in such a way that a reader could duplicate the experiment, so the less extra information, the better. Of course, if you’re working in the social sciences, case studies—accounts of the personal experiences of other people—are a crucial part of your scholarship. (See our handout on  writing in the sciences for more information.)

You may reproduce it for non-commercial use if you use the entire handout and attribute the source: The Writing Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

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How Does a Therapist Stay Neutral?

Counseling couples or families is about empathy, not objectivity.

Clinical psychologist Craig Libman leans on “therapeutic neutrality” to help clients, medical providers, and families work through challenges—observing all viewpoints, and avoiding jumping to conclusions. Illustration by Elizabeth Sanduvete.

by Craig Libman | June 17, 2024

Can we, and should we, ever really be neutral? In a new series, Zócalo explores the idea of neutrality —in politics, sports, gender, journalism, international law, and more. In this essay, therapist Craig Libman explains how he helps families figure out a way forward when there are no good options.

“He just doesn’t listen to me!” “She never understands what I’m going through!”

There I sat, their psychotherapist, sandwiched between this couple who had been married at least 50 years. The husband, a Vietnam veteran with metastatic cancer, longstanding PTSD, and increased impairments from dementia. The wife, a full-time caregiver and retired school administrator, stressed out and facing her own increased cognitive challenges. This marriage, woven together by three children, many grandchildren, five military deployments, countless life celebrations and family funerals. Their love language: arguing.

Of course, they didn’t call it fighting—they saw their “discussions” as spirited debates. Seeing their faces brighten when they talked over each other almost felt like eavesdropping on covert foreplay. They vaguely reminded me of my own grandparents, except now I couldn’t sit back and watch bemusedly from the roomy backseat of Poppy’s Lincoln.

As their therapist, I had to engage, mediate, and navigate their needs. I had to assert therapeutic neutrality , balancing both parties’ perspectives while also managing my own viewpoints and biases.

“Neutral” conjures a sense of complete objectivity, impartial and dispassionate, that rarely exists in realistic realms of human experience. When I work with couples or families, instead of completely removing myself from the conflict, I focus on how to acknowledge, validate, and work with all perspectives in the room, even if some disagreements can never be fully resolved.

It doesn’t always come easily. When I trained in geriatrics, I had little coursework in family and couples therapy and no idea what working with families would be like. Referrals typically called for individual therapy, but patients often wanted loved ones in the room—or, in the presence of dementia, needed them there.

Complex dynamics led family members to try to curry favor with me, seeking validation that they were the “correct” party. Boundary setting became even more crucial. Who was my primary patient? Did they even want family therapy? I work in a medical system designed for veterans, which typically favors their needs, even with built-in caregiver supports. How do I ensure I’m addressing the needs of spouses or other family caregivers, while also staying true to the veteran patient?

Literature on “therapeutic neutrality” is sparse, but reading what’s out there offered me a helpful framework to start from. I was particularly drawn toward psychologists Charles Gelso and Katri Kanninen’s definition . They posit that effective therapeutic neutrality occurs when the therapist “takes an observer position in the relationship…refrains from taking sides in the patient’s inner struggles…[and] does not take sides in the patient’s relational struggles.”

One of the major challenges of any kind of therapy with multiple people is that it challenges therapeutic rapport: If I align with one person, I run the risk of pushing against another. Family therapists Mark Butler and colleagues offer a solution: maintaining a stance of dynamic neutrality , in which the “therapist invites and facilitates each person in gaining an empathic window on others’ experience and perspective and then holding their partner’s experience equally valid with their own and equally significant to relationship success.”

In my work with families and couples navigating complex medical issues, I had, without fully realizing it, already been employing this technique, taking extra time to observe all viewpoints and not jump to conclusions.

This is especially essential when I am a part of family meetings among patients, family, and medical providers in the hospital. Once, I found myself and three doctors jammed into every crevice of a small hospital room, hashing things out with a patient and two of his sisters. Nobody was happy. Not the patient, who was frustrated by a prolonged hospital stay and wanted to relocate to one of his sisters’ houses. Not his sisters, who wanted to move him to an assisted living facility. Not the medical and psychiatric teams, who wanted to send him to a skilled nursing facility for rehab and likely longer-term care, whether he wanted it or not.

They debated what should happen next. The patient couldn’t stay in the hospital indefinitely, for medical and financial reasons. But he also still needed a lot of help managing his pain and completing personal care such as toileting, bathing, and dressing.  Everyone in the room was frustrated and overwhelmed.

I sat and listened, and tried to balance the complex facts with each party’s opinions, feelings, and needs. Everyone wanted a solution— their solution —so badly, that no one, least of all the patient himself, was heard and respected. Rather than offering solutions, I mediated, trying to create time and space for each person to talk. We did not come up with an answer, but we made progress in listening.

The conclusion the group reached several days later—trying out a skilled nursing rehab location close to the patient’s home and family, with eventual plans to transfer home—wasn’t perfect, but the meeting reset the conversation to a place of greater equity and inclusivity.

Neutrality helped me balance the needs and limitations of a difficult reality. In a space of narrow choices, this one was best aligned with the care the patient wanted.

With the Vietnam vet and his wife, this notion of neutrality as observation helped me reconnect the couple with the things that brought them together in the first place. Rather than leaning into their disagreements and arriving at judgments about who was right, we took trips down Memory Lane. We discussed how they met in college, set up by friends, and how they have been arguing for decades. They talked about what they admired and found attractive about each other. They remembered their accomplishments, their goals, and their mutual commitment.

I don’t approach therapeutic neutrality with a cold, dispassionate lens. Instead, I try to find ways to use curiosity, exploration, and observations of points of connection to help couples, families, and medical teams work through conflict. Rather than focusing on how someone wants another person to change , I use prompts to help people rediscover what they value, and how the people around them bring them closer to it. I’ve learned that my job, as a neutral therapist, is to help patients and their loved ones strengthen their bonds.

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How do expert writers avoid using "I" when they have to refer to themselves in their article?

How do competent authors, in a refined and perhaps (slightly) formal way, refer to themselves without saying I ? I've seen the term "this writer" somewhere. How is it with a native? Are there other terms that are a little bit more formal and delicate than I is?

• word-choice

• 1 In journalism and reporting, they sometimes use "your correspondent" or "your [word that describes journalist on reporting duty]" –  George Capote Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 21:03
• 3 "one", possibly. " One does not simply refer to themselves " –  Mateo Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 23:18
• 2 One of the best-written mathematics books I know (Wilfrid Hodges, Model Theory) starts with a section on conventions used in the book, as is usual. But this one includes the following gem: "'I' means 'I' and 'we' means 'we'." And the author really uses the two pronouns in this way without any attempts to hide his personality. Maybe this approach only works in mathematics and hard science, where people sometimes say things such as: "You are right, yesterday you proved the main theorem in my book is wrong and today I found my mistake." And it's not the end of the world, either. –  Hans Adler Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 16:20
• 1 Don't be afraid to use the right word in the right situation. Sometimes that word is "I." Just don't talk about yourself so much in your papers. –  ssdecontrol Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 18:56
• 3 My point was that it's bad style for a single person to write "as we showed in an earlier paper" or "as the author has shown previously". Instead, write either "as I have shown previously" or just "for a proof of ... see [1]". "We will see in the next section" is fine, though, as it includes the readers. –  Hans Adler Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 21:25

12 Answers 12

Use of pronouns like "I" and "me" in a narrative will tend to cast the writer as the protagonist. Use of other forms such as "yours truly" or non-reflexive "myself" tends to cast the author into a "supporting character" role.

