No, they weren’t really wrong, but some of the rules they forced upon us students don’t exactly have to be followed.

For example, did an English teacher ever tell you that you can’t use Wikipedia as a source in your papers? Or that you can’t talk in the first person in your essays? Well, what if I told you that you actually could use Wikipedia and personal pronouns like “I” in an essay and still write a great paper?

Source: Giphy

Well, it’s possible as long as you use them the right way. I know, I know, you’re probably thinking, “Why would I trust a freshman in college making crazy claims on her personal blog?” You can rest assured that I am a trustworthy source, since I am simply piggy-backing on the idea proposed by Joseph Bizup, an English professor at Boston University.

If we use Bizup’s BEAM concept that I discussed in my previous post, both Wikipedia and first person narration can be used in academic essays. For those of you who haven’t read my previous post or are too lazy to go do it now, I have made a little summary table of BEAM. You’re welcome.

Most teachers advise against using Wikipedia and first person because they don’t want students to use them as argument sources to prove their point. Wikipedia could be used as a background source instead, used to understand the big picture and gain common knowledge before writing a paper. You don’t even have to cite it, since you are just reading up on common knowledge. First person narrative could be used as an exhibit, where you use a personal anecdote as an example to analyze. Or, it could be used as a method if you are writing a narrative.

Basically, what I’m trying to say is that although the types of sources you use matter, the way in which they are used and fit into your composition is much more important.

If you are interested in reading Bizup’s article in its entirety, click here.