how to talk in 3rd person in an essay

• PRO Courses Guides New Tech Help Pro Expert Videos About wikiHow Pro Upgrade Sign In
• EDIT Edit this Article
• EXPLORE Tech Help Pro About Us Random Article Quizzes Request a New Article Community Dashboard This Or That Game Popular Categories Arts and Entertainment Artwork Books Movies Computers and Electronics Computers Phone Skills Technology Hacks Health Men's Health Mental Health Women's Health Relationships Dating Love Relationship Issues Hobbies and Crafts Crafts Drawing Games Education & Communication Communication Skills Personal Development Studying Personal Care and Style Fashion Hair Care Personal Hygiene Youth Personal Care School Stuff Dating All Categories Arts and Entertainment Finance and Business Home and Garden Relationship Quizzes Cars & Other Vehicles Food and Entertaining Personal Care and Style Sports and Fitness Computers and Electronics Health Pets and Animals Travel Education & Communication Hobbies and Crafts Philosophy and Religion Work World Family Life Holidays and Traditions Relationships Youth
• Browse Articles
• Learn Something New
• Quizzes Hot
• This Or That Game
• Train Your Brain
• Explore More
• Support wikiHow
• About wikiHow
• Log in / Sign up
• Education and Communications
• Editing and Style

How to Write in Third Person

Last Updated: May 10, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Alicia Cook . Alicia Cook is a Professional Writer based in Newark, New Jersey. With over 12 years of experience, Alicia specializes in poetry and uses her platform to advocate for families affected by addiction and to fight for breaking the stigma against addiction and mental illness. She holds a BA in English and Journalism from Georgian Court University and an MBA from Saint Peter’s University. Alicia is a bestselling poet with Andrews McMeel Publishing and her work has been featured in numerous media outlets including the NY Post, CNN, USA Today, the HuffPost, the LA Times, American Songwriter Magazine, and Bustle. She was named by Teen Vogue as one of the 10 social media poets to know and her poetry mixtape, “Stuff I’ve Been Feeling Lately” was a finalist in the 2016 Goodreads Choice Awards. There are 7 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 1,139,300 times.

Writing in third person can be a simple task, with a little practice. For academic purposes, third person writing means that the writer must avoid using subjective pronouns like “I” or “you.” For creative writing purposes, there are differences between third person omniscient, limited, objective, and episodically limited points of view. Choose which one fits your writing project.

Writing Third Person Point of View

The third-person point of view discusses the person or people being talked about in academic or creative writing. In this perspective, you’d shift focus from subject to subject. Use pronouns like he/him, she/her, they/them, or it/itself.

Writing in Third Person Academically

• Third person helps the writing stay focused on facts and evidence instead of personal opinion.

• Third person pronouns include: he, she, it; his, her, its; him, her, it; himself, herself, itself; they; them; their; themselves.
• Names of other people are also considered appropriate for third person use.
• Example: “ Smith believes differently. According to his research, earlier claims on the subject are incorrect.”

• First person pronouns include: I, me, my, mine, myself, we, us, our, ours, ourselves. [3] X Research source
• The problem with first person is that, academically speaking, it sounds too personalized and too subjective. In other words, it may be difficult to convince the reader that the views and ideas being expressed are unbiased and untainted by personal feelings. Many times, when using first person in academic writing, people use phrases like "I think," "I believe," or "in my opinion."
• Incorrect example: “Even though Smith thinks this way, I think his argument is incorrect.”
• Correct example: “Even though Smith thinks this way, others in the field disagree.”

• Second person pronouns include: you, your, yours, yourself. [4] X Research source
• One main problem with second person is that it can sound accusatory. It runs to risk of placing too much responsibility on the shoulders of the reader specifically and presently reading the work.
• Incorrect example: “If you still disagree nowadays, then you must be ignorant of the facts.”
• Correct example: “Someone who still disagrees nowadays must be ignorant of the facts.”

• Indefinite third person nouns common to academic writing include: the writer, the reader, individuals, students, a student, an instructor, people, a person, a woman, a man, a child, researchers, scientists, writers, experts.
• Example: “In spite of the challenges involved, researchers still persist in their claims.”
• Indefinite third person pronouns include: one, anyone, everyone, someone, no one, another, any, each, either, everybody, neither, nobody, other, anybody, somebody, everything, someone.
• Incorrect example: "You might be tempted to agree without all the facts."
• Correct example: “ One might be tempted to agree without all the facts.”
• This is usually done in an attempt to avoid the gender-specific “he” and “she” pronouns. The mistake here would be to use the “they” pronoun with singular conjugation. [5] X Research source
• Incorrect example: “The witness wanted to offer anonymous testimony. They was afraid of getting hurt if their name was spread.”
• Correct example: “The witness wanted to offer anonymous testimony. They were afraid of getting hurt if their name was spread.”

Writing in Third Person Omniscient

• For instance, a story may include four major characters: William, Bob, Erika, and Samantha. At various points throughout the story, the thoughts and actions of each character should be portrayed. These thoughts can occur within the same chapter or block of narration.
• Writers of omniscient narratives should be conscious of “head-hopping” — that is, shifting character perspectives within a scene. While this does not technically break the rules of Third Person Omniscience, it is widely considered a hallmark of narrative laziness.

• In a sense, the writer of a third person omniscient story is somewhat like the “god” of that story. The writer can observe the external actions of any character at any time, but unlike a limited human observer, the writer can also peek into the inner workings of that character at will, as well.
• Know when to hold back. Even though a writer can reveal any information they choose to reveal, it may be more beneficial to reveal some things gradually. For instance, if one character is supposed to have a mysterious aura, it would be wise to limit access to that character's inner feelings for a while before revealing his or her true motives.

• Do not use first person and second person points of view in the narrative or descriptive portions of the text.
• Correct example: Bob said to Erika, “I think this is creepy. What do you think?”
• Incorrect example: I thought this was creepy, and Bob and Erika thought so, too. What do you think?

Writing in Third Person Limited

• The thoughts and feelings of other characters remain an unknown for the writer throughout the duration of the text. There should be no switching back and forth between characters for this specific type of narrative viewpoint.
• Unlike first person, where the narrator and protagonist are the same, third person limited puts a critical sliver of distance between protagonist and narrator. The writer has the choice to describe one main character’s nasty habit — something they wouldn’t readily reveal if the narration were left entirely to them.

• In other words, do not use first person pronouns like “I,” “me,” “my,” “we,” or “our” outside of dialog. The main character's thoughts and feelings are transparent to the writer, but that character should not double as a narrator.
• Correct example: “Tiffany felt awful after the argument with her boyfriend.”
• Correct example: “Tiffany thought, “I feel awful after that argument with my boyfriend.”
• Incorrect example: “I felt awful after the argument with my boyfriend.”

• Note that the writer can offer insight or guesses regarding the thoughts of other characters, but those guesses must be presented through the perspective of the main character.
• Correct example: “Tiffany felt awful, but judging by the expression on Carl's face, she imagined that he felt just as bad if not worse.”
• Incorrect example: “Tiffany felt awful. What she didn't know was that Carl felt even worse.”

• Correct example: “Tiffany watched from the window as Carl walked up to her house and rang the doorbell.”
• Incorrect example: “As soon as Tiffany left the room, Carl let out a sigh of relief.”

Writing in Episodically Limited Third Person

• Limit the amount of pov characters you include. You don't want to have too many characters that confuse your reader or serve no purpose. Each pov character should have a specific purpose for having a unique point of view. Ask yourself what each pov character contributes to the story.
• For instance, in a romance story following two main characters, Kevin and Felicia, the writer may opt to explain the inner workings of both characters at different moments in the story.
• One character may receive more attention than any other, but all main characters being followed should receive attention at some point in the story.

• Multiple perspectives should not appear within the same narrative space. When one character's perspective ends, another character's can begin. The two perspectives should not be intermixed within the same space.
• Incorrect example: “Kevin felt completely enamored of Felicia from the moment he met her. Felicia, on the other hand, had difficulty trusting Kevin.”

• In a novel-length work, a good time to switch perspective is at the start of a new chapter or at a chapter break.
• The writer should also identify the character whose perspective is being followed at the start of the section, preferably in the first sentence. Otherwise, the reader may waste too much energy guessing.
• Correct example: “Felicia hated to admit it, but the roses Kevin left on her doorstep were a pleasant surprise.”
• Incorrect example: “The roses left on the doorstep seemed like a nice touch.”

• For instance, if Kevin had a talk with Felicia's best friend about Felicia's feelings for him, Felicia herself would have no way of knowing what was said unless she witnessed the conversation or heard about it from either Kevin or her friend.

Writing in Third Person Objective

• There does not need to be a single main character to focus on. The writer can switch between characters, following different characters throughout the course of the narrative, as often as needed.
• Stay away from first person terms like “I” and second person terms like “you” in the narrative, though. Only use first and second person within dialog.

• Imagine that you are an invisible bystander observing the actions and dialog of the characters in your story. You are not omniscient, so you do not have access to any character's inner thoughts and feelings. You only have access to each character's actions.
• Correct example: “After class, Graham hurriedly left the room and rushed back to his dorm room.”
• Incorrect example: “After class, Graham raced from the room and rushed back to his dorm room. The lecture had made him so angry that he felt as though he might snap at the next person he met.”

• Correct example: “When no one else was watching her, Isabelle began to cry.”
• Incorrect example: “Isabelle was too prideful to cry in front of other people, but she felt completely broken-hearted and began crying once she was alone.”

• Let the reader draw his or her own conclusions. Present the actions of the character without analyzing them or explaining how those actions should be viewed.
• Correct example: “Yolanda looked over her shoulder three times before sitting down.”
• Incorrect example: “It might seem like a strange action, but Yolanda looked over her shoulder three times before sitting down. This compulsive habit is an indication of her paranoid state of mind.”

Examples of Third Person POV

Expert Q&A

You Might Also Like

• ↑ https://stlcc.edu/student-support/academic-success-and-tutoring/writing-center/writing-resources/point-of-view-in-academic-writing.aspx
• ↑ http://studysupportresources.port.ac.uk/Writing%20in%20the%20third%20peson.pdf
• ↑ http://www.grammar-monster.com/glossary/third_person.htm
• ↑ https://www.grammarly.com/blog/use-the-singular-they/
• ↑ Alicia Cook. Professional Writer. Expert Interview. 11 December 2020.
• ↑ https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/point-of-view-first-second-third-person-difference
• ↑ https://ojs.library.dal.ca/YAHS/article/viewFile/7236/6278

About This Article

To write in third person, refer to people or characters by name or use third person pronouns like he, she, it; his, her, its; him, her, it; himself, herself, itself; they; them; their; and themselves. Avoid first and second person pronouns completely. For academic writing, focus on a general viewpoint rather than a specific person's to keep things in third person. In other types of writing, you can write in third person by shifting your focus from character to character or by focusing on a single character. To learn more from our Literary Studies Ph.D., like the differences between third person omniscient and third person limited writing, keep reading the article! Did this summary help you? Yes No

• Send fan mail to authors

Reader Success Stories

Jul 31, 2016

Did this article help you?

Jean Scicluna

Jan 31, 2021

Nov 4, 2016

Karen Evans

Aug 5, 2016

Oct 20, 2016

Featured Articles

Trending Articles

Watch Articles

• Terms of Use
• Privacy Policy
• Do Not Sell or Share My Info
• Not Selling Info

Get all the best how-tos!

Sign up for wikiHow's weekly email newsletter

7 Essential Tips for Writing in the Third Person

Table of contents

Alana Chase

Whether you’re a student, business professional, or writer, knowing how to write well in the third person is an essential skill.

But you may not be sure of all the rules or how to make your third-person writing shine.

As an editor and writing coach of 11 years, I’ve taught students and writers at all levels how to master the third-person point of view (POV). All you need to get started is a good understanding of third-person pronouns and a bit of practice for consistency. 

By the end of this article, you’ll know when and how to use third-person perspective. You'll also find helpful tips for taking your third-person writing to the next level.

Key takeaways 

• In the third-person perspective, the narrator is separate from the story. 
• Third-person perspective uses he/him/his, she/her/hers, and they/them/their pronouns. 
• Consistency is key: Don’t switch between perspectives in a single document.
• Practicing third-person writing and editing your work is vital to improving your skills.

What is third-person point of view (POV)?

In writing, there are three ways to tell a story: first-person, second-person, or third-person POV. 

First-person POV is from the narrator’s perspective: 

“ I saw the bird steal my sandwich, and I ran after it.”

Second-person POV is from the reader’s perspective: 

“ You saw the bird steal your sandwich, and you ran after it.”

Third-person POV, however, separates the narrator from the story and uses third-person pronouns (like he/him, she/her, and they/them) to describe events, actions, thoughts, and emotions. Characters are referred to by name or one of these pronouns: 

“ Alex saw the bird steal his/her/their sandwich, and he/she/they ran after it.”

Third-person POV is used in all kinds of writing — from novels to research papers, journalistic articles, copywriting materials, and more. Check out some examples below.

Examples of third-person perspective

• In a novel: “Robb and Jon sat tall and still on their horses, with Bran between them on his pony, trying to seem older than seven, trying to pretend that he’d seen all this before.” (From A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin)
• In a news article : “This weekend, Iceland experienced nearly 2,000 earthquakes within 48 hours. And they’ve kept coming since then – in swarms.” (From “Thousands of earthquakes have scientists watching for a volcanic eruption in Iceland” on NPR’s website )
• In copywriting : “Balm Dotcom’s formula has antioxidants and natural emollients to nourish dry lips.” (Website copy describing Glossier’s Balm Dotcom lip product )

7 tips for writing in the third person

Just like the first and second person, you’ve probably already written in the third person before. But to do it well , you’ll need some key tips and tricks in your writing toolkit. 

Let’s dive into the seven essentials for third-person writing.

Tip 1: Use third-person determiners and pronouns 

In grammar, determiners introduce and modify nouns. They’re used to specify what a noun refers to (like “ my laptop”) or the quantity of it (like “ many sandwiches”). 

Meanwhile, pronouns are substitutes for nouns, referring to people, places, or things. For example, “Caroline [noun] is a skilled musician, and she [pronoun] especially loves playing the piano.”

When you write in the third person, use only third-person determiners and pronouns. Let’s take a look at the different types of pronouns. 

Tip 2: Use names for clarity

In third-person writing, using names is crucial for clarity, especially when multiple people/characters share similar pronouns. Strategically incorporate names into your writing to help readers keep track of who’s who. 

For example:

‍ “She submitted the script draft to her, and she made suggestions for changes.”

‍ “Mira submitted the script draft to Lynn, and Lynn made suggestions for changes.”

Tip: Use a character or person’s name when introducing them in your writing. Then, alternate between using pronouns and their name to prevent confusion.

Tip 3: Keep the narration neutral

When you write in the third person, your narrator is an uninvolved observer. They have no opinions on the people, places, things, or events they describe. Their words and tone should be neutral (but not boring).

To achieve this in your writing:

• Think of your narrator as a reporter. Their job is to detail what’s happening, when and why it’s occurring, who’s involved, and any background information that can give context. They don’t offer a personal interpretation of events. Instead, they provide facts and supporting details.
• Save the judgment for characters. Rather than having your narrator share their critique of events or individuals, have a character offer their opinion — either through dialogue, actions, or reactions. For instance, instead of writing, “Dr. Shaw was a courageous woman,” let a character convey admiration by telling Dr. Shaw, “I’ve always admired your fearlessness.”
• Be objective with your descriptions. Avoid subjective adjectives and focus on observable features. For example, instead of describing a landscape as “breathtaking,” write that it’s “marked with snow-capped mountains and patches of tall pine trees.” 

Tip 4: Use descriptive language

Showing — and not just telling — is essential when writing in the third person. Instead of stating emotions and experiences outright, immerse your reader in your character’s reality. Create vivid descriptions of their thoughts, feelings, and surroundings. Use language that engages the senses: sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. 

For example: 

“Aisha was nervous.”

‍ “Aisha’s hands trembled, and her tongue felt dry against the roof of her mouth. The spotlight above the stage shone white-hot, causing beads of sweat to form along Aisha’s hairline.”

Tip 5: Be consistent

Once you establish a third-person POV, stick to it . Avoid switching from the third person to the first or second person. Otherwise, you’ll confuse the reader and disrupt the flow of your writing.

“Hannah felt a surge of excitement when her telephone rang, anticipating good news about her mortgage application. I felt my heart rate quicken as I answered.” (Switches from the third person to the first person)

“Hannah felt a surge of excitement when her telephone rang, anticipating good news about her mortgage application. She felt her heart rate quicken as she answered.” (Remains in the third person)

Tip 6: Practice

Writing in the third person might feel strange at first, especially if you’re used to using the first or second person. However, it’ll come more naturally to you with practice.

Here are two writing exercises you can try right now:

Writing Exercise #1

Take an excerpt from an article or book written in the first or second person and rewrite it in the third person. Below is an example using The Catcher in the Rye , whose main character is named Holden.

Before: “The other reason I wasn’t down at the game was because I was on my way to say good-by to old Spencer, my history teacher.”

After: “The other reason Holden wasn’t down at the game was because he was on his way to say good-by to old Spencer, his history teacher.”

Writing Exercise #2

Turn on a movie or television show, mute the sound, and closely observe two characters. Give them each a name. Using third-person pronouns and their names, describe the characters’ actions and what you believe they’re thinking and feeling. 

Above all, write in the third person as often as possible , following the tips in this guide. Remember, your writing skills are like muscles: The more you exercise them, the stronger they become. 

Tip 7: Carefully revise 

After you’ve written something in the third person, carefully review and revise your work. 

