Active or passive voice alters the emphasis within a sentence and the order of words. Using a particular voice may change how the reader receives your message.
Active voice example
Joe slapped the boy
Subject (Joe) > Action (slapped) > Receiver (the boy)
Passive voice example
The boy was slapped by Joe
Receiver (the boy) > Action (was slapped) > Subject (by Joe)
Both sentences say and mean the same thing, but each sentence has a different emphasis. In both sentences, the action (the verb) is 'slapped'. The basic verb is 'slap'. The subject is the person, thing or animal that carries out the action. In these example sentences, 'Joe' performs the action. The receiver is the person, thing or animal that receives the action – 'the boy' received the 'slap'.
In the passive voice, the verb 'to be' (was) is added to the main verb to show that 'the boy' is the receiver.
The difference between active and passive voice
In the active voice, the focus is on the subject (the performer of the action). In the passive voice, the focus is on the receiver (the object of the action). In the passive voice, the verb 'to be' (for example, 'am', 'is', 'are', 'was', 'were', 'being' and 'been') is added to the main verb (the action).
Which voice to use in academic writing
The voice you use can make a big difference in your writing. The active voice can often add clarity, but occasionally, the passive voice might be the best option, particularly if you have been told to avoid personal pronouns.
The active voice makes sentences clearer, more direct and more concise.
Active voice
Joe found a relationship between stress and high blood pressure.
In the passive voice, the receiver of the action is the focus.
Passive voice
The relationship between stress and high blood pressure was found in the study by Joe.
Although the passive voice is grammatically correct in this example, it does not have the same impact or clarity as the active voice. Readers might find it unnatural or clumsy. As a result, the writing might be difficult to read. The passive voice also tends to use more words than the active voice. Therefore, switching sentences from the passive to the active voice might help reduce the word count of an assignment.
When to use the passive voice
To focus on the receiver – the object of the action
For example, there is a university near your home, and the builders have recently renovated it. You want to focus on the 'renovation' (passive voice) and not the 'builders' (active voice).
Passive voice: The university has been renovated.
Rather than:
Active voice: Builders have renovated the university.
Note how the subject (the performer of the action) has been removed from the sentence in the passive voice.
In the following example, if the writer wants the reader to focus on the bacteria, the writer would use the passive voice to change focus.
Passive voice: The Bacillus subtilis were stored in a test tube for one year.
Note that the focus is on the bacteria in the passive voice example.
Active voice: We stored the Bacillus subtilis in a test tube for one year.
Note that the focus is on the performer of the action in the active voice example.
The agent – performer of the action – is unknown
For example, "Somebody stole my book yesterday".
In this example, we do not know who stole the book. The performer of the action (the subject) is unknown.
It is obvious who the agent – performer of the action – is
In the sentence, "Sarah found out that she was given a lower raise (by her employer) compared to her other colleagues", it's obvious the performer of the action is the employer.
Sentence rewritten: "Sarah found out that she was given a lower raise compared to her other colleagues."
In the sentence, "There are over 5,000 adults diagnosed (by doctors) with diabetes each year in New Zealand", it's obvious the 'performers of the action' are the 'doctors'.
Sentence rewritten: "There are over 5,000 adults diagnosed with diabetes each year in New Zealand."
The agent – performer of the action – has been mentioned, and you want to develop the topic
This means when you have 2 or more sentences about the same topic. For example:
"The Fellowship of the Ring is a fabulous movie. Peter Jackson directed it".
In the example above, 'it' refers to The Fellowship of the Ring.
To make the sentence clearer and flow better, you could use the passive voice. For example:
"The Fellowship of the Ring is a fabulous movie. It was directed by Peter Jackson".
How to spot a passive voice
1, The passive voice is formed using the main verb (the action) with the auxiliary verb 'be'
For example, 'am', 'is', 'are', 'was', 'were', 'being' and 'been'.
It's important to note that the passive voice uses the same tenses as the active voice.
Active voice: Insecticide kills the wasps.
Passive voice: The wasps are killed by insecticide.
Active voice: Insecticide killed the wasps.
Passive voice: The wasps were killed by insecticide.
2, The subject, if any, comes at the end of the sentence
Active voice: Researchers froze the samples for 10 days.
Passive voice: The samples were frozen for 10 days.
How to change passive voice to active voice
Identify the subject (the performer of the action), then bring the subject to the front and cut out unnecessary words.
Example 1
Passive voice: A report about dementia was written by Joe.
Active voice: Joe wrote a report about dementia.
Example 2
Passive voice: It was found by researchers that the risk of liver cancer may be reduced by regularly drinking coffee.
Active voice: Researchers found that regularly drinking coffee may reduce the risk of liver cancer.
Or:
Active voice: Regularly drinking coffee may reduce the risk of liver cancer.
In the above example, it is obvious that the performer of the action is 'researchers'.
Combining the active and passive voice
Take the time to choose the voice that fits best, as focus helps establish the importance of certain terms. Here is an example of a short paragraph that uses the active and passive voice to better focus on key points and make the paragraph livelier and more interesting.
Artificial intelligence is used (passive) widely in the manufacturing industry. It allows (active) organisations to reduce the cost of labour and to ensure quality. Many organisations employ (active) robots, and some companies are robotised to run (active) by themselves. Artificial intelligence is being used (passive) today by Coke and Pepsi to ...
If you intend to only use the active voice, the sentences would be written:
The manufacturing industry is widely using artificial intelligence. Artificial intelligence allows organisations to reduce the cost of labour and to ensure quality. Many organisations employ robots, and some companies are robotised to run by themselves. Coke and Pepsi use artificial intelligence in their organisations to …
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