Suppose someone is writing about Mr. Smith's performance in a chess tournament and, after saying "In round one, Mr. Smith played against Alec Jones" and describing his performance in that round, went on to say "In round two, Mr. Smith played against me". A reader might expect the description of the round to be focused on the writer, rather than on Mr. Smith. If instead the text had been "In round two, Mr. Smith played against yours truly."

Some people cringe at non-reflexive usages of "myself". I personally don't find them objectionable when used in either the imperative or passive voice, with the purpose of suggesting semantic equivalence between the person writing or speaking and others. For example, if Mr. Smith asks people "Please submit reports to Mrs. Robinson, Mrs. Jones, or to me", that would suggest that submissions to him would be perceived differently. Using the non-reflexive "...or to myself" would suggest that the set of people to whom forms may be submitted includes him, but he has no special significance within that set.

Even though the non-reflexive "myself" is often useful, there are many places where it just doesn't work, especially with the active voice, or when used with verbs that would be amenable to reflexive usage. For narrative situations, "yours truly" is concise but effective; it conveys no implication that the character in the story were affected by the fact that they would later be written about. By contrast, "this author" implies that the writer's status as an author was significant to the events described.

What's important is to recognize that there are many ways an author can refer to himself, and usage of forms other than simple first-person pronouns is not merely a matter of being "cute", but often carries somewhat different meanings and implications.

• 7 If in the second round, Mr. Smith played against the author, any circumlocution like "yours truly" or even "the author" will sound like just that: a circumlocution, and thus awkward and unprofessional. In such a situation, any semi-competent author will use "me", period end of story. –  Martha Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 21:47
• 1 Is there any source for acceptability of a non-reflexive meaning of "myself"? –  Ari Brodsky Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 7:21

Many competent writers will challenge the assertion that "the perpendicular pronoun" (I) really needs to be avoided. Others seem to believe that only third person is acceptable, or that no person should ever be mentioned unless specifically talking about people.

My own take is that this is all a matter of style, and whatever you pick -- as long as it sounds natural and you're consistent about it -- is probably fine. If I'm writing for my employer, I'll follow my employer's style guidelines. If I'm writing for publication, I'll follow the publication's preferences. If I'm writing without those constraints, my writing is generally only slightly more formal than my speech.

Competence precludes finding oneself needing to mean "I" but having to say "this writer" - or, variously:

• your correspondent
• this ink-stained wretch (please, no!)

TBH, the form hardly matters - silk purses and sow's ears, etc.

• 23 Exactly. A genuinely expert writer avoids introducing himself into a literary context where his presence is deprecated. An essay is like any other social occasion. If you belong there, you may introduce yourself in the first person without offense. If you don't belong there, you shouldn't be trying to sneak in unnoticed by pretending to be somebody else. –  StoneyB Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 4:54
• 8 I used to favor "your humble narrator" for a while. Then I decided I wasn't all that humble and often wasn't narrating. –  keshlam Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 5:16
• 2 I agree with StoneyB. If I have a reason to write about myself, then I'll use "I" (and "me", "my", etc.). If I don't have a reason to write about myself, I won't. –  Andreas Blass Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 16:55

In science, it is quite common to use "we" instead of "I" even if there is only one author.

• 15 In maths, "we can see" or whatever can imply "You, the reader, and I", which I think is quite nice. –  GKFX Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 13:04
• True, that is another meaning of the scientific "we". –  painfulenglish Commented Jul 25, 2014 at 13:36
• In science it is common because most papers are published by two or more authors! So the impression that "we" is common might be a false one. In my experience, single authors always refer to themselves as "I" in the natural sciences. –  user5645 Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 9:14
• There definitely are single-author papers which use "we". However, people sometimes feel uncomfortable using this form, and change everything to passive voice to avoid it. –  painfulenglish Commented Jul 29, 2014 at 6:45
• Formally this is called 'royal we', which has uncomfortably arrogant connotations, although I agree, it's used. –  Jeff-Inventor ChromeOS Commented Aug 13, 2014 at 5:38

It seems to depend on the context, and even more so on the type of writing. Some answers have addressed it, it's strange that none have aggregated different scenarios where one would want to avoid referring to oneself directly.

• In journalism, it's generally frowned upon to use "I." I've seen many cases of "your correspondent" in most of the articles I read. "Your author" is also possible, though maybe not so much for journalism.
• In most scientific cases, authors sometimes avoid using a reference to themselves entirely by using the passive voice. I found that this is common here .
• In other academic scenarios, many do use "I" but I've seen many research papers which use "we" even when referring to the single author. Mathematic proofs, for example, always say "we know that..." or "we can see from ... that..."

Of course it's always good to do a bit of research on the particular scenario in which you are.

• 3 As commented above, the mathematical "we" means "the author and the reader", so it's certainly appropriate even with only one author. –  Steve Jessop Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 9:39
• I disagree. Both meanings exists. When I write "We studied problem x" in a paper, I mean me and possibly my co-authors, but certainly not the reader. I'm quite sure many other scientists use "we" in this way. –  painfulenglish Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 17:19

I see two main contexts:

The author of the work is also relevant to the subject under discussion. Then the author should use the third person and a name. "Reports must be submitted in triplicate to both Itsme and Steve Jessop". "Mr. Jessop has responsibility for X, whereas Itsme handles Y". It might matter which of us wrote that text, we might have collaborated on it. Someone who cares can check the top of the document, but it's not relevant to the matter at hand, so let's not mess about identifying professional responsibilities relative to authorship of the document.

The author wants to personalize the authorial voice. This generally isn't what you want in formal writing, but might be done from an excess of ego or an excess of honesty that you're writing a personal opinion or experience.

In this case, assuming you want to avoid "I", then you say "the author", "this author", "this reviewer", "this observer", and so on. Identify the role whose point of view you're trying to inject. So for example a journalist who attended a political event might first lay out the facts in the usual way, and then mention "this observer" when giving a more subjective view: "Following the speeches a fistfight occurred, but this observer was unable to determine who started it" makes clear that even to those in the room it was not necessarily obvious what was going on.

Whether you should want to avoid "I" at all is probably outside the scope of the question, but personally I think it depends in large part on whether you think the reader knows or cares who is addressing them. Extreme case, a newspaper report with no by-line shouldn't use "I", because the reader can't know who that is even if they want to. Even with a by-line, a reporter's style avoids it. An opinion piece has a lot more scope to use "I".

• For things like memos which, while written by people, are supposed to speak in the voice of the company those people are representing, it is entirely appropriate for the author to refer to himself by name just as would anyone else. In cases where the author has a personal voice, however, such a thing might prompt readers to wonder whether the author and the person identified were the same person, or whether the text was actually written by the claimed author; such distractions might be avoided if you refer to yourself as "Steve Jessop (yours truly)". –  supercat Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 17:30
• Well, "yours truly" to mean "me" is awful, but that's a matter of taste since it's entirely comprehensible. Anyway in writing it's just an indirect way of saying "the author" or "your correspondent", i.e. it's the person who would sign off a letter "yours truly". –  Steve Jessop Commented Jul 28, 2014 at 10:22

This writer is correct.

For example:

Exercise has many benefits. Proponents of exercise find there is a large variety of exercise options to fit different lifestyles. Barack Obama goes running in the morning. Jane Doe attends a weekly dancing class. I myself do press ups and stomach crunches in between writing stints through out the day.