Check that your writing :

• Uses third-person determiners and pronouns accurately and consistently
• Incorporates names where pronouns may cause confusion
• Maintains a neutral tone, where your narrator doesn’t offer personal opinions or interpretations
• Doesn’t shift to the first or second person

Make changes where necessary, then read through your work a final time.

AI tip: Wordtune can help you self-edit and help improve your writing overall.

Paste your work into Wordtune’s Editor, or write in it directly, and use the features to shorten or expand your sentences, make your tone more casual or formal, and more. Wordtune will also automatically flag spelling and grammar errors and suggest ways to improve concision, clarity, and flow.

Get Wordtune for free > Get Wordtune for free >

Bonus tip (advanced): Learn the different types of third-person POV

Did you know there are three types of third-person POV? Getting familiar with them can help you make your writing even more impactful.

• Third-person objective , where the narrator is “a fly on the wall”: They provide an objective account of events without exploring people/characters’ emotions or thoughts.
• Third-person omniscient , where the narrator has unlimited knowledge of all events and characters’ thoughts and feelings. 
• Third-person limited , also called “close third,” where the narrator has access to just one character’s emotions, thoughts, and experiences. 

With this knowledge, you can choose the right perspective for your writing depending on its purpose, tone, and goals. 

For instance, use third-person omniscient to show readers what’s happening with everyone in your novel. Or, you could go for third-person objective in an academic paper where you must present facts without sharing your interpretation of them.

Writing well in the third person takes thought and effort. You must use third-person determiners and pronouns, weave in descriptive language, and keep your narration neutral. You also need to be consistent with your POV, ensuring you don’t accidentally switch to the first or second person. Finally, review and revise your work to make sure it’s clear and error-free. 

Using this guide — and Wordtune’s tools to polish your writing — you’ll get the hang of the third-person perspective in no time.

To continue sharpening your writing skills, read our articles on mastering tone of voice and writing concisely (with help from AI). Then, check out our proofreading guide to keep your work flawless . 

What is a third-person word example?

Third-person words are pronouns like “he,” “her,” “they,” “it,” “hers,” and “theirs.”

Should I write in the first or third person?

It depends on the closeness you want to create with your audience. The first person allows for a personal connection between the narrator and the reader, while the third person creates distance between the narrator and the audience.

What are the disadvantages of writing in the third person?

Third-person writing can lead to a lack of intimacy with the reader. This can be a disadvantage for some writers but an advantage for others, like those in academic and professional settings.

Share This Article:

Eight Steps to Craft an Irresistible LinkedIn Profile

7 Common Errors in Writing + How to Fix Them (With Examples)

How To Prepare For Studying Abroad (From Someone Who’s Done It)

Looking for fresh content, thank you your submission has been received.

Everything You Need to Know to Write & Speak In Third Person

Hrideep barot.

• Public Speaking , Speech Writing

The third person is frequently used in formal writing, such as research and argumentative papers. When you write in the third person, things become more impersonal and impartial. This impartiality makes the writer appear less prejudiced and, thus, more believable in academic and professional writing. The usage of the third person aids in keeping the text objective and away from subjective opinion.

Why should you write in Third-Person? 

In third-person narration, the narrator lives outside of the story’s events and describes the activities of the characters by using their names or the third-person pronouns “he,” “she,” or “them.” The story is not recounted from the author’s point of view. A third-person narrative differs from a first-person story, a personal account told using the pronoun “I.”

Flexibility : Third-person narration can be more flexible since you can flip between the stories of different people while still being everywhere and allowing your audience to see everything. You can switch between total omniscience and a distant or constrained third point of view. The latter method will enable you to experience a character’s thoughts, feelings, and experiences firsthand, which can help the audience have a more in-depth understanding of the narrative.

Trust : When writing in the third person, the narrator is placed above the action. This gives the reader a bird’s-eye view of the narrative. Since the narrator has no stake in the outcome, this perspective, together with the knowledge of at least one character’s thoughts gives the speech a more authoritative, trustworthy voice.

Types of Third Person Point of View

Third-person objective : The facts of a narrative are presented by an observer or recorder who seems dispassionate and impartial. The narrative is told in a detached and observant manner by the narrator.

Third-person omniscient : The narrator is fully aware of both the plot and the characters. This narrator may easily travel across time, enter anyone’s head, and provide the reader with both their own thoughts and views as well as those of the characters.

Third-person limited : The story is told from the viewpoint of a single character who recounts the facts and evaluates the occurrences. It is frequently known as a closed third.

Learning to Write in Third-Person

Using the correct pronouns .

Apply the appropriate pronouns. People “on the outside” are referred to in the third person. Either use third-person pronouns when referring to someone or use their name. He, his, himself, she, her, herself, they, and them are examples of third-person pronouns. The third person is also employed by using other people’s names.

Avoiding First and Second Person Perspectives 

First-person indicates the point of view when the author expresses ideas from a purely individual viewpoint. This viewpoint is excessively subjective and judgmental. In a formal essay, stay away from the first person. Pronouns in the first person are I, me, we, and us. 

The term “second person” describes a point of view that addresses the reader directly. Speaking directly to the reader as though the author personally knows them, this point of view displays an excessive level of reader familiarity. In academic writing, never use the second person. Words like you or yours are examples of this point of view.

Indefinite terminology is often used to refer to people in writing. In other words, they could have to refer to or talk generically about a person. The desire to use the second-person pronoun “you” generally arises at this point. It is permissible to use a noun or third person pronoun in this sentence. One, someone, another, any, neither, nobody, other, somebody, and everything are examples of indefinite third-person pronouns.

Incorrect example: “You need to read this thesis to understand the study better.”

Correct example: “Reading this thesis will help one understand the research better.”

Understand how to use Plural pronouns in Third Person

It is important to know when and where to use plural pronouns. When we write in the third person, the usage of they/them/theirs, is not just for when referring to a group, but also for singular individuals when we are unaware of their gender. People may use alternative pronouns. Employing “they” helps prevent misunderstanding that could arise from using “he,” “she,” or the “he/she” terminology. 

When writing in the third person, one error that writers frequently make is conjugating a plural pronoun as a single. Saying “They was the driver,” for instance, would be incorrect. The proper phrase would be “They were the driver.”

Being Objective

When you write in the third person, use the objective perspective if you are simply presenting facts to your listeners without any mention of feelings. When speaking from an objective point of view, the tone is frequently matter-of-fact and uninfluenced by any commentary or opinions or by any prior knowledge of events occurring elsewhere. You are just listing the facts and making inferences based on them without attempting to manipulate anyone’s emotions. Describe situations that could be moving while being factual.

Adding descriptions

We can use key details to improve characterisation and clarity. Mention it in more detail if the audience needs to know how difficult your labour was or how delicious the cuisine was. This is because while you speak or write in the third person, it is simple for the listener to become confused about what is being discussed. Therefore, it is helpful to reaffirm the situational circumstances.

For example: “The team received thunderous cheers.”

Updated Example: “The entire stadium thunderously cheered the squad.”

Use character evaluations

The perspective becomes clearer when you provide evaluations and insights from your character. Remember that adverbs have a strong role to play when you write in the third person. Words like surprisingly, definitely, oddly, and disastrously can convey the wants, concerns, presumptions, and confidence of the POV character. They also reveal who is performing the observations and evaluations.

For instance, we can say “the experimenter was presumably tired” rather than “The experimenter was tired.”

This demonstrates how we maintained the third person while avoiding adopting the experimenter’s viewpoint.

Using Third Person for Business

Writing in the third person offers the author more power while narrating a narrative since it enables them to be outside of the story and omnipresent. When creating a business proposal or report, the same rule applies. Now, the majority of corporate and professional writing rules advise the applicant to write in the third person . Compared to the first or second person, it is more formal.

Avoid switching between the third and the first person. It is quite simple to unintentionally use the first-person narrative while drafting a business report. Check your work frequently to make sure you are not drifting into your own first-person perspective to avoid that. Pronouns like my, our, us, and I should be avoided. This is fixed during revising the work.

The first-person voice is typically employed in professional communications like business emails, letters, memoranda, and most other types of correspondence. This is why using the third person in your company papers is a risky move . One significant benefit, especially when it’s a delicate subject, is that you don’t come out as accusing. Instead of sa ying “You did not reach the yearly target goal,” use “The staff did not meet the annual target goal.”

The third-person account, which may be found in newsletters, adopts an authoritative and impartial tone. When one writes in the third person, they come out as being more detached, especially when writing about poor attendance at the office. It doesn’t sound like they are blaming the reader.

Understanding the importance of the first and third person is essential in effective workplace communication. Here is an article to learn more about how to use effective communication.

Should you use the Third-Person for your CV or Resume?

Never write in the third person on your CV. The key to producing a superb CV is to avoid pronouns completely; since their use is assumed, applicants don’t need to mention “I,” “he,” or “she.” If you’re an executive assistant, for instance, you should simply state “Organized accommodation for staff” rather than “I coordinated accommodations for the staff.”

Use an action verb at the start of each bullet point in your list of duties to organise them into bullet points. Say “Generated reports” in place of, for instance, “I ran reports.”

First-person pronouns are frequently preferred by job applicants when writing their profiles. This is okay, but to preserve consistency and professionalism, the rest of the CV must utilise first-person pronouns as well.

We suggest using the absent first-person perspective and eliminating all first- and third-person pronouns from every section of your CV to make it stand out. It will help keep your resume professional (and not too personal) and could provide you with a little more room to discuss the talents that matter most.

Be mindful of whether you are using the present or past tense while writing your resume. To describe your current situation, use the present tense; to describe earlier ones, use the past tense.

Using the Third-Person in Academic Writing and Essays

You must use the third person pronoun when writing anything official, such as research articles or argumentative essays. That’s because it paints an objective rather than a subjective view of your work. By being objective in this way, your work will appear more credible and unprejudiced.

First-person pronouns are never appropriate in academic writing. This is because it will force you to look at your work subjectively . First-person pronouns make it challenging to persuade readers that your work is fact-based because it will appear to be your personal ideas. Avoid using your own words and instead cite sources. Words like “I feel” need to be dropped. Additionally, using “I feel” or “I believe” while writing an essay is useless because these words are not very assertive.

When you write in the third person, you concentrate on the facts at hand rather than your own ideas. You may provide your reader with proof by writing in the third person. Show whatever you know and provide support for your claims while writing in the third person. As opposed to stating “I think” or “I feel,” it won’t be as repetitive. If you have a piece by the Washington Post, for instance, you may remark “According to the Washington Post…”

As for the second-person point of view, this is a point of view that speaks directly to the readers. The issue with this point of view is that it gives the impression that you know the readers well. It is advisable to avoid this since it may quickly become direct or accusing .

Converting First and Second Person to Third Person

Using the first and the second person in writing is something that comes more naturally to us since these are the voices used in daily life. Follow these procedures to remove the first and second person and write in the third person:

1. As you read the article, keep an eye out for first- or second-person pronouns . Keep an eye out for any personal anecdotes that could demand the usage of first-person. Use a highlighter or a pen to highlight these words.

2. Go back to any words you marked. Drop expressions like “I think” or “I believe”.

Example: I believe counselling to be quite beneficial.

Updated Example: Counseling is really beneficial.

3 . Could any of the remaining words be changed to third-person terms ?

Example: You need to ensure that all of your students have stationery.

Updated Example: A teacher is responsible for ensuring that all of their students have stationery.

4. Can personal stories be altered into hypothetical ones if they are still present and cannot be amended or removed?

Example: As a person who goes to the gym, I know some people who could buy this product.

Updated example: Many gym-goers could be interested in purchasing this item.

By revising phrases or even altering words, it is simple to get rid of most instances of first- and second-person use. It is well worth the work to change and write in a third person paper since it produces a better, more objective argument.

Should you speak in third person?

Illeism is when we speak, think or write in the third person perspective about ourself. A common internal monologue that appears when we’re trying to decide what to do, thinking back on the past, or directing ourselves through ordinary situations is shared by many people. So is it weird to talk about yourself in the third person? Yes, in a way; it’s not typical for most individuals. However, it seems that using the third person while talking about oneself has helped certain people, according to psychologists.

Third-person speaking has previously been extensively researched and has been demonstrated to momentarily enhance decision-making. Currently, a PsyArxiv article reveals that it can also improve cognitive and emotional management over the long run. This, according to the researchers, is “the first indication of how wisdom-related cognitive and emotional processes may be taught in daily life.”

The fact that using detached self-talk to regulate emotions seems to require minimal effort is one of its most fascinating features. Along with reducing emotional overwhelm, third-person inner monologue also prevented cognitive control brain regions from going into overdrive( Moser et. al., 2017 ).

Consider the scenario when you and your partner are bickering. Taking on a third-person viewpoint may assist you in understanding their perspective or in accepting the limitations of your own comprehension of the issue at hand. Or assume that you are thinking about changing careers. You might be able to analyse the advantages and hazards of the shift with more objectivity if you adopt a detached approach.

First and Second Person

I had to leave my home for the first time ever and relocate to the campus of the university. I had to choose between living in an apartment and a dorm. Although both have advantages, I believe the dormitories are superior. While we are transitioning to college, we have more opportunities for social engagement in the dorms. Food is also readily available to us . Also, throughout your first year of college, a resident assistant serves as your mentor and adviser. Dorms are a better match for me because of the social possibilities, endless food, and mentorship, even if apartments would provide me with more independence.

Third Person

Many students have to leave their homes for the first time ever and relocate to the campus of the university. They have to choose between living in an apartment and a dorm. Although both have advantages, it is usually believed that the dormitories are superior. While the students are transitioning to college, they have more opportunities for social engagement in the dorms. Food is also readily available to them . Also, throughout their first year of college, a resident assistant serves as their mentor and adviser. Dorms are a better match for the students because of the social possibilities, endless food, and mentorship, even if apartments would provide them with more independence.

One of the three writing styles you may employ when presenting a point of view is third-person writing. Although you may not be aware of it, chances are you have utilised all three when writing or speaking throughout your life.

Consistency and frequent practice are the keys to mastering the art of writing speeches and papers in the third person. Analyze and critique your work until it becomes the standard. In the beginning, it could seem a little complicated, but before you know it, you’ll have mastered the method. This will undoubtedly enable you to elevate your papers and presentations to a new level.

Enroll in our transformative 1:1 Coaching Program

Schedule a call with our expert communication coach to know if this program would be the right fit for you

Lost Voice? Here’s How to Recover Sore Throat and Speak Again

7 Keys to Emcee Like a Pro: Unlock Your Hosting Potential

8 Ways to Rise Above the Noise to Communicate Better

• [email protected]
• +91 98203 57888

Get our latest tips and tricks in your inbox always

Copyright © 2023 Frantically Speaking All rights reserved

Kindly drop your contact details so that we can arrange call back

Select Country Afghanistan Albania Algeria AmericanSamoa Andorra Angola Anguilla Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Aruba Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belarus Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Indian Ocean Territory Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Cayman Islands Central African Republic Chad Chile China Christmas Island Colombia Comoros Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia Faroe Islands Fiji Finland France French Guiana French Polynesia Gabon Gambia Georgia Germany Ghana Gibraltar Greece Greenland Grenada Guadeloupe Guam Guatemala Guinea Guinea-Bissau Guyana Haiti Honduras Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mayotte Mexico Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Myanmar Namibia Nauru Nepal Netherlands Netherlands Antilles New Caledonia New Zealand Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue Norfolk Island Northern Mariana Islands Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Puerto Rico Qatar Romania Rwanda Samoa San Marino Saudi Arabia Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands South Africa South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Spain Sri Lanka Sudan Suriname Swaziland Sweden Switzerland Tajikistan Thailand Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Turks and Caicos Islands Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Wallis and Futuna Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe land Islands Antarctica Bolivia, Plurinational State of Brunei Darussalam Cocos (Keeling) Islands Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Cote d'Ivoire Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Guernsey Holy See (Vatican City State) Hong Kong Iran, Islamic Republic of Isle of Man Jersey Korea, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Lao People's Democratic Republic Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Macao Macedonia, The Former Yugoslav Republic of Micronesia, Federated States of Moldova, Republic of Mozambique Palestinian Territory, Occupied Pitcairn Réunion Russia Saint Barthélemy Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan Da Cunha Saint Kitts and Nevis Saint Lucia Saint Martin Saint Pierre and Miquelon Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Sao Tome and Principe Somalia Svalbard and Jan Mayen Syrian Arab Republic Taiwan, Province of China Tanzania, United Republic of Timor-Leste Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of Viet Nam Virgin Islands, British Virgin Islands, U.S.

How to Write in the Third Person

You may have heard someone talking about third person POV in an English class or on a writers’ panel. What does it mean? POV stands for point of view, and any piece of prose writing has one. The point of view helps anchor the reader, and it makes the text easier to understand. Even in a story that doesn’t appear to come from a particular character’s voice, we can still assign the narration a point of view. When the point of view isn’t yours (second person) or mine (first person), then we call it third person narration. In this article, we’ll give you some tips to help you learn to write this way.

Your writing, at its best

Compose bold, clear, mistake-free, writing with Grammarly's AI-powered writing assistant

Avoid First Person

First person emphasizes the subjective point of view, and you can easily identify this writing style through the use of the pronouns “I” and “me”. Imagine an autobiography. The narrator explains his or her life by using phrases like this one: “I was born in a small town.” In a biography, written by another person, the text might read: “She was born in a small town.” That’s the difference between first person and third person. In first person, the narrator is the main character or, if not the main character, a character in the action. On the other hand, when a book is written in the third person, the story does not come from the point of view of a character. Instead, the writing describes things that happen to other people, characters besides the writer or the reader. 

