One of the revisions I most frequently suggest to writers is to use active voice.
You can write in active or passive voice. Both are grammatically correct. But active voice is more engaging and clear than passive voice.
What’s active voice? It’s when you structure your sentences so that the subject performs the action.
The student picked up the book and walked out of the classroom.
What’s passive voice? It’s when you structure your sentences so that the subject receives the action.
The book was picked up by the student, and the classroom was walked out of by the student.
Do you see how the sentence that uses active voice flows more easily than the sentence that uses passive voice? Passive voice makes a sentence more complicated than it needs to be. There’s no reason to add extra words when they’re not needed.
Active voice is easier for your readers to understand. It’s concise and animated—your readers will prefer active voice because they won’t have to figure anything out.
So remember that a good way to strengthen your writing is to choose active voice.
How do you know if you’ve used active voice? Take a careful look at your sentences.
- Identify the subject.
- Identify the action.
- Ask yourself whether the subject is performing the action.
- If the subject is performing the action, you have used active voice.
There are some instances in which passive voice is okay to use, such as in scientific writing (although science is moving away from the use of passive voice). Or when you have a specific reason for not wanting the subject to be identified. But the entire text should not be in passive voice.
Try not to give your readers extra work to do. Use mostly active voice in your writing.
