A Sociolinguistic Analysis of the Perceptions of Students in a Ghanaian University, on the Use of First Person Pronouns in Academic Writing

Abstract

This study presents the perceptions of students on the use of first person pronouns in academic writing as well as the gender group which makes use of it most in their academic writing. Questionnaires were therefore administered to forty students; twenty males and twenty female, in the faculty of Arts of the University of Cape Coast, Ghana for a case study. The data revealed that students are gradually moving away from the traditional of being objective and not being explicit about personal views in academic writing. They are rather adapting to the new way of being explicit in claiming their stance in academic writing through the use of FPPs. The data also showed that female students use first person pronouns in their academic writing more than male students. These findings thus have implications of orienting students towards the use of first person pronouns in their academic writings to help them represent themselves in their work and to show ownership as well.