As a woman who holds a Bachelors degree in English...

I think there are some things that we could do without in the English language. One such thing would be using the word 'one' to replace 'you', 'he', 'she' and the like. Case in point: I love the show No Reservations... you know it's on the travel channel, with Anthony Bourdain as the host. You might know him from the show Top Chef where he judges aspiring chefs' concoctions with a sarcastic intelligence I only wish I could replicate. BUT I digress. Bourdain has a blog based on his travels around the world exhibiting different cultures and the fabulous food that goes along with them. So I go to read his blog and the newest one is on Colombia (and may I say that I can not wait until the show airs) then I scroll down to look at the comments people have made and there it is! Some dork is saying "one should do one's research" and I got to thinking about how I hated when my teachers banned me from using 'you' or 'I' in a paper. Now I understand, after four years of college, that using 'you' or 'I' in a paper makes it informal and there should be a difference between an informal and formal paper and yadda yadda yadda. But there has to be something else we could use besides 'one'. I find that it sounds a little pompous or like someone who wants to be considered of a higher status. Whatever. I've decided that my students aren't going to use 'one' in their papers because the English language is changing even if it is only in my classroom.


P.S. For future reference I am by no means a grammar 'nazi' as we call them in the English department. I don't like using formal grammar in blogs, email etc...well sometimes I do but only if I have to email my principal!