Writing active vs passive voice trial#

For example, consider the following active and passive versions of a sentence that might appear in the methods section of your lab report:ģA: Professor Roberts kept the mice in their cages for three weeks. When you start to write more complex sentences, the difference in word count can be significant when you compare the active and passive voice versions, and this is important in a setting in which waffly, vague statements are always your enemy.Īlong with a lack of conciseness, ambiguity (being vague) is the other unwanted attribute that comes with the use of passive voice sentences (Inzunza, 2021). This is of great relevance to you as science writers because it is very important that you always try to communicate things as concisely as possible. In the examples listed above, the passive voice versions are not especially long-winded, yet if you re-examine them you will notice that they feature more words than their respective active versions.

Writing active vs passive voice trial#

For example: ‘An experimental traffic system will be trialled in British Columbia,’ rather than ‘RoadCorps will trial an experimental traffic system in British Columbia.’Īt times, using a mix of active and passive voice may make sense (Anderson 2015). For example: ‘The cave paintings were made over 5,000 years ago,’ rather than ‘Someone made the cave paintings over 5,000 years ago.’ You don’t know the identity of the ‘doer’.For example: ‘The study was compromised due to a methodological error,’ rather than ‘Mike made an error, which compromised the study.’ However, using the passive voice is acceptable in many situations, and is actually preferable when: Using the active voice is generally preferable because it tends to help you write more concise sentences and makes use of stronger verb forms. You might be developing the impression that using the active voice is always preferable, but this is not the case.

It cannot be a passive sentence because the subjects are doing something (applying) to the object.ĢB) Now, consider the passive voice version of the previous sentence: This cannot be an active voice sentence because the subject is effectively doing nothing.ĢA) Consider the following active voice sentence: This cannot be a passive sentence because the subject is doing something to the object (weighing it).ġB) Now consider the passive voice version of the previous sentence: 1A) Consider the following active voice sentence: