"One" for "person" in IELTS essays 📝

I am a staunch opponent of "one" in the meaning "person" in IELTS writing. Yes, the meaning exists. But ... Here is a summary of my objections.

1️⃣ The meaning is very formal. VERY. Ten levels higher than IELTS more formal. As a result, this use so rare that when you use "one" in a very simple text, like an IELTS essay, it usually looks awkward.

2️⃣ There is potential for misreading.

Consider this example: "Stress has a negative impact on people's well-being in a whole host of ways. One might be affected by stress to such an extent that ... ."

Here, the reader's first reaction might be to understand "one" as "one way" because "one" for substitution is much more common.

Things might get even worse.

Sometimes I see texts like this: "Stress has a negative impact on people's well-being in a whole host of ways. One is related to physical health. One might experience high blood pressure... ."

Each "one" means a different thing. This doesn't read well.

3️⃣ It's hard to be consistent and use pronouns if you use "one" at the beginning.

What do you use in the gap here: "When one consumes large amounts of ultra-processed foods, [?] is likely to have health issues"?

He or she? This is possible, but this didn't really take off on English. They? "They" for singular, while possible, is very new and unconventional, but "one" is very old and formal. Or do you stick to "one"?

4️⃣ And above all...

You will inevitably want to switch to "people." Inevitably.

Consider this example: "When one consumes large amounts of ultra-processed foods, [?] is likely to have health issues. As a result, [?] who consume unhealthy food exert a significant burden on the healthcare system."

The second gap is begging for "people." So why don't you start with "people" in the first place? The pronoun is clear—they. Paraphrasing will also be easier and more natural further on: such individuals, those who, patients / consumers (or a specific category of people). So, the writing will look more consistent. ❤️

I personally never write "one" for "person" in IELTS essays. I see no reason to. But I see reasons not to.

When I think about my encounters with "one" in authentic contexts, I can only think of some introductory phrases like "One could argue ..." or comments like "One never knows what to expect in times like this." Or sometimes it might be used for humorous or sarcastic purposes—precisely because it's rare and formal. It's not really used to write long, coherent texts.

Do you use "one" in essays? Why? How do you deal with the problems above? What is your experience of encountering "one" in real life? ❓❓❓