viewpoint essay meaning

How to Write Perspective Essay: Bringing Your Viewpoint

Table of contents

• 1 Understanding Perspective in Writing
• 2 Choosing a Subject for Your Perspective Essay
• 3 Techniques for Analyzing a Subject from Various Perspectives
• 4.1 Introduction
• 4.3 Conclusion
• 5 Handling Conflicting Viewpoints in a Point-of-View Essay
• 6.1 Perspective Essay Example: “The World Through My Window”
• 6.2 Analysis of the Example
• 7 Crafting Perspectives: Key Takeaways

Embarking on the path of writing a perspective essay opens a window to the soul, revealing the depth of our perceptions and the breadth of our understanding. It is an invitation to introspect and articulate, to compare and contrast our inner landscapes with the vast world outside. Delving into perspective essays can be a transformative journey for any writer. This article offers a comprehensive guide to mastering the art of perspective writing.

Here’s what we’ll cover:

• The concept of perspective in writing highlighting its role in literature and essays.
• Distinguishing perspective essays from other essay types, emphasizing the role of personal viewpoints.
• How to select an engaging subject for perspective essays, with tips for unique angles.
• A step-by-step approach to writing a perspective essay, including structure and storytelling elements.
• We discuss methods for handling conflicting viewpoints and presenting a reasoned argument.

Continue reading to learn the secrets of creating a successful perspective essay.

Understanding Perspective in Writing

Like a kaleidoscope, shifting patterns with each turn, perspective in writing transforms the narrative landscape, offering a myriad of views and interpretations. Perspective in writing, especially in literature and essay writing, serves as a unique lens through which readers view the narrative or argument. It’s akin to wearing different glasses that change how we perceive the world in a story or essay. In literature, perspective often manifests through the eyes of the characters, influencing how the story unfolds. This concept becomes even more vital in perspective essays, as the writer’s viewpoint shapes the entire narrative.

A perspective essay differs fundamentally from other types of essays. While expository, descriptive, or argumentative essays focus on presenting facts, explaining ideas, or persuading the reader, a perspective essay dives into the writer’s personal viewpoint. It’s less about convincing the reader and offering a unique lens for viewing a topic. This type of essay enriches the reader’s understanding by showcasing a personal and subjective take on the subject matter.

Incorporating personal viewpoints and subjectivity is what sets perspective essays apart. This approach allows writers to infuse their narratives with personal experiences, beliefs, and emotions, offering a distinct flavor to the essay. It’s not just about presenting facts; it’s about weaving those facts with personal stories and insights. This style encourages readers to see the topic from a new angle, challenging their preconceptions. A well-written perspective essay example demonstrates this blend of personal insight and factual information, making it a powerful tool for expression and engagement.

When learning how to write a perspective essay, it’s crucial to understand that your viewpoint is the essay’s heartbeat. Unlike an essay on perspective that might discuss the concept, a perspective essay embodies it, giving readers a window into your world. This approach doesn’t just convey information; it invites readers into a conversation, fostering a deeper, more personal connection with the topic.

Choosing a Subject for Your Perspective Essay

Selecting a subject for a perspective essay is a crucial step that sets the tone for your entire piece. The key lies in choosing a topic that resonates with you personally, as this type of essay thrives on the depth and authenticity of your viewpoint. Start by considering issues or experiences that stir your emotions or provoke thought. It could be anything from a personal life event to a global issue you feel strongly about.

In perspective writing, the uniqueness of your angle is as important as the subject itself. Even common subjects can transform into compelling essays with a fresh viewpoint.

When considering topics, select the subjects you can explore in depth. Your essay should offer insight and depth, making a well-understood topic a safe bet.

Techniques for Analyzing a Subject from Various Perspectives

To fully grasp the essence of a subject, one must embark on a journey of exploration from every conceivable angle, peeling back layers to uncover the rich tapestry of insights beneath. Analyzing a subject from multiple perspectives requires a methodical approach, ensuring a comprehensive and balanced essay. Begin by identifying the core idea of your subject , and then examine it from different angles. This process involves looking beyond the obvious and questioning the underlying assumptions or beliefs associated with the subject .

Stepping into the shoes of others, we unlock the door to a world of varied perceptions, each offering a distinct piece of the puzzle that forms our understanding. One effective technique is to adopt various roles or personas . Imagine how individuals from different backgrounds, professions, or life experiences view your subject. For instance, a scientist, an artist, and a teacher would each bring a unique perspective to the same topic. This exercise broadens your understanding and helps uncover diverse viewpoints.

Another strategy involves historical and cultural analysis . How would your subject be perceived in a different era or culture? This approach offers depth, showing how perspectives can evolve over time or vary across societies. It’s crucial to research thoroughly to ensure accuracy and sensitivity in your analysis.

What is more, comparative analysis is also valuable. Compare and contrast your subject with similar or contrasting ideas. This method highlights the nuances of your subject, providing a richer perspective. For instance, when writing a perspective essay example about technology’s impact on communication, compare past and present communication methods to underscore the changes and their implications.

Lastly, engage with existing literature or discourse on your subject. What are experts saying? How do public opinions vary? Incorporating these into your essay adds credibility and depth. However, maintain a critical eye, assessing the validity and biases in these sources.

Applying these techniques allows you to dissect your subject comprehensively, bringing a well-rounded perspective to your essay. Remember, the goal is to present various viewpoints and weave them together coherently, offering a rich, multi-dimensional understanding of the subject.

How to Write a Perspective Essay

Writing a perspective essay is an artful balance between expressing personal views and engaging the reader with a broader understanding of the topic. This type of essay transcends mere opinion by offering a unique lens through which the subject matter is explored.

Introduction

To start with your introduction, it should hook the reader and introduce the topic. Use a compelling statement or a thought-provoking question to pique interest. Clearly state your main argument or viewpoint here. This section sets the stage for your perspective and gives readers a glimpse into the essay’s focus.

Paragraph 1: Start with personal anecdotes or experiences related to your topic. These stories should be relevant and serve as a foundation for your perspective.

Paragraph 2: Next, delve into the specifics of your viewpoint. It’s crucial to expand on why you hold this perspective, linking it to broader themes, cultural contexts, or historical background.

Paragraph 3: Incorporate elements of storytelling such as descriptive language, emotional appeal, and vivid imagery. This approach enriches your essay, making abstract ideas tangible and relatable.

Paragraph 4: Acknowledge other viewpoints. Discuss how these differ from or align with your perspective.

Paragraph 5: Tie in theoretical concepts or references from external sources. This shows that your perspective, while personal, is informed and well-considered.

Conclude by summarizing your main points and restating your thesis in light of the evidence and discussions in the body. Offer a final thought or question to leave the reader pondering, adding depth to your conclusion and reinforcing your perspective’s impact.

Key Elements to Include:

• Personal Experiences and Reflections

Share personal stories and reflections to make your viewpoint more tangible and engaging. This approach adds depth to your perspective and helps establish a connection with the reader.

• Clarity and Focus

Be clear and focused in your writing. Avoid straying from the main point. Each paragraph should contribute to building your argument or shedding light on your perspective.

• Contrasting Viewpoints

Including contrasting viewpoints provides a comprehensive view of the topic. It demonstrates that you have considered the subject matter from multiple angles, adding credibility to your perspective.

• Narrative Techniques

Use descriptive language, metaphorical expressions, and emotional appeals to make your essay vivid and compelling. This not only keeps the reader engaged but also makes your essay memorable.

• Objective Analysis

While your essay is centered on your perspective, ensure you objectively present your arguments and contrasting views. Avoid bias and ensure that your essay is fair and balanced.

• Direct Engagement

Address the reader to create a conversational and engaging tone. This approach makes the essay more personable and relatable.

A perspective essay is a blend of personal insights and a well-rounded understanding of the topic. It requires introspection, research, and the ability to articulate thoughts in a coherent and engaging manner. By weaving personal experiences with factual information and theoretical concepts, your essay becomes a rich narrative that informs and resonates with the readers.

Handling Conflicting Viewpoints in a Point-of-View Essay

In a point-of-view essay, addressing conflicting viewpoints is essential for presenting a reasoned argument. Firstly, start by acknowledging these differing viewpoints without bias. Understanding and presenting these views demonstrates respect and depth in your analysis.

If you start with discussing opposing arguments, avoid dismissive language. Instead, analyze these views critically, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses in a balanced manner. Then, logically present your counterarguments. Use evidence and reasoning to explain why your perspective offers a more compelling or comprehensive understanding of the topic. This approach strengthens your essay point of view and enhances your credibility as a writer. It’s crucial to maintain an objective tone throughout, focusing on logical reasoning rather than emotion.

By breaking down opposing views and building a well-reasoned argument, your essay becomes a thoughtful dialogue rather than a one-sided monologue, encouraging readers to consider your perspective.

Example of Perspective Essays

Crafting a perspective essay is akin to painting a landscape with words, where each stroke offers a different hue of insight and understanding. Such essays invite readers into the writer’s world, encouraging them to view familiar scenes through new eyes. By sharing personal viewpoints, reflections, and analyses, writers can transform abstract concepts into tangible experiences. This unique form of essay writing not only fosters a deeper connection between the writer and reader but also promotes a broader understanding of the subject at hand. Let’s delve into an example of a perspective essay, exploring its nuances and the techniques that make it both compelling and enlightening.

Perspective Essay Example: “The World Through My Window”

As I sit by the window of my fourth-floor apartment, the world below unfolds like a living tapestry. From this vantage point, the bustling city street transforms into a stage where each passerby plays a role in an unwritten play. The scene may appear mundane to a casual observer: people rushing to their destinations, cars honking, and the occasional dog walker. Yet, through my eyes, each element tells a part of a larger story about connectivity and isolation in the digital age. This perspective reveals more than just the physical distance between people; it highlights the paradox of our modern world. Here, in a crowded city, individuals navigate their paths, encapsulated in their thoughts or the screens of their smartphones. This observation leads me to ponder the role of technology in shaping our interactions. While it has the power to connect us across vast distances, it also has the uncanny ability to widen the gap between us, even as we stand shoulder to shoulder. Through the lens of my window, I witness the juxtaposition of connection and solitude. The elderly man who pauses to feed pigeons every morning at 8:00 am, seemingly cherishing this simple routine amidst the urban rush, symbolizes a longing for simpler times. Meanwhile, a group of teenagers laughs together, their attention shared between the physical and digital realms as they scroll through their feeds. This scene encapsulates the dual-edged sword of technological advancement, offering both a bridge and a barrier to genuine human connection.

Analysis of the Example

Delving into the analysis of a perspective essay sheds light on the intricate dance between personal reflection and universal truth, revealing how individual insights can mirror broader societal themes. This examination is crucial, not just for understanding the writer’s viewpoint but for uncovering the layers of meaning that resonate with readers from diverse backgrounds. By dissecting the example of “The World Through My Window,” we can appreciate the nuanced craftsmanship that bridges personal experience with collective consciousness. Here is what we analysed:

Initially, the essay’s introduction draws readers into a vivid tableau, setting the stage for a deep dive into the complexities of human connection in a digitized world. Importantly, descriptive imagery serves as the backbone of this narrative, enabling readers to visualize the bustling cityscape as more than a mere backdrop but as a character in its own right. This technique ensures that the essay’s themes are not only understood intellectually but felt viscerally.

Moreover, the strategic use of the window as a framing device acts as a powerful metaphor, symbolizing the writer’s observational detachment and inherent connectedness to the scenes unfolding below. Here, the transition from mere observation to profound reflection is seamless, demonstrating how physical spaces can echo the internal landscapes of our thoughts and emotions.

Reflectively, the essay navigates through the dichotomy of connection and isolation, highlighted by the poignant examples of the elderly man and the teenagers. These vignettes serve a dual purpose: they ground the essay’s abstract concepts in tangible reality and illustrate the nuanced impact of technology on human interactions. Furthermore, the transition between these examples is smooth, each serving to build upon the last, weaving a cohesive narrative thread that draws the reader deeper into the essay’s contemplative journey.

Finally, the reflective tone of the essay invites readers to engage in a dialogue with the text, prompting them to question and consider their own experiences with technology and connection. This interactive aspect of perspective essays is pivotal, as it transforms passive reading into an active exploration of both the self and society.

In essence, this analysis underscores the artistry behind crafting a perspective essay that resonates on multiple levels. Through deliberate descriptive imagery, metaphorical framing, reflective narration, and relatable examples, the writer achieves a harmonious balance between personal anecdote and universal insight. It’s this balance that elevates the essay from a mere narrative to a reflective mirror, offering readers a lens through which to examine their own views against the backdrop of the wider world.

Crafting Perspectives: Key Takeaways

In this comprehensive guide on writing perspective essays, we’ve explored essential strategies for conveying your viewpoint. Key takeaways include the importance of a well-structured approach, starting with a captivating introduction and flowing through a thoughtful body to a reflective conclusion. Employing storytelling, addressing the reader directly, and integrating personal reflections are pivotal in adding depth and relatability. Balancing your viewpoint with contrasting perspectives ensures a rounded and credible argument. Remember, the essence of a perspective essay lies in its ability to offer unique insights and foster a deeper understanding of the subject through your personal lens.

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Point of View in Grammar and Composition

Glossary of Grammatical and Rhetorical Terms

Tim Platt/Getty Images

• An Introduction to Punctuation
• Ph.D., Rhetoric and English, University of Georgia
• M.A., Modern English and American Literature, University of Leicester
• B.A., English, State University of New York

Point of view is the perspective from which a speaker or writer recounts a narrative or presents information. Also known as a viewpoint .

Depending on the topic, purpose, and audience , writers of nonfiction may rely on the first-person point of view ( I, we ), the second-person ( you, your, you're ), or the third-person ( he, she, it, they ).

Author Lee Gutkind points out that point of view is "innately tied to voice, and a strong, well-executed point of view will also lead to a strong voice" ( Keep It Real , 2008).

Examples and Observations

" Point of view is the place from which a writer listens in and watches. Choosing one place over another determines what can and can't be seen, what minds can and can't be entered. . . .

"The main choice, of course, is between the third and first person, between a disembodied voice and 'I' (in nonfiction synonymous with the author). For some, the choice is made before sitting down to write. Some writers feel obliged to use the third person, by tradition the voice of objectivity, the disinterested mode of address appropriate for the newspaper or for history. Other writers, by contrast, seem to adopt the first person as a reflex, even if they are not writing autobiographically . But choosing a point of view really is a choice fundamental to the construction of nonfiction narratives , thus carrying relevant consequences. No moral superiority inheres in the first or third person, in their many varieties, but the wrong choice can deaden a story or distort it enough to turn it into a lie, sometimes a lie composed of facts." (Tracy Kidder and Richard Todd, Good Prose: The Art of Nonfiction . Random House, 2013)

Subjective and Objective Viewpoints

" Pronouns reflect the various viewpoints. You can choose first-person ( I, me, us, our ), second person ( you ), or third person ( he, she, they, their ). First-person is considered intense, subjective, and emotionally hot. It is the natural choice for a memoir , autobiography, and most personal-experience essays . The reader is the center of attention for second-person. It is the favored point of view for instructional material, advice, and sometimes admonishment! It is intimate without being intense--unless the 'voice' of the author is authoritarian or controlling instead of instructive. . . .

"Third person can be subjective or objective. For instance, when used for an 'as told to' personal-experience essay, third-person is subjective and warm. When used for news and information, third-person is objective and cool." (Elizabeth Lyon, A Writer's Guide to Nonfiction . Perigee, 2003)

The First-Person Narrator

"It's hard to write a memoir or a personal essay without falling back on the 'I.' In fact, all nonfiction is really told in the technical first-person point of view : there is always a narrator doing the telling, and the narrator is not some fictional persona but the author.

"This single point of view is one of the important—and frustrating—hallmarks that distinguishes nonfiction from fiction.

"Yet there are ways to mimic other points of view--and thereby to tell a more natural sort of story.

"Listen to the opening lines of Daniel Bergner's God of the Rodeo : 'When he had finished work--building fence or penning cattle or castrating bull calves with a knife supplied by his boss on the prison farm--Johnny Brooks lingered in the saddle shed. The small cinder-block building is near the heart of Angola, Louisiana's maximum-security state penitentiary. Alone there, Brooks placed his saddle on the wooden rack in the middle of the room, leapt onto it, and imagined himself riding in the inmate rodeo coming up in October.'

"No sign yet of the author—a strictly third-person presentation. . . . The author won't enter the story directly for many more lines; he'll duck in once to let us know he's there and then disappear for long stretches . . ..

"But in fact, of course, the author has been with us in every line, in the second way that an author participates in a nonfiction story: tone ." (Philip Gerard, "Talking Yourself Out of the Story: Narrative Stance and the Upright Pronoun." Writing Creative Nonfiction , ed. by Carolyn Forché and Philip Gerard. Writer's Digest Books, 2001)

Point of View and Persona

"[T]hese issues of point of view really point to one of the most fundamental skills in creative nonfiction , to writing not as the 'author' but from a constructed persona , even if that persona is taking on the 'I' to tell the story. That persona is formed by time, mood, and distance from the events that are being narrated. And if we decide to foreground the artifice of this construction by using more stylized points of view, such as second- or third-person, we create even more of a relationship between the narrator and the narrated, a high awareness that we are engaged in the reconstruction of experience and not pretending to be mere transcribers of that experience." (Lee Gutkind and Hattie Fletcher Buck, Keep It Real: Everything You Need to Know About Researching and Writing Creative Nonfiction . W.W. Norton, 2008)

Obi-Wan Kenobi on Point of View

Obi-Wan : So, what I told you was true . . . from a certain point of view.

Luke: A certain point of view?

Obi-Wan : Luke, you're going to find that many of the truths we cling to depend greatly on our own point of view.

( Star Wars: Episode VI--Return of the Jedi , 1983)

• 5 Easy Activities for Teaching Point of View
• Third-Person Point of View
• A Guide to All Types of Narration, With Examples
• Understanding Point of View in Literature
• Definition and Examples of Narratives in Writing
• First-Person Point of View
• Creative Nonfiction
• What is Second-Person Point of View in Literature?
• Didacticism: Definition and Examples in Literature
• What Is Literary Journalism?
• A Look at the Roles Characters Play in Literature
• AP English Exam: 101 Key Terms
• The Essay: History and Definition
• The Writer's Voice in Literature and Rhetoric

• Literary Terms
• Point of View
• Definition & Examples
• When & How to Use Point of View

I. What is Point of View?

Point of view (POV) is what the character or narrator telling the story can see (his or her perspective). The author chooses “who” is to tell the story by determining the point of view. Depending on who the narrator is, he/she will be standing at one point and seeing the action. This viewpoint will give the narrator a partial or whole view of events as they happen. Many stories have the protagonist telling the story, while in others, the narrator may be another character or an outside viewer, a narrator who is not in the story at all. The narrator should not be confused with the author, who is the writer of the story and whose opinions may not be those written into the narrative.

II. Examples of Point of View

Sandra Cisneros wrote a story called “Eleven.” The point of view is the perspective of 11-year-old Rachel. The story takes place at school during her birthday and is about her humiliation of receiving an old sweater. Throughout the story, she speaks in the first-person point of view, sharing her thoughts as events unfold.

“Only today I wish I didn’t have only eleven years rattling inside me like pennies in a tin Band-Aid box. Today I wish I was one hundred and two instead of eleven because if I was one hundred and two I’d have known what to say when Mrs. Price put the red sweater on my desk” (Cisneros).

A fun activity is to rewrite the story from each character’s point of view. What is the teacher thinking as she tries to get rid of this ugly red sweater in her classroom? Maybe it reminds her of her demanding mother! How does the sweater feel being tossed and pushed around, unwanted and unloved?  Maybe some sweet old lady had knitted it with love for a granddaughter who now has rejected it. Why does Sylvia say it belongs to Rachel? Is she jealous of Rachel for some reason? Each character will have a slightly different story from his or her perspective.

III. Types of Point of View

First person: The example above with little Rachel is told in the first-person point of view, meaning that we are seeing events through the eyes of the character telling the story.

Second person: In second person, the narrator is speaking to YOU. This isn’t very common in fiction, unless the narrator is trying to talk to the reader personally. We see second-person point of view mostly in poems, speeches, instructional writing, and persuasive articles.

Third person: With third-person point of view, the narrator is describing what’s seen, but as a spectator. If the narrator is a character in the story, then we are reading what he or she observes as the story unfolds. This narrator has three possible perspectives.

• Limited – In limited third-person, the narrator sees only what’s in front of him/her, a spectator of events as they unfold and unable to read any other character’s mind.
• Omniscient – An omniscient narrator sees all, much as an all knowing god of some kind. He or she sees what each character is doing and can see into each character’s mind. This is common with an external character, who is standing above, watching the action below (think of a person with a crystal ball, peering in).
• Limited Omniscient – The limited omniscient third-person narrator can only see into one character’s mind. He/she might see other events happening, but only knows the reasons of one character’s actions in the story.

