Jessa Tan English 2

Bs Arch. 1A TTH 9:00-10:30 AM

WHEN TO USE THE ACTIVE VOICE OR THE PASSIVE VOICE

Of the two, the active voice is the more commonly used in most forms of writing. (It might also be said that
it's the normal voice when speaking in English.) It leaves no ambiguity as to who the subject of the sentence
is, and what that subject is doing. However, while the use of the active voice against the use of the passive
voice is typically counseled in high school as a rule, there will be times that the passive voice is needed.

The passive voice is often used in cases wherein the author wishes to place emphasis on, or treat as the
subject, the target or undergoes instead of the doer of the action. While it is not commonly used in
research paper writing, the passive voice does figure itself more prominently in mystery and crime writing
and reportage especially if the doer of the action is not or cannot be known.

USE ACTIVE VOICE

Use active voice throughout all your writing. It brings the paper to life, making it much stronger and
interesting. Your instructor may or may not have a preference for active voice, but most readers prefer it.

Thought the passive voice is not wrong, it tends to make the paper boring to read. In many cases, passive
voice is used to write sentences in the past tense. One you bring the sentence to the present, you need to
change it into active voice. Notice that actions happening to the subject in passive voice, whereas the
subject performs the action in active voice. For example, you could write To prepare for the day she will
take over, the motor home is being driven by Marley, but that is bland. If you turn it into the active voice
and write Marley drives the motor home herself to prepare for the day she takes over, the sentence
becomes livelier.

Sometimes it doesnt make much sense to use active voice. An in-depth, scientific discussion may seem
trivial if it is written in active voice, because that would take the emphasis off the main subject of the
discussion. For example, when you state that the boy was attacked by three large dogs, the emphasis is on
the boy. If you change the sentence into the active voice and stated three large dogs attacked the boy, the
emphasis is on the dogs. Some parts of your paper may be better in passive voice as long as the meaning
isnt confused. Sometimes using passive voice can end up too long, and sometimes using passive voice shifts
the focus of a sentence. If this helps focus the sentence on an area that you want to emphasize, it makes
sense to use passive voice. In general, you should use the passive voice when you want to focus on the
object that is receiving an action rather than on the object that is performing the action.

SOURCES:
http://www.gradesaver.com/writing-help/active-voice-vs-passive-voice
https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=AWsrZERe7WAC&pg=PT249&lpg=PT249&dq=proof+that+active+
voice+should+be+used+in+research+paper&source=bl&ots=CevmtQRgAm&sig=9ecZRbjxJzQhtu742IFs3Fq
2A8I&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwizurnwzr_JAhVO-mMKHVNSCTAQ6AEIUzAJ#v=onepage&q&f=false