The writer can remove the first person perspective by replace 'I myself' with 'this writer'.

Exercise has many benefits. Proponents of exercise find there is a large variety of exercise options to fit different lifestyles. Barack Obama goes running in the morning. Jane Doe attends a weekly dancing class.This writer does press ups and stomach crunches in between writing stints through his writing day.

• 1 What evidence do you have to proclaim it as "correct"? –  curiousdannii Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 0:45
• Why not, "Press ups and stomach crunches can be accomplished in between writing stints throughout the day"? Or, "in between performing sedentary tasks..."? –  user26732 Commented Aug 12, 2014 at 19:45

In the natural sciences, the use of the personal pronouns "I" (for one author) and "we" (for two or more authors) is perfectly fine. In fact, you must use these pronouns, if you refer to yourself!

For example the Manual (2009) of the American Psychological Association clearly states (pp. 69-70):

Attribution. Inappropriately or illogically attribution action in an effort to be objective can be misleading. Examples of undesirable attribution include use of the third person, anthropomorphism, and use of the editorial we . Third person. To avoid ambiguity, use a personal pronoun rather than the thrid person when describing steps taken in your experiment. Correct: We reviewed the literature. Incorrect: The authors reviewed the literature. Anthropomorphism. Do not attribute human characteristics to animals or to inanimate sources. Correct: The staff for the community program was persuaded to allow ... Incorrect: The community program was persuaded to allow ... An experiment cannot attempt to demonstrate , control unwanted variables , or interpret findings , nor can tables or figures compare (all of these can, however, show or indicate ). Use a pronoun or an appropriate noun as the subject of these verbs. I or we (meaning the author or authors) can replace the experiment . Editorial we. For clarity, restrict your use of we to refer only to yourself and your coauthors (use I if you are the sole author of the paper). Broader uses of we may leave your readers wondering to whom you are referring; instead substitute an appropriate noun or clarify your usage: Correct: As behaviorists, we tend to dispute ... Incorrect: We tend to dispute ...

The fundamental rule of all APA syle are "precision and clarity" (p. 68):

"Make certain that every word means exactly what you intend it to mean."

See also this post in the APA Style Blog: Use of First Person in APA Style .

If the work has a list of references, then refer one can refer to the reference as if referring to any one else's reference. As an alternative, one can refer to the name of the content of what they want to reference instead of using the attribution of the content's creator (ie, "I").

In legal writing there is an easy answer: you refer to the roles played rather than the individuals who undertook them. So if you are writing a brief and complaining that the judge did something you didn't like, you wouldn't write, "the judge did not let me present evidence" but, "counsel for plaintiff was prevented from presenting evidence." Because in this context personalities do not matter.

While this question is directed towards non-fiction, the winds of what the French call "autofiction" are blowing and I think we will see a greater use of the first person in all types of writing. Even though Rimbaud famously wrote, " Je est un autre." ( I is someone else.)

If the writer is truly an expert, then they refer to themselves so enigmatically that they set the 2000-year-old standard for how to subtly promote oneself:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Disciple_whom_Jesus_loved

Use "I" all you want. I was taught the same thing in school: "don't use "I" because of whatever". That's total BS.

If you haven't already, read "Journey to the End of the Night " by Celine, one of the best books in French literature. You'll see how you can write a masterpiece not just using "I" everywhere, but also making intentional grammar/syntax errors in every other sentence!

PS: the book is translated from the French at Project Nutenberg, for free...

• 1 Welcome to ELU.SE. I don't believe it's all that convincing to explain something you believe to be the case in English by referring to French literature, I'm afraid. "Don't bother" might be a reasonable answer, but needs some English substantiation. –  Andrew Leach Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 13:23
• 1 The pleasure is all mine. I am afraid that you are wrong though. The fact that the book is French is completely irrelevant for this conversation. It is for the exact same reason the word "I" should be avoided in French as it is in English. Furthermore, I was not referring to "Voyage jusqu'au bout de la nuit", but to its English translation "Journey to the End of the Night". –  user83260 Commented Jul 26, 2014 at 16:29

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Using Articles

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What is an article? Basically, an article is an adjective. Like adjectives, articles modify nouns.

English has two articles: the and a/an . The is used to refer to specific or particular nouns; a/an is used to modify non-specific or non-particular nouns. We call the the definite article and a/an the indefinite article.

the = definite article

a/an = indefinite article

For example, if I say, "Let's read the book," I mean a specific book. If I say, "Let's read a book," I mean any book rather than a specific book.

Here's another way to explain it: The is used to refer to a specific or particular member of a group. For example, "I just saw the most popular movie of the year." There are many movies, but only one particular movie is the most popular. Therefore, we use the .

"A/an" is used to refer to a non-specific or non-particular member of the group. For example, "I would like to go see a movie." Here, we're not talking about a specific movie. We're talking about any movie. There are many movies, and I want to see any movie. I don't have a specific one in mind.

Let's look at each kind of article a little more closely.

Indefinite Articles: a and an

"A" and "an" signal that the noun modified is indefinite, referring to any member of a group. For example:

• "My daughter really wants a dog for Christmas." This refers to any dog. We don't know which dog because we haven't found the dog yet.
• "Somebody call a policeman!" This refers to any policeman. We don't need a specific policeman; we need any policeman who is available.
• "When I was at the zoo, I saw an elephant!" Here, we're talking about a single, non-specific thing, in this case an elephant. There are probably several elephants at the zoo, but there's only one we're talking about here.

Remember, using a or an depends on the sound that begins the next word. So...

• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant: a boy; a car; a bike; a zoo; a dog
• an + singular noun beginning with a vowel: an elephant; an egg; an apple; an idiot; an orphan
• a + singular noun beginning with a consonant sound: a user (sounds like 'yoo-zer,' i.e. begins with a consonant 'y' sound, so 'a' is used); a university ; a unicycle
• an + nouns starting with silent "h": an hour
• In some cases where "h" is pronounced, such as "historical," you can use an . However, a is more commonly used and preferred. A historical event is worth recording.

Remember that these rules also apply when you use acronyms:

Another case where this rule applies is when acronyms or initialisms start with consonant letters but have vowel sounds:

If the noun is modified by an adjective, the choice between a and an depends on the initial sound of the adjective that immediately follows the article:

• a broken egg
• an unusual problem
• a European country (sounds like 'yer-o-pi-an,' i.e. begins with consonant 'y' sound)

Remember, too, that in English, the indefinite articles are used to indicate membership in a group:

• I am a teacher. (I am a member of a large group known as teachers.)
• Brian is an Irishman. (Brian is a member of the people known as Irish.)
• Seiko is a practicing Buddhist. (Seiko is a member of the group of people known as Buddhists.)

Definite Article: the

The definite article is used before singular and plural nouns when the noun is specific or particular. The signals that the noun is definite, that it refers to a particular member of a group. For example:

" The dog that bit me ran away." Here, we're talking about a specific dog, the dog that bit me.

"I was happy to see the policeman who saved my cat!" Here, we're talking about a particular policeman. Even if we don't know the policeman's name, it's still a particular policeman because it is the one who saved the cat.

"I saw the elephant at the zoo." Here, we're talking about a specific noun. Probably there is only one elephant at the zoo.

Count and Noncount Nouns

The can be used with noncount nouns, or the article can be omitted entirely.