IV. The Importance of Point of View

Point of view is important in a story because it helps the reader understand characters’ feelings and actions. Each character will have his or her own perspective, so whoever is telling the story will impact the reader’s opinion of other characters and events.

As in the example above with Rachel and the red sweater, each point of view could be an entirely different story. Perhaps Rachel had embarrassed Sylvia horribly one day, so the sympathy we feel for Rachel in her perspective may change to sympathy for Sylvia if the point of view was switched.

Additionally, reading the story from a character in the story versus an external character changes the amount of information a reader has as the story unfolds. With an omniscient third-person, we can see everything before other characters do, which gives us forewarning about other events. With a limited third-person, we are not allowed to see other events until the narrator does so. This may leave us with more surprises as we read.

V. Examples of Point of View in Pop Culture

A very popular (and very old!) game is Mario Brothers. A gamer took the game and made a video of it in first-person point of view. It’s almost a dizzying experience to see Mario catch coins and jump around from his viewpoint.

Arcades have had games with a first-person POV for years. You sit in the console to drive the car in a race, or use the pistol and fire at targets. Racing games are probably the easiest to play as a first-person. With most games, you control the character in a game, but almost from a second-person POV. You can see your character as you control it within the game space just as another character would.

VI. Examples of Point of View in Literature

“Diary of a Wimpy Kid” by Jeff Kinney has been cracking kids up since 2007, as the protagonist, Greg Heffley, details his experiences in his trusty journal; he claims it’s NOT a diary. He even supplies stick drawings with bubble speech to illustrate special, usually devastating or hilarious, occurrences. Written in the first-person POV, we follow him through his days with his friends and family. Greg’s dry sense of reality as he tells his sad tales leaves us giggling sympathetically – you can’t help but feel sorry for him, and many kids can relate to his frustrations. There are nine books as of 2015, each one focusing on specific conflicts Greg must overcome as he makes his way through middle school and attempts to fit in with his family.

“First of all, let me get something straight: This is a Journal, not a diary. I know what it says on the cover, but when Mom went out to buy this thing I specifically told her to get one that didn’t say “diary” on it. Great. All I need is for some jerk to catch me carrying this book around and get the wrong idea” (Kinney 1). http://www.funbrain.com/journal/Journal.html?ThisJournalDay=1&ThisPage=2

The book is so popular, that it was also made into a movie.

VII. Related Terms

Narrator: The narrator is the person who tells the story. There are different types of narrators, such as internal and external. Each narrator will have his or her own perspective or point of view as the story is told.

Viewpoint: Viewpoint is the perspective at which something is seen. If three people see an accident, each person will have his or her own version of what happened depending on where the person was at the time it happened.

VIII. Conclusion

Point of view is an important part of all writing. It makes stories interesting, gives research its serious tone, poems and persuasive works their personal tone, and allows readers to easily follow all writing. Keeping in mind the different types of POV and when to use them will make your writing stronger.

List of Terms

• Alliteration
• Amplification
• Anachronism
• Anthropomorphism
• Antonomasia
• APA Citation
• Aposiopesis
• Autobiography
• Bildungsroman
• Characterization
• Circumlocution
• Cliffhanger
• Comic Relief
• Connotation
• Deus ex machina
• Deuteragonist
• Doppelganger
• Double Entendre
• Dramatic irony
• Equivocation
• Extended Metaphor
• Figures of Speech
• Flash-forward
• Foreshadowing
• Intertextuality
• Juxtaposition
• Literary Device
• Malapropism
• Onomatopoeia
• Parallelism
• Pathetic Fallacy
• Personification
• Polysyndeton
• Protagonist
• Red Herring
• Rhetorical Device
• Rhetorical Question
• Science Fiction
• Self-Fulfilling Prophecy
• Synesthesia
• Turning Point
• Understatement
• Urban Legend
• Verisimilitude
• Essay Guide
• Cite This Website

Types of Point of View: The Ultimate Guide to First Person and Third Person POV

by Joe Bunting | 72 comments

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In my experience as an editor, point of view problems are among the top mistakes I see new writers make, and they instantly erode credibility and reader trust. Point of view isn't easy though, since there are so many to choose from: first person point of view, third person limited, third person omniscient, and second person.

What do those even mean? And how do you choose the right one for your story?

All stories are written from a point of view. However, when point of view goes wrong—and believe me, it goes wrong often—you threaten whatever trust you have with your reader. You also fracture their suspension of disbelief.

However, point of view is simple to master if you use common sense.

This post will define point of view, go over each of the major POVs, explain a few of the POV rules, and then point out the major pitfalls writers make when dealing with that point of view.

Table of Contents

Point of View Definition The 4 Types of Point of View The #1 POV Mistake First Person Point of View Second Person Point of View Third Person Limited Point of View Third Person Omniscient Point of View FAQ: Can you change POV in a Series? Practice Exercise

Point of View Definition

The point of view, or POV, in a story is the narrator's position in the description of events, and comes from the Latin word, punctum visus , which literally means point sight. The point of view is where a writer points the sight of the reader.

Note that point of view also has a second definition.

In a discussion, an argument, or nonfiction writing, a point of view is an opinion about a subject. This is not the type of point of view we're going to focus on in this article (although it is helpful for nonfiction writers, and for more information, I recommend checking out Wikipedia's neutral point of view policy ).

I especially like the German word for POV, which is Gesichtspunkt , translated “face point,” or where your face is pointed. Isn't that a good visual for what's involved in point of view? It's the limited perspective of what you show your reader.

Note too that point of view is sometimes called narrative mode or narrative perspective.

Why Point of View Is So Important

Why does point of view matter so much?

For a fiction writer, point of view filters everything in your story. Everything in your story must come from a point of view.

Which means if you get it wrong, your entire story is damaged.

For example, I've personally read and judged thousands of stories for literary contests, and I've found point of view mistakes in about twenty percent of them. Many of these stories would have placed much higher if only the writers hadn't made the mistakes we're going to talk about soon.

The worst part is these mistakes are easily avoidable if you're aware of them. But before we get into the common point of view mistakes, let's go over each of the four types of narrative perspective.

The Four Types of Point of View

Here are the four primary types of narration in fiction:

• First person point of view.  First person perspective is when “I” am telling the story. The character is in  the story, relating his or her experiences directly.
• Second person point of view. The story is told to “you.” This POV is not common in fiction, but it's still good to know (it is  common in nonfiction).
• Third person point of view, limited. The story is about “he” or “she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.
• Third person point of view, omniscient. The story is still about “he” or “she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all  characters in the story. This is a much broader perspective.

I know you've seen and probably even used most of these point of views.

While these are the only types of POV, there are additional narrative techniques you can use to tell an interesting story. To learn how to use devices like epistolary and framing stories, check out our full narrative devices guide here .

Let's discuss each of the four types, using examples to see how they affect your story. We'll also go over the rules for each type, but first let me explain the big mistake you don't want to make with point of view.

The #1 POV Mistake

Do not begin your story with a first person narrator and then switch to a third person narrator. Do not start with third person limited and then abruptly give your narrator full omniscience. This is the most common type of error I see writers make with POV.

The guideline I learned in my first creative writing class in college is a good one:

Establish the point of view within the first two paragraphs of your story.

And above all, don't change your point of view . If you do, it creates a jarring experience for the reader and you'll threaten your reader's trust. You could even fracture the architecture of your story.

That being said, as long as you're consistent, you can sometimes get away with using multiple POV types. This isn't easy and isn't recommended, but for example, one of my favorite stories, a 7,000 page web serial called Worm ,  uses two point of views—first person with interludes of third-person limited—very effectively. (By the way, if you're looking for a novel to read over the next two to six months, I highly recommend it—here's the link to read for free online .) The first time the author switched point of views, he nearly lost my trust. However, he kept this dual-POV consistent over 7,000 pages and made it work.

Whatever point of view choices you make, be consistent. Your readers will thank you!

Now, let's go into detail on each of the four narrative perspective types, their best practices, and mistakes to avoid.

First Person Point of View

In first person point of view, the narrator is in the story and telling the events he or she is personally experiencing.

The simplest way to understand first person is that the narrative will use first-person pronouns like I, me, and my.

Here's a first person point of view example from Herman Melville's  Moby Dick :

Call me Ishmael. Some years ago—never mind how long precisely—having little or no money in my purse, and nothing particular to interest me on shore, I thought I would sail about a little and see the watery part of the world

First person narrative perspective is one of the most common POVs in fiction. If you haven't read a book in first person point of view, you haven't been reading.

What makes this point of view interesting, and challenging, is that all of the events in the story are filtered through the narrator and explained in his or her own unique narrative voice.

This means first person narrative is both biased and incomplete, but it can also deliver a level of intimacy other POVs can't.

Other first person point of view examples can be found in these popular novels :

• The Sun Also Rises  by Ernest Hemingway
• Twilight by Stephenie Meyer
• Ready Player One by Ernest Cline
• The Hunger Games  by Suzanne Collins
• The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brönte

First Person Narrative is Unique to Writing

There's no such thing as first person in film or theater—although voiceovers and mockumentary interviews like the ones in The Office and Modern Family provide a level of first person narrative in third person perspective film and television.

In fact, the very first novels were written in first person, modeled after popular journals and autobiographies which were first-person stories of nonfiction..

First Person Point of View is Limited

First person narrators are narrated from a single character's perspective at a time. They cannot be everywhere at once and thus cannot get all sides of the story.

They are telling their  story, not necessarily the  story.

First Person Point of View is Biased

In first person novels, the reader almost always sympathizes with a first person narrator, even if the narrator is an anti-hero with major flaws.

Of course, this is why we love first person narrative, because it's imbued with the character's personality, their unique perspective on the world.

The most extreme use of this bias is called an unreliable narrator. Unreliable narration is a technique used by novelists to surprise the reader by capitalize on the limitations of first person narration to make the narrator's version of events extremely prejudicial to their side and/or highly separated from reality.

You'll notice this form of narration being used when you, as the reader or audience, discover that you can't trust the narrator.

For example, Gillian Flynn's Gone Girl  pits two unreliable narrators against one another. Each relates their conflicting version of events, one through typical narration and the other through journal entries. Another example is  Fight  Club , in which *SPOILER* the narrator has a split personality and imagines another character who drives the plot.

Other Interesting Uses of First Person Narrative:

• The classic novel Heart of Darkness is actually a first person narrative within a first person narrative. The narrator recounts verbatim the story Charles Marlow tells about his trip up the Congo river while they sit at port in England.
• William Faulkner's Absalom,  Absalom  is told from the first person point of view of Quentin Compson; however, most of the story is a third person account of Thomas Sutpen, his grandfather, as told to Quentin by Rosa Coldfield. Yes, it's just as complicated as it sounds!
• Salman Rushdie's award-winning  Midnight's Children  is told in first person, but spends most of the first several hundred pages giving a precise third person account of the narrator's ancestors. It's still first person, just a first person narrator telling a story about someone else.

Two Big Mistakes Writers Make with First Person Point of View

When writing in first person, there are two major mistakes writers make :

1. The narrator isn't  likable. Your protagonist doesn't have to be a cliché hero. She doesn't even need to be good. However, she must  be interesting .

The audience will not stick around for 300 pages  listening to a character they don't enjoy. This is one reason why anti-heroes make great first person narrators.

They may not be morally perfect, but they're almost always interesting. (Remember Holden Caulfield in The Catcher in the Rye ?)

2. The narrator tells but doesn't show. The danger with first person is that you could spend too much time in your character's head, explaining what he's thinking and how he feels about the situation.

You're allowed to mention the character's mood, but don't forget that your reader's trust and attention relies on what your character does , not what he thinks about doing.

Second Person Point of View

While not used often in fiction—it is used regularly in nonfiction, song lyrics, and even video games—second person POV is still helpful to understand.

In this point of view, the narrator relates the experiences using second person pronouns like you and your. Thus, you  become the protagonist, you  carry the plot, and your  fate determines the story.

We've written elsewhere about why you should try writing in second person , but in short we like second person because it:

• Pulls the reader into the action of the story
• Makes the story   personal
• Surprises the reader
• Stretches your skills as a writer

Here's an example from the breakout bestseller  Bright Lights, Big City by Jay Mclnerney (probably the most popular example that uses second person point of view):

You have friends who actually care about you and speak the language of the inner self. You have avoided them of late. Your soul is as disheveled as your apartment, and until you can clean it up a little you don't want to invite anyone inside.

Second person narration isn't used frequently, however there are some notable examples of it.

Some other novels that use second person point of view are:

• Remember the Choose Your Own Adventure series? If you've ever read one of these novels where you get to decide the fate of the character (I always killed my character, unfortunately), you've read second person narrative.
• The Fifth Season  by N.K. Jemison
• The opening of The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern

There are also many experimental novels and short stories that use second person, and writers such as William Faulkner, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Albert Camus played with the style.

Breaking the fourth wall:

In the plays of William Shakespeare, a character will sometimes turn toward the audience and speak directly to them. In  A Midsummer Night's Dream , Puck says:

If we shadows have offended, think but this, and all is mended, that you have but slumbered here while these visions did appear.

This narrative device of speaking directly to the audience or the reader is called breaking the fourth wall (the other three walls being the setting of the story).

To think of it another way, it's a way the writer can briefly use second person in a first or third person narrative.

It's a lot of fun! You should try it.

Third Person Point of View

In third person narration, the narrator is outside of the story and relating the experiences of a character.

The central character is not the narrator. In fact, the narrator is not present in the story at all.

The simplest way to understand third person narration is that it uses third-person pronouns, like he/she, his/hers, they/theirs.

There are two types of this point of view:

Third Person Omniscient

The all-knowing narrator has full access to all  the thoughts and experiences of all  the characters in the story.

Examples of Third Person Omniscient:

While much less common today, third person omniscient narration was once the predominant type, used by most classic authors. Here are some of the novels using omniscient perspective today.

• War and Peace  by Leo Tolstoy
• Middlemarch  by George Eliot
• Where the Crawdad's Sing by Delia Owens
• The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway
• Still Life by Louise Penny (and all the Inspector Gamache series, which is amazing, by the way)
• Gossip Girl by Cecily von Ziegesar
• Strange the Dreamer by Laini Taylor
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• Crazy Rich Asians by Kevin Kwan (one of my favorites!)
• A Wizard of Earthsea by Ursula Le Guin
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• More third person omniscient examples can be found here

Third Person Limited

The narrator has only some, if any, access to the thoughts and experiences of the characters in the story, often just to one  character .

Examples of Third Person Limited

Here's an example of a third person limited narrator from  Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone  by J.K. Rowling:

A breeze ruffled the neat hedges of Privet Drive, which lay silent and tidy under the inky sky, the very last place you would expect astonishing things to happen. Harry Potter rolled over inside his blankets without waking up. One small hand closed on the letter beside him and he slept on, not knowing he was special, not knowing he was famous…. He couldn't know that at this very moment, people meeting in secret all over the country were holding up their glasses and saying in hushed voices: “To Harry Potter—the boy who lived!”

Some other examples of third person limited narration include:

• Game of Thrones s eries by George R.R. Martin (this has an ensemble cast, but Martin stays in one character's point of view at a time, making it a clear example of limited POV with multiple viewpoint characters, which we'll talk about in just a moment)
• For Whom the Bell Tolls by Ernest Hemingway
• ​The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson
• The Da Vinci Code  by Dan Brown
• The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
• Ulysses by James Joyce
• Love in the Time of Cholera  by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• 1984  by   George Orwell
• Orphan Train by   Christina Baker Kline
• Fates and Furies by Lauren Groff

Should You Use Multiple Viewpoint Characters vs. a Single Perspective?

One feature of third person limited and first person narrative is that you have the option of having multiple viewpoint characters.

A viewpoint character is simply the character whose thoughts the reader has access to. This character become the focus of the perspective during the section of story or the story as a whole.

While it increases the difficulty, you can have multiple viewpoint characters for each narrative. For example,  Game of Thrones  has more than a dozen viewpoint characters throughout the series.  Fifth Season has three viewpoint characters. Most romance novels have at least two viewpoint characters.

The rule is to only focus on one viewpoint character at a time (or else it changes to third person omniscient).

Usually authors with multiple viewpoint characters will change viewpoints every chapter. Some will change after section breaks. However, make sure there is  some  kind of break before changing so as to prepare the reader for the shift.

Should You Use Third Person Omniscient or Third Person Limited

The distinction between third persons limited and omniscient is messy and somewhat artificial.

Full omniscience in novels is rare—it's almost always limited in some way—if only because the human mind isn't comfortable handling all the thoughts and emotions of multiple people at once.

The most important consideration in third person point of view is this:

How omniscient are you going to be? How deep are you going to go into your character's mind? Will you read their thoughts frequently and deeply at any chance? Or will you rarely, if ever, delve into their emotions?

To see this question in action, imagine a couple having an argument.

Tina wants Fred to go to the store to pickup the cilantro she forgot she needed for the meal she's cooking. Fred is frustrated that she didn't ask him to pick up the cilantro on the way home from the office, before he had changed into his “homey” clothes (AKA boxer shorts).

If the narrator is fully omniscient, do you parse both Fred and Tina's emotions during each back and forth?

“Do you want to eat ? If you do, then you need to get cilantro instead of acting like a lazy pig,” Tina said, thinking, I can't believe I married this jerk. At least back then he had a six pack, not this hairy potbelly . “Figure it out, Tina. I'm sick of rushing to the store every time you forget something,” said Fred. He felt the anger pulsing through his large belly.

Going back and forth between multiple characters' emotions like this can give a reader whiplash, especially if this pattern continued over several pages and with more than two characters. This is an example of an omniscient narrator who perhaps is a little too comfortable explaining the characters' inner workings.

“ Show, don't tell ,” we're told. Sharing all  the emotions of all  your characters can become distraction. It can even destroy any tension you've built.

Drama requires mystery. If the reader knows each character's emotions all the time, there will be no space for drama.

How do You Handle Third Person Omniscient Well?

The way many editors and many famous authors handle this is to show the thoughts and emotions of only one character per scene (or per chapter).

George R.R. Martin, for example, uses “ point of view characters ,” characters whom he always has full access to understanding. He will write a full chapter from their perspective before switching to the next point of view character.

For the rest of the cast, he stays out of their heads.

This is an effective guideline, if not a strict rule, and it's one I would suggest to any first-time author experimenting with third person narrative. Overall, though, the principle to show, don't tell should be your guide.

The Biggest Third Person Omniscient Point of View Mistake

The biggest mistake I see writers make constantly in third person is  head hopping .

When you switch point of view characters too quickly, or dive into the heads of too many characters at once, you could be in danger of what editors call “head hopping.”

When the narrator switches from one character’s thoughts to another’s  too quickly, it can jar the reader and break the intimacy with the scene’s main character.

We've written about how you can get away with head hopping elsewhere , but it's a good idea to try to avoid going into more than one character's thoughts per scene or per chapter.

Can You Change POV Between Books In a Series?

What if you're writing a novel series? Can you change point of view or even POV characters between books?

The answer is yes, you can, but whether you should or not is the big question.

In general, it's best to keep your POV consistent within the same series. However, there are many examples of series that have altered perspectives or POV characters between series, either because the character in the previous books has died, for other plot reasons, or simply because of author choice.

For more on this, watch this coaching video where we get into how and why to change POV characters between books in a series:

Which Point of View Will You Use?

Here's a helpful point of view infographic to help you decide which POV to use in your writing:

Note that these distances should be thought of as ranges, not precise calculations. A third person narrator could conceivably draw closer to the reader than a first person narrator.

Most importantly, there is no best point of view. All of these points of view are effective in various types of stories.

If you're just getting started, I would encourage you to use either first person or third person limited point of view because they're easy to understand.

However, that shouldn't stop you from experimenting. After all, you'll only get comfortable with other points of view by trying them!

Whatever you choose, be consistent. Avoid the mistakes I mentioned under each point of view.

And above all, have fun!

How about you? Which of the four points of view have you used in your writing? Why did you use it, and what did you like about it? Share in the comments .

Using a point of view you've never used before, write a brief story about a teenager who has just discovered he or she has superpowers.

Make sure to avoid the POV mistakes listed in the article above.

Write for fifteen minutes . When your time is up, post your practice in the Pro Practice Workshop (if you’re not a member yet, you can join here ). And if you post, please be sure to give feedback to your fellow writers.

We can gain just as much value giving feedback as we can writing our own books!

Happy writing!

Joe Bunting

Joe Bunting is an author and the leader of The Write Practice community. He is also the author of the new book Crowdsourcing Paris , a real life adventure story set in France. It was a #1 New Release on Amazon. Follow him on Instagram (@jhbunting).

Want best-seller coaching? Book Joe here.

72 Comments

My book is a memoir so first person is what I chose.

That was my choice for memoir, but am exploring other avenues for better character development.

I hate to be such a nag but isn’t the plural “points of view” and not “point of views”? As in brothers in law and not brother in laws

Joe, excellent post on POV. Probably the best I’ve read. Thanks!

