Is it better to use passive or active?

In writing, always consider whether you should use the passive or active voice. It will depend on what you, the writer, want to convey: if you want to draw attention to the doer, use the passive voice; if your intent is to put the focus on the action, then you should go for the active voice.

Why active voice is better than passive?

Using active voice often improves clarity, while passive voice can help avoid unnecessary repetition. Active voice can help ensure clarity by making it clear to the reader who is taking action in the sentence.

Why is it not good to use passive voice?

Passive voice often creates unclear, less direct, wordy sentences, whereas active voice creates clearer, more concise sentences. To change a sentence from passive to active voice, determine who or what performs the action, and use that person or thing as the subject of the sentence.

Is it ever OK to write in passive voice?

In some sentences, passive voice can be perfectly acceptable. You might use it in the following cases: The actor is unknown: The cave paintings of Lascaux were made in the Upper Old Stone Age.

Is passive voice ever OK?

There is nothing technically “wrong” in using a passive voice; it is a matter of style. Many English style guides require avoiding it to make sentences more clear. However, you should not completely avoid the passive voice, as sometimes it may be more convenient or even necessary to use.

Active vs Passive Voice in Your Writing

Is active voice always better?

Active voice is used for most non-scientific writing. Using active voice for the majority of your sentences makes your meaning clear for readers, and keeps the sentences from becoming too complicated or wordy. Even in scientific writing, too much use of passive voice can cloud the meaning of your sentences.

Why is passive voice preferred?

Because the passive voice creates a sense of emotional distance between the reader and the narrative, the reader can become more objective about what he or she is reading. This is one of the main reasons why scientific reports are often written in the passive voice.

Why is passive voice preferable?

Active voice is more direct and gives your writing authority and purpose. However, passive voice is often necessary and the better choice — that is, when the object is more important than the subject, when we don't know (or it's not important) who the actor is, and for elegant sentence structure and balance.

What are the cons of passive voice?

There are two main disadvantages with using the passive voice: the meaning of the sentence may not be clear, or the sentence may become awkward. In the first example, The plate was broken, the use of the passive voice prevents the reader from knowing who broke the plate.

What are the advantages of using active voice?

Active voice is easier for readers to comprehend quickly and accurately. People naturally speak in active voice when talking to one another in day-to-day life. Therefore, readers are able to comprehend things written in active voice more efficiently than things written in passive voice.

What is the active voice not used for?

If the subject is receiving the action rather than performing the action, it is not using the active voice. For example, the sentence Matt was poked by a chimpanzee does not use a verb in the active voice.

Should you use active voice in speeches?

Active voice is favored in most academic disciplines and everyday speech due to it is considered more assertive and less wordy. However, passive voice is favored in scientific disciplines since the observer may not be aware of what causes a phenomenom.

What does active voice tell us?

Active voice

In most English sentences with an action verb, the subject performs the action denoted by the verb. These examples show that the subject is doing the verb's action. Because the subject does or "acts upon" the verb in such sentences, the sentences are said to be in the active voice.

What are the 5 rules of active and passive voice?

What is a good example of active voice?

In the active voice, the subject is performing an action: The dog chases the ball. Notice how the subject, dog, is performing the action, chase, on the target of the action, ball. This is a simple, direct example of the active voice.

Is active voice more engaging?

Active voice helps you create more dynamic, engaging content, which is especially important for readers.

Is active voice more informative?

This means that active sentences often sound more “direct” than passive sentences and are therefore clearer to the reader. This also means that active sentences often give more information to the reader. Many writers are told to avoid using passive voice.

What words should be avoided when writing in active voice?

Why do action verbs make writing stronger?

You should use action verbs in workplace writing because they make sentences and statements more concise. Since concise writing is easier for readers to understand, it is more reader-centered. Because reader-centered writing is generally more persuasive, action verbs are more convincing than non-action verbs.

Why do English teachers hate passive voice?

English teachers often dislike the passive voice because it can make writing unclear, indirect, and wordy. The passive voice shifts the focus away from the action and towards the recipient of the action, making it more difficult to understand who is doing what.

When should I avoid passive voice?

In formal discourse, the passive voice is unacceptable if it is being used to avoid saying who did some thing. There are two instances when this typically happens. The first involves an attempt to avoid first or second person. The second derives from a lack of knowledge or research.

Is passive voice harder to understand?

Generally, readers prefer active voice, both for clarity and concision. Passive sentences often sound wordy and indirect and make the reader work harder to understand. And since they are usually longer than active sentences, passive sentences take up precious room.

What percentage of passive sentences is acceptable?

If your Passive Sentences score is below 10%, you're doing well. Obviously the lower the better, but you don't need to eliminate your passive voice completely. Aim for less than 10%. If your Passive Sentences statistic hits 20%, consciously focus on writing in the active tense until it becomes a habit.

How do you get rid of passive voice?

If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly.