§ Why it is not allowed to mentioned “I” or “me” in writing reports?

Kim,

I corrected those 2 sentences where I used “I” and “me”. There is a saying in [my] language, “It happens to bigger houses”. So, it can happens to me too, isn’t it? But is learning time and I want to be like a child with many questions and to ask you, why it is not allowed to mentioned “I” or “me”. Can be this one answer? Because the report will be signed and it is understood that I did what I wrote, except the time when I asked for help?

Thanks,

(CELBANPrep Writing Subscriber)

Great question, L!

… The format for writing a medical report is different from what is learned in regular English classes, for IETLS and TOEFL (which is why writing the CELBAN is easier.) At the same time writing a medical report is similar to writing a resume. In writing a resume, where my teaching writing began, action statements are made with the action verb and without “I” and “me”. It is the same in the job description. For instance, this is from a posting for the City of Edmonton for the position of social worker:

Assist residents and organizations in undertaking and implementing community development strategies
Initiate, build and sustain effective working relationships with the community, colleagues and agencies
Develop strategies to address cross City and local issues, ie affordable housing or crime prevention
Lead development and implementation of programs to address social issues in the community

There are many forms or writing where the writing style omits the “I” and “me”. Writing medical reports is one of them. The role of the person is minimized, the actions accentuated. The acknowledgement of who did the actions is in the signature.

Kim