I go for third person deep. In the PoV character’s head, using her unique voice, no author intrusion, no filter words. Am I doing it right? Far from it, but I’ve attended deep writing classes, an it’s easier to pinpoint slips.

Greetings from Greece!

Thanks for sharing this tit bit. I will be looking out for a deep writing class!

When deciding your POV, I strongly believe genre and tense should be considered as well.

Here is my first time ever uploading a “practice.” I chose to try second person, please be kind!

I couldn’t believe it when you called me, waking me from an intense fantasy dream, to tell me that you had been somehow magically transformed overnight into some type of superhero. You cannot blame me if my reaction appeared to be less than awe and more of disbelief and worry for your current state of mind. You will not want me to ask this, but have you started doing drugs? Remember, Freshman Health class, one of the signs to look for was if your friend suddenly changes or acts crazy. Well dude, you are acting more than just a little bit crazy.

Can you really fly? I have been waiting for 15 minutes for you to appear at my bedroom window, and so far nothing. I can envision you, at this very moment, running down the alley and between the houses. You will get to my back gate, jump over, and scurry behind the bushes; all bent over and believing that I can’t see you. When you are sure of your timing and that I have no idea at your mastery, you will jump out and try to convince me that you flew to your location. Please try to remember that I have known you since Kindergarten. Very little about you surprises me anymore, yet you are entertaining.

Although, you did sound different on the phone this morning, you voice had a quality I had never heard before. I would call it confidence. You weren’t trying to convince me that you had a special new talent. You were telling me, informing me.

You need new boots, I know this because I noticed the hole in the bottom of the left one as you slowly descended from the top of my window. Your smile was radiant, your arms crossed confidently across your puffed out chest. You are transformed.

You don’t look peaceful, but you look at peace. Morphine will do that to you. Your flaky, red eyes flutter in your sleep—do you dream, there? “The eyes are the windows to the soul,” so they say; with the curtains drawn, does your gaze turn inward? Do you dream of me amidst the pain, or are you cradled in the gentle embrace of the abyss?

This was your fault, you know; waving that gun in my face, pushing me around; what did you expect?

Certainly not this; no one could have expected this. Dazzling cords of fire springing from the fingertips of your would-be, should-be victim—perhaps it would’ve been wiser to hand over the money—but then, who next? Woudl you have let me go in the first place?

It wasn’t for anything venial, was it? Not for clothes or jewelry—not from what I can tell; you don’t seem the type. But it’s hard to tell. There’s not much left of your clothes, you know.

There’s not much left of you.

They’ll pour maggots over your chest and into your eyes, and flake off the blackness with gentle sponges, and alcohol over everything. That will hurt.

Your hair was so pretty. The doctor says most of it will grow back.

The cops are taking your side, you know. Figures. At least guns don’t burn. I wouldn’t be sticking around if they hadn’t cuffed me to the bed, and set it beside yours—someone in blue has a sick sense of irony.

There are birds fluttering by the windowpane, and whispers of white amidst pastels of blue. Your burns will heal. Mine have only just begun.

Yeah, having superpowers would actually be terrifying. Especially fire. Fire is bad.

I’ve used second-person before, but very rarely, so I went with it, since I’ve used all the points of view you mentioned.

Changing point of view is not only acceptable, it’s quite common. You just italicize it. I don’t know how to do that in a comment, but the general form would be something akin to: He felt around for the plot device. *Damn; I can’t find this thing. Woe is me, I am woe, woe unto me, woe betides me, etc.* He found it. *Huzzah!*

Further, your example for third-person POV includes a sputter of second-person: “the very last place *you* would expect astonishing things to happen.” This is the rhetorical “you,” not an actual pronoun—that is, “you” isn’t referring to anyone—but it still counts.

I think the argument shouldn’t be “never switch POV,” but, rather, “use the turn signal;” that is to say, give the reader an indication that the POV is changing, and why. Italics for brief periods, chapters for changing the individual narrator (you can have lots in one book), etc. Much like turning in traffic, problems generally arise not from the turn, but from the surprise. “Head hopping” is easy to avoid with, for instance, section separators—a vertical space, or a line of three little stars if the space breaks across a page, so that the reader knows a shift is happening. After familiarizing the reader with the mechanism, you can abuse it as much as you want.

Hemingway’s way works too, although I was never a big fan of Hemingway.

P.S. Give away an antique typewriter; brilliant—plenty of nostalgia; tangled ribbons, torn sheets, jammed keys; I can see why you want to inflict it on somebody else!

Wow, that was amazing descriptions. I loved your opening and closing lines as well. You did a great job of setting the dark mood of the story. Very well done.

Great post! It is quite thorough and engaging, and you offered plenty of terrific examples and practical tips.

I tend to write my stories more in the third person POV, I tend to focus on one main character but sometimes try to give some insight on another character’s perspective. The only reason I shy away from first person is because it can be emotionally exhausting to write. The funny thing is my most dramatic story was written in first person (though I did switch between two people) but I felt it would come off stonger in first person rather than third.

I’m not sure I qualify for this practice, because I’ve written in pretty much every POV: My novel is 3rd person deep, my short stories are first person, my articles are second, and my songs cover all of the above plus the others. 🙂 In my book I have several POVs, but I make sure to change the scene completely before changing the person. (Like Jerry Jenkins’/Tim Lahaye’s Left Behind.) I’m not breaking any rules like that, am I? This is a great and informative article that I’ll definitely reference in the future. Thanks for sharing your knowledge!

“Whatsoever ye do, do unto the Glory of God” Reagan

Nice post! Very helpful of keeping them strait. I tend to lean toward first person or third person limited, so I decided to try out second person for the prompt. I also used a dialogue prompt, which is the first line of the story. Here goes nothing!

“The last time I said yes to you, a lot of people died.” You say it low, under your breath, perhaps because you don’t really want him to hear you or perhaps because you don’t want to hear yourself, don’t want to remember that it happened.

“You know,” He reaches out to you, and you pull away, not wanting to touch his hands, hands that could have prevented the deaths of so many, but that have always been so gentle with you. He turns his face to the ground and, you realize, he is just as pained by the memory as you. “You know that I couldn’t have done it.”

“No.” The word comes out all wrong, because of your still upper lip, “You couldn’t have. I knew that then and I know that now.” You lock eyes with him, “Don’t you understand that’s what I’m saying? Don’t you understand that the answer is no?”

“But I can’t…” He grimaces, as though someone has twisted a knife in his gut, “I can’t just let you kill yourself.”

And now it’s your turn to grimace, to feel the pain twisting your stomach into knots. You don’t really know why you do it though. Are you afraid to die? No. That’s not it. You’re afraid for him. For the pain your death will cause him.

“You have to be strong.” You say, “For me.” This time it’s you that reaches out, to lay a hand gently on his shoulder, “You know if I don’t do this, a lot of people will die. Because I know, if I go berserk again, you won’t be able to pull the trigger. And it wouldn’t be fair to ask you to do that anyway. So the answer is no, I won’t let you be my safety net anymore.” His only response is a nod. You slide the hand gently off of his shoulder. That will be your only goodbye. It will be easier that way.

The cup that holds the poison looks normal. Just a regular coffee cup, containing your favorite blend of Colombian roast, and, of course, the substance that will kill you, quickly and painlessly, which is more then you deserve. You are not afraid. You are ready. You pick the cup up off the table and bring it close to your lips but then hesitate, because you see that shining in his eyes, the shining that means he’ll start crying. There is that twisting feeling in your stomach again. Seeing him in pain has always hurt the worst. But you can’t risk it anymore. You can’t let yourself live at the cost of more deaths.

Before you can hesitate, you take a gulp, the coffee burning your throat as it goes down. The room wobbles and you fall, but he catches you, like you knew he would, so that your head doesn’t crack open on the concrete floor.

You are paralyzed, but still conscious, and you know you only have a few seconds before the world grows dark.

He sinks to his knees, cradling you in his arms, like a child. He is no longer holding back his tears. Perhaps because he already thinks you dead.

“I wish,” He says, through sobs and tears and unbecoming bubbles of snot, “I wish you would have said yes.”

He puts his forehead to yours and you feel warm drops of moisture fall on your cheeks. In that moment you, too, wish you had said yes. That things could have been different. That you could have been alive and happy.

But you do not doubt your decision, not in the last seconds that you have breath. Because the last time you said yes to him, a lot of people died and this time, the death tole would be a single, solitary, one.

That was amazing and beautiful and very very emotional. You’ve used second person very effectively! I love it. Did this just come from the top of your head or is there a longer story behind it?

Thanks! It was a sort of top of my head thing. I used this writing prompt and also a dialogue prompt. Also, I’ve been thinking of werwolfs a lot lately for some odd reason (which is what the main character is). The rest of it kinda flowed from there. I’m glad you liked it!

Wonderful story

Not knowing much about POV, I believe I’ve been hedge hopping between them, but appear to prefer Third Person Omniscient, but will have to first discover what that last big word means? Then a re-write may well be called for!

The post is excellent, extending a warm hug of inspiration to the budding writers. I prefer ‘third person omniscient’ POV, with no room for any boredom in my narration.

Peter had his normal “I’m paying attention” look plastered on his face, but his mind was chasing super villains, decimating evil minions with mighty punches that laid ten low at one swipe.

One ear caught, “Good morning, we have a guest speaker this morning, the Rev. Charles Birch, from the 2nd Baptist Church. Rev. Birch will present the creationist side to what we have been studying in the physical sciences. Rev. Birch.”

“Blah … blah … blah,” Peter heard in his public ear but his private ear heard Dr. Daemon spewing his maleficent threats, “Capt. Magnificent, you have no hope of defeating my eco-destroying minions!” On and on it went, Birch preaching “let there be light … the dominion of man over all things … everything in it’s proper order … on the first day God created the second day … and on the third day blah blah blah,” and of course during all of this Dr. Daemon and Capt. Magnificent continued their mighty struggle on the farside of the moon, until Peters public ear heard, “of course the universe can only be 10,000 years old …”

What? What was that his public ear just heard? The Universe is a maximum of 10,000 years old? Peter was now attentive to what the pompous windbag in front of the class was saying.

A single hand raised itself amongst the sea of blank faces.

“Yes, young man?”

“Uh, Rev. Birch, how can the universe be 10,000 years old?”

“Easy uh huh,” Ms. Murphy whispered into the Reverends ear, “yes, Peter, we know the age of the universe from the generations that are recorded in the Bible.”

“But … I was at a dig in Colorado last summer and the rock strata around the fossils …”

“Humph, all conjecture. I believe God made the fossil and the rocks surrounding it ten thousand years ago.”

“All fossils are like that then?”

“Well of course. Given He made the fossils He made the surrounding rock. We only think that it took millions of years.”

Peter’s hand shot up again.

Rev. Birch tried to avoid him, but Peter was a persistent little son of… “Yes?”

“So God’s just a practical joker, creating false evidence to fool the sciences?”

The class was coming out it’s “guest speaker” lethargy, as Peter again had his hand up and spoke before acknowledged, “Does the Bible say what the speed of light is?”

“Well, now I think that has no bearing …”

Susan piped up, adding onto Peter’s question “How can Andromeda be millions of light-years away if the universe is only 10,000 years old?”

“Uh well … Andromeda?”

“No wonder He didn’t have time to save my baby sister if He wasted all that time making fossils look millions of years old,” came a loud, whispered, comment from the back of the room.

Ms. Murphy quickly ushered Rev. Birch from the classroom, and shook his hand in the hall, “Thank you so much for coming. We do appreciate all view points.”

“Who are those kids?” the Reverend asked.

“Oh, the Anderson District Scholars Program. Basically our high school geniuses in sciences and math. It’s required we allow all view points to be presented.”

Interesting. Uh, Gary, how could you have written the story in 15 minutes? Or did you dig up a fossil story you wrote millions of years ago…?

Does it matter?

It took a day and a half to percolate through my gray matter. I then took approximately 15 to 20 minutes to rough it out and get it into Draftin. Then another while, hours, lots of minutes, to get it to where I wanted to post it. Once posted, I’ve gone back and edited it, probably dozens of times, making changes as it has continued to peroclate.

I loved the flashing between reality and a story he is telling himself in his head. That’s me about 90% of the time. lol

I would also just like to add, that all creationists aren’t young earth creationists. There are a lot of different theories. Take the gap theory and theistic evolution for example. Then you have people who take it as a literal six days and others who don’t because of the bible verse that says “a day is like a thousand years and a thousand years is like a day”. Then, there are two different meanings to the word “day” if you look at the translation of the bible from Hebrew to English. So there is argument over which version of the word “day” is being used sense one can be taken literally and the other figuratively. There are literally of books written on these subjects, with Christians arguing amongst themselves over which is right. I have actually meet very few people who think the way the reverend in this story does, especially sense when you go to seminary they teach you how to not look like an idiot in these situations.

I think It’s important to remember when you’re writing Christians (or any group that often gets stereotyped) that they are not stereotypes. I’ve written atheists and it’s really easy just to make them injured people who are angry at God and dissatisfied with life, but that’s just not the reality. A lot of atheists know their stuff and have good reason for their beliefs. The same applies to Christians. If you still want to debunk the Christian in the end, I’m totally cool with it. I would just say, have the Christian have a better argument then “God put the fossils their like that”. Make it harder for your main character to debunk him, create more conflict, and make us cheer him on all the more when he wins.

Just thought that was worth mentioning. All in all, the piece is very well written.

Assumption: Pastors and or reverends have been to seminary. Not true. In the Southern Baptist Convention, at least when I was in the SBC, pastors were not assigned by the convention, nor was any kind of, pre or post graduate, pastoral education required. Pastors were called by the local church, without guidance from the convention, and could easily not even have finished high school. There are many churches that have no affiliation with any established denomination, and therefore call whomever they want as their pastor.

Oh, yes, you handled POV nicely. I’m just the kind of person that will comment on every part of the story. And I’m sorry if the comment was too much, or you didn’t find it helpful. I just tend to say what I think. But for the exercise you did a good job on the POV.

Oh the comment wasn’t too much. After 68 years my hide is pretty tough and criticism I tend to take in a constructive manner and/or with a grain of salt.

But you assumed something in your comment that, in my experience is simply not true. In my experience, the pastors that had graduated college, let alone ever attended seminary were zero. My denomination, at the time, was lucky to have pastors that finished high school.

68 years, wow that’s a lot of time and experience! You have the respect of a young Padawan.

You’re right. I was looking at it from a United Methodist view point (sense that’s the denomination I belong to). Our denomination is pretty strict with schooling and is very organized when it comes to chain of command. I discounted the fact that not all denominations and churches are like mine. My current pastor actually has a PhD and really knows what he’s talking about, so were lucky in that. I’ve also grown up in a home where ignorance isn’t tolerated. We learn about our religion (and everything else we can learn about) and are not victims of blind acceptance.

I’m sorry you had experiences with uneducated pastors. I hope they weren’t all as bad as the one in the story. If they were, then that stinks. And I do realize that there are, sadly, some pastors like the one from your story who don’t have very good arguments when it comes to the science of their faith. But I also hope that people know that all Christians aren’t, to put it frankly, stupid.

Again, assumptions. Christianity was never equated to stupidity, and above all else no attempt to equate uneducated to stupid was ever made. In all those 68 years I have seen incredibly educated people, read that doctorates, that were, above all else, stupid. I have also encountered uneducated people that could best be described as genius.

Birch was, at best, unprepared. His fault, Murphy’s fault, irrelevant, not what I was striving for. It was simply the vehicle used to convey POV switching from character to character. Birch could have been Islamic and quoting the Torah.

I wrote for 20 minutes before I realized it, so here’s what I got.

“Okay, calm down, calm down. You must get a hold of yourself” I murmured frantically to myself, I had to calm down before I blew another hole through the wall, or worse. I sat still on the hard floor, and I still couldn’t believe what had happened, it didn’t make sense at all, but there was evidence of it right before my eyes: a brick wall that now had a wide circle in its middle, still glowing hot from what I had done. Yet it was nothing compared to the silver glow that came from my hands, it felt strange, alien yet oddly comfortable, like I was wearing a glove while sparks coursed throug my arms.

I kept staring at my hands for a long time, trying to find some explanation for what had happened, it couldn’t have been me who did that, I wasn’t that special, I didn’t have some special blood, nor had I gone through any experiment, I didn’t even fit in any origin story of any Super. I was sure of that, I had even taken the tests at the Dome.

“This can’t be happening!” I screamed, letting loose all the emotions I had tried to hold back. “ARGGGHhhh!”

Then, it happened again, the room was bathed again in a silver hue as another silver beam left my hands and destroyed the wall a bit more, leaving behind only one third of what had been an sturdy wall once. That flash had confirmed my fears, this was the reality I had been the one to destroy the wall. I was angry, scared and happy at the same time, these emotions clashing one against the other as I witnessed the destruction I had wrecked in less than 10 minutes.

A grave sound pierced the old room I was in, it sounded like a lament, a sorrowful lament from a strange lonely monster. It only lasted a few seconds, and then, a piece of the roof fell about 5 meters from me. It was followed by another one, and another one bigger than the first two. Soon the whole roof was falling in, and fear once again took a hold of me. I was going to die, I knew I was going to die, buried beneath the rubis of the room.

“I, I don’t want to die” I screamed with all the force of my lungs while I tried to protect my head with my hands, I knew it wasn’t going to be enough, it wasn’t going to be enough if I wanted to live. I want to live. That thought was the last one I had before a surge of power coursed through my body, engulfing my vision in a white blanket before I passed out.

When I woke up, I felt groggy, moving my body was hard, and the air was packed with dust. But I didn’t hurt anywhere, not did I feel like I was buried under something. I slowly made my way to my knees, looking at myself for any sign of injuries, but there was none, in fact except for the dust my clothes were exactly the same as they had been before the fall in.

“This is impossible” I said out loud to no on, but how did this happen? I thought I was done for sure. It was only then that I looked around me and I was shocked for the fifth time that day.

There wasn’t any rubis near me, no for a meter around me. Was that possible? How?

Well done. There are a couple of times where the protagonist is thinking, not speaking. It would help to clarify that like using italics, or at least quoting.

Thanks for the advice- I usually use italics when it comes to thoughts, but I wasn’t sure if they were going to copy that way from writer. So I’ll try to use them next time.

I wrote one short story in the first person POV twenty five years ago. I never tried it again. Since I decided to face my fears, here I go again.

I had just opened my eyes and before I could see clearly, I was standing next to the bed jumping up and down. All of a sudden, i was standing next to the dresser drawer. did I run? I had so much energy. It seemed as if I had four cups of coffee and six energy pills. I looked across the room at the hamper. The hamper was empty and the clothes that were stuffed there were clean and folded. Last night the hamper was full of dirty clothes.. I head a soft voice that sounded like mine. “Esther, you now have super human power. The clothes were washed and folded last night. If you go to the kitchen, there is no longer a pile of dirty dishes. They have all be washed and put away. That’s all I have to say.” “What are you talking about? Who are you?” Suddenly, I was jumping up and down next to my dresser drawer.. I paused and looked into my mirror. I still looked the same. A long braid with a hair pin fastened to the left close to may ear. I did feel energized. At once I felt like I needed or wanted to run. I walked down the stairs toward the front door. The moment that i stepped out. I had dashed down the block, turned to the right and dashed down that block and Paused, standing in right in from of me was me. she looked exactly like me. She had a long braid that was pinned to the side like i did. She was wearing a light tan tee-shirt and black short shorts, blue gym shoes. Just like I am wearing. We both stood there, sweating, jumping up and down as though there were springs.under our shoes. ” Who are you?” ” I just you told you when we were in the house.” Then, she said “I’ll just tell you this much. Let’s race back to the house and up the stairs and stand next to the bed. Whoever get there first wins. “Win what,” “You’ll find out.” she dashed past me to the right. I spun back around so fast that I became dizzy. I dashed down the block and turned left. Before I knew it, I was in the kitchen. Mama was there. I was downstairs sitting at the table with her. “I am impressed. you have fixed breakfast and washed the dishes and I see you have been running.” Thanks mama, I said. Then in my mind and my ear I heard my own voice. There are two Esther. The one who procrastinate and don”t get things done and the one that get things done immediately without being told.. Then mama looked at me and smiled. She never smiles in the morning. but today, she did. She said, well today you cooked the breakfast and washed the dishes without waiting until you got home from school. I like this part of you, Esther. Then, I knew what had happened, KEN Well, there it is. Now, this means that I have used the first person again. I feel okay because, even if it’s terrible. I tried.

My go to POV is 3rd Person, limited.

Oops!! Just realized I completely blew the prompt.

Oh well … back to he drawing board (or computer).

This app helps me understand a lot about the 3d person

The first time it happened took me by surprise. It would anyone wouldn’t it? I was standing in line at the grocery store with my mom. I was tapping my foot to the beat of my own boredom, impatiently waiting for the guy ahead of us to move his cart; which if you ask me he didn’t even need. I added in some finger snaps. 1…2…and…3. The third snap brought with it an echo. When I looked around, I wasn’t in the grocery store anymore. I was in a cave.