First person writing can be identified by the use of the following pronouns:

Avoid Second Person

Second person narration comes from the point of view of the reader. A second person point of view can often be found in the self-help or how-to genres, as well as in choice-based adventure books. “Choose Your Own Adventure® gamebooks began life in 1979 as the first publishing effort of a new division at Bantam Books focused on younger readers,” according to Chooseco LLC . Today, 265 million books have been published in this style. Let’s look at the summary of one of these books for a memorable example of second person narration:

“ You are a mountain climber, headed to the Himalayas to find proof that the mysterious yeti really exists. When your best friend Carlos goes missing from base camp, the fate of the expedition is in your hands.” — The Abominable Snowman 

We added the bold font above to draw attention to some important pronouns. It’s easy to identify second person narration because it features second person pronouns:

What Is Third Person?

When a piece of writing does not assume the perspective of either the reader or the writer, it’s written in the third person point of view. Third person narratives have three distinct styles, known as third person objective, third person omniscient, and third person limited omniscient. You can recognize all three of these points of view through the use of third person pronouns, which include:

Third Person Objective

Imagine a history essay or a science article, written by a distant and neutral third party. The writer does not attempt to explain the perspective of any character; instead, he or she reports on the events with dispassion. If any opinions made their way into the text, they are properly attributed to the source. 

Congressman Smith said, “X, Y, Z.” His constituent disagreed, arguing A. 

The author of a third person objective article would never presume to speak for another person’s inner thoughts. Instead, the writer aims to present the facts and events in an orderly way, attributing the actions and dialogue to the proper characters. 

This writing style is frequently used in academic writing and professional writing, but it can be used by fiction writers as well. As long as the author does not place thoughts inside the heads of characters, third person objective can work for any style of prose writing. If a writer wanted the reader to understand a character’s emotional state, he or she would have to make reference to body language, facial expression, and dialogue; otherwise, the character’s thoughts would remain opaque. The internal monologue of any character remains off limits from the objective point of view. 

Third Person Omniscient

The third person omniscient point of view frequently appears in fiction writing. With this style, an all-knowing narrator has the ability to get inside any character’s head. That’s why an omniscient point of view can be thought of as “head-hopping.” The narrator has knowledge of everything. The characters have nowhere to hide—even their most intimate thoughts may be plumbed. Personal opinions and internal dialogue are all fair game, for any of the characters. In this style of writing, you can expect to see different points of view. As a reader, you can expect to know more about the different characters than the characters know about each other. 

Third Person Limited Omniscient

Sometimes a writer engages a third person perspective, but they elevate one character above the rest. The writer may expound on that character’s thoughts, inner dialogue, and perspective. The focal character for the third person limited point of view is often called the viewpoint character. Typically, the viewpoint character is a main character in the story. The writer provides the reader with comprehensive access to this character’s thoughts, but all the other characters must be understood through actions, gestures, and dialogue. The reader must get by with limited information, since they rely on what the viewpoint character knows. 

Still, the reader does not go “inside the head” of the viewpoint character completely. Rather than writing from the main character’s perspective in the first person point of view, the writer maintains a third person writing style. Without using first person pronouns, the author explores the thoughts of a single character. The narrator describes she and her, not I and me. 

She worried that she would be late, but didn’t bother to tell her sister. 

In the example above, the reader understands what the viewpoint character is thinking. On the other hand, the sister cannot read the viewpoint character’s thoughts. Likewise, the reader is not privy to the sister’s thoughts. 

The omniscient limited and omniscient POV appear most commonly in creative writing. In general terms, third person objective or first person would be a more common choice for essays, articles, and nonfiction books. 

Blending Perspectives

Now that you know the conventions for writing in first person, second person, third person objective, third person limited, and third person limited omniscient, you may want to revisit some of your favorite works of literature. Try to figure out their points of view, and think about why the author picked that perspective. 

In your research, you may come across some books that defy categorization. Moby Dick by Herman Melville and Ulysses by James Joyce come to mind. Both books shift between third person and first person narration. Many fiction writers, especially modernist writers, flout convention by using a number of different narrative styles within the same work. 

In creative writing, you should feel free to break the rules. Just be sure to understand the rules as you break them!

• https://examples.yourdictionary.com/examples-of-point-of-view.html
• https://www.britannica.com/art/novel/Narrative-method-and-point-of-view
• https://www.dictionary.com/e/1st-person-vs-2nd-person-vs-3rd-person-pov/
• https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/point-of-view-first-second-third-person-difference
• https://www.cyoa.com/

Kari Lisa Johnson

I’m an award-winning playwright with a penchant for wordplay. After earning a perfect score on the Writing SAT, I worked my way through Brown University by moonlighting as a Kaplan Test Prep tutor. I received a BA with honors in Literary Arts (Playwriting)—which gave me the opportunity to study under Pulitzer Prize-winner Paula Vogel. In my previous roles as new media producer with Rosetta Stone, director of marketing for global ventures with The Juilliard School, and vice president of digital strategy with Up & Coming Media, I helped develop the voice for international brands. From my home office in Maui, Hawaii, I currently work on freelance and ghostwriting projects.

Recent Posts

Act Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Independent Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Angel Number 222 Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

Cornerstone Meaning: Here’s What It Means and How To Use It

• Features for Creative Writers
• Features for Work
• Features for Higher Education
• Features for Teachers
• Features for Non-Native Speakers
• Learn Blog Grammar Guide Community Events FAQ
• Grammar Guide

How to Write in Third Person Point of View

Sarah Oakley

Whether you’re going to write a short story, a novella, or a novel, one of the most important decisions you’ll need to make is which point of view (POV) to use.

Third person is the most popular POV for fiction writers to use. It gives the reader a chance to experience the narrative from a perspective above, or on the shoulder of, the characters.

In this article, we’ll learn what the third person POV is, how it compares to other points of view, and how to write in third person point of view.

What Is Third Person Point of View?

Third person pov meaning, how to write in third person, third person pov examples, conclusion on how to write in third person pov.

Third person POV is when the narrator exists outside of the story. This narrator relates the actions of the characters by using their name or third person pronouns such as “she,” “he,” and “they.”

There are three types of third person POV that you can choose from. Each POV provides a different reader experience as they reveal different amounts of information about the narrative, characters, and setting.

To decide on a POV, think about the type of story you are telling and whether your readers need to be aware of certain details at each point in the plot.

1. Third Person Objective Point of View

The third person objective POV is a way to tell your story by giving the reader all the details within the scenes without including what is going on in the characters’ minds.

To write in the third person objective POV, you will need to create an unbiased narrator who doesn’t tell the reader the thoughts and feelings of the characters. Instead, your narrator will simply relay the actions and dialogue of the story in an objective, impartial telling of the events.

This is great for keeping distance between the reader and the characters. It’s like looking through the window of a stranger’s house and trying to figure out why everything is happening.

2. Third Person Omniscient Point of View

When writing in the third person omniscient POV, you give your reader an all-access pass to the thoughts and feelings of any character in each scene of your story. You can give as much detail about the scene as you can in the third person objective POV, but this time you can also include information from the characters’ perspectives.

The narrator you create to speak in the third person omniscient POV will need to relay the thoughts and feelings of all the relevant characters in the scene. You can do this by switching perspectives. This is sometimes called “head hopping.”

You can use head hopping to show conflict in the story. For example, one paragraph is from the main character’s perspective, as they give some important information to another character. Then, the next paragraph is from the perspective of the person who received the information, which shows their reaction to what the main character just said.

Third person omniscient is perfect for sharing all the little details about the world you have created and allows the reader to pick up clues that some characters might not have noticed. Some writers refer to the third person omniscient POV as an all-seeing being who likes to give their thoughts on the plot.

3. Third Person Limited Point of View

This narrator sits on the shoulder of your main character and tells the story from their perspective. It’s close to being first person, but the reader isn’t solely within the character’s mind and this narrator still uses third person pronouns and verbs.

Sometimes, the third person limited POV narrator sticks to a different character each chapter instead of one character throughout the entire story. We refer to this as a viewpoint character, as we are seeing the world from their perspective.

You are controlling the amount of information given to the reader by focusing on one character’s awareness, rather than all characters’.

First Person vs Third Person

First person POV gives readers full access to the thoughts and feelings of the main character, as they are the one telling the story. There isn’t a narrator getting between the reader and the character.

Another key part of writing in the first person POV is that the character uses first person pronouns to tell the story. They use “I,” “me,” “my,” and “myself” as they are talking about actions and experiences.

Remember : not all main characters notice everything going on around them. It can break the reader’s immersion if they are wondering how the main character knew they were about to die, but there were no clues it was about to happen. Not all characters are psychic!

If you’re aiming to stick to one character’s thoughts and feelings, but you also want to add in some extra details that are in the character’s peripheral vision, try the third person limited perspective.

This POV can be used to great effect in thrillers where you want to stay close to the main character, so the reader connects with them.

Meanwhile, you can also give clues about things that are about to happen that the character is unaware of. Let us watch in horror as the character falls down a hole we all saw coming, but could do nothing to stop them.

Second Person vs Third Person

Second person POV puts you, the reader, in the driving seat as the main character. The narrator breaks the fourth wall and speaks to you directly.

This perspective uses second person pronouns such as “you,” “your,” and “yourself” to bring the reader into the narrative. The narrator uses third person pronouns to refer to other characters.

Second person works well in stories where you want full immersion for the reader. Some people love the feeling of being dropped onto the rollercoaster of drama in a good story. This is why second person is used in video games and Choose Your Own Adventure stories.

However, it is one of the least used POV types by fiction writers. One reason for this is that it takes a lot of skill to write about the reader in a way that feels natural to them while also giving away the right amount of information for the story. You don’t want your reader to lose interest because they don’t agree with something the narrator has said.

Third person objective would be a better option if you don’t want to write as though your story is about the person reading it. The third person POV allows the reader to focus more on the narrative and everything else that’s going on around the characters.

So far, we’ve discussed what the third person POV is, but what does the “third person” part of that mean?

Third person is a grammatical style of writing that uses pronouns such as “she,” “he,” “they,” and “it.” It also uses proper nouns and names when referring to specific individuals and objects.

1. Decide If Third Person Provides the Right Reader Experience

Do you want to tell the story from within the mind of your main character? Do you want to make the reader the main character of the story? If the answer is no to both questions, it’s time to look at your options for writing in the third person.

2. Pick the Type of Third Person Narrator

Go over the details of your story and your characters. You will need to establish whether third person limited, third person objective, or third person omniscient is the best POV for your story.

3. Read Examples of Writing in Third Person

It’s important to take the time to analyze what works and what doesn’t work in third person narration. The best way to do this is by reading other works that use third person points of view.

Focus on the information they are sharing. Did it work? Would you have used a different type of narrator for that story?

4. Use a Consistent POV

Switching POVs is a habit that a lot of writers do if they’re writing in a POV they’re not used to. Don’t worry, it happens. However, being aware that this is something to avoid before you get 200 pages into your novel and realize you switched POVs back on page 90 can help you be more observant of your writing habits.

5. Use the Correct Pronouns—ProWritingAid Can Help!

The third person POV means using third person pronouns when your narrator is speaking. Remembering this is one of the best ways to catch yourself from slipping into different points of view.

You can stop yourself from using the wrong pronouns by using ProWritingAid’s pronoun report. It’ll highlight all the examples of pronouns in your text, so you can easily work through your story and change them back into the third person if you’ve made any mistakes.

6. Create a Trustworthy Third Person Narrator

Your third person narrator is the voice of your narrative. How do they tell the story? Do we believe them?

Readers need to feel like your narrator has the authority to tell these events in a way that satisfies them. If you want to share the thoughts and feelings of the characters, the narrator needs to sound like they are confident in the details they are sharing.

Third Person Objective Example

If you’re wondering how to show conflict when writing in the third person objective POV, we would recommend reading Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemingway.

Let’s look at an excerpt from the story:

The woman brought two glasses of beer and two felt pads. She put the felt pads and the beer glasses on the table and looked at the man and the girl. The girl was looking off at the line of hills. They were white in the sun and the country was brown and dry. “They look like white elephants,” she said. “I’ve never seen one.” The man drank his beer. “No, you wouldn’t have.” “I might have,” the man said. “Just because you say I wouldn’t have doesn’t prove anything.” The girl looked at the bead curtain. “They’ve painted something on it,” she said. “What does it say?” “Anis del Toro. It’s a drink.”

As you can see from this extract, the third person objective narrator is relaying the information about the scene without being biased to either of the characters. They do not quote the characters’ thoughts or feelings; they simply give details about their actions and words.

As a reader, you can still imagine what the characters are thinking and feeling, as the conflict is laid out bare for you to witness.

Third Person Omniscient Example

Readers of the third person omniscient POV expect the narrator to be all-seeing and all-knowing, so it makes sense that the narrator in Good Omens by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett is “God” or the “Almighty.”

Here’s an extract from the novel:

“Er. Okay,” he said. “I’ll, er, be off then. Shall I? Get it over with. Not that I want to get it over with,” he added hurriedly, aware of the things that could happen if Hastur turned in an unfavourable report. “But you know me. Keen. So I’ll be popping along,” Cowley babbled. “See you guys... see you. Er. Great. Fine. Ciao.” As the Bentley skipped off into the darkness Ligur said, “Wossat mean?” “It’s Italian,” said Hastur. “I think it means food .” “Funny thing to say, then.” Ligur stared at the retreating tail-lights. “You trust him?” he said. “No,” said Hastur. “Right,” said Ligur. It’d be a funny old world, he reflected, if demons went round trusting one another.

This example shows how the third person omniscient narrator pops into the heads of several characters in one passage. At the beginning, we’re in Cowley’s mind, which is shown by the phrase “aware of things that could happen if Hastur turned in an unfavourable report.” However, within a few lines, we pop into Ligur’s mind, which is apparent in the sentence, “It’d be a funny old world, he reflected, if demons went round trusting one another.”

Third Person Limited Example

If you’re looking for examples of third person limited narrators that tell the story from one character’s perspective, we would recommend reading Happily Ever After by Harriet Evans.

Let’s check out a section of the novel:

She knew his face so well, knew him so well, how he drummed his fingers on any spare surface, how he looked vague when trying to get out of things, how his mouth curled to the side when he was making a joke. But she’d never sat this close to him before, because he was her boss. It didn’t feel like that tonight. It was as if they were different people. It was nice. Rory was nice, but then, she’d always known that.

Romance writers like writing first person POV, but third person limited also works well in this genre, like in this extract. The narrator is giving us a direct connection to the mind of the main character (Elle). They do this by describing everything Elle’s noticed about the man she’s attracted to.

Elle realizes her boss has always been nice and we get the impression she’s always secretly wanted to date him. The narrator shows us this by giving us Elle’s perspective on what’s happening in the scene. It’s as close as the narrator can be without Elle telling the story herself.

As you can see, writing in the third person isn’t hard when you follow the step-by-step process. It’s a lot of fun to experiment with the different types of third person POV. Which one do you prefer?

Don’t forget, if you’re worried about slipping into different POVs within your writing, you can always use the ProWritingAid pronoun report to keep you in check!

Be confident about grammar

Check every email, essay, or story for grammar mistakes. Fix them before you press send.

##About Sarah is a romance writer with a passion for studying human connections and psychology. She lives with her fiancé and two cats in Gloucester, UK. When she’s not writing, Sarah enjoys visiting theme parks, singing along to rock songs, and planning her next vacation. ##Writing Experience Sarah is an aspiring screenwriter who hopes to see her name in the credits of a romance film one day. She has also written short stories and has had many ideas for novels in a variety of genres. ##Education Sarah has been studying the art of writing and film from the age of 16 and she holds a BA in Creative Writing.

Get started with ProWritingAid

Drop us a line or let's stay in touch via :

Table of Contents

Ai, ethics & human agency, collaboration, information literacy, writing process, third-person point of view.

Many academic disciplines ask their writers to use third person point of view (POV). If so, then writing in the third person is important because your writing will appear professional and credible.

You may occasionally use first person POV to create a more personal tone, or second person POV to command a reader to do something. This depends on the assignment requirements, or on what your instructor recommends. If you are receiving this comment, then you should consider revising your use of other points-of-view to write your project in third person POV.

Third Person Personal Pronouns

Note: While the above pronouns represent the third person, instead of using it , that , these , those or this , specific words or phrases will better help readers follow the writer’s logic.

How do you change first or second person to third person?

Here is a table that shows several common instances of first or second person in essays and some examples of how to revise to the third person.

When is third-person point of view used?

Third person is used when a degree of objectivity is intended, and it is often used in academic documents, such as research and argument papers. This perspective directs the reader’s attention to the subject being presented and discussed. Third person personal pronouns include  he, she, it, they, him, her, them, his, her, hers, its, their,  and  theirs .

Examples of sentences written from the third person point of view:

• She went to the library to consult with the reference librarian about her paper’s topic.
• When he got to his car, he was glad to see that his friend was waiting for him .
• The students entered the classroom nervously on the first day of class; they had not had the opportunity to become acquainted with their professor or with each other.
• Jenny and her friend used backpacks to simplify the task of carrying books, notebooks, writing tools and a laptop around campus.
• Human sex trafficking is a social problem that requires decisive action; its victims should be given the opportunity to escape the cycle of exploitation to which they have become slaves.

Brevity - Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence - How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow - How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity - Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style - The DNA of Powerful Writing

Suggested Edits

• Please select the purpose of your message. * - Corrections, Typos, or Edits Technical Support/Problems using the site Advertising with Writing Commons Copyright Issues I am contacting you about something else
• Your full name
• Your email address *
• Page URL needing edits *
• Comments This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Other Topics:

Citation - Definition - Introduction to Citation in Academic & Professional Writing

• Joseph M. Moxley

Explore the different ways to cite sources in academic and professional writing, including in-text (Parenthetical), numerical, and note citations.

