active vs passive voice in research writing

#ACTIVE VS PASSIVE VOICE IN RESEARCH WRITING HOW TO#

In addition it has the past participle of an action verb e.g. Identifying passive voice: such sentences usually consist of verbs like was, were, is, are, has, had, have, to be, may be and will be.

#ACTIVE VS PASSIVE VOICE IN RESEARCH WRITING HOW TO#

How to identify and convert passive voice into active voice? Thus, although active voice is crisp, choose passive voice if the message is better emphasized by doing so. (Here the emphasis is on Einstein rather than the publication agencies). For example: Einstein’s work was published between 1901-1955. Hence, you can use this form of voice when the subject performing the action is unknown or is not to be primarily emphasized. For instance, in passive voice, you can leave the agent or subject performing the action unnamed.

However, at times using passive voice is more appropriate. Passive voice can sometimes look ambiguous and hide the meaning of your arguments.Active voice is more precise, clear and crisp compared to passive voice.Here the second sentence, written in the active voice, is crisp, short and much easier to read. Now let’s convert it into active voice:Īctive Voice: ‘The researchers conducted the experiment.’ Where, ‘researchers’ are the subject, ‘conducted’ the verb and ‘experiment’ the object. Passive Voice: ‘The experiment was conducted by the researchers.’ Here is an example from the scientific writing point of view: For example: ‘Chocolates are loved by Sally.’Īs you can see, in the first example (‘Sally loves chocolates’), the writing style is crisp it uses fewer words (3 vs 5), and reads much better. Passive Voice: when the ‘subject’ undergoes the action of the ‘verb’ directed at the ‘object’, the sentence is in passive voice.For example: ‘Sally loves chocolates.’ (Where, ‘Sally’ is the subject, ‘loves’ is the verb and ‘chocolates’ is the object). Active Voice: when the ‘subject’ performs the action conveyed by the ‘verb’ on the ‘object’, the sentence is in active voice.Based on this relationship, ‘Voice’ can be divided into two types: Active and Passive Voice. The relationship between the ‘subject’, the ‘verb’ and the ‘object’ – (S-V-O) of a sentence determines its ‘Voice’. The Paramedic Method is an effective process for helping eliminate passive voice.Let’s probe into understanding these concepts: Trust your judgment, or ask another human being for their opinion about which sentence sounds best. Many grammar checkers flag all passive constructions, but you may want to keep some that are flagged. Don't trust the grammar-checking programs in word-processing software. Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, the CEO hired consultants to break the bad news.ģ. Who was seeking to lay off workers? The consultants?) Seeking to lay off workers without taking the blame, consultants were hired to break the bad news.

To save time, Kristin wrote the paper on a computer. To save time, the paper was written on a computer. A dangling modifier is a word or phrase that modifies a word not clearly stated in the sentence. Avoid dangling modifiers caused by the use of passive voice. He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but the other students still laughed at him.Ģ. He tried to act cool when he slipped in the puddle, but he was still laughed at by the other students. Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but they still ordered it frequently. Many customers in the restaurant found the coffee too bitter to drink, but it was still ordered frequently. Writing Letters of Recommendation for Students.

Active vs passive voice in research writing