Limit first-person pronouns (EK00047)
Reader-focused writing keeps documentation objective and puts the task first. Rephrase first-person pronouns such as I, me, or my around the reader.
Rephrasing first-person pronouns around the reader or the product keeps documentation objective and puts the reader’s task at the center. EkLine flags first-person pronouns and encourages you to rewrite them (rule EK00047).
Why avoid first-person pronouns in documentation?
Section titled “Why avoid first-person pronouns in documentation?”Documentation speaks for a product, not for an individual. First-person phrasing like “I recommend” ties advice to an unnamed author and reads as opinion rather than guidance. Rewriting around the reader — “Enable this” — makes the instruction direct and authoritative. Objective phrasing also travels better across teams, where the original author may be unknown.
What EkLine flags
Section titled “What EkLine flags”EK00047 detects first-person pronouns such as I, me, my, mine, I'm, I'll, and I've.
- ❌ Incorrect: In my experience, the CLI is fast.
- ✅ Correct: The CLI is fast.
- ❌ Incorrect: I recommend enabling this.
- ✅ Correct: Enable this.
How to fix
Section titled “How to fix”Rephrase around the reader or the product. Turn “I recommend enabling this” into the direct instruction “Enable this”, and drop opener phrases like “In my experience”.
Why avoid “I” and “my” in documentation?
Section titled “Why avoid “I” and “my” in documentation?”Documentation speaks for a product, not an individual. First-person phrasing ties advice to an unnamed author and reads as opinion rather than guidance.
How do you rewrite a first-person sentence?
Section titled “How do you rewrite a first-person sentence?”Rephrase around the reader or the product — “I recommend enabling this” becomes the direct instruction “Enable this”, and drop openers like “In my experience”.
Rule details
Section titled “Rule details”| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Rule ID | EK00047 |
| Category | Tone and voice |
| Default severity | Warning |
| Enabled by default | Yes |
Ignore this rule
Section titled “Ignore this rule”To keep a first-person pronoun on one line, add an inline comment with a reason:
<!-- ekline-ignore-next-line EK00047 -- direct customer quotation -->"I switched our whole team to EkLine." - Priya S.To disable the rule across your project, add it to the ignore list in your configuration file.