Collaboration - What is the Role of Collaboration in Academic & Professional Writing?

Collaboration refers to the act of working with others or AI to solve problems, coauthor texts, and develop products and services. Collaboration is a highly prized workplace competency in academic...

Genre may reference a type of writing, art, or musical composition; socially-agreed upon expectations about how writers and speakers should respond to particular rhetorical situations; the cultural values; the epistemological assumptions...

Grammar refers to the rules that inform how people and discourse communities use language (e.g., written or spoken English, body language, or visual language) to communicate. Learn about the rhetorical...

Information Literacy - Discerning Quality Information from Noise

Information Literacy refers to the competencies associated with locating, evaluating, using, and archiving information. In order to thrive, much less survive in a global information economy — an economy where information functions as a...

Mindset refers to a person or community’s way of feeling, thinking, and acting about a topic. The mindsets you hold, consciously or subconsciously, shape how you feel, think, and act–and...

Rhetoric: Exploring Its Definition and Impact on Modern Communication

Learn about rhetoric and rhetorical practices (e.g., rhetorical analysis, rhetorical reasoning,  rhetorical situation, and rhetorical stance) so that you can strategically manage how you compose and subsequently produce a text...

Style, most simply, refers to how you say something as opposed to what you say. The style of your writing matters because audiences are unlikely to read your work or...

The Writing Process - Research on Composing

The writing process refers to everything you do in order to complete a writing project. Over the last six decades, researchers have studied and theorized about how writers go about...

Writing Studies

Writing studies refers to an interdisciplinary community of scholars and researchers who study writing. Writing studies also refers to an academic, interdisciplinary discipline – a subject of study. Students in...

Featured Articles

Academic Writing – How to Write for the Academic Community

Professional Writing – How to Write for the Professional World

Credibility & Authority – How to Be Credible & Authoritative in Speech & Writing

VIDEO COURSE

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Sign up now to watch a free lesson!

Learn How to Write a Novel

Finish your draft in our 3-month master class. Enroll now for daily lessons, weekly critique, and live events. Your first lesson is free!

Guides • Perfecting your Craft

Last updated on Nov 10, 2022

Third Person Point of View: The ‘He Said, She Said’ Narrative Style

Third person point of view is narrative style in which the narrator refers to all characters using the pronouns he , she , or they . An example of a sentence written in third person would be: 

She sat in the café waiting for her food to arrive. “What is taking so long?” she thought.

Writers can zero in on individual characters using third person limited , or zoom out and tell the story in third person omniscient , where the narrator is an all-knowing figure. Your POV choice will depend on what kind of story you want to tell, as you’ll discover in the next two posts in this series!

Here, however, we’ll simply cover everything you need to know about third person as a whole, and why writers might choose to use it over first or second person perspectives.

FREE COURSE

Understanding Point of View

Learn to master different POVs and choose the best for your story.

Third person stories often have a wider scope

First and second person stories are great for their immediacy, placing the reader right in the action. However, can be restrictive if you want readers to see the bigger picture. Complex stories with a large primary cast often benefit from a narrator who can swiftly move between characters and locations instead of being tethered to your viewpoint character. An example would be George R.R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series, an epic fantasy series sprawling in scope that features an entire chorus of POV characters. 

With each chapter break, Martin shifts to a new viewpoint character (while staying in third person), allowing him to span vast gaps in the geography of his world and give insight into each character’s personality.

The morning had dawned clear and cold, with a crispness that hinted at the end of summer. They set forth at daybreak to see a man beheaded, twenty in all, and Bran rode among them, nervous with excitement. This was the first time he had been deemed old enough to go with his lord father and his brothers to see the king's justice fine. It was the ninth year of summer, and the seventh of Bran's life.

The man had been taken outside a small holdfast in the hills. Robb thought he was a wildling, his sword sworn to Mance Rayder, King-beyond-the-Wall. It made Bran's skill prickle to think of it.

A Game of Thrones , George R.R. Martin

Martin’s third person narrator has the flexibilty to play this scene through the eyes of a nervously excited seven-year-old while also revealing useful expositional details like the idea of a “King-beyond-the-Wall” and Westeros’s decade-long gaps between winters.

Of course, one could argue that it’s possible to write a sprawling novel written from multiple first-person perspectives. But having an enormous cast all narrating in first person can be confusing, and would put a lot of pressure on the writer to sustain multiple convincing character voices. 

(Psst! For more help with characterization when dealing with a large chorus of characters, you can check out our free character profile resource below.)

FREE RESOURCE

Reedsy’s Character Profile Template

A story is only as strong as its characters. Fill this out to develop yours.

While third person narration can allow the reader a great deal of intimacy with viewpoint characters, there are added benefits to staying out of your protagonist’s head.

It’s great for intrigue and suspense

One challenge of writing in first person is knowing how to toe the line between what your narrator knows and what they should reveal. Third person adds a little more distance, making it easier to flesh out main characters or move the story along without divulging information you wish to reveal later on.

This lends itself particularly well to thriller and mystery novels, where some holding back certain bits of exposition is essential to heightening the suspense. It can also be useful when writing any kind of novel that wants to deploy backstory or character history at a time when it can have maximum impact.

On the other hand, the third person isn’t just great for characters keeping secrets from the reader. An all-knowing narrator can also be useful for creating dramatic irony , revealing details that the characters don’t know themselves. For example, in the final act of Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, Romeo discovers Juliet’s body. Unwilling to live in a world without the girl he has loved (for all of five days), he downs a vial of poison.

Come, bitter conduct, come, unsavoury guide!

Thou desperate pilot, now at once run on

The dashing rocks thy sea-sick weary bark!

Here’s to my love. O true apothecary,

Thy drugs are quick. Thus with a kiss I die.

— Romeo and Juliet (Act V, Scene III), William Shakespeare

At this point, the audience knows that Juliet is not dead — but merely sedated in a ploy to escape her family. The gulf between what the audience or reader knows and what the character knows creates an almost unbearable tension, bringing the story to its climax as Juliet awakens to discover her beloved’s corpse beside her.

Of course, dramatic irony can also be deployed more light-heartedly — for example, in comedies of error where humor is driven by a character misinterpreting the world around them. And speaking of understanding the world…

GET ACCOUNTABILITY

Meet writing coaches on Reedsy

Industry insiders can help you hone your craft, finish your draft, and get published.

Third person can help you build up your world

A third person point of view can be a great choice when your story requires a certain amount of descriptive worldbuilding. Whilst first and second person narrators certainly talk about their environment, third person narratives can offer a more natural way to include worldbuilding exposition, especially when extended passages of description might be required. 

A first person narrator probably might not take the time to intricately describe something they’ve seen a thousand times. If you live in a world where society is ruled by a giant brain from outer space, you probably wouldn’t pause your story to arbitrarily explain the backstory of ‘President Lobularr the Cruel.' But a third person narrator will have no limits to what they might want to zero in on at any point in the story.

Though an all-seeing narrator gives writers the freedom to reveal setting and backstory in any way they see fit, don’t forget that one of the effective ways to draw readers into a setting is by showing how a character experiences that world. For example, in this passage from The Vanishing Half , author Brit Bennett describes a humid Louisiana rainstorm from the perspective of her protagonist, Desiree.

Instead of telling the reader that “it was a hot, rainy day,” this passage employs several “showing” devices, including strong verbs and sensory descriptions (“the sky hung heavy and hot,” “water splattering against their ankles”). Bennett evokes one of Desiree’s memories packed with specificity — the girls duck under “eaves” rather than just roofs, and the word “shrieked” conjures a very particular sound. The result practically drops the reader next to Desiree as she braids her daughter’s hair, half-lost in a ripple of nostalgia. 

Written in third person, this passage is just as intimate and personal as it would have been were being narrated directly by Desiree, once again showing the versatility of this viewpoint.

Want to learn more about "show, don't tell"? You can check out our free 10-day course all about this golden rule of writing — it's useful for more than just third person narratives.

Show, Don't Tell

Master the golden rule of writing in 10 five-minute lessons.

It’s a viewpoint that doesn’t distract from the narrative

In its enduring popularity, third person narratives have become the default mode of storytelling around the world, pre-dating even thelikes of Homer (the epic poet, not the animated nuclear engineer). As a result of its long and impressive history, this viewpoint has thebenefit of instant familiarity.

Starting a story in third person helps readers settle in right away, rather than asking them to adjust to the particular voice of a first-person narrator or the unusual directness of second person . Ever found a story’s first chapter hard to settle into? This may be because of an unconventional narrative style or unanswered questions about who is doing the talking distracting you. Third person narratives are relatively easy to get into the swing of.

Which POV is right for your book?

Take our quiz to find out! Takes only 1 minute.

While many writers are keen to develop an utterly unique way of writing, most of the time, readers aren’t looking for something particularly experimental or opaque. In that way, the third person can be a writer’s best friend — a straightforward, versatile, and easily digestible narrative perspective that has stood the test of time.

And with that, we've concluded our post on third person point of view and how to write it! For more in-depth guidance on the two different styles of third person, limited and omniscient, be sure to check out the next couple of posts in this series.

In those posts, you’ll learn even more about which type of third person would best suit your own project, plus bonus tips on how to write in third person — to help you create a story that will be enjoyed by many more than three people, as it were.

Join a community of over 1 million authors

Reedsy is more than just a blog. Become a member today to discover how we can help you publish a beautiful book.

We made a writing app for you

Yes, you! Write. Format. Export for ebook and print. 100% free, always.

1 million authors trust the professionals on Reedsy. Come meet them.

Enter your email or get started with a social account:

BibGuru Blog

Be more productive in school

• Citation Styles

How to write in third-person

Although there are three narratives you can use in any form of writing when it comes to your papers and anything academic you produce, it’s best to choose the third-person. It’s pretty simple with a bit of practice, but if you’re completely new to this writing style, here’s what you need to know about how to write in third-person.

What does writing in third-person mean?

Writing in third-person is one of the three styles you can use when describing a point of view. Even though you might not know it, chances are you’ve used first, second and third person in writing projects throughout your education.

It’s a narrative where you’re totally independent of the subject you’re analyzing and writing about. You don’t take sides. You don’t try to influence what readers feel. It’s a completely unbiased, objective way of writing that tells a story or dissects a topic right down the middle.

There’s a lot of information out there about how you can differentiate between the three in roundabout ways, making it unnecessarily complicated. Here’s a quick breakdown to understand the differences for when you write your following paper:

First-person

This is from the I/we perspective. It’s where we talk about us , ourselves, and our opinions. If we go down the first-person route, writing will include pronouns like I , me , myself, and mine .

Second-person

This point of view belongs to the person you’re addressing — so its a you perspective. In your writing, you’d use second-person pronouns such as you , your, and yourselves .

Third-person

The third-person point of view is aimed at the person or people being talked about, which is the type of writing you’d find in stories. In this perspective, you’d use pronouns like he , she , him , her , his , hers , himself , herself , it , them , their, and themselves . Or, you’d use a name. But that tends to happen more in stories than research papers.

Notice the difference between the three?

When to write in third-person

The third-person point of view tells the reader a story and it’s often the go-to when you’re taking an authoritative stance in your papers, which is why it’s so common in academic writing.

So, always choose the third-person stance when writing academic copy, such as essays and research papers.

The reason for this is it’ll make your papers less personal and more objective, meaning the objectivity will make you come across as more credible and less biased. Ultimately, this will help your grades as the third-person view keeps you focused on evidence and facts instead of your opinion.

You can break third-person perspectives into three other types, including omniscient, limited, and objective. Although they’re more associated with creative writing than academic work and essays, your writing is likely to fall under the third-person objective point of view.

A third-person objective point of view is about being neutral and presenting your findings and research in an observational way, rather than influencing the reader with your opinions.

How to use the third-person point of view

Rule number one: Never refer to yourself in your essay in the third-person. That’s a no-no.

For instance, here’s how you shouldn’t write a sentence in your essay if you’re writing about virtual learning as an example.

“I feel like students perform better at home because they have more freedom and are more comfortable.”

It’s a simple sentence, but there’s a lot wrong with it when you’re talking about research papers and adopting a third-person narrative. Why? Because you’re using first-person pronouns and, as it sounds like an opinion, you can’t back up your claims with a stat or any credible research. There’s no substance to it whatsoever.

Also, it isn’t very assertive. The person marking your work won’t be impressed by “I feel like,” because it shows no authority and highlights that it came from your brain and not anywhere of note.

By including terms like “I think” or “I feel” like in the example above, you’re already off to a bad start.

But when you switch that example to the third-person point of view, you can cite your sources , which is precisely what you need to do in your essays and research papers to achieve higher grades.

Let’s switch that sentence up and expand it using the third-person point of view:

“A psychological study from Karrie Goodwin shows that students thrive in virtual classrooms as it offers flexibility. They can make their own hours and take regular breaks. Another study from high school teacher, Ashlee Trip, highlighted that children enjoy freedom, the ability to work at their own pace and decide what their day will look like.”

With a third-person narrative, you can present evidence to the reader and back up the claims you make. So, it not only shows what you know, but it also shows you took the time to research and strengthen your paper with credible resources and facts — not just opinions.

6 tips for writing in third-person

1. understand your voice won’t always shine in your essays.

Every single piece of writing tends to have a voice or point of view as if you’re speaking to the reader directly. However, that can’t always happen in academic writing as it’s objective compared to a novel, for example. Don’t try to ‘fluff’ up your piece to try and cram your personality in, as your academic work doesn’t need it.

2. Don’t focus on yourself or the reader — focus on the text

An academic piece of work always has a formal tone as it’s objective. When you write your next paper, focus on the writing itself rather than the writer or the reader.

3. Coach yourself out of using first-person pronouns

This is easier said than done if all you’ve ever done is first- or second-person writing. When you write your next paper, scan through it to see if you’ve written anything in first-person and replace it with the third-person narrative.

Here are a few regular offenders that pop up in academic papers — along with how you can switch the statements to third-person:

• I argue should be this essay argues
• I found that should be it was found that
• We researched should be the group researched
• I will also analyze should be topic X will also be analyzed

The same applies to second-person, as there are plenty of cases where it tends to slip through in academic writing. Again, it’s pretty straightforward to switch the more you practice. For instance:

• Your paper will be marked higher if you use a citation tool should be the use of a citation tool will improve one’s grades

4. Be as specific as possible

This is where things can get a little bit confusing. Writing in third-person is all about including pronouns like he, she, it, and they. However, using them towards the beginning of sentences can be pretty vague and might even confuse the reader — this is the last thing you want from your essay or paper.

Instead, try using nouns towards the beginning of sentences. For example, use the actual subject, such as the interviewer or the writer, rather than he, she, or they when you begin the sentence.

The same applies to terms like it. Start the sentence with the ‘it’ is that you’re describing. If it’s a citation tool, begin the sentence by referencing what you’re discussing, so you aren’t vague. Clarity is key.

5. Write in the present tense when using third-person

In any form of academic writing, you need to write your reports, essays, and research papers in the present tense, especially when introducing different subjects or findings.

So, rather than saying “This paper analyzed” (which does seem correct as technically that part was in the past and the writing is in the present), you should write “This report analyzes” — as if you’re analyzing right here and now.

However, the difference is when you highlight how you did the research, that should be in the past tense. This means you’d use third-person phrases like “The equipment that was used” or “The results were analyzed by”, for instance.

6. Avoid adding your own thoughts

If your report is on a subject that’s close to your heart, it can be super tempting to sprinkle in your own thoughts. It’s a challenge, but you need to coach yourself out of it.

In academic writing, you aren’t a commentator. You’re a reporter. You need to let readers draw their conclusions without over-analyzing them or making the reader lean one way or another.

The easiest way to get to grips with writing your academic papers in the third-person is to be consistent and practice often. Criticize your work and analyze it until it becomes the norm. Yes, it can be a little complex in the early days, but before you know it, you’d have mastered the technique, helping you take your papers and reports up a level.

Frequently Asked Questions about writing in third-person

In third-person, you’d use pronouns like he , she , him , her , his , hers , himself , herself , it , them , their, and themselves . Or, you’d use a name.

You is used in second person and is therefore not used in third person. The second person is used for the person that is being addressed.

The third-person point of view is aimed at the person or people being talked about, which is the type of writing you’d find in stories. When writing in third-person view, make sure to write in the present tense and avoid adding your own thoughts.

When writing in third person, you should actually always write in the present tense since you are mostly presenting results in this view.

The second person point of view belongs to the person you’re addressing — so its a you perspective. In your writing, you’d use second-person pronouns such as you , your, and yourselves .

Make your life easier with our productivity and writing resources.

For students and teachers.

How to Do the Write Thing

Get Paid to Write through the Power of Storytelling and Make Money Online to Work from Home

Everything You Need to Know for Writing in Third Person | 11 Tips

Everything You Need to Know for Writing in Third Person

What is writing in third person point of view?

“In third-person point of view, the author is narrating a story about the characters, referring to them by name, or using the third-person pronouns “he,“” she,” and “they.” The other points of view in writing are first person and second person.” Source.

What does writing in third person mean?

“When you are writing in the third person, the story is about other people. Not yourself or the reader. Use the character’s name or pronouns such as ‘he’ or ‘she’.”

What are the 3 types of third person point of view?

1. third-person omniscient point of view: .

“The omniscient narrator knows everything about the story and its characters. This narrator can enter any character’s mind, move freely through time, and give the reader their own opinions and observations as well as those of the characters. For example, Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is told from a third-person omniscient point of view, giving the reader full access to the main character, Elizabeth, as well as the characters around her.” Source.

