Final answer:
The statement is false; in formal essays, writers are typically expected to avoid first-person pronouns like 'I' and 'me,' and the second person 'you,' to maintain an objective and impersonal tone.
Step-by-step explanation:
When writing formally for essays, the use of first-person pronouns such as 'I', 'me', and second person pronoun 'you' is generally avoided. The common guideline is to maintain an objective tone and keep the focus away from the author and on the subject. This is false because in formal writing, it is preferred not to use these personal pronouns. Instead, one should use more impersonal language and constructions. For instance, rather than writing 'I believe the experiment shows...', one could write 'The results of the experiment indicate...'. This approach avoids the use of first-person pronouns and maintains a formal tone.
Moreover, the use of first-person pronouns is often permissible in certain contexts, such as personal narratives, profiles, memoirs, and some types of creative writing where the writer's presence is relevant to the text. The choice to use pronouns such as 'I' and 'me' may depend on the genre of the writing. In formal academic writing, however, they are typically avoided.
Understanding when to use 'I' and 'me' is also important. The pronoun 'I' is always the subject of a sentence, whereas 'me' is always used as the object. For example, 'Jasmine and I ordered pizza' is correct because 'I' is part of the subject, while 'The pizza was delivered to Jasmine and me' is correct because 'me' is part of the object of the preposition. Similarly, one must avoid using the -self pronouns incorrectly and be mindful not to replace personal pronouns with them in an attempt to sound formal.