In the introduction to a paper, when you are explaining the premises of your study, most of the time you will probably need to state who is doing what, so use the active voice rather than the passive voice, which is more appropriate when the agent performing an action needs no mention or is unknown.



The sentence in the second box above is clear and direct, and it is the best option. In the first sentence in the first box, although the identity of the person who will be exploring the topic seems relatively obvious, it is better to be wholly unambiguous; furthermore, the sentence fails to respect the principle of end focus (see the explanation on respecting end focus in Subjects and verbs). The second sentence in that box also fails in terms of end focus, finishing on a dull note.

If you, the writer, are the agent performing the action in the sentence (this is likely to be the case very often, as you are the person conducting the project), simply use the first-person pronouns I or my. Only use the third-person plural we or our if you performed the actions as part of a group or, possibly, if you are referring to people or society in general (for example, “most of us do not expect to experience space travel”), although it is unlikely you will need to do this very often.