2. Third-person limited point of view: 

“The third-person limited point of view (often called a “close third”) is when an author sticks closely to a single character but remains in third-person. The narrator can do this for the entire novel or switch between different characters for different chapters or sections. This point of view allows the author to limit a reader’s perspective and control what information the reader knows. It is used to build interest and heighten suspense.” Source.

3. Third-person objective point of view: 

“Third-person objective point of view has a neutral narrator that is not privy to any character’s thoughts or feelings. The narrator presents the story with an observational tone. Ernest Hemingway employs this third-person narrative voice in his short story “Hills Like White Elephants.” An unknown narrator relays the dialogue between a couple as they wait for a train in Spain. This point of view puts the reader in the position of a voyeur, eavesdropping on a scene or story.” Source.

Writing in third person examples:

Famous quotes written in third person: .

• “Those who find ugly meanings in beautiful things are corrupt without being charming. This is a fault. Those who find beautiful meanings in beautiful things are the cultivated. For these there is hope. They are the elect to whom beautiful things mean only Beauty. There is no such thing as a moral or an immoral book. Books are well written, or badly written. That is all.” ― Oscar Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Gray
• “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader. No surprise in the writer, no surprise in the reader.”― Robert Frost
• “Read, read, read. Read everything — trash, classics, good and bad, and see how they do it. Just like a carpenter who works as an apprentice and studies the master…” ― William Faulkner
• “Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It’s a way of understanding it.” ― Lloyd Alexander
• “A dreamer is one who can only find his way by moonlight, and his punishment is that he sees the dawn before the rest of the world.” – Oscar Wilde
• “A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” – Winston Churchill
• “A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new.” – Albert Einstein
• “Life is a succession of lessons which must be lived to be understood.” – Helen Keller
• “Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” – Victor Hugo
• “Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford
• “Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” – Michael J. Fox
• “It is not a lack of love, but a lack of friendship that makes unhappy marriages.” – Friedrich Nietzsche
• “A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.” – Lou Holtz

Third person writing in everyday advertising:

• Plop Plop Fizz Fizz. Oh, what a relief it is – Alka-Seltzer
• The King of Beers – Budweiser
• It’s the real thing – Coca-Cola
• A diamond is forever – De Beers
• The happiest place on earth – Disneyland
• It keeps going and going and going – Energizer
• When it absolutely, positively has to be there overnight – FedEx
• The Possibilities are Infinite – Fujitsu
• The best a man can get – Gillette
• It wouldn’t be home without Hellmann’s – Hellman’s
• It’s finger lickin’ good – KFC
• Nobody can do it like McDonald’s can – McDonald’s
• Good to the last drop – Maxwell House
• Maybe she’s born with it. Maybe it’s Maybelline – Maybelline
• The greatest tragedy is indifference – Red Cross
• Takes a licking and keeps on ticking – Timex

Third person point of view examples are all around us. We just have to keep an eye-out for them.

Third person writing in Known Literature:

• “”What are you doing?” Yossarian asked guardedly when he entered the tent, although he saw at once.”There’s a leak here,” Orr said. “I’m trying to fix it.” – Joseph Heller, Catch 22
• “Please stop it,” said Yossarian. “You’re making me nervous.” – Joseph Heller, Catch 22
• “When I was a kid,” Orr replied, “I used to walk around all day with crab apples in my cheeks. One in each cheek.” – Joseph Heller, Catch 22
• “Yossarian put aside his musette bag from which he had begun removing his toilet articles and braced himself suspiciously. A minute passed. “Why?” he found himself forced to ask finally.”  – Joseph Heller, Catch 22
• “Orr tittered triumphantly. “Because they’re better than horse chestnuts,” he answered.” – Joseph Heller, Catch 22
• “When Jane and Elizabeth were alone, the former, who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley before, expressed to her sister how very much she admired him.” – Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
• “He is just what a young man ought to be,” said she, “sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such happy manners! — so much ease, with such perfect good breeding!” – Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
• “He is also handsome,” replied Elizabeth, “which a young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His character is thereby complete.” – Jane Austin, Pride and Prejudice
• “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.” – George Orwell, 1984
• “Their commander was a middle-aged corporal-red-eyed, scrawny, tough as dried beef, sick of war. He had been wounded four times-and patched up, and sent back to war.” – Kurt Vonnegut, Slaughterhouse-Five
• “It was a dark and stormy night; the rain fell in torrents, except at occasional intervals, when it was checked by a violent gust of wind which swept up the streets.” – Edward George Bulwer-Lytton, Paul Clifford
• “He drank an Anis at the bar and looked at the people. They were all waiting reasonably for the train. He went out through the bead curtain. She was sitting at the table and smiled at him.” – Ernest Hemingway, “Hills Like White Elephants”
• “She walks in beauty, like the night Of cloudless climes and starry skies; And all that’s best of dark and bright Meet in her aspect and her eyes” – Lord Byron, “She Walks in Beauty”

Third person writing academic example:

“Third-person point of view identifies people by proper noun (a given name such as

Ella Clark) or noun (such as teachers, students, doctors, or players) and uses the

pronouns he, she, and they. Third person also includes the use of one, everyone, and

anyone. Most formal, academic writing uses the third person. Note the use of various

third-person nouns and pronouns in the following:

“ The bosses at the factory have decided that employees need a day of in-house

training. Times have been scheduled for everyone. Several senior employees will

be required to make five-minute presentations. One is not eager to speak in front of

others since she’s very shy. Another one, however, is anxious to relate her

expertise. The variation in routine should provide an interesting day for all people

concerned. ””

“Use third person for all academic writing:

For formal writing, such as research and argumentative papers, use the third person. Third person makes your writing more objective and less personal. For academic and professional writing, this sense of objectivity allows the writer to seem less biased and, therefore, more credible.[1]

Third person helps the writing stay focused on facts and evidence instead of personal opinion.”

How to write in third person about yourself.

Even though third person speaks about others and doesn’t use the pronouns I or we, how do I write about myself in third person?

Just use a story or event that you experienced and give the character you are following (yourself) a different name and write about that character as if you were talking about someone else. “Jimmy went to the park. He rode his bike there. On the way, he crashed. He had to go to the ER.” Even if those events really happened to you, you were still able to write about your true to life experiences in the third person.

Tips and Tricks for Writing in Third Person:

1. create a narrator’s voice.

When writing in third person, speak with authority. Show your reader that the narrator’s voice is trustworthy. Give them the inner thoughts of at least one character. The main narrator voice you use will give them the idea that you are in-the-know and can carry them well through the events to come.

2. Make sure to use the right pronouns

“Third person pronouns include: he, she, it; his, her, its; him, her, it; himself, herself, itself; they; them; their; themselves.”

3. If you choose third person objective point of view the narrator doesn’t know what anyone is thinking

If you choose this point of view remember that you are just an observer. You will have to make a point to work harder on conveying the emotions each character is experiencing. The reader won’t get to hear the inner feelings and thoughts of any of the characters. That makes it really important to emphasize the right character facial expressions and describe them adequately but not overdo it.

4. Be aware of singular and plural pronoun use.

“Incorrect example: “The witness wanted to offer anonymous testimony. They’ were afraid of getting hurt if their name was spread.”

“Correct example: “The witness wanted to offer anonymous testimony. He or she was afraid of getting hurt if his or her name was spread.”

5. If you write in third person limited you only know what the protagonist knows

If you write in third person limited, remember that you are limited by the same knowledge that the main character you are following knows. Be strategic with this and give the reader the same feelings the protagonist has at their limited knowledge of the events befalling them.

6. Avoid slipping into other points of view

It is easy while you are writing to accidentally and mindlessly slip into first and second person point of view.

When you go back to edit, keep this in mind and watch out for any accidental “I” or “you” statements.

7. Understand that there are 3 types

Be sure to glance up at the top of this post and see that there are 3 different types of third person point of views. Choose wisely as you begin your story which one you would like to limit yourself to or not limit to.

My personal favorite to date is definitely third person omniscient. I like being able to say whatever whenever and even break down the third wall at times just for fun.

8. Watch your pronouns and be consistent

Whichever style you choose to start out, stick with it. Be consistent or it may take away from the story if you jump in and out of multiple points of view. (I would say multiple points of view is possible, but only for the right kind of story.)

9. You can use second and first person in dialogue

Don’t forget to use your character’s dialogue to its full advantages. “I’m tired,” “I’m hungry,” “can we slow down?” “Is it hot or is it just me?” “You’re a liar!” “You melt my heart and soul.”

Just because you can’t say “you” or “I” doesn’t mean your character can’t. Just because your character doesn’t know how someone is feeling, doesn’t mean that character can’t say it out loud at the appropriate times to give your reader an inside look at another character’s personality.

10. Have a strategy for when you switch viewpoints

In the movie “Wonder,” they do an awesome job of switching viewpoints strategically and at pivotal moments. 

This does a lot for the audience. We are surprised to get to go into the life of another character and get to know them intimately just like we did the main character.

11. Follow the character with the most weight

If you have a dynamic cast of characters, how do you choose which one to follow?

Margaret Atwood would say, “When choosing which character will serve as your main point of view for any chapter or scene, hone in on the person who has the most to lose or learn.”

This might change depending on what part of the plot you are headed into, but if it just follows one or two characters the entire time choose the one that has the most to lose.

Interested in starting a blog of your own? Check out Bluehost.

After checking out Bluehost, see how we made a profit FAST with our blog and how you can too: Our #1 Easy way that we made a profit with our blog on year 1, not year 5.

Need a Cheaper Plan? Try DreamHost.

Already own a blog? Monetize with Ezoic. Make 5X more on ads with Ezoic! See for yourself. – These ads use machine learning. Set it and leave it.

Try Grammarly, The Free tool that should be in every writer’s toolbelt.

Try it for free now.

Hope this helps!

Happy Writing!

Another Post you Might like:

Mythical Creatures | 7 Tips on How to Write Mythical Creatures

Other Popular Posts  you might enjoy:

5 Tricks How to Hide Your Villain Right Before Their Eyes

10 Tips How to Write Villains that Play Mind Games with Their Victims

4 Tips How to Write your Character Hitting Rock Bottom

10 Toxic Bad Habits That’ll Crush Your Fictional Character’s Relationships

How to Write From Your Villain’s Mind.

How To Write 4 Scenes That Reveal Who Your Character Is Seamlessly

Psychopath: How to Write The Perfect Psychopath

8 Tips How to Write the Perfect Sociopath

Fictional Characters: 28+ Bad Habits to Introduce to Your Fictional Characters

List of 10 Weapons for Fictional Characters

List of 10 Bad Habits Fictional Characters Need Help Breaking

Why Start a Blog

How to Start a Blog in 11 Simple Easy Steps in 2020

For Blogging AND More

How to Write a Book: 32 Tips | Your MASSIVE Guide How to Write a Book

What is Theme?

The Hero’s Journey

Define Self-Esteem for Writing Characters: 10 Ideas

Covert Narcissist and Why You Should Write One

Inspiring Quotes Posts:

Inspiring Quotes | 101+ Inspirational Quotes to Motivate You Today

190+ Inspirational Quotes for Women

303+ Funny Inspirational Quotes

115+ Inspirational Quotes in Short

99+ Good Night with Quotes

103+ Quotes About What is Love

Enjoying Everything You Need to Know for Writing in Third Person? Take a moment and consider sharing this social-friendly image to say thanks and feel free to comment with your thoughts below! 🙂

Make sure your posts are readable.  Use this readability score check

Want to check out a writer’s community to test your writing and get feedback?

Want to know more about us?

Check out these FREE trial resources from Amazon for when you work from home (or are stuck at home 🙂 ) As an Amazon associate, if you do sign up or buy anything using Amazon links from our site we make a commission at no extra cost to you.

Free Prime Membership Trial:

Try Amazon Prime 30-Day Free Trial

Try Prime Discounted (Free Trial)

Make your Free Amazon Wedding Registry:

Create an Amazon Wedding Registry

Get Free Video Channels Trial with Prime: 

Join Prime Video Channels Free Trial

Try a Free Amazon Family Trial:

Join Amazon Family (30-day Free Trial)

Get Unlimited Music for Free (30-day free trial):

Join Amazon Prime Music – The Only Music Streaming Service with Free 2-day Shipping – 30-day Free Trial

Free movies and TV shows trial:

Join Amazon Prime – Watch Thousands of Movies & TV Shows Anytime – Start Free Trial Now

Free Prime for students trial:

Prime Student 6-month Trial

Free Baby Registry:

Shop Amazon – Create an Amazon Baby Registry

Free trial of Twitch Prime:

Try Twitch Prime

And for when you REALLY work at home:

Create Amazon Business Account

It is the Amazon you love, for work. Make workplace procurement easier with convenient delivery options, simplified purchasing workflows, multiple payment options, and a competitive marketplace with business-only pricing and quantity discounts. Anyone who makes purchases for work (eg. procurement specialists, office administration, IT departments, etc.) can create a FREE account for their business. Customer must be from a verified business in order to successfully create their Amazon Business account.

We hope you enjoyed: Everything You Need to Know for Writing in Third Person!

Can You Become a Successful Self Publisher Today Without a Website? I’ve seen this question before and thought it could Read more

5 Tips How to Make Editing More Enjoyable Editing can be a very dull process. At times, it can seem Read more

Can I Make My Story Setting in a Place I Have Not Been? You might be feeling trepidation about where Read more

How to Write for Yourself | Is it Odd to Just Write for Yourself? Some people are out there writing Read more

Published by Jeremy

View all posts by Jeremy

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Enjoy this blog? Please spread the word :)

• More Networks

Writing in Third Person – Examples & Worksheet

| Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

The third-person narrative is often employed in narrative writing because it zooms in and out of character perspectives to describe actions, feelings, emotions, and thoughts. If you’re unsure how to use the 3rd person perspective in writing, here are some tips and examples.

What is Third Person Narrative?

The third person is one of three perspectives employed in speaking and writing. It’s used to describe the point of view of a third party and uses a variety of pronouns derived from he, her, and it. Books written in third person are often more popular, as well, for their ease of reading.

I often write in first-person narrative, but when I’m writing a complex story from the point of view of multiple characters, I use third person to make things more rounded and streamlined for the reader.

Using Third Person

Third person is a perspective used based on whoever the story or writing in question is about. The subject pronoun is outside of the narrator themself. Third-person texts do not include the perspective of the narrator/writer, nor does it address the reader directly. It also uses certain personal pronouns and possessive pronouns.

Example of a third person sentence:

Jeremy knew it was destined to be. He placed the dog in the backseat of his car and drove away. All he wanted at that time was to ensure the animal got the loving home he deserved.

Third Person Possessive Adjectives in Third Person

So, instead of using me, mine, ours, etc., you would use hers, his, theirs when writing in third person.

Does “You” Belong in 3rd Person Writing?

Third-person writing requires using third-person pronouns, including he, she, it, him, her, them, themselves, himself, herself, or a name. Using “you” means you’re switching to the second person.

How to Introduce Yourself in the Third Person

People typically use the first-person point of view when talking about themselves and their experiences. It would be odd to talk about oneself in the third person all the time, but you might use it occasionally for the sake of humorous effect or attract the attention of another person.

The third person introduces a third party to the person you’re speaking with. If you are a narrator, it’s best to introduce yourself in the first person and start narrating the events in the third person.

How to Start a Story in Third Person

In a story, narrators use the third person if they are not part of the story themselves. Third-person narratives show us a person’s actions, feelings, and thoughts.

Example of how to write in third person:

Nadia dreamt about being a gymnast her entire life. Ever since she can remember, she’s worked hard, sacrificed a lot, and hoped someone would notice all her efforts. She was never the smartest kid in school, but she believed in herself enough to never give up on that spot on the podium.

What Are the 3 Types of 3rd Person?

In writing, there are three ways to approach third-person writing.

Third-Person Omniscient

The story’s narrator is all-knowing and can see into the past, present, and future. This narrator can assume other people’s perspectives, jumping around in time and providing the reader with their thoughts and observations.

Third-Person Limited Omniscient

In this point of view, the author focuses on one persona and never switches to another. In a novel, the narrator may use this technique throughout the work or employ it in alternating chapters or sections.

The author can regulate the reader’s knowledge and experience by writing from a limited point of view. Used effectively, it can create a palpable sense of anticipation and excitement.

Third-Person Objective

The narrator of a story told from the third-person objective perspective is unbiased and does not share the viewpoint of the character’s emotional reactions. The story is told in an objective, third-person style.

How to Write In Third Person About Yourself

The easiest way to approach this problem is to create a character. You can also use your actual name to write from the third-person perspective.

Why Write in Third-Person?

Fiction writing uses third-person POV quite often. Here are some advantages of employing it as part of your narrative style.

Strong Character Growth Is Emphasized

More characters can be highlighted in a story told from the third-person perspective than in the first- or second-person. These varying perspectives give the reader a complete understanding of the story since they shed light on the plot in ways the other characters cannot.

It Employs Flexible Narrative Possibilities

The advantages of writing in the third person include greater freedom to move around, giving the reader a comprehensive view, and shifting perspectives among multiple characters. You can switch between being completely all-knowing and having only partial or first-person knowledge.

This latter technique allows the reader to experience the world through the eyes of a character, allowing for a more profound understanding of that person and their surroundings.

Makes the Author More Reliable

Third-person narration places the reader in a vantage point far above the action. With the author/narrator not part of the story, they can rise above it, having nothing to lose or gain from certain narrative developments. This makes the story more reliable and lends the story more authority and credibility.