• "I love to sail over the water" (some specific body of water) or "I love to sail over water" (any water).
• "He spilled the milk all over the floor" (some specific milk, perhaps the milk you bought earlier that day) or "He spilled milk all over the floor" (any milk).

"A/an" can be used only with count nouns.

• "I need a bottle of water."
• "I need a new glass of milk."

Most of the time, you can't say, "She wants a water," unless you're implying, say, a bottle of water.

Geographical use of the

There are some specific rules for using the with geographical nouns.

Do not use the before:

• names of most countries/territories: Italy, Mexico, Bolivia ; however, the Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, the Philippines, the United States
• names of cities, towns, or states: Seoul, Manitoba, Miami
• names of streets: Washington Blvd., Main St.
• names of lakes and bays: Lake Titicaca, Lake Erie except with a group of lakes like the Great Lakes
• names of mountains: Mount Everest, Mount Fuji except with ranges of mountains like the Andes or the Rockies or unusual names like the Matterhorn
• names of continents (Asia, Europe)
• names of islands (Easter Island, Maui, Key West) except with island chains like the Aleutians, the Hebrides, or the Canary Islands

Do use the before:

• names of rivers, oceans and seas: the Nile, the Pacific
• points on the globe: the Equator, the North Pole
• geographical areas: the Middle East, the West
• deserts, forests, gulfs, and peninsulas: the Sahara, the Persian Gulf, the Black Forest, the Iberian Peninsula

Omission of Articles

Some common types of nouns that don't take an article are:

• Names of languages and nationalities: Chinese, English, Spanish, Russian (unless you are referring to the population of the nation: " The Spanish are known for their warm hospitality.")
• Names of sports: volleyball, hockey, baseball
• Names of academic subjects: mathematics, biology, history, computer science

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How to Avoid Using Personal Language in Writing

Last Updated: June 14, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Tristen Bonacci . Tristen Bonacci is a Licensed English Teacher with more than 20 years of experience. Tristen has taught in both the United States and overseas. She specializes in teaching in a secondary education environment and sharing wisdom with others, no matter the environment. Tristen holds a BA in English Literature from The University of Colorado and an MEd from The University of Phoenix. There are 13 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 136,722 times.

Learning how to write without using personal language can be tough. It’s especially tricky to find alternatives to clauses such as “I think” or “I will argue,” but don't worry if you're stuck. There are lots of ways to make your point without using personal pronouns. Additionally, you might use slang and other informal expressions without even realizing it. Check your work, and replace casual, subjective words with objective language. With a little practice, you’ll know the rules of formal academic writing like the back of your hand.

Following General Rules

• For example, replace “I think the most important part of your day is having a good breakfast,” with “A nutritious breakfast is an important part of a healthy diet.”

• Slang words and colloquialisms are casual expressions shared by a region or social group, like “photobomb,” “kick the bucket,” or “Bob’s your uncle.” Instead of, "He kicked the bucket in a doozy of a wreck," write, "He was killed in a serious car accident."
• Clichés are overused expressions that have become meaningless or boring, such as “only time will tell” or “cream of the crop.” Alternatives for these phrases could be "remains to be seen" and "the best."
• Examples of contractions include “don’t,” “wouldn’t,” hasn’t,” and “it’s.” Instead of using them, spell out the words in full.

• Additionally, avoid casual estimates, such as “a couple of studies,” “a lot of time,” or “a bunch of research.” Instead, use specific numbers, such as “The team spent 17 days collecting samples.”

• For instance, “An expert witness debunked the defense’s argument” is stronger than “The witness made an extremely convincing testimony that made the defendant look absolutely guilty.”
• Replace "to be" verbs like is", "am", "are", "were", "was", and "will be", with stronger verbs. For example, instead of saying, "The defense's argument was wrong because it was based on speculation" say, "The argument failed because it relied on speculative evidence."

Finding Alternatives to Personal Pronouns

• Compare the examples, “I think the nations’ economic relationship prevented war,” and “The nations’ economic relationship prevented war.” The second example is objective and sounds authoritative.
• Even if the other side presents a strong argument, keep an authoritative tone throughout. While you should acknowledge the other side, avoid using personal pronouns, as this could weaken your stance.

• Consider the sentence, “I strongly disagree with the defense’s attempt to blame the accident on a vehicle defect.” Stronger phrasing could be, “According to expert testimony from the manufacturer, the defense’s claims regarding a vehicle defect had no basis in reality.”

• For the example, “I will argue that market volatility led to the industry’s collapse,” just cut “I will argue that.”
• Tweak the phrasing for the sentence, “I will examine letters and journal entries to show how Charles Baudelaire’s life in Paris influenced his views of modernity.” You could start the sentence with “Examining letters and journal entries will show," and leave out “I will.”

• In passive voice, an action was done by someone or something: "This was done by them." Because of this construction, passive voice tends to be wordy. Active voice is crisper and emphasizes the doer: "They did this."
• Keep in mind that you should write in the active voice whenever possible. Write “Charles Baudelaire described modernity” instead of “Modernity was described by Charles Baudelaire. [11] X Research source

• Instead of “The painting overwhelms you with texture and color,” write “The painting overwhelms viewers with texture and color.”
• You can also just replace generalizations with tighter wording. Replace “You can see that the claim is false,” with “The claim is false,” or reword it as “The evidence disproves the claim.”
• Include formal generalizations in moderation. Using “one can see” or “one would think” too often will make your writing feel awkward.

Avoiding Informal Expressions

• For example, “The efficiency audit determined that streamlining the application process will generate interest,” refers to a reliable source and states a fact. “The application process is terrible and confusing,” expresses an opinion.
• If you're trying to make an emotional appeal to your audience, it is acceptable to use more emotional language, although you should still avoid using the first person.

• For example, “That guy was a real hater, so his boss gave him the third-degree,” features slang. “The manager reprimanded the cashier for insubordinate behavior,” is more specific and objective.

• Examples of common expressions include “easier said than done,” “sooner or later,” "at the end of the day", and “reached a happy medium.” Alternatives for these expressions could be “more difficult in practice,” “inevitable,” "ultimately", and “compromised.”

• Additionally, ensure your sentences are always complete and unabbreviated. For example, “The performer gave an excellent performance. Not a dry eye in the theater,” is grammatically incorrect and inappropriate for academic writing. [16] X Research source
• For resume writing, terse, incomplete sentences are actually preferred. Instead of “I reduced purchasing costs by 10%,” write, “Reduced purchasing costs by 10%.”

Expert Q&A

• Every discipline has its own writing standards. For specific advice about writing standards, check your field’s style guide, such as Chicago, MLA , or APA . Thanks Helpful 0 Not Helpful 0

You Might Also Like

• ↑ Tristen Bonacci. Licensed English Teacher. Expert Interview. 21 December 2021.
• ↑ https://www.adelaide.edu.au/writingcentre/ua/media/21/learningguide-objectivelanguage.pdf
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/specificity-in-writing/
• ↑ https://www.butte.edu/departments/cas/tipsheets/style_purpose_strategy/writing_clearly.html
• ↑ https://libguides.usc.edu/writingguide/academicwriting
• ↑ https://wts.indiana.edu/writing-guides/using-evidence.html
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/should-i-use-i/
• ↑ https://writingcenter.unc.edu/tips-and-tools/passive-voice/
• ↑ https://www.cs.columbia.edu/~hgs/etc/writing-bugs.html
• ↑ https://facultyweb.ivcc.edu/rrambo/tip_formal_writing_voice.htm
• ↑ https://www.nus.edu.sg/celc/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/chapter03.pdf
• ↑ https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/mechanics/sentence_fragments.html
• ↑ https://dictionary.cambridge.org/grammar/british-grammar/types-of-english-formal-informal-etc/formal-and-informal-language

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Sat / act prep online guides and tips, 64 great colleges that don't require essays to apply.

