The little red writing book - Brandon Royal 2007
Gain active power
Style
Principle #11: Favor active sentences, not passive sentences.
In general, favor the active voice over the passive voice because the active voice is more action-oriented. The active voice is both more direct and less verbose, cutting down on the number of needed words. For example, the sentence “Harry loved Sally” is written in the active voice and contains three words. The sentence “Sally was loved by Harry” is written in the passive voice and contains five words.
In a normal Subject-Verb-Object sentence, the doer of the action appears at the front of the sentence and the receiver of the action appears at the end of the sentence. Passive sentences are less direct because they reverse the normal Subject-Verb-Object sentence order, placing the doer of the action at the end of the sentence and the receiver of the action at the front of the sentence.
Passive:
The company party was organized by the secretary.
Active:
The secretary organized the company party.
Passive sentences may also fail to mention the doer of the action.
Passive:
The writing of the report was easy.
Active:
She wrote the report easily.
Writing students are so often told to avoid the passive voice that it is not hard to understand why the mere mention of the passive voice leads some zealots to blurt out “passive bad, active good.” It is not categorically correct to say that we should always avoid the passive voice. Sometimes, the passive voice is effective or even necessary. Such is the case when the writer must decide whether to expose or hide the identity of the doer of the action.
EXAMPLE 1
Passive:
Today, the computer files were erased.
(The writer’s goal is to hide the perpetrator.)
Active:
Today, Calamity Jane erased the computer files.
(The writer’s goal is to expose the perpetrator.)
EXAMPLE 2
Another reason for using the passive voice is variety.
We sat through the visiting professor’s intriguing lecture. The discussion centered on why people with higher I.Q.’s and lower E.Q.’s usually end up working for people with higher E.Q.’s but lower I.Q.’s. Afterwards, student questions were entertained.
The passive voice is appropriate when the performer of the action is unknown or unimportant. In the first example below, the extraction of oil is deemed important but the extractor is not. In the second example, the discovery of the pearl is important but the discoverer is either unknown or deemed unimportant.
EXAMPLES 3 & 4
Millions of barrels of oil were pumped from under the desert sand.
The world’s largest pearl (6.4 kg) was discovered in the Philippines in 1934.
Finally, the passive voice is likely preferred when the receiver of the action is more important than the performer of the action.
EXAMPLE 5
Joyce Buckingham was awarded a medal by the committee organizers.
EXERCISE
Rewrite the following sentences, replacing the passive voice with the active voice.
See suggested solutions
1. In premodern times, medical surgery was often performed by inexperienced and ill-equipped practitioners.
2. The main point made by the author can be found in the last paragraph.
3. Motivational courses are often attended by those who need them least, while they are not sought out by those who have greatest need.
4. The barbecue pits must be relocated where they can be used by campers.
5. Details of the peace agreement were ironed out minutes before the deadline.
6. Red Cross volunteers should be generously praised for their efforts.
7. Actor agreements will always be negotiated by an actor’s agent before being signed by the actor.
8. Test results were posted with no concern for confidentiality.
9. The report was compiled by a number of clinical psychologists and marriage experts.
10. Without money, staff, and local government support, many diseases in less developed countries cannot be treated.
