Activity is NOT Passive

   Use the active voice to denote movement and pull readers into a story. If a story moves, it more likely captivates the reader and demands attention until its conclusion.

   Active voice indicates the writer takes control of the language. Yet passive voice indicates the writer is wishy-washy, unsure of what to say: Woe is me.

   In the following examples, the first sentence is passive and the second sentence promotes active voice. Note both passive and active verbs appear in the past, not present, tense.

• The truth is what the public deserves.
• The public deserves the truth.
  
  
• The president was impeached by the House of Representatives.
• The House of Representatives impeached the president.
  
  
• Mistakes were made by several people, the president said.
• Several people made mistakes, the president said.
  
  
• The trial is almost over, we were told by the senator.
• The senator told us the trial is almost over.
  
  
• The pope was praised by the president Wednesday afternoon.
• The president praised the pope Wednesday afternoon.
  
  
• The United States government was chastised by the pope for permitting abortion.
• The pope chastised the United States government for permitting abortion.
  
  
• The president was given high approval ratings by the populace.
• The populace gave the president high approval ratings.

• When emphasizing the receiver of the action, e.g. "The Hunt for Red October" has been read by millions of people.
• When creating coherence between sentences, e.g. "We must decide whether to increase our prices. Our decision should be influenced by the possibility that we will lose some customers."
• When ensuring the communication remains diplomatic, e.g. "The terms of the contract were disregarded."

If you don't understand something in this Web note, please e-mail Dr. Sitton.