College Info , College Essays

If the thought of writing a college essay fills you with terror, you might be wondering: are there any colleges that don't require essays?

The answer is yes, there are! This guide will give you an overview of colleges that don't require admissions essays, how to find these schools, and whether you should apply to one or not. We'll wrap up with a list of 64 colleges with no essay requirement that you can apply to.

Why Do Some Colleges Not Require an Essay?

In general, college essays help schools get a sense of you as a person—beyond your academic record, GPA, and test scores. They give you a chance to clearly articulate your goals and also give admissions officers a better idea of how you'll fit within the school's community. Finally, essays are helpful because they provide schools with concrete evidence of your writing ability.

However, there are many colleges that don't require essays for admissions. What are some reasons why? Let's take a look at the three biggest ones:

#1: Limited Resources

It takes a lot of admissions officers' time and energy to read and evaluate college essays.

At smaller schools with fewer resources, and even at larger schools that enroll tens of thousands of students, the resource costs associated with reading each essay for every single student might outweigh the benefits of getting additional information on applicants beyond GPAs, test scores, and transcripts.

Schools sometimes balance these concerns by requiring essays only for the most competitive programs (usually things such as engineering and nursing) or for scholarships, for which the additional information might be more instrumental in making decisions.

They need to use those limited resources for coffee.

#2: Specific Admissions Cutoffs/Criteria

Many colleges, particularly public schools, admit students based on a type of selection index, which tabulates some combination of GPA, test scores, and/or class rank.

If students meet the minimum index score cutoff, they will be admitted. In this case, the school might simply feel that additional information from an essay isn't necessary for making a decision regarding whether a student will be successful or not.

Selection indices are also often different for in-state and out-of-state students, with the latter being subject to more stringent academic criteria.

In addition, the selection index is sometimes used for scholarships, with students with higher index scores being awarded more money.

Schools with selection indices do often require or recommend college essays for borderline candidates so that students can provide additional information on why they'd be a good fit at the school in spite of not meeting the stated academic criteria.

#3: Make Admissions Process Easy and Appealing

Some colleges hope that by making the admissions process easy and requiring only a transcript, test scores, and basic demographic information, they'll attract a wider variety of applicants.

By presenting their application process as a simple alternative to more intensive processes that require letters of recommendation, essays, and so on, they can attract students who are on the fence about applying to college at all .

They could even potentially motivate highly qualified applicants to use them as one of their safety or match schools because the students won't need to write additional essays or do extra work to apply.

Some applications seem like you just have to click to apply!

How to Find Colleges That Don't Require Essays

There are over 4,000 postsecondary educational institutions in the US, and over 80 of these schools don't require essays for admission.

If you want to know whether a particular school requires an essay for admission, Google "[School Name] freshman admission requirements" or "[School Name] admissions essay." This should pull up pages from the school's official website, with links to guidelines on admission essays.

If, however, you're looking more generally for schools that don't require essays, you can check out our  list of 64 schools below or try one of the following starting places:

Public Universities in Your State

A significant number of public universities don't require essays for admissions.

Even if the major public schools in your state (such as the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign or UCLA) require essays for admission, you might find that the smaller campuses and smaller or more specialized state schools  might not require essays. So be sure to check those out!

You can actually get a pretty robust list of schools in your state by simply Googling "[State Name] colleges." Do this and a list of colleges will appear across the top of your screen. Thanks, Google!

Schools With Automatic Admissions Criteria

A school that has criteria for automatic admission (e.g., if you live in-state and have a particular class rank, GPA, and/or test score profile) might not require applicants who meet the automatic criteria to submit essays with their applications.

However, don't assume that just because you meet automatic admissions criteria that you won't need to write an essay.

At UT Austin, for example, all students must submit an essay , regardless of whether they meet the automatic admissions criteria. Although you could probably write just a straightforward paragraph in the essay section and still get admitted (since you meet the criteria), you'd likely be hurting your scholarship potential, not to mention jeopardizing your chances of being let into your desired major.

Small Private Liberal Arts Institutions

Another group of schools that might not require essays are smaller, private liberal arts institutions. These types of schools often serve a fairly niche market and might simply not get a high enough application volume to need essays to differentiate applicants.

Community Colleges

Local community colleges do not require essays for enrollment, since most allow anyone to enroll. Some even have automatic transfer agreements with local four-year universities. However, if you want to transfer to a particular four-year university after you finish at a community college, you might very well have to write an essay—so you could just be putting off the inevitable!

You can find a lot of no-essay colleges for your basket!

Complete List: 64 Colleges That Don't Require Essays

The following chart contains 64 colleges with no essay requirement, organized by state.  

Note that these are far from the only no-essay college applications —just some of the most notable. Follow our guidelines above for finding additional essay-free colleges.

Should You Apply to a College That Doesn't Require an Essay?

If you're reading this article, you're clearly worried about writing application essays for one reason or another. Maybe you're concerned about having enough time to finish everything. Or maybe you think your writing is terrible.

Here are some reasons to write college essays in spite of your misgivings:

#1: You Want to Apply to the Most Selective Schools

If you're hoping to apply to the most selective schools , you'll almost certainly have to write at least one essay. The most highly ranked no-essay school that I could find was the University of Pittsburgh—a great school. But if you're going for UChicago , MIT , Stanford , or an Ivy League-level school , you'll have to write an essay.

#2: You Want a Scholarship

Even if you do apply to a school that doesn't require an essay, you might still have to write an essay if you want to apply for the most competitive scholarships .

#3: You Have Special Circumstances to Explain

If you have any kind of special circumstance to explain—say, a dip in your grades one year due to a family illness—you definitely want to write about it in an essay. This will help you compensate for any perceived deficits in your academic record and also prevent you from being penalized in the admissions process for the vagaries of life.

There's value in telling your story to the admissions committee.

#4: You're a Good Writer

I'm thinking that most strong writers are going to actively want to write college essays, but just in case: if writing is one of your strengths, definitely write an essay. You want to show off your best qualities to admissions officers, after all! If your primary concern is time, use something like the Common Application so you don't have to write a new essay for every school.

#5: The Essay Prompt Is Short

Some college essays are barely essays at all. Some required essays have just a 250-word limit, and 500 words is pretty standard. For reference, the first section of this article—"Why Do Some Colleges Not Require Essays?"—is about 450 words, including sub-headings. That's not so bad!

#6: You Can Get Help

Although it's important that your college essays are your own work, you're allowed to get help with them! Colleges expect you to put your best foot forward, so if that means discussing ideas with parents and teachers, and having someone else look over your rough drafts and offer suggestions, that's completely fine. You don't have to go at it completely alone.

#7: You Can Reuse an Essay for All Your Schools

For schools that use the Common App , Coalition App , or Universal College App , you can generally use one essay for all your colleges. Some schools might require additional supplemental essays, though, so be sure to look that up in advance to avoid being blindsided later.

So Should I Write an Essay?

If it happens that all the schools you want to apply to don't require essays, then great! But overall, I'd say don't let the fact that a school has one (or even two) essays stop you from applying if you're genuinely interested in going there.

