Help with Impersonal Past Tense
'The Report is to be presented in the “impersonal past tense” e.g.
Personal – I worked in the Design Department.
Impersonal – The work was carried out in the Design Department.'
I'm finding it hard to write in the impersonal paste tense. I keep writing things like "I did this, I was given that to do".
Is there anything I can do to make the task easier on myself?
Maybe to imagine reading it from a certain perspective or maybe there are rules to abide by when trying to write something like this in the impersonal past tense, etc.
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In the past, I have been required to write "impersonally" by omitting all personal pronouns, etc, which was considered the proper way to write academic research papers. That sounds like the writing style that you are being asked to use.
I have found it useful to think of it as writing a series of instructions, but in the past tense. In this fashion, you are telling someone how to do what you did, without saying that you were the one who did it. Here is an example:
The task was to build a new computer program. The tools used were C++ and Visual Studio. The task was completed by creating several code files in Visual Studio and then compiling it at the command line. The code was tested thoroughly by the programmer's younger relatives at some time before dinner.
Your question seems to be about the passive: 'This was done by me' as opposed to 'I did this.' The passive is normal in scientific and some other academic writing and presumably in the organization you work for. I'm not sure I understand what the difficulty is.
Do the report as though you were merely observing others. Stick to the facts and keep your opinions out of it. Do the report as though are telling a story about someone else where you do not have a vested interest. Avoid talking about thoughts, feelings, emotions and try to write with out judgment.
There is no easy way to depersonalize an event that was very personal to you. The best way I find to evaluate is to put someone I care deeply about in and read it and see if it feels like I was too harsh on them. Then put someone i dislike in and see if it feels like i was to nice to them. If the answer is yes then I probably need to revise the report.
I sympathise with you being required to write in the passive. Whoever stipulated that has no love of language.
I don't know of any tricks that apply: you're just going to have to write a lote of "was done", "were requested", "had been checked" etc.
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