I had waited for my eyes to adjust to the dark. The only light that was coming through was a small crack far ahead of me to my left side. I looked down at my feet for a path. Right in front of me the rock I was standing on dropped off into an abyss of black. Behind me stood the edge of the cave. I remember hyperventilating. I was so scared I couldn’t move. I started snapping my fingers again and said out loud, “think, think, think,” matching my snaps to the words in my head. On the third snap, I was back in the grocery store. Police were there talking with my mother. I had been gone a long time.

After that day I tried experimenting with my new formed ability. I started thinking of specific places that I wanted to visit; I wanted to see if I could control it. After a few failed attempts ending up in grungy basements, restaurant cooler storages, and an actor’s cottage, I got a hold of the pattern.

The success of my teleportation was contingent on my ability to breathe evenly. I needed to remain completely calm. When I realized that my ability was never going away, my excitement is what kept me from perfection. Failure after failure brought an increased frustration with myself.

It’s good. You haven’t overdone anything. You’ve shown what happened through your character really well. I particularly like the line “dropped off into an abyss of black.”

This was my attempt at using 2nd person. I rarely use it. Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you 🙂

“Now what can you tell me about God? Anybody? Yes, yes, um Alice?” “Alicia, Miss. God is often described with the three Os. He is omnipotent, all powerful, omnipresent, everywhere and omniscient, all knowing.” You suppress a groan. “Which textbook did she swallow to spew that out?” you whisper to your friend. She giggles quietly. “Shhhh,” she replies. You sigh and put your head on the table. You’ve been stuck in this stuffy classroom for half an hour and you really won’t last for another half. You can practically eat religion in this school.

“Hey you, you, sleepy child,” the teacher says. For a moment you’re confused but then your friend nudges you and you realise the woman is talking to you. ‘Can’t she learn our names?’ you think. “Yes, Miss?” you dare to risk saying. “What can you tell me about God?” she asks. ‘Oh for God’s sake,’ you think before realising the irony. “Um,” you reply. You could almost swear that time was slowing down. Everyone’s eyes turn towards you almost in slow motion before they stop as if frozen. You wish the ground would hurry up and swallow you. It takes you a moment to realise that no one is blinking. “Hello?” you say, hoping you don’t sound like an idiot. Nobody responds. ‘Okay, this is really creepy.’ You poke your friend but she doesn’t move. A bead of sweat trickles down your forehead that has nothing to do with the heat. What is going on? A cold feeling washes over you and you sit back in your seat feeling dizzy. You try to control your breathing but it is rapid and coming in gasps. You glance at the clock only to see that the second hand has stopped moving. Hands clammy, you glare at it willing it to move. Millimetre by millimetre it does. You sigh with relief when everybody’s movement resumes only to find yourself under the scrutiny of 30 pairs of eyes.

“Well?” asks the teacher. Suddenly desperate, you look at the clock and wonder if you can make time go faster.

Who’s point of view;

So there’s this guy, this one guy I never liked, he’s constantly stealing my ideas, getting credit for the success, or if the idea fails, that’s when he throws me under the bus. Oh it’s so aggravating when he takes the words right outta my mouth, when I try to participate in the discussion, he cuts me off, I swear he thinks he knows everything he’s talking about. Oh, yeah and he’s always making an ass out of me, no matter what it is, especially at every work party. This guy thinks he’s so slick, two steps ahead of everyone, but he’s not quick, I know every move he’s gonna make before he makes them. It’s also extremely embarrassing he always seems to wear what I have on, then to hear people say how good he looks, I swear his heads swelling from the compliments. Have you seen him? That car he’s driving, that watch he’s wearing, his house, and kids, and his wife, most people only dream of marrying. He has everything I ever wanted, yet he takes it all for granted, he won’t let anyone else enjoy the spot light, like it’s impossible for him to share it. He never talks to me, which makes it that much more awkward, because I always see him in the bathroom, and every time I wash my hands, there he is, just starring, blocking my reflection. When I try to move, he moves too, it’s so obvious he’s doing it on purpose, but I don’t like drama, quite frankly his demeanor makes me a little nervous. So I just ignore it, I’m starting to wonder if I should report him, but what if the boss thinks I’m jealous? I much rather prefer waiting until the day he quits, or who knows maybe he’ll get fired, I just hope he’s not still here up until the day that I retire.

Until the age of five almost six, I thought everyone could figure out how to walk through walls. The morning my mom was walking me to my first day of school she broke the news to me. Once we reached the first intersection, and we were standing at the corner waiting for the light to change, she first asked me, “Maddy, remember that I mentioned to you every person in the world is unique?” I nodded while I kept my eye on the street light. “and what did I say was so unique about you?” “That I have three freckles on my nose.” “Maddy! Not that but the one thing nobody can tell by looking at you.” I looked up at her and said, “That I am a smart kid and I figured out that walls don’t divide or separate?”

Chapbook 25

Last night I was scared, I had another bad dream I just wanted my mommy there but she was in another room asleep. It was a nightmare, the one I often have, about a monster, who’s over 6ft. He chases me down, grabs me by my hair, thrown me into walls, I don’t know why he’s so angry, he’s even kicked me down the stairs.

I woke up sweating, my eyes filled with tears, and what scared me the most was bruises had appeared. They covered me from head to toe, I couldn’t hide them underneath my clothes. Today I was supposed start my first day of school, but mommy said I couldn’t go.

Back to sleep, I don’t even remember getting ready for bed, I just blacked out, when I woke up a pain filled my head. My dream had some how become real, there was the monster, standing over my body, breathing, and grunting, where is my mommy. Why doesn’t she come and help, why isn’t she protecting me, can’t she hear me if I yell.

Can anyone hear me, why can’t anyone figure it out, I wish my daddy was here, but mommy won’t let him around. When will this nightmare finally end, what will it take for him to leave, one of us dead, or broken and bleeding?

Years have gone by, I’m learning to deal, he’s still in our lives, drinking his meal. He is always mad always drunk, never caring, incapable of feeling love. Beating satisfies a need inside him, one that reminds him he’s alive, he’s in control, that everyone’s beneath him, we do as were told.

My other siblings have dealt with it their own way, my oldest sibling has different personality traits. One minute he’s him, by the next someone else, he swears one day he’ll be free of this hell, and when he does he never wants to see any of us again, he disowns our family, he can’t be my friend. The pain is so much more than anyone should take, it won’t be long from now till one of us breaks.

It finally happened, as I began to prepare my food, cutting up vegetables, trying not to listen to them argue, but low and behold i couldnt ignore the thump, at that very moment I snapped into somebody else.

Someone stronger than who I thought I’d become, with a knife in one hand, and a plan in the other, I made my way to the second floor, and found the that thud was my mother. As the plaster in the wall shaped like her head, I looked for the monster, and seen him covered in red.

Like a bull I charged toward him, digging the knife in his gut, 1,2,3 times ain’t enough. Like the monster he’s always been, courage from his bottle, the pierces in his side didn’t stop him, he was numb from the booze, and like a mad man, he retaliated, nothing could keep him from trying to kill me.

I just woke up from a terrible dream, just to find myself in a worse reality. Laying at the bottom if the stair case, in a puddle of my own blood, flashing lights reassured me help had finally come, but I couldn’t move, my body paralyzed, what had I done? I see my mother screaming she is covered in blood, Then I seen the monster sitting up with tape across his abdomen arms crossed in cuffs, finally he will get what he deserves, but what does this mean or us?

The only girl out of eight kids, the second eldest of the bunch, I thought we stuck together this long, and through such hell, we’d most likely stay together, but only time could tell. If only the words for what’s felt could every truly be spoken, perhaps only then could anyone listening would know just what was dealt, but sometimes you can’t mutter out the words that would allow others to understand what kind of welt gets lashed across a tiny body when beaten with a belt.

Even after hundreds of beatings, thousands of black and blue marks, fractured bones like ribs and wrists, almost on a daily basis. I bet your thinking how the hell does this go on for so long, when a parent allows another adult to enter their home, use them for everything they own, get drunk and stands by as that person takes their angers and frustration out on the innocent lives they should be protecting. When a mother or father chooses a stranger over their own little ducklings. That is how monsters get away with it so long, because an active parent allows it to go on.

The truth is of all the afflictions none bare as much pain as the very thought that a mother could prefer a stranger, a monster, putting her babies in danger, actually acts like she doesn’t see what she did wrong. She won’t acknowledge her errors, and the ultimate worst, the day she would choose another guy over us, again, this guy just another monster, and yet he is her life, treats her like crap, calls her an asset, not as his wife. Let her keep him, and the life she’s made, I have my own daughter now, I will never allow her to grow up this way, I will be nothing like my momster, this is the ultimate promise I make, and would die before I’d ever let it break.

Great piece about a super villain, and how this kind of thing does not happen in a vacuum. Your POV was consistent, first person, but there are places where you need to highlight that these are the thoughts of the protagonist. Italics would work, or even quotes.

I only just came across this site today an I was immediately intrigued. I’ve always been self conscious about my writing but I like the idea of being about to just practice like this and get genuine feedback. Anyway I wrote mine in third person limited, I trying to practice how to use better descriptions without overdoing it and getting to fluffy. Here goes..

I remember the day Melissandra first told me she had superpowers. I would have laughed right then and there if I hadn’t learned to recognize the tension burrowed between her brows. Her pale youthful skin now sagged to that of a woman three times her age. The bags beneath her eyebrows had become so swollen and dark you would have thought she hadn’t slept in weeks. The dark shadows behind her eyes gave way to little life. She hunched over me, her body twitching like little jolts of electricity pulsed through her. In health classes we had often seen videos of the effects of hard drugs on addicts, the way they scratched and clawed, itching to escape their bodies. Could she had gotten herself into hard drugs? No, I definitely would have noticed. This was something worse, as a tenth grader living in the suburbs true terror had never struck me very hard, but the fear that gripped her eyes sent a chill through my spine.

“Mel, is everything okay?” I ask as we push our way through the crowded cafeteria.

Mel leans in close looking over her shoulder with unease checking to see that no one else is listening. She whispers, almost inaudibly.

“I think I have superpowers Suz.”

Laughter roars through my belly, which is quickly stifled by the lifeless expression on her face. I’ve never seen her so afraid.

“I’m sorry, did you say superpowers Mel?” I ask in disbelief.

Her eyes fix on me with a cold hard expression, there’s no laughter in her eyes, no punch line at the end of this story.

She lowers her voice as she begins to explain.

“Last night I went for a climb on Bears Peak. I must of got 150 feet when I lost my footing on the rocks. I was so sure I had all my ropes secured, but as I started to fall nothing caught. In that moment I thought I was going to die. Than, just before my body hit the ground I stopped. My body just suspended, hovering in mid air. It wasn’t long, only a moment, a few seconds at best, but enough time for my body to correct itself and find its footing on the ground.”

I stare at her in bewilderment, she’s not saying what I think she is, is she.

“Suzan!” she exclaims as her eyes show a flicker of light. “Last night I flew.”

I just discovered this site tonight, I like it already. I wrote mine in third person limited.

I remember the day Melissandra first told me she had superpowers. I would have laughed right then and there if I hadn’t learned to recognize the tension burrowed between her brows. Her pale youthful skin now sagged to that of a woman three times her age. The bags beneath her eyes had become so swollen and dark you would have thought she hadn’t slept in weeks. The dark shadows behind her eyes gave way to little life. She hunched over me, her body twitching like little jolts of electricity pulsed through her. In health classes we had often seen videos of the effects of hard drugs on addicts, the way they scratched and clawed, itching to escape their bodies. Could she had gotten herself into hard drugs? No, I definitely would have noticed. This was something worse, as a tenth grader living in the suburbs true terror had never struck me very hard, but the fear that gripped her eyes sent a chill through my spine.

Great article, Joe! I really appreciate the detail you went into. You made the different points of view so clear. The breadth of your knowledge of literature is awesome, and your two graphics were helpful and concise.

Katherine Rebekah, great story! You did the second-person POV seamlessly.

All the best, Deena

Well thanks, Deena. 🙂

My genre is romantic suspense, or romantic thrillers, if you will. I always write third person point of view, omniscient, and steer clear of first person for exactly the reasons you’ve stated above. I find first person too limited and stifling. When I read a novel written in first person I find myself distracted, wondering what the other main character(s) are thinking or feeling. Particuarly in a romance – I don’t want to spend my entire reading experience wondering: Is he feeling the same way way or she on her own here?

Granted, the authors that I habitually read do not typically write in first person, but when they do, I will admit, they’re pretty good at showing me the thoughts and feelings of the other party without actually going into their POV. But, I would say it is a tough thing to accomplish, and only the best writers do.

Any feedback would be nice, thanks!

There are no more villains to fight you. No more evil-doers who wish to challenge your right—the right the people gave you to defend their lives. The monument that watched over the city like an old father is the tribute they built for you. The responsibility that you now stand in. Watching over them. An extraterrestrial guardian.

You look up to see grey clouds swirling, forming some odd shape. You take flight, and burst through the glass pane, as people below begin to chant your name. The clouds merge with one another, swirling in and out of each other. With your vision you can see the faces of the ones you swore to protect, even at the cost of your life. Some are smiles, the faces of those that believe in you—the ones if they could would join you without a second thought. Others had grief-stricken eyes; doubt lined their faces. How could you protect them forever? Surely someone greater than you, stronger than you would destroy everything that you deemed worth saving. Maybe there was someone that could take your place, someone that made all this easier. Hopefully.

No. Your chest bursts out and the veins in your arms feel ready to explode. Your fists clench tighter with each breath. Your eyes narrow. Never will you doubt yourself ever again. A crash of lightning hit a nearby building, signifying your resolve. You charge into the vortex still swallowing the sky. The mass of clouds block your path and out the whirlwind a humanoid shape takes form. You. You face off against yourself. “Of course. A hero’s greatest challenge is his or herself,” you say.

How I hate head-hopping! This is a common mistake my students make – and an easy one that can slip into our drafts. Hence, the importance of revision and beta readers.

Thank you for this thorough discussion of such an important element of story!

The worst limitation I find writing in first person is exactly what Joe pointed out, that you cannot be everywhere at once. I find myself getting frustrated at having to switch POV’s between characters in order to be able to tell the story better and show how different characters are feeling because of certain situations; or in my story’s case: one very sinister character.

But since I’m using my past experiences as a means to write the way I do, I kind of need to stay in first person. It’s both a blessing and a curse.

How interesting that a man who has written a 7000-page story is the author of a bestselling book about writing a short story. 😉

“Tina, what the heck. Put me down.”

“Sorry Charlie, I just ate a spinach salad.”

“Clever, but not humorous. Popeye wouldn’t be so frivolous. What if mom and dad had seen you showing off, or worse, if one of the Dancings is spying on us.”

“You’re no fun, you’re boring and paranoid. Brother or not, I may look for another partner”

“Be my guest. I’ll find someone who takes our mission seriously. Who won’t jeopardize our friends and family out of boredom, and the childish need for attention. Grow up a little. You’re sixteen years old.”

“And, you’re eighteen going on eighty. It’s true what they say about friends and family.”

“Whose they?

“Idiot. They’re the consensus.”

“What does the consensus have to say on the subject?”

“Family is the luck of the draw. Friends are deliberate choices.”

“I’d mention a few of your choices but that won’t get this conversation on track. I, we, need to find out what the Dancings are up to. You need to get close enough to read their daughter’s mind. I’ve got a plan. It could work if you can augment your powers with a dash of maturity.”

My sister Tina and I were abducted a month ago while hiking in the Grand Canyon. If I had the words to describe the aliens or their vessel, I’d share them, but I don’t. They were spirits as much as anything and I may have been sedated somehow. They separated us. Apparently Tina was more qualified for mental and physical superpowers than I was. She can read minds and has the strength of The Hulk. My power is cooler though. My eyes shoot lasers when I squint and concentrate. If it was just a matter of squinting, the neighborhood would be ablaze. My vision is less than perfect. I’ve been squinting for years. Maybe that’s why I got this power? Whatever. If the Dancings are building a dirty bomb in their basement, I may need to set fire to them and their house. Soon maybe. First, I need to know that my suspicions are warranted.

Tina needed to befriend the Dancing’s daughter Tanya, an introvert who spoke to no one at school. If she couldn’t befriend her, Tina at least needed to sit by her at lunch, hopefully to learn something from her thoughts. My sister gets bored easily, so sitting near a person who won’t acknowledge her was going to be a challenge. That’s why I was so irritated with Tina and her circus tricks just now. I’m convinced our neighbors are terrorists. But I can’t just burn their house down. What if somebody died and I was wrong? It was time for my sister to step up and put her powers to good use.

Appreciate the write up Joe. Laura

I am having a lot of difficulty with point of view. For instance, Let’s say you have a Memoir or “Diary” type fiction. You want to it to be from the point of view of the person writing the diary; however, you need your reader to know facts about the characters the speaker interacts with that he couldn’t possible know. (perhaps he just met them, etc.) How can you give the reader information about a person that the speaker deosn’t know yet?

hey, I am in the same boat as you, and I uncovered something called First Person Omniscient, which is– if you are still not away after a year of writing the comment I am replying back to– the character is in first person, still uses “I” and “we” and such, but also knows information about other characters that he/she does not yet know, precisely as what you described in your comment. However, this type of first person is rare, as very few novels and authors decide to use this method. But whatever floats your boat! Hope I helped, even though I am clearly late!

Try second person

One question I have in regards to POV and which to choose, is suppose you’re writing a story about something that’s already happened. The story is being told by the main character in the story, years later after the story is “over” (kind of like in a journal of what happened, how it ended- to a certain point- leaving out what has happened to the main character due to his choices made). But, one of the unique situations is that the main character is not just one person, but a person literally divided into 3 separate selves. He himself is the Present self, the other two are what has already happened (past- alternate choice of reality) and the last one is “what could be if” situation” (future). The main (present) is part of the three, but only knows the whole story after it’s happened and how the other two responded to events as they occurred. How would the story be told in what point of view? Both first and third? I know it probably sounds confusing; so if you’re willing to give me advice and need some clarification I can do that. Thanks.

Amanda stared at herself in the mirror. She lifted her hands and gazed at all of the blood on them. “Why am I not dead?” she asked herself puzzled. “It was a head on collision…with a truck!” she exclaimed to herself in amazement. She turned on her heel and marched to her kitchen and grabbed a large knife. She waved the knife around in the air before placing it on her wrist. “If I can’t make it look like an accident, I guess my parents would have to deal with the fact I wanted to die.” Amanda spat. She winced as the blade dug deep into her delicate flesh and watched her blood flow. But the seconds later it stopped. Blinking, she brought her arm closer to her face and stared at her smooth skin -without a single scratch on it. In disbelief she dropped the knife and ran back into the bathroom and wiped her arm of its blood and confirmed there wasn’t a wound. Desperate, Amanda ran down into the basement and grabbed her father’s rifle. “Heal from this if you can.” Amanda put the point under her chin and pulled the trigger. Everything went black and she felt herself crash to the floor. Moments later, Amanda woke up with a huge headache. “What happened?” she groaned but then gasped when she remembered what she had tried to do. “What is happening to me?!” she cried. “I don’t want to be in this world anymore, let me die!” she screamed. Amanda got up from the floor and shuffled up stairs to take a warm shower. “Maybe drowning would work…”

You forgot deep pov; close third. >:(

Deep POV is still third person limited.

Great write-up! Worth sharing and bookmarking.

As for me, I prefer to write (and read) in either first person or third person limited.

Good article except that the plural of point of view is points of view and NOT point of views! C’mon!

Though I’ve only started writing in earnest this year, POV is a topic that has been pointed out to me again and again concerning my WIP. TODAY, as I go through the comments I received overnight POV is the stumbling block I inadvertently put in my story. I’m consciously employing the third person omniscient POV, but it’s not coming through to my readers. I’ve read this article before and anew and I still don’t get it… I’m doomed.

talented writer, Noddy, mentioned this article . is good read . reread since wanted to make the third person omniscient viewpoint cleaner without head hopping . soon peruse Italo Calvino book written in second person pov to see how a master wrote .

Write two pieces of 750 words. One will be from the point of view of a traveller travelling to a foreign country. The other will be from the point of view of a native of that country who receives that traveller which person do I write form the first person, second person or the third person please help

You know, i had a dream once… I wanted to redo my entire life, I’m getting a divorce from my wife, Scarlett. We have two children, Alex and Maggie, and they’e both seniors in the high school I used to attend. I was driving to Ned’s house one rainy night and saw a man on a bridge. I got out and ran after him. When I got there he jumped, i looked over the edge and then I fell off. I woke up in Ned’s house and looked in the mirror. I was my young self again… I was 17 again.

