How To Recognize It
- In most writing, active voice is preferred. In active voice, the subject performs the action.
- Ex: The cow jumped over the moon.
- In passive voice, the subject is passive; it performs no action.
- The moon was jumped over by the cow.
Clues To The Passive
- The subject performs no action.
- An unnecessary "to be" verb form is used.
- A "by + a noun" prepositional phrase is included.
When to Avoid It; When to Use It
- The passive voice is often considered wordy and awkward, so in most essay writing it should be avoided. Some professors and some employers actually insist that it never be used!
- In sentences where the performer of the action is not as important as the action itself, the passive is appropriate. It is used most often in scientific articles
- Ex: The cure to cancer was discovered (by the researcher).
The phrase saying who found the cure is not as important as the fact that the cure was found.
How to Change It
- Searching for sentences in the passive voice and making them active will improve your writing, adding clarity and immediacy.
- You can fix a passive sentence by finding someone or something to perform the action.
- Passive: All the papers were lost.
Active: I lost all the papers.
Passive: The package was returned.
Active: The company returned the package.
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