have you ever noticed how some parts of
your writing sing to pop while other
parts don't well you can improve those
dull sentences if you think about how
you structure them there are two voices
in writing active and passive and the
active voice the subject of a sentence
acts like Neil Armstrong walked on the
moon the active voice is direct clear
and easy to read with the passive voice
the subject is acted upon like the moon
was walked on by Neil Armstrong
although the passive voice is still
grammatically correct it typically
doesn't carry the same energy or clarity
as the active voice
for starters its structure can feel
clumsy and unnatural which makes your
writing harder to read it also tends to
use more words than the active voice
over the course of a document all those
extra words can make your writing drag
here's how to spot the passive voice
look for phrases like was visited has
been cleaned or will be built each one
has a to be verb like was has been or
will be that's followed by an action
that's already happened like visited
cleaned or built the person or thing
doing the action comes last if they're
mentioned at all if you see these parts
together there's a good chance the
sentence is in passive voice overall we
recommend using the active voice more
often than the passive this will help
keep your writing snappy and efficient
here's how to change a sentence from
passive to active in this example Jacob
is our subject and toss'd is the verb
just to move Jacob to the beginning of
the sentence cut out unnecessary words
and rearrange a few others now the money
was tossed into the air by Jacob becomes
Jacob toss the money into the air the
delivery is briefer clearer and more
immediate
although active voice is incredibly
useful the passive voice is occasionally
the better choice for instance you may
go passive if the actor of a
sentence is unknown or irrelevant in
this case we're interested in the
amendments approval not who approved
them
passive voice is also great for creating
in the thorah tative tone it doesn't
matter who requires employees to wash
their hands they just need to wash their
hands you may also want to go passive
when you don't know who's responsible
for the action for example the mystery
was never solved
The Voice you use can make a big
difference in your writing the active
voice will often add pep and clarity but
occasionally the passive voice will be
your best option
take some time to choose the voice that
fits best and your writing will almost
certainly grow stronger GCF Global
creating opportunities for a better life