Mixed Person

In the following pieces, writers use mixed person. Perhaps one author starts with a first-person example but then moves to objective third-person reporting. Or perhaps another author uses second person, addressing you, the reader, but also interjects personal experience as evidence.

All writers in this collection speak for themselves—and themselves alone.


Sarah Kendzior and Umar Lee, writing for Politico Magazine, describe life in Ferguson, Missouri.

DescriptionTimes & Places • Mixed Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Kendzior | with Lee


Kevin Drum, writing for Mother Jones magazine, explains the effects that lead has had on crime rates.

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Carol S. Dweck, professor of psychology at Stanford University, classifies mindsets as "growth" or "fixed" and explains how the differences either help or hinder student learning. (Watch Prof. Dweck's TED Talk on this subject.)

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Writer Libby Hill examines television, namely period dramas like The Americans and Masters of Sex, and concludes that the identities people assume in life are both true and false.

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Kiera Butler, a senior editor at Mother Jones, asks author and food linguist Dan Jurafsky to analyze the menu at Taco Bell.

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Author Lipika Pelham argues that low-income workers in Bangladesh deserve better conditions.

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Amitai Etzioni, writing for the Washington Post, examines the hidden dangers of high school students having jobs.

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Former Colorado Supreme Court justice Rebecca Love Kourlis lists five steps for changing civil court so that it is more simple, affordable, and effective.

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Therapist and minister Wayne Muller seeks to define on a personal level what the economic concept of GDP is.

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Psychology expert and New Yorker contributor Maria Konnikova reports how Facebook may be affecting users' emotional states.

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By the time most students finish college, they are tens of thousands of dollars in debt. Robert Shireman, Executive Director of California Competes, helps decipher "helpful" payment-plan web guides.

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Maria Konnikova, a New Yorker blogger who focuses on psychology and science, investigates people's conscious and unconscious abilities to detect lies.

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In this humorous essay, Garrison Keillor examines the long forgotten art of writing letters. Published in 1987, this essay predates e-communication and creates a longing for a simpler time.

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Writing for Nautilus, Rose Eveleth details how a computer bug in an online role-playing game might provide answers on the behavior of real-world diseases.

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Marc Silver, blogger of National Public Radio's intriguingly titled "Goats and Soda: Stories of Life in a Changing World," considers how best to classify the countries of the world.

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The two most common reasons for a relationship to fail are money issues and communication problems. Washington Post personal finance columnist Michelle Singletary posits the problem is usually a fusion of the two—a lack of communication about financial matters—and offers suggestions to avoid a potential relationship disaster.

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Writers Reihan Salam and Will Wilkinson use humor as they compare a spouse to a PS3, looking at the economic ramifications of both.

AnalogyLove & Relationships • Mixed Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Salam | with Wilkinson


Jon Mooallem, a writer for the New York Times, investigates the "designer" dog fad which has created Labradoodles and puggles.

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We often associate charisma with an open, gregarious personality and great leadership. But does that mean introverts cannot lead? Author Susan Cain looks at the two personality styles.

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After a study named New York "the greatest city in the world of the future," the editors at the Atlantic detail the similarities between New York and London.

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Pop culture expert Noel Murray describes some of the series currently considered "the best" on television as being "mid-reputable," a status between "prestige" and "trash."

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Writer Roz Warren recounts the family's decision to have expensive gall bladder surgery on a beloved 13-year-old dog.

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Writer and father Joe DeProspero explains the differences between full-time professionals and full-time parents.

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Jake Halpern, reporting for the New York Times, explores the ways debt collectors operate and provides useful tips for beating them at their own game.

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Writing for the New Yorker, Patricia Marx explains how someone can take a pet anywhere because most people don't understand the difference between an "emotional support animal," which is a pet, and a bona-fide service animal, which is a highly-trained professional with a distinct skill set.

Process AnalysisHumans & Their Animals • Mixed Person • Discussion Questions & Writing Prompts


See what the rest of the world feeds its children. Hint: it's not Pop-Tarts.

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Writer Stacey Ritzen explains how one person took back power from online bullies.

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In a world where anyone can search Google for information on anyone else, do people have the right to be forgotten? Jeffrey Toobin, New Yorker staff writer and CNN legal analyst, considers this question in light of a 2014 decision from the European Court of Justice.

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Steven Pinker, a professor of psychology at Harvard University, explores how people think and how that thinking process is often unclear to the audience.

This essay is now behind the Wall Street Journal paywall. You must access it through Global Newsstream. Sign in to Atlas and click Search the Library (top left) to access this database.

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Andrew Solomon, who writes about psychology and popular culture in the New Yorker, considers the complexity of Robin Williams's suicide.

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Why do young people make the choices they do? The answer lies in their biology, not just their rebelliousness.

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Students often do not know what it means to be professional with their professors. This essay gives examples of improper classroom behaviors and then explains why they are inappropriate.

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Writer Elain Wherry compares the styles of bosses with the behaviors of common canines.

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Essayist Michel de Montaigne argues that contemplating death has several benefits.

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Psychologist Sherrie Bourg Carter offers ideas for gaining energy and lowering stress.

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Most people—including hiring managers—generally think extroverts make the best sales staff and managers. Recent research, though, indicates that this belief might be incorrect.

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Blogger Charlie Jane Anders classifies the different types of time travel stories.

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This article suggests that focused, expressive writing can lead to greater insight and personal satisfaction, which means that everyone with a journal will one day see the light of their own lives.

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Rebecca Schuman, education columnist for Slate, describes the differences between the German and American college experience.

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