Can You Use "You" in a Paper?

"You" is sometimes risky. It's not reasonable to say "You think that Hamlet is a fool" when you're really saying something like, "Any educated reader believes Hamlet is a fool after hearing my argument." (It's always risky to claim knowledge of how your reader is reading or seeing anything.)

In fact, save "you" for those occasions when you are trying to address one reader whom you know (or think you know) well enough to carry on a casual conversation. (Here, for instance, I'm using "you" because I want to be reasonably informal and relaxed. I'm also acting as if I have some idea how "you" are thinking. That may or may not be true (it probably isn't true), but I'm assuming it is.)

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