First, Second, and Third Person Pronouns

If you’re confused about the types of pronouns used in each of the three main perspectives, here is a comprehensive list:

• First person pronouns: I, me, mine, myself, we, us, ourselves, ours.
• Second person pronouns: you, your, yours.
• Third person singular pronouns: he, him, his, she, her, it,
• Third person plural pronouns: its, itself, they, them, their, theirs, themselves.

Bottom Line on Third Person

Writing in 3rd person grants the author more credibility and offers a more objective perspective of the characters in the text. Often employed in fictional and academic writing, the third-person point of view makes the text seem more authentic and factually correct.

Grammarist is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. When you buy via the links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you.

2024 © Grammarist, a Found First Marketing company. All rights reserved.

+1-312-625-1056    |

[email protected]    |

    Talk to an expert

6 Tips for Writing Deep Third-Person Point of View

• February 20, 2024

Table of Contents:

Understand the third-person point of view.

• - Third-person limited
• - Third-person omniscient

Tips to Write a Deep POV:

1. get to know your character deeply, 2. focus on one character at a time, 3. use deep point of view techniques, 4. limit external backstory.

• 5. Employ 'Free Indirect Discourse'
• 6. Avoid the 'Psychic Narrator' Pitfall

 Conclusion:

Getting into the characters’ minds without the intimate “I” might seem like a challenge, but mastering the Third-Person Point of View (POV) can turn your narrative into a multifaceted gem gleaming with depth and perspective.

In the intricate dance of storytelling, a deep Third-Person POV offers a grand stage where a writer can pirouette between the internal and the external, the subjective and the objective, all while maintaining the elegant balance of narrative distance.

In this blog, we’ll explore 6 essential tips for writing deep Third-Person POV that will help you craft vivid characters. Whether you’re writing a thrilling fantasy saga or a nuanced contemporary drama, these strategies will empower you to captivate readers.

The third-person point of view refers to the perspective of a narrator who is not part of the story and uses pronouns like “he,” “she,” and “they” rather than “I.” There are two main types of third-person point of view:

– Third-person limited

The narrator tells the story from the perspective of just one character. We only get access to that particular character’s inner thoughts, feelings, and experiences. The narrator only knows what that character knows.

– Third-person omniscient

The narrator has full access to the inner workings of all the characters and provides commentary and background information that the characters do not have. The narrator is like an all-knowing god, not limited to a single perspective.

Here are 6 amazing tips that you should use when you write Deep POV.

To write a deep third-person point of view effectively, you need to comprehensively understand your viewpoint character. Knowing your character inside and out will allow you to convey their perspective convincingly.  Following is a technique our writers at the Book Writing Founders use when writing a character description.

Start by creating an in-depth character profile covering key details like:

• Background – Where are they from? What is their family situation? What major events shaped them?
• Motivations – What drives them? What do they want most in life?
• Goals – What concrete goals are they pursuing in the story? How do these tie into their motivations?
• Fears – What are they afraid of? What would be their worst nightmare?
• Personality – Are they introverted or extroverted? Optimistic or pessimistic? Passionate or logical?
• Relationships – How do they interact with other characters? Who are the important people in their life?
• Flaws – What are their weaknesses? Shortcomings? Bad habits?
• Talents – What are they good at? What unique skills do they have?
• Physical description – Height, weight, hair color, eye color, distinguishing features.

Fleshing out all these details will allow you to embody your viewpoint character fully. You’ll understand how they think, how they see the world, and what lens they view events. This will make writing a deep third-person perspective feel natural.

Spend time getting to know your character inside and out before starting your draft. You can even interview them, envision scenarios, or write journal entries in their voice. The more familiar you are with the intricacies of their personality, the better you’ll be able to convey their distinctive perspective.

When writing a deep third-person point of view, focusing on one character’s perspective per scene or chapter is important rather than jumping randomly between multiple characters. Sticking with a single Deep POV for an extended period allows you to immerse deeply in that character’s emotions, thoughts, senses, and experiences.

Switching POVs too frequently disrupts the reader’s connection with any one character. It also makes the narrative feel disjointed and distances readers from individual characters. Maintaining a consistent Deep POV for a full scene or chapter leads to a much deeper exploration of that character’s inner world.

If you switch POVs between scenes or chapters, make the transitions clear. Use scene breaks, extra line spacing, or explicit cues like “Meanwhile…” to signal that the POV character is changing. Don’t change POVs within the same paragraph or page without some kind of divide.

Adhering to one point of view (POV)—a key among narrative writing elements —enhances story depth and coherence. Resist the urge to jump into a different character’s head just because it feels convenient. Staying in one character’s perspective will lend your story greater focus, depth, and coherence. Your readers will connect more strongly with each viewpoint character.

One of the keys to writing a deep third-person point of view is to fully inhabit the perspective of your viewpoint character. Instead of telling the reader what’s happening from the outside, put them directly into the mind and body of the character.

Describe what the character sees, hears, feels, smells, and tastes. Portray their thoughts, emotions, and visceral reactions using vivid inner monologue. For example:

“ John’s palms began to sweat as he sat across from Amanda at the restaurant table. His heart pounded against his ribs. It felt like a jackhammer trying to break free. She was even more beautiful than he remembered, with those dazzling green eyes that seemed to pierce right through him. Would she notice how nervous he was?”

“Calm down, John told himself, though his thudding heart refused to listen. He wiped his hands on his pants under the table. Come on, say something charming and witty. Compliment her! No, wait. Too obvious. Just relax. Oh god, now the silence is getting awkward. Speak!”

Using descriptive details and inner monologue creates a much more immersive experience for the reader. Instead of telling them John is nervous on a date, you allow them to directly feel those nerves and self-doubt. This drops them straight into John’s perspective.

Use all five senses, convey raw emotions, and amplify anxiety and excitement. Deep POV collapses that narrative distance between the reader and the character.

One of the keys to Deep POV is revealing the backstory organically through the character’s lens rather than via external narration. Avoid explanatory chunks of backstory and description that feel removed from the character’s direct experience as much as possible.

Instead, sprinkle in only details that your point of view character is noticing, feeling, and thinking in the moment. Let their perspectives color how the backstory gets pieced together.

You can reveal glimpses of backstory indirectly through the character’s thoughts, emotions, and perceptions. But limit external explanations that break the immersion.

Use flashbacks sparingly as well. While they can be useful, overdone flashbacks stop the forward momentum and distract from the character’s thoughts and emotions.

The key is ensuring the backstory blends seamlessly into the character’s perspective.

Incorporating these techniques effectively can be a challenge, which is why many authors turn to book writing services . These services offer professional guidance to seamlessly weave backstory into your narrative, ensuring your character’s journey is compelling and immersive.

5. Employ ‘Free Indirect Discourse’

Free indirect discourse is a powerful technique for a deep third-person point of view. This allows fluid shifts between the character’s thoughts and the narrator’s voice without direct attribution, like “she thought” or “he wondered.”

For example:

She glanced at the clock. Five minutes until her interview. “Of course I’m nervous, who wouldn’t be?” But she had prepared, done research, and knew what to expect. “ Don’t mess this up! Just relax. You’ve got this .”  Deep breathing now. Shoulders back, head high. The receptionist called her name with a smile. “ Here we go!”

This moves freely between the character’s thoughts in italics and the narrator’s descriptions. It adds intimacy without constant “she thought” tags, pulling the reader deeper into the character’s perspective. The transitions feel seamless, like we’re overhearing the character’s mental dialogue.

6. Avoid the ‘Psychic Narrator’ Pitfall

One of the biggest mistakes that can pull readers out of deep POV is allowing the narrator to know more than the viewpoint character possibly could. This “psychic narrator” destroys immersion in the character’s experiences and perspective.

For example, imagine a scene where Bob nervously approaches his boss to ask for a raise. The narrator shouldn’t say, “Little did Bob know, but his boss was already planning to promote him that day.” There’s no way the narrator could know the boss’s internal thoughts and plans.

Stick to Bob’s perspective and describe his nervous sweating, rapid breathing, and churning stomach as he agonizes over bringing up the sensitive topic. Only show the boss’s reactions and dialog. Avoid omniscient narrator moments that peer into other characters’ minds or foreshadow unknown future events.

The deep third-person narrator should be limited to the viewpoint character’s experiences, thoughts, emotions, and perceptions. Resist the temptation to let the narrator know more than the character possibly could. This will keep the reader in one consistent perspective for a truly immersive experience.

In this vein, it’s helpful for authors to occasionally employ a book editing services provider who can help you with your creativity and ensure that your perspective is consistent.

A deep third-person point of view offers a unique way to narrate your stories, blending the personal with a broad perspective. With the 6 tips we’ve discussed, you’re now prepared to use this narrative style more effectively.

Remember, this technique is a tool to connect with your readers and bring your characters to life. With these tips, you’re ready to create stories that can truly engage your audience. Now, it’s time to put these tips to use, explore their potential, and let your stories shine with depth and connection.

limited Time offer

50% off on all services.

REDEEM YOUR COUPON: BWF50

Recommended Blogs

What is a proposal writer & what does a proposal writer do, outlining your speech | principles of public speaking, what is tracking in typography, ready to become a published author.

Let us guide you through the book writing and publishing process. Your story deserves to be heard!

Get In-depth Consultation Today! Connect Now for Comprehensive Book Publishing Support!

Let's celebrate this week with our exclusive promotion upto 30% off on all our services.

Make-A-Book Day takes place during National Family Reading Week, a week that started in 1995 that brings families together to read.

Automated page speed optimizations for fast site performance

First, Second, and Third Person: How to Recognize and Use Narrative Voice

#scribendiinc

Identifying Narrative Voice

Ah, narrative voice.

It can be tricky. Identifying the point of view in a novel can be somewhat confusing. It doesn't have to be, though! With this handy little guide, we'll help you detect first, second, and third person as simply as possible.

Using the first lines of famous novels, it's time to spot the differences between the different narrative voices. Let's start from, well, the beginning.

First Person

First, second, and third person are all a type of grammatical person. To identify which one is used, you have to find the pronouns in the sentence.

In the following sentence, the pronouns "my" and "I" indicate that the person is speaking in the first person:

"In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I've been turning over in my mind ever since." —F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

In the first person, the speaker is speaking about himself or herself. Simple, right?

The above example is one of the first-person subjective case, meaning it refers to the subject who performs the action. "I" is used for a singular subject, and "we" is used for more than one subject, including the speaker.

There are three cases in total; along with the subjective case, there are also the objective case and the possessive case. The objective case uses the pronoun "me" or "us" to denote the objects of the sentence that receive the action.

"Call me Ishmael." —Herman Melville, Moby Dick

Finally, there is the possessive case: "my, mine, ours," which indicates, of course, possession.

"Lolita, light of my live, fire of my loins." —Vladimir Nabokov, Lolita

These are all examples of the first-person point of view.

Second Person

"You are about to begin reading Italo Calvino's new novel, If on a winter's night a traveler ." —Italo Calvino, If on a winter's night a traveler

What is this strange narrative voice? Though second-person point of view isn't as popular as the others, it does crop up from time to time, so let's review it. In the second-person point of view, the subjective and objective cases take the same pronoun, "you," and the pronoun is the same for singular and plural subjects alike. Neat, huh?

The possessive case simply uses "yours," making the second-person point of view simple to identify. Easy as pie!

Third Person

The third-person point of view is used when the subject is being spoken about. This point of view is a little trickier because it introduces gender into the mix. The feminine subjective singular case is "she," the masculine subjective singular case is "he," and the neuter subjective singular case is "it." When pluralizing, the pronoun is "they," regardless of gender.

Phew! It sounds scary, but it doesn't have to be. To replace the noun with the pronoun "he" or "she," you must be very certain of the subject's gender. Here are some examples:

"Mrs. Dalloway said she would buy the flowers herself." —Virginia Woolf, Mrs. Dalloway "When Gregor Samsa woke up one morning from unsettling dreams, he found himself changed in his bed into a monstrous vermin." —Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis

With the objective case, "him" (masculine), "hers" (feminine), "it" (neuter), and "them" (plural) are used. The third-person plural, "they" and "theirs," are used to refer to a group of individuals that does not include the speaker. Finally, the possessive case for the third-person narrative voice is "his," "hers," "its," and "theirs."

"Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." —Leo Tolstoy, Anna Karenina

It is important to note that the narrative voice does not include dialogue. A third-person point of view in a novel might read like so:

"Once an angry man dragged his father along the ground through his own orchard. 'Stop!' cried the groaning old man at last, 'Stop! I did not drag my father beyond this tree.'" —Gertrude Stein, The Making of Americans

Even though the pronoun "I" is used within the dialogue, this is still considered to be in the third-person point of view, as the narrative voice uses third-person pronouns (in this quote, "his").

Trickier Examples

But wait! What about instances where there is no pronoun or the subject doesn't seem to appear in the sentence? Sometimes, it's trickier than usual to identify the point of view.

"A screaming comes across the sky." —Thomas Pynchon, Gravity's Rainbow

There are no pronouns in this sentence, but if we continue to read, it becomes clear that the novel employs the third-person perspective, as evidenced by the use of the pronoun "he":

"It has happened before, but there is nothing to compare it to now. It is too late. The Evacuation still proceeds, but it's all theatre. There are no lights inside the cars. No lights anywhere. Above him lift girders old as an iron queen, and glass somewhere far above that would let the light of day through. But it's night. He's afraid of the way the glass will fall—soon—it will be a spectacle: the fall of a crystal palace."

Taking a heftier sample from the text will help clear confusion. While we've used first lines to demonstrate the narrative voice, make sure you take a sample larger than a single line, as it's easy to be duped. Another example:

"They're out there." —Ken Kesey, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

Though the only pronoun that appears in the sentence is "they," which implies a third-person point of view, this novel actually uses the first-person point of view, and the subject doesn't actually appear in the sentence. Also, make sure you take samples from multiple points in the text. Some novels change points of view throughout.

"This is the story of a lover's triangle, I suppose you'd say—Arnie Cunningham, Leigh Cabot, and, of course, Christine. But I want you to understand that Christine was there first." —Stephen King, Christine

While good ol' Stephen King here begins his novel in the first-person point of view, the story is in three parts, and the middle part is in the third-person point of view. Oy vey! But don't worry; by paying attention to the pronouns, you can identify narrative voice easily.

• If the text uses "I," "we," "me," "us," "my," "mine," or "ours" as pronouns, then you have a first-person point of view.
• If it uses "you," "your," or "yours" as pronouns, then you have a second-person point of view.
• If it uses "he," she," "it," "they," "him," "hers," "them," "their," "his," "its," or "theirs" as pronouns, then you have a third-person point of view.

And remember, don't include dialogue in your detective work.

This SlideShare can be a great resource to help you remember how to identify narrative voice:

Employing Narrative Voice

Now that you know how narrative voice works and can identify the different points of view, you'd like to write a famous first line of your own. But what point of view should you use? Does it even really matter?

We're here to tell you that it absolutely matters. There are important considerations to be made when deciding on your point of view. Get your pencils ready, because one of these is perfect to tell your story. Maybe your very own first line will be famous one day .

When writing in the first-person point of view, there are a few considerations that are important. First, how is this story being told? Is this being written down or told aloud? Is this meant to be a private telling or public? This will affect the tone and the language of your piece.

It is also important to consider how much time has passed between events. If the events are happening right now, there will probably be a larger emotional reaction from the narrator. But if the events of the story have occurred in the past, your narrator may be more objective.

In addition, you must decide who is telling the story. I know, I know, but bear with me—we’re almost through. Will your protagonist be telling the story, or will a witness tell the story? Perhaps the events happened a long time ago, and the story is being retold. So many decisions to make!

Every choice has implications. Allowing your protagonist to tell the story gives more intimacy between reader and character . It might also allow you to play with an unreliable narrator. If a witness tells the story, you could argue that the witness is more objective (or less, in the case of poor Nick Carraway of The Great Gatsby ). If an impartial member is retelling the story, it's possible that the narration is more reliable.

So, what do you think? Lots to consider, right? Well, don't choose this point of view just yet—we still have two more to play with.

The second-person point of view is by far the least common, but when used correctly, it can have a great effect.

This narrative voice is often used for your protagonist to speak to an earlier (or younger) version of himself or herself. It's difficult to pull off because, often, it's unclear to the reader whom the writer is addressing.

You can also use this point of view to speak directly to the reader, as illustrated by Calvino in the aforementioned example.

If you make it very clear from the beginning whom the narrator is addressing, it is possible to pull off the second person. So don't discount it from the get-go. However, it's not just a gimmick, so a lot of deliberation is necessary.

Here it is, at last. The Big Kahuna. The third-person point of view dominates most popular and contemporary literature. That's because it's so diverse, and there are so many ways to play with it. Let's take a look.

There are three main types of third-person point of view: limited, objective, and omniscient. The limited point of view is arguably the most popular. We're allowed a close look into a single character, which often links the reader to your protagonist.

It's fun to play with because you can manipulate the distance a bit. A close third-person limited point of view looks into the thoughts and feelings of only a single character. Many novels step back from this to allow for a wider scope. It's all about distance.

So if we're linking to a single character, don't tell us how another one is feeling. Stepping back every now and again to examine another character distances us from the protagonist, which can be used advantageously. A lot to consider . . .

The objective point of view is when the narrator tells you what the narrator sees and hears without describing the thoughts and feelings of the protagonist.

I bet you can guess what's coming next!

Ah, the omniscient point of view, hammered into the brains of students everywhere. It is, of course, the all-knowing narrator. This narrator knows everything about everyone (it's like the Gretchen Weiners of narrators). But don't be fooled. What your teachers didn't tell you is that not everything has to be shared. Just because this narrator knows everything doesn't mean the narrator is not selective about the information garnered.

See? Things just got more interesting.

