Although we want personal engagement with the arguments, i.e. we want to know what you make of different opinions or accounts of events, rather than just a repetition of others' opinions and accounts, you should still avoid using the first person. This is to make sure that the argument or event is centre stage and not you.
We prefer:
- 'This essay will demonstrate' to 'I will demonstrate'
- 'This essay concludes' to 'I conclude'
- 'It is arguable that' to 'I think'
- 'This is debatable' to 'I disagree'