More specifically, I was forbidden for using such phrases as “In my opinion” or “I think” or “I believe” on the grounds that
1) “it’s not the correct style for an academic essay”
and
2) “you’re the author, so saying ‘I believe X’ instead of just ‘X’ is redundant.”
Perhaps ironically, my 9th grade English teacher spent a month or so on the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand… I believe it was my 10th grade English teacher that was the source of the injunction against the use of the word “I” though...
Did you by any chance go to high school in a Randian dystopia?
Heh.
More specifically, I was forbidden for using such phrases as “In my opinion” or “I think” or “I believe” on the grounds that
1) “it’s not the correct style for an academic essay”
and
2) “you’re the author, so saying ‘I believe X’ instead of just ‘X’ is redundant.”
Perhaps ironically, my 9th grade English teacher spent a month or so on the novel Anthem by Ayn Rand… I believe it was my 10th grade English teacher that was the source of the injunction against the use of the word “I” though...