If you find writing essays stressful or if you're time-limited, there's nothing wrong with using some strategies to limit the number of polished essays you need to produce (such as using the Common App) and applying to a mix of essay and no-essay schools.

Key Takeaways: Colleges That Don't Require Essays

There are actually tons of colleges that don't require essays. Here are some common reasons why a college might not require an essay:

• Limited resources—it takes a lot of time and effort to read an essay by each applicant
• They might have certain GPA and/or test score admissions criteria and feel as though the information provided by an essay isn't necessary
• To make it more appealing to students by having an easier application process

So how can you find college applications without essays? Here are some places to start:

• Public schools in your state, especially smaller ones in case the bigger ones do require essays
• Schools with automatic admissions criteria—if you qualify for admission, you might not need to write an essay
• Smaller liberal arts institutions
• Community colleges

When it comes down to it, though, should you apply to colleges with no essay requirement? Here are some reasons you might want to write a college essay, even if you're apprehensive:

• The most selective colleges usually do require essays
• Scholarship applications for particular schools often require essays
• If you have special circumstances to explain, plan on writing an essay
• Strong writers should write essays to put their best foot forward
• Word limits are often very short—think 250-500 words (that's just a few paragraphs!)
• You're allowed (and encouraged) to get help with brainstorming ideas and revising drafts
• If you use an application system that can send applications to multiple schools, such as the Common App, Coalition App, or Universal College App, you might be able to write just one essay for all the schools you're applying to

No essay, no tears!

What's Next?

Need more help looking for colleges? See our step-by-step guide to college research . Also, check out how to decide where to go to college and the difference between a college and a university !

Decided to write an essay after all and need some help? Check out our comprehensive guide to writing a college essay and our guide to writing the "why this college" essay . Be sure to avoid these 10 college essay mistakes , too.

Ellen has extensive education mentorship experience and is deeply committed to helping students succeed in all areas of life. She received a BA from Harvard in Folklore and Mythology and is currently pursuing graduate studies at Columbia University.

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The Beginner's Guide to Writing an Essay | Steps & Examples

An academic essay is a focused piece of writing that develops an idea or argument using evidence, analysis, and interpretation.

There are many types of essays you might write as a student. The content and length of an essay depends on your level, subject of study, and course requirements. However, most essays at university level are argumentative — they aim to persuade the reader of a particular position or perspective on a topic.

The essay writing process consists of three main stages:

• Preparation: Decide on your topic, do your research, and create an essay outline.
• Writing : Set out your argument in the introduction, develop it with evidence in the main body, and wrap it up with a conclusion.
• Revision:  Check your essay on the content, organization, grammar, spelling, and formatting of your essay.

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Table of contents

Essay writing process, preparation for writing an essay, writing the introduction, writing the main body, writing the conclusion, essay checklist, lecture slides, frequently asked questions about writing an essay.

The writing process of preparation, writing, and revisions applies to every essay or paper, but the time and effort spent on each stage depends on the type of essay .

For example, if you’ve been assigned a five-paragraph expository essay for a high school class, you’ll probably spend the most time on the writing stage; for a college-level argumentative essay , on the other hand, you’ll need to spend more time researching your topic and developing an original argument before you start writing.

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Before you start writing, you should make sure you have a clear idea of what you want to say and how you’re going to say it. There are a few key steps you can follow to make sure you’re prepared:

• Understand your assignment: What is the goal of this essay? What is the length and deadline of the assignment? Is there anything you need to clarify with your teacher or professor?
• Define a topic: If you’re allowed to choose your own topic , try to pick something that you already know a bit about and that will hold your interest.
• Do your research: Read  primary and secondary sources and take notes to help you work out your position and angle on the topic. You’ll use these as evidence for your points.
• Come up with a thesis:  The thesis is the central point or argument that you want to make. A clear thesis is essential for a focused essay—you should keep referring back to it as you write.
• Create an outline: Map out the rough structure of your essay in an outline . This makes it easier to start writing and keeps you on track as you go.

Once you’ve got a clear idea of what you want to discuss, in what order, and what evidence you’ll use, you’re ready to start writing.

The introduction sets the tone for your essay. It should grab the reader’s interest and inform them of what to expect. The introduction generally comprises 10–20% of the text.

1. Hook your reader

The first sentence of the introduction should pique your reader’s interest and curiosity. This sentence is sometimes called the hook. It might be an intriguing question, a surprising fact, or a bold statement emphasizing the relevance of the topic.

Let’s say we’re writing an essay about the development of Braille (the raised-dot reading and writing system used by visually impaired people). Our hook can make a strong statement about the topic:

The invention of Braille was a major turning point in the history of disability.

2. Provide background on your topic

Next, it’s important to give context that will help your reader understand your argument. This might involve providing background information, giving an overview of important academic work or debates on the topic, and explaining difficult terms. Don’t provide too much detail in the introduction—you can elaborate in the body of your essay.

3. Present the thesis statement

Next, you should formulate your thesis statement— the central argument you’re going to make. The thesis statement provides focus and signals your position on the topic. It is usually one or two sentences long. The thesis statement for our essay on Braille could look like this:

As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness.

4. Map the structure

In longer essays, you can end the introduction by briefly describing what will be covered in each part of the essay. This guides the reader through your structure and gives a preview of how your argument will develop.

The invention of Braille marked a major turning point in the history of disability. The writing system of raised dots used by blind and visually impaired people was developed by Louis Braille in nineteenth-century France. In a society that did not value disabled people in general, blindness was particularly stigmatized, and lack of access to reading and writing was a significant barrier to social participation. The idea of tactile reading was not entirely new, but existing methods based on sighted systems were difficult to learn and use. As the first writing system designed for blind people’s needs, Braille was a groundbreaking new accessibility tool. It not only provided practical benefits, but also helped change the cultural status of blindness. This essay begins by discussing the situation of blind people in nineteenth-century Europe. It then describes the invention of Braille and the gradual process of its acceptance within blind education. Subsequently, it explores the wide-ranging effects of this invention on blind people’s social and cultural lives.

Write your essay introduction

The body of your essay is where you make arguments supporting your thesis, provide evidence, and develop your ideas. Its purpose is to present, interpret, and analyze the information and sources you have gathered to support your argument.

Length of the body text

The length of the body depends on the type of essay. On average, the body comprises 60–80% of your essay. For a high school essay, this could be just three paragraphs, but for a graduate school essay of 6,000 words, the body could take up 8–10 pages.

Paragraph structure

To give your essay a clear structure , it is important to organize it into paragraphs . Each paragraph should be centered around one main point or idea.

That idea is introduced in a  topic sentence . The topic sentence should generally lead on from the previous paragraph and introduce the point to be made in this paragraph. Transition words can be used to create clear connections between sentences.

After the topic sentence, present evidence such as data, examples, or quotes from relevant sources. Be sure to interpret and explain the evidence, and show how it helps develop your overall argument.

Lack of access to reading and writing put blind people at a serious disadvantage in nineteenth-century society. Text was one of the primary methods through which people engaged with culture, communicated with others, and accessed information; without a well-developed reading system that did not rely on sight, blind people were excluded from social participation (Weygand, 2009). While disabled people in general suffered from discrimination, blindness was widely viewed as the worst disability, and it was commonly believed that blind people were incapable of pursuing a profession or improving themselves through culture (Weygand, 2009). This demonstrates the importance of reading and writing to social status at the time: without access to text, it was considered impossible to fully participate in society. Blind people were excluded from the sighted world, but also entirely dependent on sighted people for information and education.

