LESSON SUMMARY
In writing, the point of view is the “person” through which the writer tells the story or shares in formation. The first-person point of view uses the pronouns I,ME, and WE. It is a personal point of view because the writer or narrator is speaking directly to the reader; therefore, it is also the most subjective point of view. The second-person point of view uses the pronoun YOU, putting the reader in writer’s or narrator’s shoes. The third-person point of view presents information from an outsider’s perspective and uses the pronouns HE,SHE,IT or THEY.
You can see by now how important point of view is in writing, for each point of view creates a different effect. Sometimes it brings the reader and writer closer together (the first-person point of view); sometimes it pushes them apart (the third-person point of view). Sometimes it makes an argument more convincing through third-person objectivity, because the speaker is not directly involved in the action. Sometimes an argument is more convincing through second-person involvement. Still other times the argument is more convincing in the first-person point of view because of the intimacy that perspective creates.