I'm writing a research paper for my university class and I want to use singular they when referring to a person of unknown gender, but I'm worried my professor might mark it as incorrect. Most style guides seem to be changing their rules about this, but I'm not sure which ones accept it now.
Most modern style guides do accept singular they now - APA updated their rules a few years back, and MLA's on board too. Your safest move is just ask your professor directly what they prefer for this assignment, since some older instructors still aren't convinced. If you want to hedge your bets without asking, rephrase to avoid the pronoun entirely: use the person's name again, switch to "a researcher" or "the participant," or restructure the sentence so plural works naturally. Honestly it's cleaner writing anyway and sidesteps the whole debate.
I've seen this shift happen in real time, and it's worth checking your specific assignment guidelines first since different professors have different expectations. The major style guides - MLA, APA, Chicago - have all updated to accept singular they in formal writing, so you're on solid ground there. That said, some older academics still push back on it, so a quick email to your professor asking if they're cool with it costs nothing and covers you. If they say no, you can always restructure sentences to use plurals or rephrase around the pronoun issue.
Your professor's expectations matter more than what the style guides say, so asking them directly is genuinely your best move. That said, a pitfall folks often miss is that singular they works great in informal academic writing but can feel awkward if you overuse it in one paragraph - if you're referring to multiple unknown-gender people, suddenly you've got a bunch of "theys" stacked up and it gets confusing fast. Mixing in rephrasing ("the researcher," "this person") or using a name when you have one keeps things clearer. Check what your assignment sheet says first, then ask if it's vague.
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