Third Person

The authors of these pieces capture their ideas without inserting themselves in the events or addressing the reader directly. Third person uses pronouns such as he, she, it, and they.

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


The Greek philosopher Socrates contrasts two visual experiences to help his students discover Truth.

AnalogyTimes & Places • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing Prompts


New Yorker staff writer David Owen explores some reasons why panda bears living in captivity have problems reproducing.

Cause & EffectLove & Relationships • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


New York Times contributor Peter Andrey Smith examines new ideas about the types of tastes we may be able to perceive.

Classification & DivisionIdentity • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


New York Times science reporter Donald McNeil explains how retrieving a lost wine cork led to a potentially life-saving obstetrical device.

AnalogyModern Challenges • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Journalist TaNehisi Coates traces the history of systematic economic racism, from slavery through segregation up to contemporary housing policies, to support his argument in favor of reparations for African-Americans.

Argument & PersuasionModern Challenges • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Kiri Blakeley, a contributor to Forbes magazine, defines the modern cat lady by exploring the connection women (and some men) have with cats.

DefinitionHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Author Laurel Braitman explains that zoo veterinarians often treat problem animal behavior with the same drugs used in human mental health care.

Example & IllustrationHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Los Angeles Times reporter Marisa Gerber describes how the traditional quinceanera has evolved over the past 40 years.

DefinitionTimes & Places • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


In this piece from the Los Angeles Times, reporter Garrett Therolf depicts the resting place for a victim of child abuse.

DescriptionTimes & Places • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Tips from Former Smokers, the US government's anti-smoking ad campaign, focuses not on the possibility of death but on the poor quality of life resulting from cigarette smoking, leading many smokers to quit their habit.

Cause & EffectModern Challenges • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Author David Grimm explains how one natural disaster changed the status of American pets and the way we care for them.

Process AnalysisHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Students often wonder whether they are getting their money's worth by going to college. The Economist examines the cost and return-on-investment of a college degree.

Argument & PersuasionSchool Life • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing Prompts


Award-winning writer and editor Jason Heller (of the science-fiction genres) evaluates a variety of formulas, or rules, for literary success.

Classification & DivisionLanguage & Writing • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Reporter Chinki Sinha describes the lives of women who work in a red-light district in Mumbai, India.

DescriptionLove & Relationships • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Film and television expert Jason Bailey explores the feminist impact of Cosby Show character Clair Huxtable.

Cause & EffectIdentity • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Author Joshua Wolf Shenk classifies the attributes of John Lennon and Paul McCartney separately, and explains why they were even more gifted when pairing their creativity as a team.

Classification & DivisionIdentity • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Gay editor, podcaster, and blogger Zack Ford illustrates the distinction between transgender and drag.

Comparison & ContrastIdentity • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


What can an animal do if its owner neglects and/or abuses it? Charles Siebert, contributing writer to the New York Times Sunday Magazine, addresses that question as animal rights continue to evolve.

Argument & PersuasionHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing Prompts


Are young people captivated by the sport of golf? Author Matt Powell says no, exploring the reasons for their lack of interest.

Process AnalysisSport • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Writing for the Atlantic, Jessica Leigh Hester investigates the world of preppers, those folks preparing for the end of the world.

DefinitionIdentity • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


What is ultimate frisbee? In this article, author Charles Bethea explains the sport and why its players believe it belongs at the Olympics

DefinitionSport • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Former Presidential speechwriter John Pollack points out the function of analogies in American politics.

AnalogyLanguage & Writing • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


English professor Gillen D’Arcy Wood describes the global impact of Mount Tambora's 1815 eruption.

Cause & EffectTimes & Places • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Jacob Gershman, who covers law for the Wall Street Journal, explains how a single adverb can change a court's interpretation of the law.

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Example & IllustrationLanguage & Writing • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Reporting for Rolling Stone, Molly Knefel explores a Los Angeles high school's response to increasing police presence.

Argument & PersuasionSchool Life • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


When is it okay to put down a zoo animal? European and US zoos want their animals to have different experiences, which means that healthy animals sometimes die at the zookeeper's hands. Writing for Mother Nature Network, Laura Moss explains the differences in zoo philosophies.

Comparison & ContrastHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Lauren Slater of National Geographic details the problems that exotic pets have caused their owners.

Example & IllustrationHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


Essayist E. Tammy Kim follows the path of a low-income student from high-school graduation to college acceptance.

NarrationSchool Life • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing PromptsConnect with Author


The staff of the AV Club list twenty-one examples of filmed entertainment (from the early twentieth century to the present) in which animals accidentally or intentionally came to harm.

Example & IllustrationHumans & Their Animals • Third Person • Discussion Questions & Writing Prompts