25 Objective language

General

Written academic language is in general objective rather than personal. It therefore has fewer words that refer to the writer or to the reader, and avoids using first person pronouns. This means that the main emphasis is on the data and on the arguments. Examples of objective and impersonal language:

• This report attempts to…
• It is worthwhile to consider…
• The data indicate that…
• More concrete evidence is needed before …

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