![]() ![]() To revise the above, all I did was look for the two buried things (simulations and zones) in the original version that could actually do something, and I made the sentence clearly about these two nouns by placing them in front of active verbs. But the reader’s task gets much easier in the revised version below: Two model simulations (Figures 1 and 2) illustrate how zones of fracture concentration influence groundwater flow. As often happens, the passive voice here has smothered potential verbs and kicked off a runaway train of prepositions. The sentence is becoming a burden for the reader, and probably for the writer too. So why all the fuss? Because the habit of overusing passive constructions rules too many writers, who habitually produce grammatically tangled sentences such as this one: Groundwater flow is influenced by zones of fracture concentration, as can be recognized by the two model simulations (see Figures 1 and 2), by which one can see. The passive choice slightly emphasizes "the rate of evaporation," while the active choice emphasizes "the size of an opening." Simple. Passive voice: The rate of evaporation is controlled by the size of an opening.Īctive voice: The size of an opening controls the rate of evaporation. In fact, notice how the sentences below, depending on the context in which they appear, are equally acceptable: You are probably already able to identify whether or not sentences are written in the passive or active voice, but if not, here is a refresher: In the simplest terms, an active voice sentence is written in the form of "A does B." A passive voice sentence is written in the form of "A is done by B." Both constructions are fine. Further, your English textbook might suggest that the active sentence "Jack hit the baseball" is better than the passive sentence "The baseball was hit by Jack." As well-intentioned as they might be, these tidbits of advice don’t help much, do they? You are not likely to have anyone named Jack hitting any baseballs in your papers, and obviously both passive and active voice are powerful tools in the right hands. You may have had a frustrated (and frustrating?) professor write on your paper "Use passive voice!" or "Avoid passive voice!" during your studies, and your grammar checker will be happy to flag and condemn all passive sentences for you. Image courtesy of stockimages at FreeDigitalPhotos.Teachers actually get fired up about this issue. However, passive voice will be used on occasion in case studies to indicate authority. We agreed that in future, if they wish to encourage the reader to take action, they will ensure that they use the active voice. In contrast, the active voice - "It's important that maintenance teams fit an inverter to avoid increased energy bills as the result of using more energy than required in the application," places the emphasis clearly on me, the maintenance manager, to buy an inverter.Īs it happened both ruffians were happy with my resolution as it was exactly the question of authority versus using a call to action that they were discussing. ![]() It doesn't make me think, "Damn and blast, I'd better get me an inverter quick-smart otherwise someone is going to be asking me why I'm wasting more money than an honest nation bidding to host the World Cup." This makes me think, "Yes, that's true, energy efficiency is important - save the oceans and the whales and things. For instance, consider the phrase, "it is important that an inverter is fitted in order to save energy and money." ![]() However, passive voice also removes the onus on the reader to take action. As a result, it can sound authoritative when brought into play in technical content.įor instance, "the inverter was used to deliver improved energy and financial performance," might sound more impressive in a case study than, "company X fitted an inverter to save money on energy bills."Ģ. ![]() The passive voice is common in scientific and report writing. But there are some simple recommendations that you can apply to allow you to make better and easier decisions about incorporating this particular grammatical construction into your writing".ġ. Naturally, being the gentleman I am, I intervened and said, "listen fellers, I understand what an emotive issue this is. It was a couple of geezers who just could not agree on the best use of passive voice in technical writing and engineering PR. So, the other night I was down the local and, low and behold, a fight broke out round the back of the boozer. ![]()
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