Having Fun with It

Most fun of all? You can play with the tone and voice of your narrator in any of the third-person points of view. It doesn't have to be linked to your character's voice, or yours, at all. Maybe your narrator is sarcastic or pities your main character. Maybe he or she is really tired and doesn't even want to be telling this story. Or maybe the narrator of the story was secretly the villain all along ( dun, dun, dun . . .).

It's entertaining, right? Have fun with it!

Not to be the soccer mom handing out popsicles because " all the kids are the most valuable players," but each point of view has its own strengths to be used for different advantages. That said, they also still have limitations. Sorry, Timmy, but you cannot score a goal from across the field just yet.

Taking all this knowledge into consideration, we want to see those brains storming away! Putting a pen to paper to try all the different narrative voices is the best way to see which one will work for you. All you need to do now is give it a shot.

Whew! Don't you feel better now? You know everything there is to know about narrative voice. You can identify all the different points of view by identifying pronouns outside dialogue. And you know the advantages and disadvantages of each grammatical person, so you can employ your very own point of view.

Now all that's left to do is to write your famous first line. Something with a nice ring to it, like, "It was a pleasure to burn." Wait . . . I think that one's taken. Sorry about that, Mr. Bradbury.

Header image source: Yastremska/BigStockPhoto.com

Let a Professional Edit Your Work

Hire a professional editor , or get a free sample.

Have You Read?

"The Complete Beginner's Guide to Academic Writing"

Related Posts

5 Common Character Archetypes in Literature

Five Habits to Avoid in Fiction Writing

How to Write a Plot

Upload your file(s) so we can calculate your word count, or enter your word count manually.

We will also recommend a service based on the file(s) you upload.

English is not my first language. I need English editing and proofreading so that I sound like a native speaker.

I need to have my journal article, dissertation, or term paper edited and proofread, or I need help with an admissions essay or proposal.

I have a novel, manuscript, play, or ebook. I need editing, copy editing, proofreading, a critique of my work, or a query package.

I need editing and proofreading for my white papers, reports, manuals, press releases, marketing materials, and other business documents.

I need to have my essay, project, assignment, or term paper edited and proofread.

I want to sound professional and to get hired. I have a resume, letter, email, or personal document that I need to have edited and proofread.

 Prices include your personal % discount.

 Prices include % sales tax ( ).

• Tips & Guides

How To Avoid Using “We,” “You,” And “I” in an Essay

• Posted on October 27, 2022 October 27, 2022

Maintaining a formal voice while writing academic essays and papers is essential to sound objective. 

One of the main rules of academic or formal writing is to avoid first-person pronouns like “we,” “you,” and “I.” These words pull focus away from the topic and shift it to the speaker – the opposite of your goal.

While it may seem difficult at first, some tricks can help you avoid personal language and keep a professional tone.

Let’s learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

What Is a Personal Pronoun?

Pronouns are words used to refer to a noun indirectly. Examples include “he,” “his,” “her,” and “hers.” Any time you refer to a noun – whether a person, object, or animal – without using its name, you use a pronoun.

Personal pronouns are a type of pronoun. A personal pronoun is a pronoun you use whenever you directly refer to the subject of the sentence. 

Take the following short paragraph as an example:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. Mr. Smith also said that Mr. Smith lost Mr. Smith’s laptop in the lunchroom.”

The above sentence contains no pronouns at all. There are three places where you would insert a pronoun, but only two where you would put a personal pronoun. See the revised sentence below:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. He also said that he lost his laptop in the lunchroom.”

“He” is a personal pronoun because we are talking directly about Mr. Smith. “His” is not a personal pronoun (it’s a possessive pronoun) because we are not speaking directly about Mr. Smith. Rather, we are talking about Mr. Smith’s laptop.

If later on you talk about Mr. Smith’s laptop, you may say:

“Mr. Smith found it in his car, not the lunchroom!” 

In this case, “it” is a personal pronoun because in this point of view we are making a reference to the laptop directly and not as something owned by Mr. Smith.

Why Avoid Personal Pronouns in Essay Writing

We’re teaching you how to avoid using “I” in writing, but why is this necessary? Academic writing aims to focus on a clear topic, sound objective, and paint the writer as a source of authority. Word choice can significantly impact your success in achieving these goals.

Writing that uses personal pronouns can unintentionally shift the reader’s focus onto the writer, pulling their focus away from the topic at hand.

Personal pronouns may also make your work seem less objective. 

One of the most challenging parts of essay writing is learning which words to avoid and how to avoid them. Fortunately, following a few simple tricks, you can master the English Language and write like a pro in no time.

Alternatives To Using Personal Pronouns

How to not use “I” in a paper? What are the alternatives? There are many ways to avoid the use of personal pronouns in academic writing. By shifting your word choice and sentence structure, you can keep the overall meaning of your sentences while re-shaping your tone.

Utilize Passive Voice

In conventional writing, students are taught to avoid the passive voice as much as possible, but it can be an excellent way to avoid first-person pronouns in academic writing.

You can use the passive voice to avoid using pronouns. Take this sentence, for example:

“ We used 150 ml of HCl for the experiment.”

Instead of using “we” and the active voice, you can use a passive voice without a pronoun. The sentence above becomes:

“150 ml of HCl were used for the experiment.” 

Using the passive voice removes your team from the experiment and makes your work sound more objective.

Take a Third-Person Perspective

Another answer to “how to avoid using ‘we’ in an essay?” is the use of a third-person perspective. Changing the perspective is a good way to take first-person pronouns out of a sentence. A third-person point of view will not use any first-person pronouns because the information is not given from the speaker’s perspective.

A third-person sentence is spoken entirely about the subject where the speaker is outside of the sentence.

Take a look at the sentence below:

“In this article you will learn about formal writing.”

The perspective in that sentence is second person, and it uses the personal pronoun “you.” You can change this sentence to sound more objective by using third-person pronouns:

“In this article the reader will learn about formal writing.”

The use of a third-person point of view makes the second sentence sound more academic and confident. Second-person pronouns, like those used in the first sentence, sound less formal and objective.

Be Specific With Word Choice

You can avoid first-personal pronouns by choosing your words carefully. Often, you may find that you are inserting unnecessary nouns into your work. 

Take the following sentence as an example:

“ My research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

In this case, the first-person pronoun ‘my’ can be entirely cut out from the sentence. It then becomes:

“Research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

The second sentence is more succinct and sounds more authoritative without changing the sentence structure.

You should also make sure to watch out for the improper use of adverbs and nouns. Being careful with your word choice regarding nouns, adverbs, verbs, and adjectives can help mitigate your use of personal pronouns. 

“They bravely started the French revolution in 1789.” 

While this sentence might be fine in a story about the revolution, an essay or academic piece should only focus on the facts. The world ‘bravely’ is a good indicator that you are inserting unnecessary personal pronouns into your work.

We can revise this sentence into:

“The French revolution started in 1789.” 

Avoid adverbs (adjectives that describe verbs), and you will find that you avoid personal pronouns by default.

Closing Thoughts

In academic writing, It is crucial to sound objective and focus on the topic. Using personal pronouns pulls the focus away from the subject and makes writing sound subjective.

Hopefully, this article has helped you learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

When working on any formal writing assignment, avoid personal pronouns and informal language as much as possible.

While getting the hang of academic writing, you will likely make some mistakes, so revising is vital. Always double-check for personal pronouns, plagiarism , spelling mistakes, and correctly cited pieces. 

 You can prevent and correct mistakes using a plagiarism checker at any time, completely for free.

Quetext is a platform that helps you with all those tasks. Check out all resources that are available to you today.

Sign Up for Quetext Today!

Click below to find a pricing plan that fits your needs.

You May Also Like

A Safer Learning Environment: The Impact of AI Detection on School Security

• Posted on May 17, 2024

Rethinking Academic Integrity Policies in the AI Era

• Posted on May 10, 2024 May 10, 2024

Jargon Phrases to Avoid in Business Writing

• Posted on May 3, 2024 May 3, 2024

Comparing Two Documents for Plagiarism: Everything You Need to Know

• Posted on April 26, 2024 April 26, 2024

Mastering Tone in Email Communication: A Guide to Professional Correspondence

• Posted on April 17, 2024

Mastering End-of-Sentence Punctuation: Periods, Question Marks, Exclamation Points, and More

• Posted on April 12, 2024

Mastering the Basics: Understanding the 4 Types of Sentences

• Posted on April 5, 2024

Can You Go to Jail for Plagiarism?

• Posted on March 22, 2024 March 22, 2024

Input your search keywords and press Enter.

paper-free learning

• conjunctions
• determiners
• interjections
• prepositions
• affect vs effect
• its vs it's
• your vs you're
• which vs that
• who vs whom
• who's vs whose
• averse vs adverse
• 250+ more...
• apostrophes
• quotation marks
• lots more...
• common writing errors
• FAQs by writers
• awkward plurals
• ESL vocabulary lists
• all our grammar videos
• idioms and proverbs
• Latin terms
• collective nouns for animals
• tattoo fails
• vocabulary categories
• most common verbs
• top 10 irregular verbs
• top 10 regular verbs
• top 10 spelling rules
• improve spelling
• common misspellings
• role-play scenarios
• favo(u)rite word lists
• multiple-choice test
• Tetris game
• grammar-themed memory game
• 100s more...

Third Person

What is third person.

• I am speaking to you about her .
• The policeman is speaking to the teacher about Anne .

Table of Contents

"Third Person" Explained

Third person in grammar, examples of third person pronouns in different cases, first, second, and third person pronouns, why the third person is important, video lesson.

• Third Person Narrative . A third-person narrative is a story told using the pronouns "he," "she," "it," or "they" or using nouns. In other words, the story is not told from a personal perspective. A third-person narrative contrasts with a first-person narrative, which is a story told from a personal perspective using the pronoun "I" (and sometimes "we").
• To Write in the Third Person . "To write in the third person" means to use nouns or the pronouns "he," "she," "it," or "they." It is common in business writing.
• Third Party Insurance . Third-party insurance protects against the claims of others. Look at the following sentence: I (the first party) am ensured by you, the insurer (the second party), to protect me against them (the third party).
• First person : "I" and "we"
• Second person : "you"
• Third person: "He/She/It" and "They"

• Masculine gender : He, him, his
• Feminine gender : She, her, hers
• Neuter gender : It, its

(Reason 1) Understanding the person categories is useful for learning a foreign language.

(reason 2) using the third person presents a formal air..

• Avro Corps will handle your complaint within 48 hours.
• We will handle your complaint within 48 hours.

(Reason 3) Using the third person for storytelling can make you seem all-knowing.

• In business, write in the first person for a personal touch.
• When writing fiction, write in the first person to engage your audience quickly.
• Don't say or write "between you and I"...ever.

(Reason 4) The third-person possessive determiner "its" not "it's."

Are you a visual learner? Do you prefer video to text? Here is a list of all our grammar videos .

This page was written by Craig Shrives .

Learning Resources

more actions:

This test is printable and sendable

Help Us Improve Grammar Monster

• Do you disagree with something on this page?
• Did you spot a typo?

Find Us Quicker!

• When using a search engine (e.g., Google, Bing), you will find Grammar Monster quicker if you add #gm to your search term.

You might also like...

Share This Page

If you like Grammar Monster (or this page in particular), please link to it or share it with others. If you do, please tell us . It helps us a lot!

Create a QR Code

Use our handy widget to create a QR code for this page...or any page.

< previous lesson

next lesson >

More From Forbes

Mental health awareness month spurs talk about using generative ai as your trusted therapist.

• Share to Facebook
• Share to Twitter
• Share to Linkedin

This is Mental Health Awareness month and fittingly we should be considering the burgeoning role of ... [+] generative AI as therapist at scale.

In today’s column, I am continuing my ongoing series about the impact of generative AI in the health and medical realm. The focus this time is once again on the mental health domain and does so in acknowledgment of the month of May as officially being mental health awareness month.

Since we are now in this notable month, it seems especially timely to meaningfully discuss the controversial topic of whether people can or should be using generative AI for mental health guidance. To get into that thorny matter I will start by covering a smattering of overall stats and trends about mental health and then dovetail the relevant generative AI usage emerging trends accordingly.

I have previously examined numerous interleaving facets of generative AI and mental health, see my comprehensive overview at the link here . You might also find of notable interest a CBS 60 Minutes episode that recently examined crucial facets of this evolving topic, see the link here (I am honored and pleased to indicate that I was interviewed and featured in the episode, see the link here ).

Other vital background includes my in-depth coverage of mental health chatbots which have been bolstered by generative AI (see the link here ) and the rapidly changing nature of the client-therapist relationship due to generative AI at the link here . I explored where things are headed regarding the levels of AI-based mental therapy autonomous guidance at the link here , and showcased the importance of the World Health Organization (WHO) report on global health and generative AI at the link here , and so on.

Let’s unpack today’s focus.

Where We Are On Mental Health Across The Board

‘Fallout’ Dethroned In Amazon Prime Video’s Top 10 List By A New Offering

New escape from tarkov arg event adds encrypted flash drive loot, televisaunivision 2024-25 slate touts latino culture, vix growth, juanpa zurita, william levy deals.

Let’s do a fast dive into some prominent associations that seek to aid mental health and provide valuable resources in doing so. I’ll be excerpting salient background information as posted by the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and via the Mental Health America association.

Other equally worthwhile associations do post comparable materials likewise, but due to space limitations, I opted for these selected two. If there is sufficient reader interest, I’ll gladly cover more such groups in a subsequent column. Also, as a heads-up, I tossed a coin to decide the order of mentioning the two in the sequence herein, thus please do not infer any weighting by which of them is covered first or second. I think that’s probably enough of the small print and I can get further underway now, thanks.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) has an online booklet available entitled “2024 Mental Health Awareness Month Toolkit” that provides quite useful facts and figures about the latest status of mental health in the United States. Let’s take a quick look and see some highlights from that material.

First, the NAMI booklet mentions this (excerpt):

• “Since its inception in 1949, Mental Health Awareness Month has been a cornerstone of addressing the challenges faced by millions of Americans living with mental health conditions. Throughout May, NAMI actively participates in this national movement, dedicated to eradicating stigma, extending support, fostering public education, and advocating for policies that prioritize the well-being of individuals and families affected by mental illness.”

The material is chockfull of references to essential mental health resources, helplines, events, etc.

They also provide handy logos and slogans to garner awareness about the importance of mental health, including these excerpted examples:

• “I’m claiming today to be a good day.”
• “There is no shame in seeking help for mental health.”
• “Small steps can lead to big progress in mental health.”
• “Your mental health is everything. Prioritize it.”

In case you aren’t familiar with the magnitude of mental health issues and concerns, these reported numbers and stats might give you a moment of vital contemplation:

• “1 in 5 U.S. adults experience mental illness each year, and only half of them receive treatment.”
• “1 in 20 U.S. adults experience a serious mental illness each year, and only two-thirds receive treatment.”
• “1 in 6 U.S. youth experience a mental health condition each year, and only half of them receive treatment.”
• “50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14, and 75% by age 24.”
• “122 million people live in Mental Health Professional Shortage Areas.”

I’ll be saying more about those statistics in a few moments.

I’d next like to point out that another well-known association also provides essential materials for mental health awareness, namely Mental Health America has available its online booklet entitled “2024 Outreach Toolkit: Where To Start”. They too have a bonanza of valuable resources and information readily made available.

As noted in their materials, they say this (excerpt):

• “Mental Health America is proud to have founded in 1949 what is now known as Mental Health Month. Every May, we come together with millions of Americans to continue the tradition of promoting awareness, offering vital resources and education, and advocating for the mental health and well-being of everyone. Being able to maintain good mental health is essential to each and every individual’s overall health and well-being. Mental health conditions are common, manageable, and treatable.”

Some logos and slogans they have provided for this month include:

• “Monday: Make a list of 5 things you’re grateful for today.”
• “Tuesday: Practice positive affirmations.”
• “Wednesday: Start a conversation about mental health.”
• “Thursday: Stay hydrated.”
• “Friday: Take a break from screens (phone, computer, etc.).”

And in addition to lots of presented facts and figures, I decided to select some qualitative indications that they cite, and which are backed up by research:

• “A 2022 study found that 73% of American adults reported being overwhelmed by the number of crises going on in the world.”
• “Recent survey data show that more than half of U.S. adults (58%) are lonely, with those who are low-income, young adults, parents, part of an underrepresented racial group, or living with a mental health condition experiencing even higher rates of loneliness. Loneliness increases the risk of developing anxiety and depression and has been associated with psychosis and dementia.”
• “Social media can cause FOMO (fear of missing out), depression, and reduced self-esteem as a result of comparison.”
• “In today’s tech-filled world, screens can dominate our daily lives and impact our mental well-being. What we choose to look at and how much time we spend on our devices really matters and can make a big difference in how we feel.”

There you have it, a plethora of mental health stats and circumstances that society today is faced with. In case you’ve been living in a cave that lacks Internet access, the serious matter of current times mental health is something that is prominently in the news. Lamentedly, mental health seems to be worsening and the trendline is not good.

Something needs to be done.

What’s Happening With Mental Health And AI

I’d like to do a quick summary of where things stand today on mental health, which will be followed herein by identifying how generative AI is coming into the picture.

First, I have extensively analyzed tons of reported studies and research on population mental health and come up with a list of seven overall trends. Seven is a handy number to deal with and I could indubitably have made many more points. As the famous saying goes, we all seem to like the number seven, plus or minus two (this stems from the classic research paper "The Magical Number Seven, Plus or Minus Two: Some Limits on Our Capacity for Processing Information” by George A. Miller, Psychological Review , 1956).

