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Point of View

In: English and Literature

Submitted By ling1
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Point of View

There are three different points of view (also known as perspectives) a writer can use: First Person, Second Person, and Third Person.

First Person: Writers using the first person point of view write from their own point of view: “I believe” “I think” “I saw” To understand first person perspective, imagine you are telling your friend about your day. Usually, when you tell someone about your own experiences, you use the first person perspective because it tells the reader what you thought, felt or did.

Second Person: Writers using second person point of view write from the reader’s point of view: “You believe” “You think” “You saw” To understand the second person perspective, imagine you are giving a speech to your class- mates about how to bake a cake. Instructions are often given in the second person point of view because it tells the reader what to think, feel, or do. The second person can also be used when a writer is addressing a familiar audience.

Third Person: Writers using the third person point of view write from an anonymous observer’s point of view: “He/She believes” “The philosopher thinks” “The witness saw” To understand third person perspective, imagine a camera that views what is going on around it: The camera cannot say, “I think this is good,” or “I think this is bad.” Also, it cannot say, “You think this is good,” or “You think this is bad.” The camera can only show what it records and allows the viewer (the reader) to form their own opinion.

Personal Pronouns for the three points of view: A brief review of the subjective, objective, and possessive case: Pronouns are words like he, she and it that are used in place of a more specific noun already familiar to the reader. Pronouns are important because they are the main thing readers rely on to tell them what point of view the

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