What about this post is actual, and what part’s a dream? It’s hard to distinguish what dialogue this follows, and what efforts are trying to be accomplished.

Everything about this was my dream… I woke up after i fell and thought, I need some pancakes.

Hi- I’m writing a novel in 3rd omniscient. I struggle with the point of view on a micro level, never dipping into 1st or second person. Here is an example of what I mean is this… ‘While Eunice and Barbara were in the nursery spending a few minutes with the baby boy, Margaret walked away from a group and then grabbed a quick nibble of cheese from the buffet. She continued on to the bar where she picked up a full glass of vodka with a twist of lemon. On her way out the door to the patio, she looked back over her shoulder directly to where Jules stood, as if she had known his position to the inch.’ Does ‘she looked back over her shoulder’ now put the reader in Margaret’s POV???

I could use some advice.

I have a novel focusing on the relationship of two people. This is entirely written in 3rd person limited with occasional internal dialogue.

Initially, this story was focused on one character (A); however, I realised the protagonist was the other character (B). I re-wrote the novel to be inside B’s head, and generally this works *much* better.

Here’s the problem. Although the entire novel is written in 3rd person limited for B, there are several action points within the novel that follows A, not B because there is not much going on with B during this time.

There’s no head hopping or reading of A’s mind in these few scenes, but nothing is happening to B at this point, so narrative-wise, it seems okay to follow A through action (not thought).

So, question 1) because there’s no head hopping, is following A occasionally too distracting for this story? And if so, 2) I’m open to suggestions on how to handle this, because it’s what happens to A in these scenes that changes things.

Very good article. Great examples.

Nice article

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Point of View

Point of View Definition

What is point of view? Here’s a quick and simple definition:

Point of view refers to the perspective that the narrator holds in relation to the events of the story. The three primary points of view are  first person , in which the narrator tells a story from their own perspective ("I went to the store");  second person , in which the narrator tells a story about you, the reader or viewer ("You went to the store"); and third person , in which the narrator tells a story about other people ("He went to the store"). Each point of view creates a different experience for the reader, because, in each point of view, different types and amounts of information are available to the reader about the story's events and characters.

Some additional key details about point of view:

• Each different point of view has its own specific qualities that influence the narrative. It's up to the author to choose which point of view is best for narrating the story he or she is writing.
• Second person point of view is extremely rare in literature. The vast majority of stories are written in either the first or third person. 
• You may hear "point of view" referred to simply as "perspective." This isn't wrong, it's just another way of referring to the same thing.

The Three "Modes" of Point of View

Stories can be told from one of three main points of view: first person, second person, or third person. Each of the different modes offers an author particular options and benefits, and the point of view that an author chooses will have a tremendous impact on the way that a reader engages with a story.  

First Person Point of View

In first person point of view, the narrator tells the story from his or her own perspective. You can easily recognize first person by its use of the pronouns "I" or "We." First person offers the author a great way to give the reader direct access to a particular character's thoughts, emotions, voice, and way of seeing the world—their  point of view  about the main events of the story. The choice of which  character gets to have first person point of view can dramatically change a story, as shown in this simple scenario of a thief snatching a lady's purse

• Thief's POV: "I was desperate for something to eat. Judging by her expensive-looking shoes, I figured she could afford to part with her purse."
• Victim's POV: "He came out of nowhere! Too bad for him, though: I only had five dollars in my bag."

Consider also one of the most famous examples of first person point of view, the very first line of Herman Melville's  Moby-Dick :

Call me Ishmael.

Melville uses first person here because he wants to establish a confessional tone for the protagonist. He wants the reader to feel like Ishmael has just sat down next to him on a bar stool, and is about to tell him his life's story. Only first person can have this colloquial and intimate effect. Saying, "His name was Ishmael," for instance, would insert more distance between the reader and the character Ishmael, because the third person narrator would sit between  the reader and Ishmael. First person, in this way, can have the effect of connecting the reader directly with the story.

First Person Point of View and the Protagonist

In a story told in the first person, the character who acts as narrator will often also be the protagonist of the story. However, some stories told from the first person do  not  make the narrator the protagonist:

• First person in which the narrator is the protagonist: In The Catcher in the Rye , the first person narrator Holden Caulfield is the clear protagonist of the story. His voice dominates the story, and the story he tells is his own.
• First person in which the narrator is  not  the protagonist:  The novel The Great Gatsby is narrated by Nick Carraway, but the protagonist of the novel is Jay Gatsby. Nick Carraway tells the story, and the reader is limited to understanding the story through what Nick himself sees, knows, and thinks, but nevertheless the story that Nick tells is not his own but rather Gatsby's.

Second Person Point of View

Second person point of view uses the pronoun "you" to immerse the reader in the experience of being the protagonist. It's important to remember that second person point of view is different from simply addressing the reader. Rather, the second person point of view places the reader "on the playing field" by putting them in the position of the protagonist—the one to whom the action occurs. Few stories are appropriate for such a perspective, but occasionally it is quite successful, as in Jay McInerney's  Bright Lights, Big City , a novel in which the reader is taken on a wild night through Manhattan.

Eventually you ascend the stairs to the street. You think of Plato's pilgrims climbing out of the cave, from the shadow world of appearances toward things as they really are, and you wonder if it is possible to change in this life. Being with a philosopher makes you think.

Of the three points of view, second person is the most rarely used, primarily because it doesn't allow the narrator as much freedom as first person and third person, so it's hard to sustain this style of narration for very long.

Third Person Point of View

In third person point of view, the narrator is someone (or some entity) who is  not  a character in the story being told. Third person point of view uses the pronouns "he," "she," and "they," to refer to all the characters. It is the most common point of view in writing, as it gives the writer a considerable amount of freedom to focus on different people, events, and places without being limited within the consciousness of a single character. Below is an example of dialogue written in third person by Joseph Heller in his novel  Catch-22 :

"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." "Please stop it," said Yossarian. "You're making me nervous."

The exchange above is narrated by a narrator who is outside the interaction between Yossarian and Orr; such distance is the hallmark of third person point of view.

Third Person and Degree of Distance

The third person mode is unique from first and second person in another way as well: third person has different variants. These variants depend on how far removed the narrator is from the events of the story, and how much the narrator knows about each character:

• Third Person Omniscient Point of View: "Third person omniscient" means that the narrator knows all the thoughts and feelings of every character and can dip in and out of the the internal life of anyone, as needed. Omniscient just means "all-knowing." This type of narrator is more god-like than human, in the sense that their perspective is un limited.
• A story like Young Goodman Brown , which follows one character closely and reports on that character's thoughts and feelings (but not the thoughts and feelings of others), is an example of third person limited point of view. This type of story gives the reader the feeling that they are inside one person's head  without  using first person pronouns like "I."

Alternating Point of View

Many stories are told from alternating points of view—switching between different characters, or even between different modes of storytelling.

• Stories can switch between third person points of view: Many novels switch between different third person points of view. For instance, the chapters of George R.R. Martin's The Song of Ice and Fire books are all named after characters, and each chapter is told from the limited third person point of view of the named character. 
• Stories can switch between first person points of view: William Faulkner's novel As I Lay Dying is structurally similar to the Song of Ice and Fire books in the sense that each chapter is named after a character. However, each chapter is told in the first person by the named character. The Darl chapters are told in the first person by Darl, the Cash chapter are narrated by Cash, the Vardamon chapters by Vardamon, and so on. 
• Stories can even switch between modes of storytelling:  Though less common than other sorts of alternating points of view, some stories can shift not only between different character's points of view, but between actual modes of storytelling. For example, Faulkner's The Sound and the Fury has four parts. The first three parts are all narrated in the first person, with the first part narrated by Benjy, the second part by Quentin, and the third part by Jason. But the fourth part is told in the third person omniscient and follows a bunch of different characters at different times.

Point of View Examples

Every work of literature has a point of view, and so there are essentially endless examples of point of view in literature. The examples below were chosen because they are good examples of the different modes, and in the case of The Metamorphosis the the subtle shift in the nature of the narrator's point of view also shows how an author can play with point of view to suit the themes and ideas of a story.  

Third Person Point of View in Kafka's  Metamorphosis

A great example of third person point of view in literature is the first line from Kafka's  The Metamorphosis . 

As Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from uneasy dreams he found himself transformed in his bed into a gigantic insect.

For the remainder of the book, Kafka follows the protagonist, Gregor Samsa, in a limited third person point of view as he struggles to come to terms with his sudden transformation into an insect. For as long as Gregor remains alive, the third person narrator remains limited by Gregor's own consciousness—the story is told in the third person, but the narrator never knows or sees any more than Gregor himself does. 

However, in the few pages of the story that continue after Gregor dies, the narrator shifts into a third person omniscient point of view , almost as if Gregor's death has freed the narrator in a way not so dissimilar to how his death tragically relieves a burden on his family. 

Point of View in Tolstoy's  Anna Karenina

Leo Tolstoy's  Anna Karenina   is a great example of the omniscient third person point of view. In the novel, the narrator sees and knows all, and moves around between the lives of the different characters, dipping into their internal lives and thoughts, and commenting on the narrative as a whole. In Part 5, Chapter 6, the internal lives of two characters are commented on at once, in the moment of their marriage to one another:

Often and much as they had both heard about the belief that whoever is first to step on the rug will be the head in the family, neither Levin nor Kitty could recall it as they made those few steps. Nor did they hear the loud remarks and disputes that, in the observation of some, he had been the first, or, in the opinion of others, they had stepped on it together.

Point of View in Thoreau's  Walden

Henry David Thoreau's transcendental meditations on isolation were based on his actual lived experience. It makes sense, then, that  Walden  (his account of time spent alone in the woods) is written in the first person point of view :

When I wrote the following pages, or rather the bulk of them, I lived alone, in the woods, a mile away from any neighbor, in a house which I had built myself, on the shore of Walden Pond, in Concord, Massachusetts, and earned my living by the labor of my hands only. I lived there two years and two months. At present I am a sojourner in civilized life again.

What's the Function of Point of View in Literature?

Point of view is the means by which an author relays either one or a multiplicity of perspectives about the events of their story. It is the lens crafted by the writer that allows the reader to see a story or argument unfold. Depending on how much information the writer wants to give the reader, this lens will be constructed differently—or in other words, a different mode of point of view will be chosen:

• If the writer wants the reader to have full access to a particular character's internal life, then they might choose either first person or a closely limited third person point of view.
• If the writer wants the reader to know select bits and pieces about every character, they might choose an omniscient third person point of view.
• If the writer wants the reader to know about the rich internal lives of multiple characters, they might choose an alternating first person point of view.
• Lastly, if the writer wants the reader to feel like they themselves are in the center of the action, they might choose a second person point of view.

Other Helpful Point of View Resources

• The Wikipedia Page on Point of View:  An overview of narration with a focus on literary point of view.
• The Dictionary Definition of Point of View:   A very basic definition of the term point of view.
• Examples of Second Person:  A page with some examples of writing in the less common second person point of view.

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Opposing Viewpoints is a great database if you are writing an argument/persuasive paper, or if you doing research on a current and controversial topic.

A database is just a big, digital collection of records with a search interface, allowing you to search a large collection of information quickly for records that match your search criteria.

In the case of Opposing Viewpoints and many of our other databases, the records are individual articles from printed magazines, newspapers, and journals (sometimes called 'academic journals' or 'scholarly journals'). In addition to articles, you'll also find images, videos, statistics, audio files, and more.

Let's say you have an assignment that requires you to find an article that fits certain conditions: published in a scholarly journal, published within the last five years, etc. With Opposing Viewpoints, you can easily limit your search to make sure your results fit all of your assignment criteria.

Use the 'Search Limiters' tab in this guide to find out how to use the Advanced Search screen to your advantage.

• Access the Databases This handout details how find the databases on the library website.

Gale In Context: Opposing Viewpoints is an online library of current event topics: the facts as well as the arguments of each topic's proponents and detractors. Opposing Viewpoints' unique features include viewpoint article frameworks that allow students to explore each topic's many facets and exclusive electronic access to Thomson Gale's Information Plus series featuring statistics and government data placed in context.  HELP SHEET | VIDEO TUTORIAL

The databases are the best place to start looking for articles, for many reasons:

They have more stuff:  

• You can't find everything on the Web with a Google search. Many scholarly articles and publications are not available for free online, and can only be accessed through subscription databases like the ones we offer at SanJac.

They're reliable:

• Using websites for research can be risky if you don't thoroughly evaluate web sources for accuracy, substance, authority, currency, and other considerations. When you use sources from the databases for your research, you can be confident you are using vetted, scholarly sources.

They make it easy to limit your results:

• The database makes it easy to limit your results to articles that fit your assignment criteria, such as articles from a journal, or articles less than two years' old. Use the Limit Your Results tab in this guide for tips.

They're free:

• If you search for articles using Google or Yahoo, you may be asked to pay for the full text of an article. You will never be charged for an article in the library databases. Even if you find an article that we don't have full-text access to through the databases, the librarians can always order it for you - free of charge - through interlibrary loan.

They have great features:

• The databases have student-friendly features that websites don't have, like citation formatting, free account and folder features, search alerts, and email features. For more information on these features, check out the "Working with Your Results" tab in this guide. 

They're convenient:

• Search the databases 24 hours a day from wherever you have Internet access.

There are a couple of different ways you can use Opposing Viewpoints to choose a topic.

1. If you don't have an idea of what you want to write about or speak on, then the Browse Issues button is for you. Clicking on Browse Issues will bring up an alphabetical list of broad topics covered by the database.

When you choose a topic this way, you'll see a webpage with lots of resources collected devoted to that topic. You can look at the resources according to the type (magazines, academic journals, etc.), or you can click on the 'Search within page' box on the right to type in a more specific keyword to your topic.

2. If the topic you want isn't listed under Browse Issues, use the search box on the main screen to see if there's a topic page for an issue you're interested in. You can type in a search phrase, and the database will suggest some other terms. Click on any of those, or just hit "Search" to see what is available on the topic you typed in.

When you search the Opposing Viewpoints database, one of the first things you'll see come up in your search results are Featured Viewpoints and  Viewpoints:

So what is a Viewpoints essay, and how is it different from other things you'll find in this database?

Viewpoints essays argue about a topic from a clear standpoint or side of the issue. Usually you'll find two of them relating the same issue, but arguing from two different points of  view. In this way, the purpose of Viewpoints are to give a balanced perspective to controversial topics :

So if you're writing a persuasive/argument paper, you could use one Viewpoint essay to provide support for your side of the argument, and the counterpoint Viewpoint essay for ideas on refuting opposing arguments.

Viewpoints essays are not periodicals like magazine, newspaper, or journal articles that are published regularly for a general or scholarly audience.

Viewpoints essays are written or compiled by the staff at Gale, the company that publishes the book series and the database. Sometimes they are reprints of articles or reports:

Viewpoints in the database are the same as chapters you'd find in the Opposing Viewpoints book series.  We have nearly 500 of them across all three libraries , so you may have run across them before. If you find a book in our library catalog that's part of the Opposing Viewpoints series, and the book is checked out or missing, you could try to find the same content in the database.  

If you are using the Opposing Viewpoints database in order to look for Viewpoints essays  only , there's an easy way to narrow your search. At the searchbox at the top right of the homepage, click on "Viewpoints" instead of "All," and enter your search terms:

Now your search results will  only be Viewpoints essays (not any of the other types of sources you can find in this database). If you have too many, use the limiting options on the left to make your search results more specific to your topic:

A word of caution: some professors think Viewpoints are OK to use as sources for research papers, and some professors do not. Always check your assignment and with your professor to make sure you know what sources will be accepted for your own research paper.

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Table of Contents

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

What Is Point of View?

In writing, point of view refers to whether the writing takes on a singular or plural perspective in either 1st person, 2nd person, or 3rd person.

• First person is the perspective of the writer; 1st person uses words like “I,” “my,” “me,” or “we.”
• 2nd-person is the perspective of the reader being directly addressed by the writer; 2nd person uses words like “you,” “your,” or “us.” ; and
• 3rd-person is the perspective of a different party who is neither writer nor reader. 3rd person uses words like “she,” “his,” or “they.”

Point of view can typically be identified by which pronouns are used. See the chart below for a quick summary.

Related concepts: Pronouns , Perspective , First-Person Point of View , Second-Person Point of View , Third-Person Point of View

Why Does Point of View Matter?

Point of view can impact how a reader experiences a piece of writing in a wide range of ways. A writer’s choice of point of view can impact the level of formality of a piece of writing, and it can also impact how a reader feels about both the writer and the topic. Choosing to use the first person pronouns “we” and “us,” for instance, might make a reader feel in league with the writer, but in another rhetorical situation it can make readers see the writer as unserious or subjective. In fiction, a writer’s choice of point of view means deciding through whose eyes readers see a story, which in turn impacts just about every other choice a writer will make, from which information readers will get, to how they will perceive other characters and events.

How Do You Choose a Particular Point of View?

Point of view is

• a stylistic choice–i.e., choice based on the rhetor’s desired Rhetorical Stance.
• Genres tend to have very specific guidelines for point of view.
• In academic writing, e.g., writers are generally expected to use 3rd-person most of the time, with the occasional exception for 1st person if it is necessary. Using 2nd person is discouraged.

Different points of view can be applied to different writing purposes. There are far too many reasons to choose a point of view to list them all here. This list provides three common uses for the various points of view:

Common uses of 1st person

• Memoirs. Memoirs are all about someone’s personal experiences, so memoir authors use I frequently to describe what has happened to them and how they felt about it.
• Certain academic disciplines . Some academic disciplines, like women’s studies and rhetoric and composition, value the inclusion of personal experience as research material, so scholars will use I and we in their work.

Common uses of 2nd person

• Directions and Self-help books. Self-help books aim to improve their readers in some way, so the authors use you to speak directly to those readers and prompt them to reflect on themselves or take action.
• Advertisements. Advertisements target specific audiences in order to make sales, and the use of you (e.g. “Do you need cash fast?”) can prompt a viewer to identify with the ad’s target audience.

Common uses of 3rd person

• Quotes. When relaying quotations from other speakers or writers, authors will identify the source of the quotation in 3rd person, as in “He wrote that…”
• News stories. Journalism generally strives to impart objective information. By using only 3rd person, journalism avoids the overly personal tone of I and you.

Here are the common ways third person is used in an academic paper:

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 To Edit for Point of View

To identify ineffective uses of point of view, 1) identify the various points of view in your writing; and 2) decide if the points of view achieve their purpose and will not inadvertently alienate the reader.

1. Identify the various points of view in a piece of writing.

Ex: The American public is underinformed about important news from other countries. When you only watch local cable news or get your news from American websites, you miss out on reading about events like the Arab Spring and the tsunami in Japan.

In this example, the first sentence has a subject in 3rd-person point of view, the American public. The second sentence’s use of you gives it a 2nd-person point of view.

2. Decide if the points of view achieve their purpose and will not inadvertently alienate the reader.

In the first sentence, 3rd-person point of view achieves the purpose of identifying who the writer thinks is underinformed: the American public. In the second sentence, though, it is unclear what purpose the 2nd-person you is intended to achieve. Why is the writer speaking directly to me, the reader? Moreover, the writer risks alienating me by seeming to assume that I am definitely uninformed. How (potentially) offensive!

How can you correct an unnecessary shift in point of view?

• In a passage where an unnecessary shift has been noted, go through and highlight each of the point of view words.
• Change the point of view of the inconsistent pronouns to align them with the primary point of view that has already been established.
• Reread the passage aloud and listen for consistency in point of view.

Let’s look at an example:

• Even though he believed weight loss was possible, you do not know how hard it can be until you try to lose a few pounds.
• Even though he believed weight loss was possible, he did not know how hard it would be until he tried to lose a few pounds.

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.

Look at the following lines and determine how you might revise them so that they remove the pronoun “you” or define the pronoun “we”:

• You can understand what it’s like to have a stack of papers to grade and only two days to do it.
• We now know that cigarettes can cause various types of cancer.
• I would like you to understand that not all students are lazy.
• We believe that gay marriage is not immoral or harmful to the American family; as such, we argue that it should be legalized.
• Doughnuts are really harmful to our health, so we should stop ingesting them.
• If you would only give reading a try, you might actually enjoy it.
• Subliminal messages enter our psyches on a daily basis.
• As a feminist, I believe that women should receive pay that is equal to that of their male coworkers.

Recommended Readings

First person.

• The First Person
• Using First Person in an Academic Essay: When Is It Okay?

Second Person

•   Understanding Second Person Point-of-View: Wizard Activity

Related Articles:

First-person point of view, second-person point of view, third-person point of view, suggested edits.

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How to Write an Opposing Viewpoint Essay

An opposing viewpoint essay calls for a student to investigate a topic and evaluate the evidence supporting one side of an argument. This type of essay calls for extensive research of literature and, at times, empirical research through surveys and interviews. Opposing essays cover controversial topics, such as environmental policy, media violence, illegal immigration, genetic engineering, and globalization. The essay should leave no doubt about the writer's argument.