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The conclusion is the final paragraph of an essay. It should generally take up no more than 10–15% of the text . A strong essay conclusion :

• Returns to your thesis
• Ties together your main points
• Shows why your argument matters

A great conclusion should finish with a memorable or impactful sentence that leaves the reader with a strong final impression.

What not to include in a conclusion

To make your essay’s conclusion as strong as possible, there are a few things you should avoid. The most common mistakes are:

• Including new arguments or evidence
• Undermining your arguments (e.g. “This is just one approach of many”)
• Using concluding phrases like “To sum up…” or “In conclusion…”

Braille paved the way for dramatic cultural changes in the way blind people were treated and the opportunities available to them. Louis Braille’s innovation was to reimagine existing reading systems from a blind perspective, and the success of this invention required sighted teachers to adapt to their students’ reality instead of the other way around. In this sense, Braille helped drive broader social changes in the status of blindness. New accessibility tools provide practical advantages to those who need them, but they can also change the perspectives and attitudes of those who do not.

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Checklist: Essay

My essay follows the requirements of the assignment (topic and length ).

My introduction sparks the reader’s interest and provides any necessary background information on the topic.

My introduction contains a thesis statement that states the focus and position of the essay.

I use paragraphs to structure the essay.

I use topic sentences to introduce each paragraph.

Each paragraph has a single focus and a clear connection to the thesis statement.

I make clear transitions between paragraphs and ideas.

My conclusion doesn’t just repeat my points, but draws connections between arguments.

I don’t introduce new arguments or evidence in the conclusion.

I have given an in-text citation for every quote or piece of information I got from another source.

I have included a reference page at the end of my essay, listing full details of all my sources.

My citations and references are correctly formatted according to the required citation style .

My essay has an interesting and informative title.

I have followed all formatting guidelines (e.g. font, page numbers, line spacing).

Your essay meets all the most important requirements. Our editors can give it a final check to help you submit with confidence.

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An essay is a focused piece of writing that explains, argues, describes, or narrates.

In high school, you may have to write many different types of essays to develop your writing skills.

Academic essays at college level are usually argumentative : you develop a clear thesis about your topic and make a case for your position using evidence, analysis and interpretation.

The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

Your essay introduction should include three main things, in this order:

• An opening hook to catch the reader’s attention.
• Relevant background information that the reader needs to know.
• A thesis statement that presents your main point or argument.

The length of each part depends on the length and complexity of your essay .

A thesis statement is a sentence that sums up the central point of your paper or essay . Everything else you write should relate to this key idea.

The thesis statement is essential in any academic essay or research paper for two main reasons:

• It gives your writing direction and focus.
• It gives the reader a concise summary of your main point.

Without a clear thesis statement, an essay can end up rambling and unfocused, leaving your reader unsure of exactly what you want to say.

A topic sentence is a sentence that expresses the main point of a paragraph . Everything else in the paragraph should relate to the topic sentence.

At college level, you must properly cite your sources in all essays , research papers , and other academic texts (except exams and in-class exercises).

Add a citation whenever you quote , paraphrase , or summarize information or ideas from a source. You should also give full source details in a bibliography or reference list at the end of your text.

The exact format of your citations depends on which citation style you are instructed to use. The most common styles are APA , MLA , and Chicago .

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Today's NYT Connections Hints and Solution (Friday, June 14, 2024)

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Category clues for today's connections (#369), today's connections solution (june 14, 2024), how i solved today's connections puzzle, our top tips to beat connections every day.

Connections requires players to find the connections between 16 words, and place them in four groups of four. If you want some help, we have the solution to Connections for Friday, June 14, 2024, along with hints to help you solve it yourself.

SPOILERS AHEAD (CLUES)

Today, as every day, you need to split the 16 words that make up the Connections puzzle grid into four groups of four based on specific categories. It isn't as easy as it sounds. Fortunately, we're on hand to help you solve today's Connections puzzle .

If you want to jump straight to today's Connections solution, scroll past the next spoiler warning. However, if you'd rather see some hints designed to help you solve it without giving the answers away first:

• Yellow: "Work that short-form writers produce"
• Green: "A singer with a name that's also a color would belong here"
• Blue: "Charlie Lima Uniform Echo is a clue, literally"
• Purple: "Almost but not quite number one"

SPOILERS AHEAD (CATEGORIES)

If those clues aren't enough, and you're still struggling to beat Connections #369 without running out of mistakes, here is the answer...

Today's Connections Categories

• Yellow = "Writing Assignments"
• Green = "Things That Are Pink"
• Blue = "NATO Phonetic Alphabet"
• Purple = "Associated With #2"

With the categories revealed, you should try to guess which words belong where. There are 16 words in total, with four belonging to each category.

If you are still stuck despite knowing the names of each category, continue scrolling down for the 16 words organized into their respective categories.

SPOILERS AHEAD (SOLUTION)

Today's Connections Solution

• Yellow: "Writing Assignments" = ARTICLE, ESSAY, PAPER, REPORT
• Green: "Things That Are Pink" = BUBBLE GUM, CARNATION, ERASER, FLAMINGO
• Blue: "NATO Phonetic Alphabet" = FOXTROT, HOTEL, VICTOR, YANKEE
• Purple: "Associated With #2" = DEPUTY, DEREK JETER, PENCIL, SILVER MEDAL

Takeaways from solving today's Connections...

• The most obvious red herrings are "pencil," "paper," and "eraser" as three words associated with writing or drawing. There's also "Derek Jeter" and "Yankee," as the former spent his whole baseball career as a New York Yankee.
• I found the Purple category impossible today, mainly as a result of being British. For starters, I didn't know who Derek Jeter was before Googling his name. I also didn't immediately think of #2 when I saw "pencil," as outside the US, pencils are graded on an HB scale. So it's a good job that these were the only four words left after solving the other categories.
• Shuffle the words as many times as you need. Shuffling the words around means you're more likely to spot the connections.
• Look for differences as well as similarities. The NYT is trying to trip you up, so look for what divides the words with similar meanings.
• Take your time, and don't rush into a guess. Connections isn't a timed challenge, so you have the luxury of planning everything out.
• Look for common themes over time. The more you play Connections, the more you'll spot recurring themes cropping up regularly.
• Tune into the NYT editors' way of thinking. It's the puzzle setters you're competing against, so you need to understand their game plan.

Now that you have completed today's Connections puzzle (with a little help from your friends at MUO), you should check out some of the other free games from the New York Times.

Wordle is the best-known of them all, and challenges you to find a 5-letter word within six guesses. For every letter you find, you get told if it's in the correct place, allowing you to whittle down the possible options. If you need help with Wordle, check out our tips and tricks to improve your Wordle score .

There's also Strands, the newest addition to the New York Times' burgeoning list of games. Just like Connections, it's extremely challenging, but in a unique string-the-letters-together way. We recommend you check out our best tips for beating Strands to give yourself a leg up on the daily challenge.

Or, if you're really only into Connections but want more tips than are offered above, check out our longer list of Connections tips and tricks .

• Puzzle Games

The Difference between an Essay and a Letter

While your grandmother would probably be happy and proud to read your latest essay, she'd more than likely prefer that you just write her a nice letter. The reason is that the audience and point of a letter are usually more personal. If you really want to impress her with how smart you are, you can also send her a letter using the formal structure.

