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In most nonscientific writing situations,
active voice is preferable to passive for
the majority of your sentences. Even in scientific writing, overuse of Passive Voice or use of passive voice in long and complicated sentences can cause readers to lose interest or to become confused. Sentences in active voice are generally - though not always - clearer and more direct than those in passive voice. |
Active Voice
Sentences in active voice are also more concise
than those in passive voice because fewer words are required to
express action in active voice than in passive. In sentences
written in active voice, the subject performs the action
expressed in the verb; the subject acts.
Notice in each example above, the subject of the
sentence performs the action expressed in the verb.
Passive Voice
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Sometimes the use of passive voice
can create awkward sentences. Also, overuse of
passive voice throughout an essay can cause your prose to
seem flat and uninteresting. In scientific writing, however, passive voice is more readily accepted since using it allows one to write without using personal pronouns or the names of particular researchers as the subjects of sentences. This practice helps to create the appearance of an objective, fact-based discourse because writers can present research and conclusions without attributing them to particular agents. Instead, the writing appears to convey information that is not limited or biased by individual perspectives or personal interests.. |
You can recognize passive-voice expressions
because the verb phrase will always include a form of be, such as
am, is, was, were, are, or been. The presence of a
be-verb, however, does not necessarily mean that the sentence is
in passive voice.
Another way to recognize passive-voice sentences is that they may
include a "by the…" phrase after the verb; the agent
performing the action, if named, is the object of the preposition
in this phrase
Changing Active to
Passive
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If you want to change an active-voice
sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is
performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make
that agent the object of a "by the…" phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit "by the…" phrase is optional. |
Suggestions
1. Avoid starting a sentence in
active voice and then shifting to passive.
| Unnecessary Shift In Voice | Revised |
| Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but it was still ordered frequently. | Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but they still ordered it frequently. |
| He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but he was still laughed at by the other students. | He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but the other students still laughed at him. |
2. Avoid dangling modifiers
caused by the use of passive voice. A dangling modifier is a word
or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the
sentence.
| Dangling Modifier With Passive Voice | Revised |
| To save time, the paper was written on a computer. (Who was saving time? The paper?) | To save time, Kristin wrote the paper on a computer. |
| Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, consultants were hired to break the bad news. Who was seeking to lay off workers? The consultants?) | Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, the CEO hired consultants to break the bad news. |
3.Don't trust the
grammar-checking programs in word-processing software. Many
grammar checkers flag all passive constructions, but you may want
to keep some that are flagged. Trust your judgement, or ask
another human being for their opinion about which sentence sounds
best.
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Reference: Owl English
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