ACTIVE/PASSIVE VOICE AND TONE

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Unit 1 Chapter 3

BEFORE WE BEGIN…KNOW YOUR AUDIENCE!

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One of the most important things to remember in writing style is to know and understand your audience. Different countries, languages, and cultures have different rules and preferences. Understanding these is key to showing respect and being taken seriously.

The slides that follow all pertain specifically to American English, but often also apply to British English*. No matter where you are, do your research, especially if you are writing to someone in a language or culture not your own.

* British English is spoken in the UK, by English speakers in India, and in many other countries. Know your audience!

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SECTION 1: Writing Style

This section will cover:

• Active and Passive Voice

• Tone

ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE

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In an active voice, the subject performs the action expressed by the verb.

For example:

Bob wrote a letter.

“Bob” is the subject of the sentence; the verb is “wrote,” and Bob (the subject) is the one who did the writing.

ACTIVE VS. PASSIVE VOICE

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In a passive voice, the action of the verb is done to the subject.

For example:

A letter was written.

In this sentence, “letter” is the subject, “was written” is the verb, and the act of writing was done to the letter (the subject).

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More examples of active and passive voice:Active: The doctor treated the patient.

Passive: The patient was treated.

Active: Alex visited the girls.

Passive: The girls were visited.

Notice that in the passive voice examples, the name of who it is that does the action is often omitted.

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Active Voice ConsiderationsAn active voice is more engaging to your reader and will make content more interesting and immediate. It is often easier to understand than passive voice, more specific and direct, and also helpful when you want to clarify points. Use active voice most of the time, unless you are specifically required to use a passive voice, such as in some technical and scientific writing. The straightforward sentence structure of active voice—subject, verb, object—is easier to read quickly.

For example:Instead of writing “The meeting will be led by Tom.” (passive voice),

write: “Tom will lead the meeting.”

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Passive Voice Considerations

People often use passive voice because it can seem more diplomatic or neutral. Passive voice takes the blame out of the sentence.

For example:

Active: You are past due on your cell phone payment.Passive: Your cell phone payment is past due.

Passive voice has three basic characteristics:

1. A form of the verb “to be” such as: is, am, are, was, were, be, been, or being.2. A past participle (which is a verb that ends in -ed or –en, except for irregular verbs like “kept”). 3. A prepositional phrase beginning with “by.”

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Passive Voice examples:

“The problem is being looked into by the committee.”

“You have been given an extension on your project.”

Sometimes it is important to write this way, but be careful. The passive voice is often overused in writing, and too much passive voice can be confusing, hard to read, and may even make your reader feel as though you are hiding something.

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Use the passive voice when:

1. You don’t know who did something, e.g., “The window was left open.” (An active-voice way to say this is, “Someone left the window open.”)

2. Who did or is doing the thing is unimportant to the point you’re making, e.g., “The office will be open next week.” (An active voice way to say this is, “We will be leaving the office open next week.”)

3. The emphasis is not on the person, but on the act, e.g., “It was found that all levels remained constant.” (An active voice way to say this is, “We found that all levels remained constant.”)

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Tone

“Tone” refers to the author’s attitude or emotion toward the subject of the writing or person they are addressing. Some examples of tone are: formal, friendly, cold, warm, sincere, irritated.

Tone is dependent on your audience. An email to a coworker might have a substantially different tone from an email to a boss.

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Tips for a good tone:1. Write in a positive tone. “When you complete this job” instead of “If you complete this job.”

2. Avoid negative words that begin with “un,” “non,” or “ex,” such as non-existent, ex-employee, or undecided.3. Avoid negative words that end with “less,” such as useless or careless.

4. Save emojis, winks, and other graphic symbols for when you have a personal relationship with someone, not a professional one.

5. Use contractions (don’t, won’t, can’t) instead of writing it out (do not, will not, cannot).