Structure in letter-writing can be quite specific. For a traditional formal letter, an address is printed at the top of the page, a greeting or salutation to the intended recipient or group of recipients begins the writing portion, the body can be made up of single or multiple paragraphs, and a signature by the writer is expected at the end.

The structure of a traditional essay is also specific, but quite different from a letter. Essays begin with a headline, include a thesis statement, have multiple paragraphs with topic sentences that relate back to and further explain the thesis of the essay, and a concluding paragraph that sums up the body's points come at the end.

Who are You Talking To?

Essays and formal letters usually have different audiences. Letters are written with a recipient or group of recipients in mind and are not required to make sense to anyone but those recipients. For instance, if you write a letter to your grandmother asking for details on the family reunion, you probably won't have to explain the history of your family reunions. She's been to all of them, so she already knows Aunt Marge will be bringing the potato salad and that no one will want to eat it.

An essay should make a point clear to anyone who reads it. An idea must be presented in the form of a thesis statement and then must be fully explained to an intended audience that a writer assumes has no background information on the subject. That audience can be anyone, there is rarely anything too personal in the communication between a writer and an essay reader.

What's Your Point?

Like an essay, some letters are written with the intention to inform its readers. However, many letters are written with no other purpose than communication. This is why the tone of a letter is generally far less formal than an essay and rarely requires that the writer provide backup arguments or sources.

Sending a surprise letter to a family member or friend makes you a good communicator. Sending an essay to anyone who didn't ask for one just makes you look like a show-off.

How to Write an Essay Without Using I

Kimberley mcgee, 27 jun 2018.

Although it's all about you, it really isn’t if you want to get your point across with good effect. Keeping clear of using the first-person point of view in an important composition, such as an essay, cover letter or thesis can feel like a daunting endeavor. However, there are a few ways to write around the first-person conundrum that can send fledgling essayists over the edge.

Explore this article

• Cardinal Rules
• When to Use the Second Person

1 Cardinal Rules

Why is it such a no-no to interject an “I” or two into your work? If you pepper your paper with first-person references, you make the work appear less objective. The reader is turned off by your constant reference to yourself because it can make you sound biased. Stand on the facts and let them fly while presenting them in the second person. Rely on the names of authors, institutions you’ve worked for and titles of major works to present your case.

In some cases, you may find yourself absolutely stuck with referring to yourself. In that case, you can refer to yourself in the third person, such as “In this writer’s opinion” or “This author concludes” to avoid using the lowly “I” that tears the reader’s attention away from the point. Dump the passive voice for stronger sentence structure. For example, “I gathered the results” is changed to “The results were gathered.”

Often, you can turn the perspective around to avoid using the first person. If you find yourself discussing yourself, return the reader to the subject at hand by saying, “This thesis will reveal” rather than “I will describe in this thesis.”

Be direct in your statements and avoid interjecting your opinion. The information should be strong enough to stand on its own without your opinion supporting it into fact.

2 When to Use the Second Person

It’s not ideal, but there are a few instances in which using second-person references can work to your advantage. Be careful, though, as using the second person “you” gives a more conversational connotation to your piece. This can be welcome in some instances, but it can also throw the reader off your subject and downplay the strength of your work. Alternatives to “you” can be “people,” “one” or “the reader.” This is best used for academic works where the second person “you” may lessen the impact of your work.

Take your time and go through your finished piece to find all references to the first person, including “I,” “me” and “mine.” Rework the sentence with the suggestions above and you'll have a stronger piece overall. Remember to emphasize the experience, event, article or business before interjecting yourself.

• 1 Essay Homework Help: When and How to Write an Essay About Yourself Without Using I
• 2 The Writing Center: Should I use "I"?

About the Author

Kimberley McGee is an award-winning journalist with 20+ years of experience writing about education, jobs, business and more for The New York Times, Las Vegas Review-Journal, Today’s Parent and other publications. She graduated with a B.A. in Journalism from UNLV. Her full bio and clips can be seen at www.vegaswriter.com.

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My Father’s Day Gift From the F.B.I.

By Samuel G. Freedman

Mr. Freedman is a journalist, the author of several books and a professor at Columbia University.

On an otherwise pleasant day in May 1957, my father received two unwelcome visitors at his tool-and-die factory. They were F.B.I. agents acting on years of informants’ tips that Dad had been a Communist Party member. The agents intended to use that information as leverage to turn my father, too, into a snitch.

I learned of this encounter earlier this year thanks to my son, Aaron, a graduate student in history. Having grown up hearing family stories about my father’s lifelong radical politics, Aaron put through a Freedom of Information Act request for the F.B.I. file on David Freedman of Highland Park, N.J., birth date March 22, 1921.

That file is a reminder of what I inherited from him — not just his politics, but the convictions that they were built on. And it has revealed to me and my siblings, Carol and Ken, details of my father’s actions under severe duress that were more impressive than anything we had anticipated.

The existence of the file came as no surprise. We knew, and were proud of, our father’s upbringing in the anarchist colony in the Stelton section of Piscataway, N.J. We basked in reflected subversive glory when an eminent historian of American anarchism, Paul Avrich, wrote about Stelton and our relatives there in several of his books. Dad would have been a logical enough target of scrutiny from J. Edgar Hoover’s F.B.I.

Nor were we surprised that Dad confirmed to the F.B.I. agents that he had indeed been a Communist Party member from about 1946 to 1950. At times, I’d chided him for being “the last Stalinist,” regaling us kids with tales of Soviet heroism at Stalingrad, convinced almost until his death in 2010 that the Rosenbergs had been falsely accused of being Russian spies.

Dad had first landed on the F.B.I.’s radar in a tip from a local police chief, according to the file, and subsequently five informants provided federal agents with intelligence. The names of two were redacted, but the three others showed up in the report, and I did research on them all. One, the postmaster in Stelton, an amateur boxer and war veteran, fed the bureau a stream of names of Stelton residents, including Dad, who were receiving mailings from Communist front groups as well as non-Communist pacifist organizations.

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How do you type a paper if you don't have Microsoft Word?

There is Notepad and Wordpad that come on your computer. Microsoft Word has clip art and special things, but you can type a regualr document on wordpad. Wordpad is more like Word than Notepad.

Like it's name, Notepad is really just for taking notes. People who make websites can use notepad to write their websites.

The simple answer is no. The *.doc file format is a Microsoft proprietary format that only Word can natively create.

However, there are multiple applications that can open, read and edit this file format. Some can even create their own version of the *.doc format that is compatible with Word.

A few examples are...

• Notepad: This is a simple text editor that can only create *txt files. However, many *.doc files may be opened and edited in Notepad provided that they are simple documents without any special formatting. Three things may happen if you try to open a *.doc file that Notepad does not understand. a: It will not open. b: The file will open but it will display garbage symbols. c: Improper formatting. (Line breaks, paragraph breaks and page breaks may be off.)
• WordPad: This is a Rich Text Format (*.rtf) editor. It can open and read almost all *.doc files, but it can only create files in rich text, text, MS-DOS text and Unicode text file formats.
• Open Office: This is a full-fledged open source, and therefore free, office suite. It can open, read, edit and create documents in virtually any file format that Microsoft Office can create. However, there is a caveat. Open Office uses it's own version of the *.doc format. (The same is true for the entire array of Microsoft proprietary file formats that Open Office supports.) If you create a *.doc file in one suite it will almost never display correctly in the other suit.

Add your answer:

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