Editing Incubator escapee wiki:Writing better articles (section)

==== Use of pronouns<span id="Use of pronouns"></span><span id="Pronouns"></span><span id="WPPRONOUN"></span><span id="WPPRONOUNS"></span><span id="WPNARRATOR"></span><span id="WPDONTNARRATE"></span> ====
{{redirect|WP:PRONOUNS|information on the usage of pronouns in relation to gender identity|Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Biography#Gender identity}}
{{See also|Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Pronouns}}
{{shortcut|WP:PRONOUN|WP:PRONOUNS|WP:NARRATOR}}

Articles should not be written from a [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#First-person pronouns|first-person]] (''I/me/my'' and ''we/us/our'') or [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Second-person pronouns|second-person]] (''you'' and ''your'') point of view. The first person often inappropriately implies a point of view inconsistent with the [[Wikipedia:Neutral point of view|neutrality policy]], while the second person is associated with the step-by-step instructions of a how-to guide, which [[Wikipedia:What Wikipedia is not#Wikipedia is not a manual, guidebook, textbook, or scientific journal|Wikipedia is not]]. First- and second-person pronouns should ordinarily be used only in attributed direct quotations relevant to the subject of the article.

There can be exceptions to these guidelines. For instance, the "[[Clusivity|inclusive ''we'']]" widely used in professional mathematics writing is sometimes used to present and explain examples in articles, although discouraged on Wikipedia [[Wikipedia:Manual of Style/Mathematics#Writing style in mathematics|even for that subject]].

Avoid gendered language when possible.  For example, write {{Xt|the children}} or {{Xt|the actors}} rather than {{!xt|the boys and girls}} or {{!xt|the actors and actresses}}.  Use the [[Singular they|singular ''they'']] instead of the [[Generic he|generic ''he'']], or write sentences in plural. {{Crossref|See {{slink|Wikipedia:Manual of Style#Identity}} and [[Wikipedia:Gender-neutral language]] for further advice.}}