1. Use first person pronoun as subject:
I, We
2. Use verbs with first person subject:
advocate, believe, feel, know, mean, think, understand
3. Use personalized expressions:
it seems to me, it appears, from my point of view, in my view, in my opinion
4. Use attitudinal signals such as:
assuredly, certainly, definitely, indisputably, undeniably, undoubtedly, unquestionably
clearly, obviously, plainly
fortunately, unfortunately, unhappily
significantly
rightly, wrongly
5. Use verbs like should, must, ought to
Ways of hedging or avoiding commitment
Avoid using first person pronouns
6. Use impersonal subjects, such as it
7. Use passive voice so as to avoid specifying an agent or doer such as:
It can be imagined that ...
Large numbers of foreign students have been admitted ...
8. Use verbs (often with an impersonal subject) such as:
hear, guess, imagine, suggest, suppose
signals such as:
apparently, arguably, hypothetically, ideally, possibly, seemingly, superficially hopefully, strangely, unexpectedly, regrettably
9. Use verbs such as:
could, would, may, might