Introduction

Set the context by addressing the topic in a general manner. Include background information and explicate the debate. Review the topic and explain why it is important. Why should the reader care about the issue?

Present a concise thesis statement.

Transition into the body of the essay with a logical, clear progression. Summarize the ideas presented in the introductory section.

Body and Conclusion

Limit each paragraph in the body of the essay to one main idea. Connect the body of each paragraph to your thesis statement. Provide at least three detailed examples per paragraph that explain why the evidence supports the thesis.

Discuss opposing viewpoints of each paragraph's main idea. Explain how the opposing arguments do not align with your thesis (rather than dismissing them outright). Consider the other points of view when collecting anecdotal and statistical evidence.

Overcome objections by covering both sides of the issue. Consider arguments against your thesis. Signal refutations with transition words such as "but," "however," or "although."

Synthesize the information to leave a lasting impression on the reader. Link the last paragraph to the introduction and reiterate a key word or phrase used in the beginning. Conclude with a quotation from a primary reference, redefine a key term, or set your argument in a larger context by demonstrating how your paper falls within a larger area of concern or by posing further questions.

• Proofread carefully for grammar and spelling errors.
• Double-check your source information and documentation.

Things You'll Need

• Purdue University: Purdue Online Writing Lab: The Argumentative Essay
• Alamo Colleges: Writer and Grammar Resources: Argumentative Techniques

Nicole Newman is a Dartmouth College associate who works in Tiltfactor Laboratory, Dartmouth's premier game design center. Her research has included investigating the digital humanities through "Writing as a Dimensional Artifact" and "Evolution of the Ghetto: The Decline of America’s Inner Cities," a research initiative on urban design.

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First-Person Point of View: Definition and Examples

4-minute read

• 13th August 2023

The first-person point of view is a grammatical person narrative technique that immerses the reader into the intimate perspective of a single character or individual.

In this literary approach, the story unfolds through the eyes, thoughts, and emotions of the narrator, granting the reader direct access to their inner world. Through the narrator’s use of pronouns such as I and me , readers gain a personal and subjective understanding of the narrator’s experiences, motivations, and conflicts. For example:

If the author uses the third-person point of view , the sentence would read like this:

Why Write From the First-Person Point of View?

This point of view often creates a strong sense of immediacy, enabling readers to form a deep connection with the narrator while limiting the reader’s knowledge to what this character or narrator knows. It’s a dynamic viewpoint that allows the rich exploration of a character’s or narrator’s growth and provides the opportunity to delve into their personal struggles.

First-person narration shouldn’t be used or should be considered carefully in some situations. Familiarize yourself with genre style and tone before making this decision.

Using the First-Person Point of View in Fiction

The first-person point of view is a powerful tool in fiction because it can create an intimate and engaging connection between the reader and the narrator. It is particularly effective for the following purposes.

Developing a Character’s Voice and Personality

First-person narration facilitates a deep exploration of a character’s or narrator’s unique voice, thoughts, and personality. It enables readers to experience the story through the lens of the narrator or a specific character, giving the reader direct insight into their emotions, motivations, and growth.

Portraying Subjective Experiences

When the story relies heavily on the narrator’s or a character’s subjective experience, emotions, and perceptions, the first-person point of view can help the reader connect on a personal level. This bond is especially beneficial in stories that explore complex internal conflicts and psychological themes.

Enhancing Reader Empathy

First-person narratives can foster empathy by enabling readers to see the world through the eyes of the narrator. This perspective can lead to a more emotional and immersive reading experience, allowing readers to relate to and invest in the narrator’s or a character’s journey.

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Conveying Unreliable Narrators

First-person narration is excellent for stories featuring unreliable narrators . Readers can uncover discrepancies between what the narrator says and what they actually do, revealing layers of intrigue and mystery.

Delivering Engaging Storytelling

When the narrative requires a strong and engaging storyteller, the first-person point of view can make the story feel more like a conversation or confession, drawing the reader in.

It’s also important to note that using the first-person point of view comes with limitations. The narrator’s perspective is confined to what they personally experience, possibly limiting the scope of the story’s atmosphere and the portrayal of events that occur outside the narrator’s awareness. Consider how authors of classic novels have utilized point of view in their writing.

The First-Person Point of View in Research Essays

Generally, it’s preferable to avoid the first person in academic and formal writing. Research papers are expected to maintain an objective, unbiased, and impartial tone, focusing on presenting information, data, and analyses clearly. The use of I or we may introduce subjectivity and personal opinions, which can undermine the credibility and professionalism of the research.

Instead, the third-person point of view is preferred because it allows a more neutral and detached presentation of the material. Follow the guidelines and style requirements of the specific field or publication you’re writing for: some disciplines may have different conventions regarding the use of first-person language.

The first person can lend itself to some types of research description when the researcher is discussing why they made a particular decision in their approach or how and why they interpret their findings.

But be aware that when writers attempt to write without reverting to the first person, they often overuse the passive voice . In nonfiction or academic writing, staying in the first person may sometimes be better than using the passive voice.

Ultimately, the decision to use the first person in fiction or nonfiction depends on the specific goals of the author. Fiction authors should consider how this narrative choice aligns with the story’s themes, characters, and intended emotional impact. Research writers should carefully consider whether the use of the first person is necessary to convey their findings and decisions or whether that information could be described as or more effectively without it.

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Reading Skills

Analyzing author’s purpose and point of view.

• The Albert Team
• Last Updated On: June 16, 2023

Introduction

Do you ever wonder why writers write the way they do? Why they pick certain words or tell a story in a specific way? The reason behind this is called the author’s purpose and point of view. It’s like a secret code that helps you understand what they really mean.

In this blog post, we’ll learn about this secret code. You’ll learn to figure out what an author is trying to say, and how they see the world. This will help you understand books, articles, and even posts on social media even better!

What is the Author’s Point of View?

When you read a text, it’s important to think about the author’s point of view. The author’s point of view refers to their unique perspective, opinions, beliefs, and biases that shape how they present information or tell a story. They might see things in a way that’s different from you because of their own experiences, beliefs, and backgrounds.

Understanding an author’s point of view allows us to dig deeper into the underlying motivations and intentions behind their words. It can also help you find hidden messages in the text. So, how do we figure out an author’s point of view? Let’s talk about some ways to do this.

How to Determine the Author’s Point of View

You might think figuring out an author’s point of view is hard, but it can be fun, like solving a mystery! Here are some tips to help you do it:

• Look at the Words : Notice the words the author uses. Are they showing strong feelings or opinions? The way they write can give you hints about what they think and feel.
• Learn About the Author : Knowing more about the author can help you understand their point of view. What kind of job do they have? Where are they from? What are some important things that have happened to them?
• Think About Why the Author Wrote the Text: Why do you think the author wrote this? Do they want to teach you something, make you think, or make you laugh? Knowing this can help you understand what they’re trying to say.
• Notice Patterns: Look for ideas that come up again and again. These can tell you a lot about what the author thinks is important.
• Think About Who the Author is Writing For: Authors often write for specific groups of people. The way they write can tell you a lot about who they are trying to talk to.

Remember, figuring out an author’s point of view is about understanding the text better, not about deciding if they are right or wrong.

Why is the Author’s Point of View Important?

Why should we care about the author’s point of view? Here are some good reasons:

• Contextual Understanding : The author’s point of view helps us make sense of the text. It shows us why they chose to write the way they did and what they want us to learn.
• Uncovering Bias: No author can be totally unbiased. By understanding their point of view, we can see their own opinions in the text. This helps us think critically about what we’re reading.
• Evaluating Objectivity: Knowing the author’s point of view helps us see if the text is objective (without personal feelings) or subjective (based on personal feelings). This can help us decide if we can trust the information in the text.
• Enhancing Interpretation: Understanding the author’s point of view helps us understand what the text really means. We can see what arguments the author is making and think more deeply about the text.
• Encouraging Empathy and Perspective: By seeing things from the author’s point of view, we can better understand people who are different from us. This helps us be more understanding and open-minded.

As you can see, knowing the author’s point of view helps us understand and think about what we read in a deeper way. It makes us better readers and thinkers!

How to Determine the Author’s Purpose

In addition to analyzing the author’s point of view, it is also key to examine the author’s purpose. Here are some tips to help you figure out the author’s purpose:

• Check the Type of Text: Look at what kind of text it is. Is it a story, a news article, or maybe an essay? This can give you clues about why the author wrote it.
• Look at the Words and Tone: Pay attention to the words the author uses and how they write. If they use a lot of emotion, they might be trying to persuade you. If they give a lot of facts, they’re probably trying to inform you.
• Think About Who It’s Written For: Who is the author writing for? For example, a text for experts might be trying to give new information, while a text for kids might be trying to teach something in a fun way.
• Look for Main Ideas: What are the big ideas in the text? What is the author trying to say? This can give you a hint about why they wrote it.
• Check for Facts or Stories: Does the author use a lot of facts and data? Or do they tell stories? This can also help you figure out the author’s purpose.
• Think About the Time and Place: When and where was the text written? Sometimes, this can tell you a lot about why the author wrote the text.

Remember, you might not always see the author’s purpose right away. But if you look closely, you can usually find clues that will help you figure it out.

How Text Structure Contributes to the Author’s Purpose

Text structure, or the way a text is put together, plays a significant role in conveying the author’s purpose and shaping the overall message of a written piece. The way a text is organized and structured can greatly influence how the information is presented and how the reader engages with it. Here are some ways that text structure contributes to the author’s purpose

• Order of Ideas: Authors choose how to order their ideas for a reason. They might use a time order, cause and effect, or compare and contrast to help get their point across.
• Important Points Stand Out: Authors use things like headings or bullet points to show important ideas. This can tell us what the author thinks is most important.
• Storytelling Techniques: In stories, authors might play with the order of events, use flashbacks, or tell the story from different viewpoints. This can make the story more interesting or help make a point.
• Persuasion Techniques: If the author is trying to convince you of something, they will present their arguments in a careful order. They might present a problem, then give evidence, then propose a solution.
• Easy to Follow: A well-organized text is easier to understand. The way the author organizes the text can help you follow their ideas and understand what they want to say.

By looking at how a text is structured, you can get a better idea of what the author’s purpose is. So, next time you read something, pay attention to how it’s put together!

Classroom Application: What is the Author’s Purpose in this Passage?

Analyzing the author’s purpose becomes more engaging and relatable when you can apply your skills to historical speeches. One exemplary text for this exercise is Abraham Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address. Use this step-by-step guide to  analyze the author’s purpose in this significant piece of writing:

Step 1: Background Research:

First, start by gathering some background information about Abraham Lincoln, his presidency, and the context of the Second Inaugural Address. Learn about the Civil War and how it impacted the nation during that time.

Step 2: Reading and Annotation:

Next, read the Second Inaugural Address carefully, highlighting or underlining key statements and phrases. Take note of any repeated themes or arguments and mark moments where Lincoln’s perspective or tone seems particularly important.

Step 3: Identifying the Type of Text:

Consider the type of text you are analyzing, which is a presidential inauguration speech. Think about the common purposes associated with such speeches, like inspiring unity, expressing gratitude, or outlining a vision for the nation.

Step 4: Analyzing Language and Tone:

Pay close attention to Lincoln’s choice of language and tone throughout the address. Look for emotional or persuasive language and note instances of unity, humility, or calls for reconciliation. Consider how these choices contribute to Lincoln’s purpose.

Step 5: Reflecting on Historical Context:

Think about the historical context surrounding the Second Inaugural Address. For example, you could reflect on the divided nation during the Civil War and how it affected Lincoln’s presidency. Then, connect these historical events to Lincoln’s purpose in addressing the nation during such a critical time.

Step 6: Identifying Key Statements and Arguments:

Identify the central statements and arguments made by Lincoln in the address. Consider how these statements reflect his purpose and the message he wanted to convey. Think critically about the implications of these arguments.

Step 7: Considering the Audience:

Reflect on the intended audience of the Second Inaugural Address, which includes both supporters and opponents of Lincoln. Analyze how Lincoln’s purpose might have been influenced by this diverse audience and how he aimed to unite the nation through his words.

Step 8: Drawing Conclusions:

Based on the evidence you gathered from the text analysis and understanding of the historical context, draw conclusions about Lincoln’s purpose in delivering the Second Inaugural Address. Make sure to support your conclusions with evidence from the text.

Step 9: Classroom Discussion and Reflection:

Finally, wrap up by participating in a classroom discussion, where you can share your analysis and engage in thoughtful reflection. Compare and contrast interpretations with your classmates to deepen your understanding of the author’s purpose and the complexities of historical texts.

By following these steps to analyze Lincoln’s Second Inaugural Address, you’ll develop critical thinking skills, gain historical understanding, and appreciate the power of language in shaping significant historical events. This assignment will enhance your ability to analyze texts and provide you with a deeper insight into the intentions of historical figures like Abraham Lincoln.

Analyzing an author’s purpose and point of view is a skill that empowers you to unlock the hidden meanings within texts. By understanding why authors write the way they do and recognizing their unique perspectives, you can gain valuable insights into the world of written communication. 

Practice Makes Perfect

Albert provides engaging practice questions for key skills like analyzing the author’s purpose as well as a wide range of texts for students to analyze and interpret. For more practice with the skills covered in this post, check out our Author’s Purpose questions in our Short Readings course, which uses short passages to reinforce fundamental reading skills. Readers at all ability levels may enjoy our  Leveled Readings  course, which offers Lexile® leveled passages focused on a unifying essential question that keeps all students on the same page regardless of reading level. Learn more about the Lexile Framework  here !

With our easy-to-use interface and informative feedback, Albert.io is the perfect tool for learning how to determine the author’s purpose and point of view and helping students develop a deeper understanding of the texts they encounter.

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Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints

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Viewpoint Essays: Article Commentary

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• Go to Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints

Each viewpoint essay starts with an Article Commentary that includes information about the essay's author(s) , position summary, main points, and questions to consider. Having this information at the start, sets you up to be a critical thinker. It's important to know the credentials of the author, their expertise, and potential biases in order to assess their credibility and understand why they take the perspective that they do. The brief position summary and questions to consider offer you a preview and help to focus your thinking as you read the essay.  

Viewpoint Essay Title

Article Commentary

Here, in this example, we learn that the author, Margaret Renki, is a writer for The New York Times,  a well-respected newspaper and very credible source of news and information. Knowing the author's credentials and affiliations can help you evaluate potential bias and anticipate their perspective on controversial issues. 

Questions to Consider

Like Critical Thinking Questions on topic pages, you'll find questions to consider with each viewpoint essay, These questions are designed to focus your reading. They help you make deeper connections between ideas, consider what you believe, and actively apply the information you are learning. 

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• Last Updated: May 5, 2023 9:45 AM
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Part 2: Situation and Analysis

7 Opposing Viewpoints

Handling opposing viewpoints.

Because an argument implies differing points of view on the subject, you must be sure to acknowledge those opposing ideas. Avoiding ideas that conflict with your own gives the reader the impression that you may be uncertain, fearful, or unaware of opposing ideas. Thus it is essential that you not only address counterarguments but also do so respectfully.

Try to address opposing arguments earlier rather than later in your essay. Rhetorically speaking, ordering your positive arguments last allows you to better address ideas that conflict with your own, so you can spend the rest of the essay countering those arguments. This way, you leave your reader thinking about your argument rather than someone else’s. You have the last word.

Acknowledging points of view different from your own also has the effect of fostering more credibility between you and the audience. They know from the outset that you are aware of opposing ideas and that you are not afraid to give them space.

It is also helpful to establish the limits of your argument and what you are trying to accomplish. In effect, you are conceding early on that your argument is not the ultimate authority on a given topic. Such humility can go a long way toward earning credibility and trust with an audience. Audience members will know from the beginning that you are a reasonable writer, and audience members will trust your argument as a result. For example, in the following concessionary statement, the writer advocates for stricter gun control laws, but she admits it will not solve all of our problems with crimes:

Such a concession will be welcome by those who might disagree with this writer’s argument in the first place. To effectively persuade their readers, writers need to be modest in their goals and humble in their approach to get readers to listen to the ideas. Certain transitional words and phrases aid in keeping the reader oriented in the sequencing of a story. Some of these phrases are listed here:

Phrases of Concession

Opposing Argument Examples

As you read, look for the following:

• What is the author’s thesis?
• What key points does the author use to argue the thesis?
• How does the author use reasoning, research and/or examples to affirm his viewpoint?
• How does the author attempt to refute opposing arguments?

“The Case Against Torture,” by Alisa Soloman

In  “The Case Against Torture,” author and professor Alisa Soloman enumerate the reasons torture should never be practiced or justified in a civil society.

Click on the link to view the essay:  “The Case Against Torture” by Alisa Soloman

“The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin

In  “The Case for Torture,”  philosophy professor Michael Levin argues the circumstances under which torture may be justified in a civil society.

Click on the link to view the essay:  “The Case for Torture” by Michael Levin

Bias in Writing

Everyone has various biases on any number of topics. For example, you might have a bias toward wearing black instead of brightly colored clothes or wearing jeans rather than formal wear. You might have a bias toward working at night rather than in the morning, or working by deadlines rather than getting tasks done in advance. These examples identify minor biases, of course, but they still indicate preferences and opinions.

Handling bias in writing and in daily life can be a useful skill. It will allow you to articulate your own points of view while also defending yourself against unreasonable points of view. The ideal in persuasive writing is to let your reader know your bias, but do not let that bias blind you to the primary components of good argumentation: sound, thoughtful evidence and a respectful and reasonable address of opposing sides.

The strength of a personal bias is that it can motivate you to construct a strong argument. If you are invested in the topic, you are more likely to care about the piece of writing. Similarly, the more you care, the more time and effort you are apt to put forth and the better the final product will be.

The weakness of bias is when the bias begins to take over the essay—when, for example, you neglect opposing ideas, exaggerate your points, or repeatedly insert yourself ahead of the subject by using Itoo often. Being aware of all three of these pitfalls will help you avoid them.

Key Takeaway

• You should let your reader know your bias, but do not let that bias blind you to the primary components of good argumentation: sound, thoughtful evidence and respectfully and reasonably addressing opposing ideas.

ATTRIBUTIONS

• Content Adapted from Composition II. Authored by : Alexis McMillan-Clifton.  Provided by : Tacoma Community College.  Located at :  http://www.tacomacc.edu .  Project : Kaleidoscope Open Course Initiative.  License :  CC BY: Attribution

English 102: Journey Into Open Copyright © 2021 by Christine Jones is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License , except where otherwise noted.

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What is an Essay?

10 May, 2020

11 minutes read

Author:  Tomas White

Well, beyond a jumble of words usually around 2,000 words or so - what is an essay, exactly? Whether you’re taking English, sociology, history, biology, art, or a speech class, it’s likely you’ll have to write an essay or two. So how is an essay different than a research paper or a review? Let’s find out!

Defining the Term – What is an Essay?

The essay is a written piece that is designed to present an idea, propose an argument, express the emotion or initiate debate. It is a tool that is used to present writer’s ideas in a non-fictional way. Multiple applications of this type of writing go way beyond, providing political manifestos and art criticism as well as personal observations and reflections of the author.

An essay can be as short as 500 words, it can also be 5000 words or more.  However, most essays fall somewhere around 1000 to 3000 words ; this word range provides the writer enough space to thoroughly develop an argument and work to convince the reader of the author’s perspective regarding a particular issue.  The topics of essays are boundless: they can range from the best form of government to the benefits of eating peppermint leaves daily. As a professional provider of custom writing, our service has helped thousands of customers to turn in essays in various forms and disciplines.

Origins of the Essay

Over the course of more than six centuries essays were used to question assumptions, argue trivial opinions and to initiate global discussions. Let’s have a closer look into historical progress and various applications of this literary phenomenon to find out exactly what it is.

Today’s modern word “essay” can trace its roots back to the French “essayer” which translates closely to mean “to attempt” .  This is an apt name for this writing form because the essay’s ultimate purpose is to attempt to convince the audience of something.  An essay’s topic can range broadly and include everything from the best of Shakespeare’s plays to the joys of April.

The essay comes in many shapes and sizes; it can focus on a personal experience or a purely academic exploration of a topic.  Essays are classified as a subjective writing form because while they include expository elements, they can rely on personal narratives to support the writer’s viewpoint.  The essay genre includes a diverse array of academic writings ranging from literary criticism to meditations on the natural world.  Most typically, the essay exists as a shorter writing form; essays are rarely the length of a novel.  However, several historic examples, such as John Locke’s seminal work “An Essay Concerning Human Understanding” just shows that a well-organized essay can be as long as a novel.

