Technical Writing: Part 1 of 2 (4 of 15)

Common Mistakes in Technical Writing by Students (1)

• Do Not Use the First Person Singular Pronoun "I"

Bad I present the time complexity of an algorithm in this paper.

OK We present the time complexity of an algorithm in this paper.

Good This paper presents the time complexity of an algorithm. [modern style: active voice]
The time complexity of an algorithm is presented in this paper. [traditional style: passive voice]

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Bad	I present the time complexity of an algorithm in this paper.
OK	We present the time complexity of an algorithm in this paper.
Good	This paper presents the time complexity of an algorithm. [modern style: active voice] The time complexity of an algorithm is presented in this paper. [traditional style: passive voice]