![]() If it is necessary to focus on the action itself If a sentence is to remain passive, a citation might be necessary to let the reader know who did the investigation.Ģ. Whereas, “ We investigated the effectiveness of stem cell treatment.” clearly lets the reader know that the authors did the investigation. They might assume that the authors are referring to another study. “ The effectiveness of stem cell treatment was investigated.” With this statement the reader might be unsure who did the investigation. Without adding an object identifying the performer of the action, passive construction can make it difficult to know who did what. If it is necessary to specify who or what performed the action Whether you use active or passive depends upon what you are writing and what you need to focus on.ġ. In simple terms, ‘voice’ refers to the relationship between the subject and the verb.Īctive voice is when the grammatical subject performs the action specified by the verb.Īctive voice: “ I produced ten surveys.” The subject is the person “I” who performs the action “produced”.īoth types of voice are necessary for good, clear writing For example: “ I was photographed by my friend”. You can write in passive voice while using a personal pronoun. However, active voice is not governed by the use of personal pronouns. Some also argue that the use of personal pronouns in science and academic writing gives the impression of stating an opinion. For example, the proponents of the passive voice in science writing claim that the active construction “ I observed the behaviour.” presents a subjective view, while the passive construction “ The behaviour was observed.” presents a more objective perspective. However, this view is based on the criticism of using the first person (‘I’ or ‘my’) in that an individual’s view or perspective was considered biased. Traditionally, science and academic writers were strongly advised to use passive voice in order to maintain objectivity. ![]() If not, passive voice may be the more effective choice.The traditional criticism of active voice When writing, ask yourself whether it is beneficial for the reader to know the performer of the action. ![]() It is best practice to interrupt extended passages that contain only one voice with its alternative where possible to avoid dullness. One thing to keep in mind is that if one voice is overused, especially in technical writing, the prose itself can become stinted, redundant, or mechanical. Passive voice: The hypothesis was that vaccinated individuals are less likely to become infected than unvaccinated individuals. While neither option is necessarily wrong, the below example illustrates how active voice makes the hypothesis clearer and more impactful:Īctive voice: We hypothesize that vaccinated individuals are less likely to become infected than unvaccinated individuals. Meanwhile, the Introduction and Discussion often employ both active and passive voice. For example, in a scientific paper, active voice is generally preferred when stating a hypothesis and presenting results, whereas the use of passive voice is often appropriate when discussing Materials and Methods. The important part is understanding why and when to use one voice over the other. While active voice should typically outweigh passive voice in technical writing, a combination of both voices contextually is most effective. In the above example, the role of the surgeon is obvious enough to be omitted, leaving, “A heart transplant was performed today,” a perfectly coherent and direct sentence. There are instances in which passive voice can be effectively employed, such as when neutrality or diplomacy are necessary, or when the agent is intentionally omitted because it is either unnecessary, implied, or unknown. In a passive sentence, the subject is acted upon by a verb. Contrarily, the passive voice swaps the action’s target-the heart transplant-placing it first in the sentence. In the above example, the subject-the surgeon-performs the action-a heart transplant. Ğxample: A heart transplant was performed by the surgeon today.Īctive voice is preferred in most contexts because a subject-verb construction is the clearest form of communication, where the subject is placed at the beginning of the sentence followed by an active verb.The action, rather than the agent, is highlighted.
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