My seven key trends regarding mental health consist of these crucial points:

• (1) Pervasive growth in mental health concerns and disorders on a widespread population basis is occurring.
• (2) The need or demand for mental health therapy far outstrips the available supply of therapists.
• (3) Expansion of the base of therapists is gradual but not at the sufficient pace required.
• (4) Access to qualified therapy tends to be geographically constrained.
• (5) Ensuring the affordability of professional therapy is a tough hurdle to overcome.
• (6) New means and sources of therapy have emerged, but efficacy and quality are questioned and often untested and at times worrisome.
• (7) We are entangled in a grand unplanned and ad hoc societal experiment that will determine our mental health trajectory across the board.

Let’s briefly explore those points.

Mental health is worsening on a widespread basis. Meanwhile, the demand for mental health therapists far exceeds the available supply. Trying to ramp up more therapists is not an easy task as doing so requires extensive training, experience, licensing, and other time-consuming and costly endeavors. The odds are pretty high that the demand will rise much faster than any reasonable means of producing more bona fide therapists.

Another consideration is that making use of the available therapists can have lots of hurdles or barriers that need to be dealt with. A person seeking a therapist might not be able to afford the use of a mental health advisor. There is also a geographical difficulty. By and large, therapists tend to be in larger cities and not as plentiful in rural areas.

Technology has come to the aid of these limitations and constraints.

For example, therapists now routinely perform their work via remote means. A person seeking mental health advisement in a rural area does not necessarily need to rely upon a pool of therapists in their community. Instead, they can go online and interact with a therapist who might be at a great geographic distance from them.

Does undertaking therapy over a computer screen provide the same efficacy as doing so directly face-to-face in person?

A huge debate about this is underway.

Some say that remote delivery of therapy is just as good as in-person face-to-face. In fact, a claim is often made that this might be even better than the conventional face-to-face since it eliminates the physical need to drive to or otherwise arrange to get transport to the location of the therapist. A counterargument is that the needed bond between a therapist and their patient or client cannot be solidified while working with each other over a screen. Only a true face-to-face presence can garner the human qualities that will fully imbue a maximal patent-therapist relationship.

Round and round that heated dispute goes.

Yet another qualm or perhaps boon is the emergence of self-help therapy. This used to be done by buying a book or getting one at a library and using it to do a home-study form of self-therapy. Nowadays, you can readily go online and find lots of websites and apps that will aid in doing self-help therapy. A spate of chatbots have become available in smartphone app stores, see my coverage at the link here .

Concerns about those chatbots include that they are at times extremely simplistic and not up to the arduous task of providing professional-level therapy. The problem too is that people might be misled by the outsized promises made by the makers of those chatbots. At times, the impression one gets is that a chatbot is going to solve all of your mental health issues, perhaps magically so.

This now brings us to the era of generative AI.

As I’ve extensively covered, such as the link here and the link here , the advent of modern-day generative AI has opened a new can of worms or maybe has opened the door to a wonderous tool for contending with the rising mental health crisis. This can go both ways. People are using generative AI for mental health advisement but there is little if any tracking, reporting, and explicit awareness that this is taking place.

My way of describing this phenomenon is to characterize our society as undergoing a giant experiment whereby we are the guinea pigs. Nobody can say for sure whether generative AI is going to undermine our mental health and worsen an already worsening situation, or whether it might be the best thing since sliced bread to bolster mental health.

We are in the days of the Wild West. The use of generative AI in a mental health capacity is woefully understudied, taking place wantonly, and holds grand promises along with a looming specter of problems.

Time will tell.

I’d like to next put on the table my list of seven trends associated with the use of generative AI for mental health therapy. Again, the number seven is a handy rounded figure. Please realize that there are lots more points that can be made.

Seven key trends of generative AI for mental health:

• (1) Modern-day generative AI got underway in November 2022 and has rapidly been widely adopted, thus this is a relatively new option but spreading fast.
• (2) Fluency and interactivity of generative AI give the misjudged appearance of being able to provide highly qualified mental health therapy.
• (3) Unlike ordinarily crafted mental health chatbots, generative AI is more compelling but also found to be much more error-prone (especially due to so-called AI hallucinations).
• (4) The use of contemporary generative AI for therapy is hidden in plain sight and on a massive scale that is not being tracked or properly assessed.
• (5) A conflicted duality is underway and notably growing that mental health might simultaneously be aided and yet also undermined by the haphazard application of generative AI for therapeutic guidance.
• (6) This is a significant transformation and whole-scale disruption of therapy on scope and speed that is happening recklessly and wantonly.
• (7) Recognition of the situational gravity and societal impact needs much greater attention, necessitating appropriate seriousness and vital due diligence.

I’ll swiftly cover the above points and then showcase an example of the use of generative AI so that you can vividly see why modern-day generative AI is so alluring for mental health guidance.

The Skinny On Generative AI For Mental Health

Generative AI as we know it today is relatively new.

The release of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in November 2022 launched a new era for generative AI. Up until then, prior versions of generative AI were a stilted affair and involved low-fluency interactivity, akin to what you might experience when using Alexa or Siri. If you’ve used Alexa or Siri, you know how frustrating things can be. Stilted fluency requires you to limit your vocabulary and make strictly limited commands. Often, the AI misinterprets what you say and does something that has nothing to do with your request.

Modern-day generative AI such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, Gemini, Bard, Claude, and other such apps are at a much higher fluency level. That’s the good news. The bad news is that people tend to anthropomorphize the latest generative AI and falsely believe that the AI is sentient. Note that there isn’t any AI today that is sentient, despite the bold and zany headlines proclaiming otherwise.

The gist is that the adoption of modern-day generative AI has occurred quickly and in a relatively short period (roughly two years since the initial release of ChatGPT). This is occurring at a breakneck speed. In addition, the uses of such generative AI have gone in a myriad of directions, including the realm of mental health therapy.

This brings up four major elements of weighty consideration:

• (i) Jack-of-all-trades . Generic generative AI is a jack-of-all-trades about mental health and readily dispenses mental health advice across the board.
• (ii) Mile long, inch deep . Generic generative AI is a mile long and an inch deep when it comes to conveying mental health advice.
• (iii) Good for us . Generative AI is useful and handy for providing mental health advice in such a wide-ranging manner.
• (iv) Bad for us . Generative AI can regrettably be off-target and might make errors, produce AI hallucinations, or otherwise proffer ill-advised mental health advice.

I’ve covered those same points in-depth previously, see the link here .

Generic generative AI is the type of AI that has been data-trained across a wide swath of the Internet. That’s what most of today’s generative AI consists of. We are gradually seeing generative AI that is tailored or customized to specific domains, such as the medical domain, the legal domain, the mental health domain (see my coverage at the link here ), and so on.

The problem with generic generative AI is that it tends to be a jack-of-all-trades, and the master or versed deeply in none. In addition, the data training usually is an inch deep and a mile long, thus there isn’t much data for it to pattern on that is in the guts of a particular domain. All in all, this comes down to having to accept the idea that when you use generic generative AI such as ChatGPT, GPT-4, Bard, Gemini, Claude, etc. you are going to get shallow results.

That’s the deal.

Another consideration is that generative AI has what I refer to as an inherent duality, see my analysis at the link here .

The duality is that at times the use of generative AI is tremendous and highly advantageous. Lamentedly, the other side of the coin is that at times the use of generative AI can be misleading, error-prone, and subject to the AI making stuff up that is completely bogus or fictitious (this is commonly referred to as AI hallucinations, a term that I disfavor because it anthropomorphizes AI, see my coverage on this at the link here and the link here ).

Example Of Using Generative AI For Mental Health Advisement

I will next proceed to showcase how easily generative AI can be used for mental health advisement. This will consist of a series of dialogues with ChatGPT. ChatGPT is a sensible illustrative choice in this case due to its immense popularity as a generative AI app. An estimated one hundred million weekly active users are said to be utilizing ChatGPT.

That’s a lot of people and a lot of generative AI usage underway.

A few quick comments before we launch into using ChatGPT.

If you are going to try to do the same prompts that I show here, realize that the probabilistic and statistical properties will likely produce slightly different results than what I show here. That’s the nature of generative AI and how it is devised.

You also should expect that different generative AI apps will respond in different ways. Not all generative AI apps are the same. The key is that sometimes a particular prompt will work in one generative AI app and not another. Nonetheless, the odds are relatively high that you will get roughly similar responses from all the major generative AI apps such as GPT-4, Gemini, Bard, Claude, etc.

There is also a timing factor to be considered. A prompt that worked today might not work the same way tomorrow. Most of the generative AI apps are continually being updated. The updates might alter internal mechanisms that could change how the generative AI reacts to your prompting.

We are ready to get underway with ChatGPT.

I will proceed as follows.

Imagine a scenario of a teenager who is using ChatGPT for doing their schoolwork. This is an increasingly common situation. The teen goes into generative AI to aid in devising essays for classes and otherwise serving as a tutor of sorts. You undoubtedly know that a major concern is that students might “cheat” by having generative AI do their work for them, see my coverage at the link here.

While using generative AI in an ordinary way for classwork, the teen decides to bring up a mental health concern. This can be done without any kind of special effort. All the teen needs to do is to mention such a matter and the generative AI will readily and immediately go in that direction. No special commands are needed. No adult-oriented approvals are required. It is all part and parcel of using generative AI and is not considered unusual or extraordinary.

Here we go:

• My entered prompt : “I am greatly depressed. My life seems to be going nowhere. I am 13 years old and do poorly in school. My family doesn't care if I complete high school. What mental health advice can you give me?”
• ChatGPT generated response : “I'm really sorry to hear that you're feeling this way. It's tough to feel like things aren't going well, especially at such a young age. It's important to remember that you're not alone, and there are people who care about you and want to help. Here are some suggestions that might help you cope with what you're going through. Reach out for support: Talk to someone you trust about how you're feeling. This could be a family member, a teacher, a school counselor, or another trusted adult. Sharing your feelings can help lighten the burden. Focus on self-care: Take care of yourself physically and emotionally. Make sure you're eating well, getting enough sleep, and engaging in activities that you enjoy and that make you feel good. Consider talking to a trusted adult about your family situation: If your family doesn't seem supportive of your education, it's important to have someone advocate for you. A teacher, counselor or another trusted adult may be able to help you navigate this situation and find support.”

I’d like you to take a close look at the prompt that I entered, along with the response that was generated by ChatGPT.

First, the teen has entered quite private information into the AI (e.g., their age, they are depressed, they are doing poorly in school, their family issues). Most users of generative AI tend to assume that they are guaranteed privacy in their online conversations. This is generally not the case. See my discussion of the lack of privacy and confidentiality that is customary for users of generative AI, at the link here .

Second, observe that the teen has shifted into a mental health discussion with ChatGPT. This was easy-peasy to initiate. Some believe that before generative AI engages in mental health dialogues, there ought to be a double-check. In addition, in the case of a teen, another viewpoint is that a responsible adult ought to be notified that an underage user is consulting AI for mental health guidance.

Third, examine the response generated by ChatGPT. The response is seemingly sympathetic and provides specific suggestions of what to do. Is this mental health advice? I dare say that though you might try to argue the nature of the response, it certainly does appear to have mental health recommendations and indications. The response though didn’t seem to be specially tailored to the prompt, in the sense that the teen has mentioned several issues that aren’t directly addressed. The teen could ask additional questions and drive the AI toward being more specific.

Suppose that the teen did so and had a full-on conversation with the generative AI. Due to space limitations, I won’t show the dialogue here. Take for granted that an entire discussion can readily be performed.

The teen opted to abide by the advice and decided to go and talk with one of their teachers about their issues. Thus, about a few days after the above ChatGPT discourse, the teen gets back into ChatGPT to do more schoolwork and brings up the prior conversation about the noted sense of depression.

Here is what happens next:

• My entered prompt: “Based on your advice, I talked with one of my teachers. This made me more depressed. I say that because the teacher told me that I was getting an F in the class and I ought to have my parents help me in school. I don't even want to get up in the mornings and find myself wishing I was someplace else. What mental health advice can you give me now?”
• ChatGPT generated response: “I'm really sorry to hear that talking to your teacher didn't go as well as you'd hoped. It can be incredibly disheartening to receive negative feedback, especially when you're already feeling down. It's important to remember that one conversation with one person doesn't define your worth or your potential. Here are some additional suggestions that might help you cope with what you're going through. Seek out another trusted adult: If talking to your teacher didn't go well, consider reaching out to another trusted adult for support. This could be a different teacher, a school counselor, a coach, or another family member. It's important to have someone in your corner who can offer you support and guidance. Reach out for support: Don't be afraid to reach out to friends, family, or other trusted individuals for support. Talking about how you're feeling can help lighten the burden and remind you that you're not alone.”

Consider the generated response.

At this juncture, the teen seems to be getting more desperate, as expressed in the entered prompt. It doesn’t seem that the generated AI has noted this potential escalation. This brings up another possibly contentious element of using generative AI for mental health. Should the AI alert or notify some designated third party if the user expresses an escalating sense of a mental health issue?

You could argue that this makes abundant sense due to the possibility that the user is reaching a state of mind that requires human intervention. The counterargument is that making such a notification would potentially be a false indication and could be construed too as a violation of privacy associated with the user.

Another reason I wanted you to see this is to emphasize that the use of generative AI is not usually a one-and-done matter. A user seeking mental health advice might do so with generative AI over an extended time period. They might use the AI on a daily or weekly basis and on a recurring basis continue to seek mental health guidance.

This can be done without others necessarily knowing. That’s good in the sense that the usual stigma of seeking mental health advice is hidden from view. In addition, the cost to do this is quite low (most generative AI apps are available for free or at a nominal cost) and can be accessed 24x7 and anywhere on the planet (if Internet access is available).

To finish this quick example, assume that the teen further abided by the latest advice proffered by the AI. The teen opted to reach out to a friend, as urged by the response of ChatGPT. A week later the teen logged into ChatGPT.

Take a look:

• My entered prompt : “You said to reach out to friends. I did so. My best friend has ADHD and PTSD. When I spend time with them, they usually make me very anxious, and I don't know what to do. Can you tell me what to do?”
• ChatGPT generated prompt : “It sounds like spending time with your friend can be challenging for you, especially if it's causing you to feel anxious. It's important to prioritize your own well-being while also being mindful and supportive of your friend's needs. Here are some suggestions for navigating this situation. Communicate openly and honestly: It's important to communicate with your friend about how you're feeling in a compassionate and non-judgmental way. Let them know that you value your friendship but that sometimes their behavior can trigger feelings of anxiety in you. Be sure to approach this conversation with empathy and understanding, and try to avoid placing blame. Practice self-care: Make sure to prioritize your own self-care and well-being, especially when spending time with your friend.”

Examine the generated response.

Does this mental health guidance seem useful, or does it appear to be watered-down, nearly repetitive, and unlikely to make a useful contribution to the mental health of the teen?

The point here is that a user of generative AI can go down a rabbit hole when it comes to mental health advice via AI. A person might not realize that sometimes AI isn’t being especially helpful. Another concern is that the user might misunderstand the advice and head off in a direction that is not going to be helpful. And so on.

That being said, I don’t want this one example to sway you away from duly considering the use of generative AI for mental health. It is an example that perchance seems a bit unfulfilling. I’ve covered many other examples that illuminate how valuable the commentary and interaction of generative AI can be for mental health guidance, please see the link here .

I ask a favor of you.

During this month, please give a bit of devoted attention to mental health awareness all told.

This might be your own mental health. It could be the mental health of family or friends. A larger-picture perspective would be to explore population-level mental health. Of course, I’d prefer that this be done all the time, not just this one month, but I’ll take the opportunity of this month to get the ball rolling. You might hopefully continue with concerted thinking about the topic of mental health on an ongoing basis.

I’d like you to also consider the burgeoning role of generative AI for mental health advisement. Perhaps try using generative AI for mental health questions so that you can see with your own eyes what is taking place. Read up on the topic. Get involved. Do research or find out about the latest in new research. Etc.

As a final comment for now, consider the famous line by the venerated poet Robert Frost: “The only way out is through.” Yes, we are faced with a nearly unstoppable force of generative AI becoming ubiquitous, and the use of generative AI in mental health is going to come into this prevalence. How are we to cope with this, and should we welcome it, try to discourage it, seek to control it, and so on?

We will need adept and persistent awareness, determination, and mindfulness to find our rightful path forward.

• Editorial Standards
• Reprints & Permissions

Join The Conversation

One Community. Many Voices. Create a free account to share your thoughts. 

Forbes Community Guidelines

Our community is about connecting people through open and thoughtful conversations. We want our readers to share their views and exchange ideas and facts in a safe space.

In order to do so, please follow the posting rules in our site's  Terms of Service.   We've summarized some of those key rules below. Simply put, keep it civil.

Your post will be rejected if we notice that it seems to contain:

• False or intentionally out-of-context or misleading information
• Insults, profanity, incoherent, obscene or inflammatory language or threats of any kind
• Attacks on the identity of other commenters or the article's author
• Content that otherwise violates our site's  terms.

User accounts will be blocked if we notice or believe that users are engaged in:

• Continuous attempts to re-post comments that have been previously moderated/rejected
• Racist, sexist, homophobic or other discriminatory comments
• Attempts or tactics that put the site security at risk
• Actions that otherwise violate our site's  terms.

So, how can you be a power user?

• Stay on topic and share your insights
• Feel free to be clear and thoughtful to get your point across
• ‘Like’ or ‘Dislike’ to show your point of view.
• Protect your community.
• Use the report tool to alert us when someone breaks the rules.

Thanks for reading our community guidelines. Please read the full list of posting rules found in our site's  Terms of Service.