The Essay in Literature

The essay enjoys a long and renowned history in literature.  They first began gaining in popularity in the early 16 th century, and their popularity has continued today both with original writers and ghost writers.  Many readers prefer this short form in which the writer seems to speak directly to the reader, presenting a particular claim and working to defend it through a variety of means.  Not sure if you’ve ever read a great essay? You wouldn’t believe how many pieces of literature are actually nothing less than essays, or evolved into more complex structures from the essay. Check out this list of literary favorites:

• The Book of My Lives by Aleksandar Hemon
• Notes of a Native Son by James Baldwin
• Against Interpretation by Susan Sontag
• High-Tide in Tucson: Essays from Now and Never by Barbara Kingsolver
• Slouching Toward Bethlehem by Joan Didion
• Naked by David Sedaris
• Walden; or, Life in the Woods by Henry David Thoreau

Pretty much as long as writers have had something to say, they’ve created essays to communicate their viewpoint on pretty much any topic you can think of!

The Essay in Academics

Not only are students required to read a variety of essays during their academic education, but they will likely be required to write several different kinds of essays throughout their scholastic career.  Don’t love to write?  Then consider working with a ghost essay writer !  While all essays require an introduction, body paragraphs in support of the argumentative thesis statement, and a conclusion, academic essays can take several different formats in the way they approach a topic.  Common essays required in high school, college, and post-graduate classes include:

Five paragraph essay

This is the most common type of a formal essay. The type of paper that students are usually exposed to when they first hear about the concept of the essay itself. It follows easy outline structure – an opening introduction paragraph; three body paragraphs to expand the thesis; and conclusion to sum it up.

Argumentative essay

These essays are commonly assigned to explore a controversial issue.  The goal is to identify the major positions on either side and work to support the side the writer agrees with while refuting the opposing side’s potential arguments.

Compare and Contrast essay

This essay compares two items, such as two poems, and works to identify similarities and differences, discussing the strength and weaknesses of each.  This essay can focus on more than just two items, however.  The point of this essay is to reveal new connections the reader may not have considered previously.

Definition essay

This essay has a sole purpose – defining a term or a concept in as much detail as possible. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, not quite. The most important part of the process is picking up the word. Before zooming it up under the microscope, make sure to choose something roomy so you can define it under multiple angles. The definition essay outline will reflect those angles and scopes.

Descriptive essay

Perhaps the most fun to write, this essay focuses on describing its subject using all five of the senses.  The writer aims to fully describe the topic; for example, a descriptive essay could aim to describe the ocean to someone who’s never seen it or the job of a teacher.  Descriptive essays rely heavily on detail and the paragraphs can be organized by sense.

Illustration essay

The purpose of this essay is to describe an idea, occasion or a concept with the help of clear and vocal examples. “Illustration” itself is handled in the body paragraphs section. Each of the statements, presented in the essay needs to be supported with several examples. Illustration essay helps the author to connect with his audience by breaking the barriers with real-life examples – clear and indisputable.

Informative Essay

Being one the basic essay types, the informative essay is as easy as it sounds from a technical standpoint. High school is where students usually encounter with informative essay first time. The purpose of this paper is to describe an idea, concept or any other abstract subject with the help of proper research and a generous amount of storytelling.

Narrative essay

This type of essay focuses on describing a certain event or experience, most often chronologically.  It could be a historic event or an ordinary day or month in a regular person’s life. Narrative essay proclaims a free approach to writing it, therefore it does not always require conventional attributes, like the outline. The narrative itself typically unfolds through a personal lens, and is thus considered to be a subjective form of writing.

Persuasive essay

The purpose of the persuasive essay is to provide the audience with a 360-view on the concept idea or certain topic – to persuade the reader to adopt a certain viewpoint. The viewpoints can range widely from why visiting the dentist is important to why dogs make the best pets to why blue is the best color.  Strong, persuasive language is a defining characteristic of this essay type.

The Essay in Art

Several other artistic mediums have adopted the essay as a means of communicating with their audience.  In the visual arts, such as painting or sculpting, the rough sketches of the final product are sometimes deemed essays.  Likewise, directors may opt to create a film essay which is similar to a documentary in that it offers a personal reflection on a relevant issue.  Finally, photographers often create photographic essays in which they use a series of photographs to tell a story, similar to a narrative or a descriptive essay.

Drawing the line – question answered

“What is an Essay?” is quite a polarizing question. On one hand, it can easily be answered in a couple of words. On the other, it is surely the most profound and self-established type of content there ever was. Going back through the history of the last five-six centuries helps us understand where did it come from and how it is being applied ever since.

If you must write an essay, follow these five important steps to works towards earning the “A” you want:

• Understand and review the kind of essay you must write
• Brainstorm your argument
• Find research from reliable sources to support your perspective
• Cite all sources parenthetically within the paper and on the Works Cited page
• Follow all grammatical rules

Generally speaking, when you must write any type of essay, start sooner rather than later!  Don’t procrastinate – give yourself time to develop your perspective and work on crafting a unique and original approach to the topic.  Remember: it’s always a good idea to have another set of eyes (or three) look over your essay before handing in the final draft to your teacher or professor.  Don’t trust your fellow classmates?  Consider hiring an editor or a ghostwriter to help out!

If you are still unsure on whether you can cope with your task – you are in the right place to get help. HandMadeWriting is the perfect answer to the question “Who can write my essay?”

A life lesson in Romeo and Juliet taught by death

Due to human nature, we draw conclusions only when life gives us a lesson since the experience of others is not so effective and powerful. Therefore, when analyzing and sorting out common problems we face, we may trace a parallel with well-known book characters or real historical figures. Moreover, we often compare our situations with […]

Ethical Research Paper Topics

Writing a research paper on ethics is not an easy task, especially if you do not possess excellent writing skills and do not like to contemplate controversial questions. But an ethics course is obligatory in all higher education institutions, and students have to look for a way out and be creative. When you find an […]

Art Research Paper Topics

Students obtaining degrees in fine art and art & design programs most commonly need to write a paper on art topics. However, this subject is becoming more popular in educational institutions for expanding students’ horizons. Thus, both groups of receivers of education: those who are into arts and those who only get acquainted with art […]

Point of View: It's Personal

What to Know The point of view of a story determines who is telling it and the narrator's relationship to the characters in the story. In first person point of view the narrator is a character in the story telling it from their perspective. In third person point of view the narrator is not part of the story and the characters never acknowledge the narrator's presence. Less common than first and third is second person point of view. In second person point of view the reader is part of the story. The narrator describes the reader's actions, thoughts, and background using "you."

It's all about how you look at it.

When you tell a story, an important thing to choose is the point of view that the story should take. Point of view determines who tells the story, as well as the relationship that the narrator has to the characters in the story. A story can have a much different feel depending on who is doing the telling.

The main points of view are first person and third person, with second person appearing less frequently but still common enough that it gets studied in writing classes. These are also the terms used to distinguish the personal pronouns. The pronouns I and we are first-person pronouns; they refer to the self. The pronoun you , used for both singular and plural antecedents, is the second-person pronoun, the person who is being addressed. The third person pronouns— he , she , it , they —refer to someone or something being referred to apart from the speaker or the person being addressed. Narratives are often identified as first, second, or third person based on the kinds of pronouns they utilize.

First Person Point of View

In first-person narration, the narrator is a person in the story, telling the story from their own point of view. The narration usually utilizes the pronoun I (or we , if the narrator is speaking as part of a group). The character who tells the story might be in the middle of the action or more of a character who observes the action from the outer limits, but in either case you are getting that character’s recounting of what happens.

It also means that impressions and descriptions are colored by that character’s opinions, mood, past experiences, or even their warped perceptions of what they see and hear.

There was no possibility of taking a walk that day. We had been wandering, indeed, in the leafless shrubbery an hour in the morning; but since dinner (Mrs. Reed, when there was no company, dined early) the cold winter wind had brought with it clouds so sombre, and a rain so penetrating, that further outdoor exercise was now out of the question. I was glad of it: I never liked long walks, especially on chilly afternoons: dreadful to me was the coming home in the raw twilight, with nipped fingers and toes, and a heart saddened by the chidings of Bessie, the nurse, and humbled by the consciousness of my physical inferiority to Eliza, John, and Georgiana Reed. — Charlotte Brontë, Jane Eyre , 1847

In Jane Eyre , the narration is provided by the story’s title character, a governess. The information shared comes from her memories and impressions—of the weather, her knowledge of Mrs. Reed’s dining habits, and her dread at receiving a lecture from Nurse Bessie. We are likewise shielded from information that Jane doesn’t know.

Many classic works of fiction feature characters made memorable by their first-person voices: The Catcher in the Rye (Holden Caulfield), The Handmaid's Tale (Offred), or To Kill a Mockingbird (Scout Finch). In some stories, such as in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , the first person narrator (Nick Carraway) is an observer of the character around whom the story is centered (Jay Gatsby).

Second Person

Second-person narration is a little-used technique of narrative in which the action is driven by a character ascribed to the reader, one known as you . The reader is immersed into the narrative as a character involved in the story. The narrator describes what "you" do and lets you into your own thoughts and background. The most well-known piece of fiction that employs second-person narration might be Jay McInerney’s novel Bright Lights, Big City .

At the subway station you wait fifteen minutes on the platform for a train. Finally a local, enervated by graffiti, shuffles into the station. You get a seat and hoist a copy of the New York Post. The Post is the most shameful of your several addictions. — Jay McInerney, Bright Lights, Big City , 1984

You will also find second-person narration used in the "Choose Your Own Adventure" style of books popular with younger readers, in which readers determine where the story goes by which page they turn to next. Allowing the reader to "be" the central character in the story provides an immersive reading experience, enhancing what is at stake for the character and reader.

Third Person Point of View

In third-person narration, the narrator exists outside the events of the story, and relates the actions of the characters by referring to their names or by the third-person pronouns he, she, or they.

Third-person narration can be further classified into several types: omniscient, limited, and objective.

Third Person Omniscient

Omniscient means "all-knowing," and likewise an omniscient narrator knows every character’s thoughts, feelings, and motivations even if that character doesn’t reveal any of those things to the other characters.

Little Women by Louisa May Alcott serves as a good example of third-person omniscient narration:

"Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents," grumbled Jo, lying on the rug. "It's so dreadful to be poor!" sighed Meg, looking down at her old dress. "I don't think it's fair for some girls to have plenty of pretty things, and other girls nothing at all," added little Amy, with an injured sniff. "We've got Father and Mother, and each other," said Beth contentedly from her corner. The four young faces on which the firelight shone brightened at the cheerful words, but darkened again as Jo said sadly, "We haven't got Father, and shall not have him for a long time." She didn't say "perhaps never," but each silently added it, thinking of Father far away, where the fighting was. — Louisa May Alcott, Little Women , 1868

The story is not told from the point of view of Meg, Jo, Beth, or Amy, but from someone who is observing the four sisters as they talk to one another. Each character is therefore referred to by their names or the third-person pronoun she . The narrator does not exist as a character in the story, and the girls do not acknowledge the narrator’s presence.

However, the narrator is omniscient, which means that they know what the characters are thinking. This is demonstrated in the last line of the excerpt, when the girls silently ponder the thought of their father never returning from the war.

Third Person Limited

In third-person limited narration, the narrator still exists outside the events of the story, but does not know the motivations or thoughts of all the characters. Rather, one character is the driver of the story, and the reader is given a closer peek into that character’s psyche than the others.

J. K. Rowling utilizes third-person limited narration in the Harry Potter novels. Even though the narrator is not Harry, and Harry is referred to as 'he,' the reader is allowed into Harry's thoughts—what he is wondering without saying out loud. We are also, like Harry, left uncertain about what other characters are thinking:

Three days later, the Dursleys were showing no sign of relenting, and Harry couldn't see any way out of his situation. He lay on his bed watching the sun sinking behind the bars on the window and wondered miserably what was going to happen to him. What was the good of magicking himself out of his room if Hogwarts would expel him for doing it? Yet life at Privet Drive had reached an all-time low. Now that the Dursleys knew they weren't going to wake up as fruit bats, he had lost his only weapon. Dobby might have saved Harry from horrible happenings at Hogwarts, but the way things were going, he'd probably starve to death anyway. — J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets , 1999

Third-Person Objective

In third-person objective narration, the narrator reports the events that take place without knowing the motivations or thoughts of any of the characters. We know little about what drives them until we hear them speak or observe their actions. The resulting tone is often matter-of-fact, not colored by any opinions or commentary, nor of knowledge of what takes place outside the scene.

The people of the village began to gather in the square, between the post office and the bank, around ten o'clock; in some towns there were so many people that the lottery took two days and had to be started on June 25th. But in this village, where there were only about three hundred people, the whole lottery took less than two hours, so it could begin at ten o'clock in the morning and still be through in time to allow the villagers to get home for noon dinner. — Shirley Jackson, "The Lottery," 1948

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The Haiti That Still Dreams

By Edwidge Danticat

I often receive condolence-type calls, e-mails, and texts about Haiti. Many of these messages are in response to the increasingly dire news in the press, some of which echoes what many of us in the global Haitian diaspora hear from our family and friends. More than fifteen hundred Haitians were killed during the first three months of this year, according to a recent United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights report, which described the country’s situation as “ cataclysmic .” Women and girls are routinely subjected to sexual violence. Access to food, water, education, and health care is becoming more limited, with more than four million Haitians, around a third of the population, living with food insecurity, and 1.4 million near starvation. Armed criminal groups have taken over entire neighborhoods in Port-au-Prince and the surrounding areas, carrying out mass prison breaks and attacks on the city’s airport, seaport, government buildings, police stations, schools, churches, hospitals, pharmacies, and banks, turning the capital into an “ open air prison .”

Even those who know the country’s long and complex history will ask, “Why can’t Haiti catch a break?” We then revisit some abridged version of that history. In 1804, after a twelve-year revolution against French colonial rule, Haiti won its independence, which the United States and several European powers failed to recognize for decades. The world’s first Black republic was then forced to spend sixty years paying a hundred-and-fifty-million francs (now worth close to thirty billion dollars) indemnity to France . Americans invaded and then occupied Haiti for nineteen years at the beginning of the twentieth century. The country endured twenty-nine years of murderous dictatorship under François Duvalier and his son, Jean-Claude, until 1986. In 1991, a few months after Haiti’s first democratically elected President, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, took office, he was overthrown in a coup staged by a military whose members had been trained in the U.S. Aristide was elected again, then overthrown again, in 2004, in part owing to an armed rebellion led by Guy Philippe, who was later arrested by the U.S. government for money laundering related to drug trafficking. Last November, six years into his nine-year prison sentence, Philippe was deported by the U.S. to Haiti. He immediately aligned himself with armed groups and has now put himself forward as a Presidential candidate.

In 2010, the country was devastated by a 7.0-magnitude earthquake, which killed more than two hundred thousand people. Soon after, United Nations “peacekeepers” dumped feces in Haiti’s longest river, causing a cholera epidemic that killed more than ten thousand people and infected close to a million. For the past thirteen years, Haiti has been decimated by its ruling party, Parti Haïtien Tèt Kale (P.H.T.K.), which rose to power after a highly contested election in 2011. In that election, the U.S.—then represented by Secretary of State Hillary Clinton—and the Organization of American States helped the candidate who finished in third place, Michel Martelly, claim the top spot. Bankrolled by kidnapping, drug trafficking, business élites, and politicians, armed groups have multiplied under P.H.T.K, committing massacres that have been labelled crimes against humanity. In 2021, a marginally elected President, Jovenel Moïse, was assassinated in his bedroom , a crime for which many of those closest to him, including his wife, have been named as either accomplices or suspects.

The unasked question remains, as W. E. B. Du Bois wrote in “ The Souls of Black Folk ,” “How does it feel to be a problem?”

I deeply honor Haiti’s spirit of resistance and long history of struggle, but I must admit that sometimes the answer to that question is that it hurts. Sometimes it hurts a lot, even when one is aware of the causes, including the fact that the weapons that have allowed gangs to take over the capital continue to flow freely from Miami and the Dominican Republic, despite a U.N. embargo. Internally, the poorest Haitians have been constantly thwarted by an unequal and stratified society, which labels rural people moun andeyò (outside people), and which is suffused with greedy and corrupt politicians and oligarchs who scorn the masses from whose tribulations they extract their wealth.

Recently, at a loved one’s funeral, in Michigan, the spectre of other Haitian deaths was once again on the minds of my extended family members. Everywhere we gather, Haiti is with us, as WhatsApp messages continuously stream in from those who chose to stay in Haiti and can’t leave because the main airport is closed, and others who have no other home. In Michigan, during chats between wake, funeral, and repast, elders brought up those who can’t get basic health care, much less a proper burial or any of the rituals that are among our most sacred obligations. “Not even a white sheet over those bodies on the street,” my mother-in-law, who is eighty-nine, said, after receiving yet another image of incinerated corpses in Port-au-Prince. At least after the 2010 earthquake, sheets were respectfully placed on the bodies pulled from the rubble. Back then, she said, the armed young men seemed to have some reverence for life and some fear of death.

Lately, some of our family gatherings are incantations of grief. But they can also turn into storytelling sessions of a different kind. They are opportunities for our elders to share something about Haiti beyond what our young ones, like everyone else, see on the news. The headlines bleed into their lives, too, as do the recycled tropes that paint us as ungovernable, failures, thugs, and even cannibals. As with the prayers that we recite over the dead, words still have power, the elders whisper. We must not keep repeating the worst, they say, and in their voices I hear an extra layer of distress. They fear that they may never see Haiti again. They fear that those in the next generation, some of whom have never been to Haiti, will let Haiti slip away, as though the country they see in the media—the trash-strewn streets and the barricades made from the shells of burnt cars, the young men brandishing weapons of war and the regular citizens using machetes to defend themselves—were part of some horror film that they can easily turn off. The elders remind us that we have been removed, at least physically, from all of this by only a single generation, if not less.

We are still human beings, the elders insist—“ Se moun nou ye .” We are still wozo , like that irrepressible reed that grows all over Haiti. For a brief moment, I think someone might break into the Haitian national anthem or sing a few bars of the folk song “ Ayiti Cheri .” (“Beloved Haiti, I had to leave you to understand.”) Instead, they hum the music that the wozo has inspired : “ Nou se wozo / Menm si nou pliye, nou pap kase. ” Even if we bend, we will not break.

Except we are breaking. “It pains me to see people living in constant fear,” the Port-au-Prince-based novelist and poet Évelyne Trouillot recently wrote to me in an e-mail. “I dream of a country where children are not afraid to dream.” Internationally, U.S. deportations continue , Navy ships are ready to be deployed to intercept migrant boats, and Haitian asylum seekers could once again end up imprisoned on Guantánamo, as they did in the early nineteen-nineties. In conversations, whether with strangers or with younger family members, someone inevitably asks, “Is there any hope?”

I have hope, I say, because I grew up with elders, both in Haiti and here in the U.S., who often told us, “ Depi gen souf gen espwa ”—as long as there’s breath, there’s hope. I have hope, too, because the majority of Haitians are under twenty-five years old, as are many members of our family. Besides, how can we give in to despair with eleven million people’s lives in the balance? Better yet, how can we reignite that communal grit and resolve that inspired us to defeat the world’s greatest armies and then pin to our flag the motto “ L’union fait la force ”? Unity is strength.

The elders also remind us that Haiti is not just Port-au-Prince. As more and more of the capital’s residents are forced to return to homesteads and ancestral villages, the moun andeyò have much to teach other Haitians. “Historically, the moun andeyò have always been the preserver of Haiti’s cultural and traditional ethos,” Vivaldi Jean-Marie, a professor of African American and African-diaspora studies at Columbia University, told me. Rural Haitians, who have lived for generations without the support of the state, have had no choice but to rely on one another in close and extended family structures called lakou . “This shared awareness—I am because we are—will prevail beyond this difficult chapter in Haitian history,” Jean-Marie said.

Finally, I have hope because in Haiti, as the American writer and art collector Selden Rodman has written, “ art is joy .” This remains true even as some of the country’s most treasured cultural institutions, including the National School of the Arts and the National Library, have been ransacked. In the summer of 2023, Carrefour Feuilles, a district in Port-au-Prince that many writers, visual artists, and musicians call home, was attacked by armed criminal groups. The onslaught led to a petition that collected close to five thousand signatures. It read in part, “How many more hundreds of our women and children must be raped, executed, burned before the public authorities do everything possible to put an end to the plague of gangs and their sponsors?”

A few days later, the homes of two of the signatories, the multimedia artist Lionel St. Eloi and the writer Gary Victor, were taken over by a gang. The last time I saw St. Eloi was in 2019, in the courtyard of Port-au-Prince’s Centre d’Art, where he had a series of metal birds on display, their bejewelled bodies and beaks pointing toward the sky. Allenby Augustin, the Centre d’Art’s executive director, recently described how some artists, afraid of having to suddenly flee their homes and leave their work behind, bring their pieces to the center or keep them in friends’ homes in different parts of the city. Others add the stray bullets that land inside their studios— bal pèdi or bal mawon —to their canvasses.

St. Eloi, the patriarch of a family of artists, had lived in Carrefour Feuilles since the seventies, working with young people there. “The youth who were neglected or who could not afford to go to school were taken in by our family,” one of St. Eloi’s sons, the musician Duckyns (Zikiki) St. Eloi, told me. “We taught them to paint, to play guitar, and to play the drums. Now they are hired to run errands for gangsters who put guns in their hands.” In spite of what has happened, he still believes that art can turn some things around. He recently sent me a picture of a work by his younger brother Anthony—an image depicting gang members wearing brightly colored balaclavas and holding pencils, a book, a paint palette, a camera, and a musical instrument. “If there are gangs, we’d be better off with art gangs,” Zikiki said. “Gangs that paint, make music, recite poetry. Art is how we bring our best face to the world. Art is how we dream.” ♦

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Après le rave, c’est moi? Geoffrey Mak examines his pursuit of social status and identity in ‘Mean Boys’

A book of essays by a critic and style expert has its limits as a chronicle of self-reflection.

“No, we couldn’t stay in the rave forever,” writes Geoffrey Mak in “ Mean Boys: A Personal History, ” a book of essays that attempts to find meaning in the art critic’s formative years, which span Trump’s presidency, COVID, and its aftermath. The title suggests the book will examine the author’s mean-boyness, but ultimately, this straightforward coming-of-age memoir is most concerned with the author’s meanness to himself.

The reader is invited into countless raves at Berghain, Berlin’s iconic nightclub; an extensive tour of the author’s drug-fueled racial and sexual insecurities; and a compelling chronicle of his rise as a critic and style expert. But larger questions about identity and the lasting importance of the fashion and art industry that Mak has staked his career upon feel elided. This reader can’t help but wonder what we’re to take away from the author’s experiences now that the raves are over.

A son of an evangelical minister, Mak flees the Los Angeles County suburb of Diamond Bar for New York and then Berlin, because he “didn’t want to miss out on ‘the Paris of our time.’” Away from his family’s homophobia, he freely explores his identity as a gay man. He aspires to be an art critic. “I imagined the art critic lived a life of status, which was real and autonomous here in Berlin,” Mak observes. “…Berlin, specifically the East, carried the residue of a Soviet mentality, from the times when, in theory, class did not exist, but status still did.”

Mak is also drawn to the world of fashion due to its status. The author describes himself as a “club kid” whose “highest destiny was to serve as decoration to somebody who had attained a level of status that was evidently not in the cards for us.” He tried to stand out among those “dressed up for the club with an impatience to be noticed: lavish outfits cut from flowing satin; chains, directly sourced from Bauhaus; or vintage looks bought head to toe from the Humana thrift store in Friedrichshain.” Readers not into fashion on this level of granularity will wonder, as I did: What does this status mean in the end? Is the pursuit of status a positive or negative? Where does the author stand on these questions?

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As many expats experience, the shine of being a perpetual foreigner, no matter your status, can fade over time; all parties must end. Mak’s search for love and healthy expressions of intimacy is derailed by a sexual assault in New York, causing him to abuse drugs and pornography and become suicidal. “In the all-bets-off economy of cruising, wokeness doesn’t save you,” Mak writes. “Asian men rank at the bottom of the sexual hierarchy. The virtual nonexistence of Asian men in gay porn tracks with the desert of desire I’ve detected in other men, white or otherwise, who have seen me more like a green leather couch…”

Mak’s racial and sexual insecurities are further explored in the book’s closing essay, “Mean Boys.” The author writes about Elliot Rodger, who went on a violent rampage on the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara in 2014, killing six before shooting himself, targeting female students (because they wouldn’t sleep with him) and Chinese men (Rodger’s mother was Malaysian Chinese). Mak gives Rodger’s disturbing manifesto a close reading and finds himself empathizing with the killer, imagining himself in Rodger’s body, “walking down my own high school hallways that were so narrow it was impossible to dodge eye contact with anyone I wanted to avoid.”

In “My Father, the Minister,” the book’s most poignant essay, Mak’s father visits the author in New York and appears ready to repudiate his homophobic beliefs. But when Mak asks his father to tell his congregation about his gay son, his father refuses. It’s a heartbreaking moment to see a father fail his son so deeply, despite his good intentions. In this essay, Mak seems to get closest to the root of his struggles as a young person:

“…I was never able to believe that I deserved love, that I was no less capable of receiving it, assuming I’d be able to recognize love if I ever saw it.… I was unable to love myself, much less accept it from others.”

I couldn’t help but wish for more of these epiphanic moments in “Mean Boys.” Too much time is spent introducing and following party people who sound more important to Mak the status-seeker than Mak the author of a book about his own life. Chillingly, his essay about Elliot Rodger, who posted photos of himself in $500 Neiman Marcus sweaters, brings up the importance of status again. “Rodger turned to fashion because he wanted to buy something that in fact cannot be bought: status,” Mak writes. But is the author critiquing his own pursuit? If so, what is the author now pursuing in its place?

The book ends with a lovely section about his friend Ellis — not just a party friend, a real one. Ellis and Mak struggle with depression, and share that they’ve had suicidal thoughts. They turn to each other for solace. Mak’s relationship with Ellis gives the reader a much-needed glimpse into the author after the party’s over, and that boy seems far from mean.

MEAN BOYS: A Personal History

by Geoffrey Mak

Bloomsbury, 288 pp., $28.99

Leland Cheuk is an award-winning author of three books of fiction, most recently “No Good Very Bad Asian.” His writing has appeared in The Washington Post and NPR, among other outlets.

Opinion It’s not so ‘terribly strange to be 70’

I turned 70 today, a young age for an older person to be, but it is the oldest I have ever been by a long shot. It has been well over six decades since I learned in arithmetic how to carry the one, and the rest has sped by like microfiche.

One big juicy, messy, hard, joyful, quiet life. That’s what my 70 years have bequeathed me.

In my teens, already drinking and drugging, I didn’t expect to see 21, and at 21, out of control, I didn’t expect to see 30. At 30, I had published three books but, as a sober friend put it, was deteriorating faster than I could lower my standards.

Then at 32, I got clean and sober, the miracle of my life from which all other blessings flow. My son was born three years later. The apple fell close to the tree: My son went off the rails, too. He and his partner had a baby at 19, which had not been in my specific plans for him, but you know the old line: If you want to make God laugh, tell Her your plans.

The baby, soon to get his learner’s permit, turned out to be the gift of a lifetime. My son got clean and sober 13 years ago, and the three of us grew up together. Then after a long search, I met this brilliant, kind writer guy and, three days after I started getting Social Security, I married him. Yesterday, I published my 20th book, called “Somehow.” Today, when I woke up, I was 70. Seventy!

I think that I am only 57, but the paperwork does not back this up. I don’t feel old, because your inside self doesn’t age. When younger people ask me when I graduated from high school and I say 1971, there’s a moment’s pause, as if this is inconceivable and I might as well have said 20 B.C. That’s when I feel my age. But I smile winsomely because, while I would like to have their skin, hearing, vision, memory, balance, stamina and focus, I would not go back even one year.

My older friends and I know a thing or two.

In general, though, I know how little I know. This is a big relief.

I know that my lifelong belief, that to be beyond reproach offers shelter and protection, is a lie. Shelter is an inside job, protection an illusion. We are as vulnerable as kittens. Love fends off the worst of it.

I know now that everyone is screwed up to some degree, and that everyone screws up. Phew. I thought for decades it was just me, that all of you had been issued owner’s manuals in second grade, the day I was home with measles. We are all figuring it out as we go. Aging is grad school.

I know a very little bit about God, or goodness, or good orderly direction. I am a believer, but I don’t trouble myself about ultimate reality, the triune nature of the deity or who shot the Holy Ghost. I say help a lot, and thanks, and are You kidding me??? Have You been drinking again, Friend?

I know about something I will call cloak hope, most obvious to me in the people who swooped in and helped me get sober in 1986, and swooped down again in 2012 for my child. In my case, an elderly sober woman named Ruby saw me in my utter, trembly hopelessness — afraid, smelly and arrogant; she swept in and took me under her wing. She wrapped her cloak around me and was the counternarrative to all I believed at 32, i.e., that I needed to figure things out, especially myself, and who to blame.

I know the beauty of shadows. Shadows show us how life can gleam in contrast. Sunshine might be dancing outside the window, but the wonder is in the variegation, with fat white clouds bunched up on the right casting shadows on the hills and gardens, and brushstrokes of gray clouds on the left and — most magical — the long narrow shawl of fog right across the top of the ridge. The day is saying, Who knows how the weather will morph, but meanwhile so much is possible. And that is life asserting itself.

I know life will assert itself. Knowing this means I have a shot at some measure of pliability, like a willow tree that is maybe having an iffy day.

I know everything is in flux, that all things will turn into other things. I am uncomfortable with this but less so than in younger years. Michael Pollan wrote, “Look into a flower, and what do you see? Into the very heart of nature’s double nature — that is, the contending energies of creation and dissolution, the spiring toward complex form and the tidal pull away from it.” So I don’t sweat feeling a little disoriented some days.

I have grown mostly unafraid of my own death, except late at night when I head to WebMD and learn that my symptoms are probably cancer.

I know and am constantly aware of how much we have all lost and are in danger of losing — I am not going to name names — and am awash with gratitude for lovely, funny things that are still here and still work.

I know how to let go now, mostly, although it is not a lovely Hallmark process, and when well-wishers from my spiritual community exhort me to let go and let God, I want to Taser them. But I know that when I finally tell a best friend of my thistly stuckness, the telling is the beginning of release. You have to learn to let go. Otherwise, you get dragged, or you become George Costanza’s father pounding the table and shouting, “Serenity now!”

I know that people and pets I adore will keep dying, and it will never be okay, and then it will, sort of, mostly. I know the cycle is life, death, new life, and I think this is a bad system, but it is the one currently in place.

I know I will space out and screw up right and left as I head out on this book tour, say things I wish I could take back, forget things, sometimes onstage, and lose things. I just will.

I recently went to Costa Rica, where my husband was giving a spiritual retreat, and I forgot my pants. My pants! And last month, I went to give a talk at a theater two states away and forgot to bring any makeup. I am quite pale, almost light blue in some places — think of someone from “Game of Thrones” with a head cold — and ghostly under bright lights. When I discovered this omission, I was wearing only tinted moisturizer, powder on my nose and light pink lip gloss.

I gave myself an inspiring pep talk on my inner beauty, the light within. And then I had a moment of clarity: I asked the person driving me to the venue to stop at CVS, where I bought blush and a lipstick that was accidentally brighter and glossier than I usually wear. I looked fabulous. Age is just a number when you still know how to shine. And I shone.

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Patriots insider doesn't view team as motivated sellers of no. 3 pick, share this article.

ESPN’s Mike Reiss believes the New England Patriots will not trade back from the No. 3 overall pick in the NFL draft on Thursday. Rather, he sees all of the trade talk as them exploring options.

It is believed that New England would have to get quite the haul in order to trade the third overall selection.

Earlier this week, it was reported that New England had only received laughable offers for the third overall pick . The organization is in a position to select one of the top-two projected signal-callers in Drake Maye or Jayden Daniels to help bring stability back to their quarterback position.

Instead, it appears that the Patriots are just playing the field and seeing what type of offers they can get. The organization is in a rebuild, and an attractive offer could include multiple first-round selections in order for the team to rebuild.

“I look at the Patriots as an example. Like, Eliot Wolf says, ‘We’re open for business for trading.’ Do I think that’s the likely scenario? I don’t,” said Reiss, when appearing on Toucher & Hardy . “I think it’s more like, you’re either a motivated seller or you’re sort of a curious seller, and I would put them more in the curious seller. …that’s how I sort of view their position right now.”

This theory makes sense, as the Patriots are already in a good position at third overall. It will be interesting to see what they do on Thursday night, as they start another rebuild.

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How Pew Research Center will report on generations moving forward

Journalists, researchers and the public often look at society through the lens of generation, using terms like Millennial or Gen Z to describe groups of similarly aged people. This approach can help readers see themselves in the data and assess where we are and where we’re headed as a country.

Pew Research Center has been at the forefront of generational research over the years, telling the story of Millennials as they came of age politically and as they moved more firmly into adult life . In recent years, we’ve also been eager to learn about Gen Z as the leading edge of this generation moves into adulthood.

But generational research has become a crowded arena. The field has been flooded with content that’s often sold as research but is more like clickbait or marketing mythology. There’s also been a growing chorus of criticism about generational research and generational labels in particular.

Recently, as we were preparing to embark on a major research project related to Gen Z, we decided to take a step back and consider how we can study generations in a way that aligns with our values of accuracy, rigor and providing a foundation of facts that enriches the public dialogue.

A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations.

We set out on a yearlong process of assessing the landscape of generational research. We spoke with experts from outside Pew Research Center, including those who have been publicly critical of our generational analysis, to get their take on the pros and cons of this type of work. We invested in methodological testing to determine whether we could compare findings from our earlier telephone surveys to the online ones we’re conducting now. And we experimented with higher-level statistical analyses that would allow us to isolate the effect of generation.

What emerged from this process was a set of clear guidelines that will help frame our approach going forward. Many of these are principles we’ve always adhered to , but others will require us to change the way we’ve been doing things in recent years.

Here’s a short overview of how we’ll approach generational research in the future:

We’ll only do generational analysis when we have historical data that allows us to compare generations at similar stages of life. When comparing generations, it’s crucial to control for age. In other words, researchers need to look at each generation or age cohort at a similar point in the life cycle. (“Age cohort” is a fancy way of referring to a group of people who were born around the same time.)

When doing this kind of research, the question isn’t whether young adults today are different from middle-aged or older adults today. The question is whether young adults today are different from young adults at some specific point in the past.

To answer this question, it’s necessary to have data that’s been collected over a considerable amount of time – think decades. Standard surveys don’t allow for this type of analysis. We can look at differences across age groups, but we can’t compare age groups over time.

Another complication is that the surveys we conducted 20 or 30 years ago aren’t usually comparable enough to the surveys we’re doing today. Our earlier surveys were done over the phone, and we’ve since transitioned to our nationally representative online survey panel , the American Trends Panel . Our internal testing showed that on many topics, respondents answer questions differently depending on the way they’re being interviewed. So we can’t use most of our surveys from the late 1980s and early 2000s to compare Gen Z with Millennials and Gen Xers at a similar stage of life.

This means that most generational analysis we do will use datasets that have employed similar methodologies over a long period of time, such as surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau. A good example is our 2020 report on Millennial families , which used census data going back to the late 1960s. The report showed that Millennials are marrying and forming families at a much different pace than the generations that came before them.

Even when we have historical data, we will attempt to control for other factors beyond age in making generational comparisons. If we accept that there are real differences across generations, we’re basically saying that people who were born around the same time share certain attitudes or beliefs – and that their views have been influenced by external forces that uniquely shaped them during their formative years. Those forces may have been social changes, economic circumstances, technological advances or political movements.

When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

The tricky part is isolating those forces from events or circumstances that have affected all age groups, not just one generation. These are often called “period effects.” An example of a period effect is the Watergate scandal, which drove down trust in government among all age groups. Differences in trust across age groups in the wake of Watergate shouldn’t be attributed to the outsize impact that event had on one age group or another, because the change occurred across the board.

Changing demographics also may play a role in patterns that might at first seem like generational differences. We know that the United States has become more racially and ethnically diverse in recent decades, and that race and ethnicity are linked with certain key social and political views. When we see that younger adults have different views than their older counterparts, it may be driven by their demographic traits rather than the fact that they belong to a particular generation.

Controlling for these factors can involve complicated statistical analysis that helps determine whether the differences we see across age groups are indeed due to generation or not. This additional step adds rigor to the process. Unfortunately, it’s often absent from current discussions about Gen Z, Millennials and other generations.

When we can’t do generational analysis, we still see value in looking at differences by age and will do so where it makes sense. Age is one of the most common predictors of differences in attitudes and behaviors. And even if age gaps aren’t rooted in generational differences, they can still be illuminating. They help us understand how people across the age spectrum are responding to key trends, technological breakthroughs and historical events.

Each stage of life comes with a unique set of experiences. Young adults are often at the leading edge of changing attitudes on emerging social trends. Take views on same-sex marriage , for example, or attitudes about gender identity .

Many middle-aged adults, in turn, face the challenge of raising children while also providing care and support to their aging parents. And older adults have their own obstacles and opportunities. All of these stories – rooted in the life cycle, not in generations – are important and compelling, and we can tell them by analyzing our surveys at any given point in time.

When we do have the data to study groups of similarly aged people over time, we won’t always default to using the standard generational definitions and labels. While generational labels are simple and catchy, there are other ways to analyze age cohorts. For example, some observers have suggested grouping people by the decade in which they were born. This would create narrower cohorts in which the members may share more in common. People could also be grouped relative to their age during key historical events (such as the Great Recession or the COVID-19 pandemic) or technological innovations (like the invention of the iPhone).

By choosing not to use the standard generational labels when they’re not appropriate, we can avoid reinforcing harmful stereotypes or oversimplifying people’s complex lived experiences.

Existing generational definitions also may be too broad and arbitrary to capture differences that exist among narrower cohorts. A typical generation spans 15 to 18 years. As many critics of generational research point out, there is great diversity of thought, experience and behavior within generations. The key is to pick a lens that’s most appropriate for the research question that’s being studied. If we’re looking at political views and how they’ve shifted over time, for example, we might group people together according to the first presidential election in which they were eligible to vote.

With these considerations in mind, our audiences should not expect to see a lot of new research coming out of Pew Research Center that uses the generational lens. We’ll only talk about generations when it adds value, advances important national debates and highlights meaningful societal trends.

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Kim Parker is director of social trends research at Pew Research Center

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What do changes to Title IX mean for LGBTQ students?

NPR's Michel Martin talks to Emma Grasso Levine of the youth advocacy organization Know Your IX, about what recent changes to the federal rule means to LGBTQ students.

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

The Biden administration has expanded protections under the civil rights law known as Title IX. The 1972 law prohibits sex discrimination in educational programs and activities. The new rules issued last Friday protect LGBTQ students as well. Here is U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona announcing the changes.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MIGUEL CARDONA: This final regulation strengthens and restores vital protections against sex discrimination, including sexual harassment. It also protects students against discrimination based on pregnancy or related conditions, sexual orientation and gender identity.

MARTIN: The expanded rules take effect August 1 in time for the new school year, and they apply to schools and activities that receive federal funding. Emma Grasso Levine is with Know Your IX. That's a nonprofit that works with youth to end sexual violence in schools, and we called them to tell us what these new rules are all about. Emma, good morning.

EMMA GRASSO LEVINE: Good morning. Thank you for having me.

MARTIN: So, you know, new rules are - this is a fairly comprehensive set of rules. Some of them restore regulations that were in place before the Trump administration. Some of these are new. So could you just give us one or two things that stood out to you?

LEVINE: Sure. So overall, Biden's changes to Title IX regulations restore Title IX's promise of strong protections for student survivors, LGBTQ students, and pregnant and parenting students. And these new rules will really make it easier for students, both in K-12 schools and institutions of higher education, to come forward when they experience harm.

MARTIN: Give me an example. Can you give me one or two examples specifically?

LEVINE: Sure. So, you know, what we're really seeing is that students under the Trump administration's rules had a much harder time reporting harassment and receiving the resources that they need, things like academic support and accommodations, you know, being able to report and receive the support that they deserve after experiencing harassment and discrimination.

MARTIN: So earlier this year, a teenager in Oklahoma named Nex Benedict was found dead at home after they were attacked by a group of their classmates. Benedict said they'd been bullied for months because they identified as nonbinary. Would changes like this protect students like Benedict who are bullied at school?

LEVINE: Absolutely. So Title IX guarantees the rights of LGBTQI+ students to come to school as themselves without fear of harassment or discrimination? And the Biden rule change really affirms that. That includes these Title IX rules affirming that students should be free to express themselves in their gender and sexual orientation at school and at school-sponsored events, including being able to use the bathroom in accordance with their gender identity without any fear of discipline, harassment, or violence.

MARTIN: Well, help me understand this. There - some states restrict which bathrooms transgender students can use. Will those states now have to change those rules?

LEVINE: You know, that really remains to be seen. I think Title IX advocates are anxiously awaiting potential legal challenges to this rule and how those will play out at the state level. But again, Title IX affirms the rights of LGBTQI+ students to come to school, and I think that's extra important in this moment when we're seeing these escalating attacks on LGBTQI youths' rights at the state level.

MARTIN: Before we let you go, it's my understanding that these new rules don't apply to transgender student athletes. So schools could, if they want, forbid these trans athletes from playing on teams that correspond with their gender identity. Will that be addressed at some point?

LEVINE: Yes, it will be. The Biden administration is working on a separate rule. But what's important to note here is that even in the absence of an explicit athletics rule, Title IX does protect trans, intersex and nonbinary student athletes.

MARTIN: That is Emma Grasso Levine, and they are with the youth advocacy group Know Your IX. Emma Grasso Levine, thanks for joining us.

LEVINE: Thanks for having me.

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