17.7: Active and Passive Voice

Using active voice is one way to cut down on wordiness in papers and achieve straightforward sentences. Take the following two sentences, for example:

• Everything Has a Name” was written by Helen Keller.
• Helen Keller wrote “Everything Has a Name.”

What observations can you make from a comparison of the two sentences? Certainly, both convey the same idea, but the first sentence is a bit longer than the first and not quite as clear. Why?

At the base of the English language is a basic, natural-sounding (to our ears) sequence: subject + verb + object. In this sequence, the subject is the thing acting within the sentence, the verb details the action, and the object is the thing being acted upon. When you write a sentence in passive voice, however, you upend this natural-sounding sequence: The subject of the sentence no longer performs the action of the verb but is, instead, the recipient—the direct object—of the verb’s action.

In the first of our two example sentences, “Everything Has a Name” is the subject, but we can be fairly certain that the story did not write itself. In that first sentence, we have to wait literally until we reach its end to learn that Keller was its author—and in some passive-voice sentences, you never learn, at least from that sentence, who ultimately is or was responsible for doing something. The second sentence, though, states from the outset that Keller was an author; all we need to do is read on until we reach that sentence’s direct object to find out the title of something she wrote.

Just to be clear, there is nothing grammatically wrong with passive-voice constructions. The issue here is really a stylistic one: we have relatively few reasons to use passive voice, except in the rare instances when we may not know who or what was responsible for something; also, in some instances, we simply have no better way of expressing that idea. (We will discuss some of those cases in a few moments.) Moreover, our ear tends to prefer active-voice constructions; they sound more natural to us, and more assertive. This latter attribute is a quality that will be important to remember when writing essays meant to persuade an audience to consider your point of view.

Here are some more examples of sentences in passive voice changed into active voice:

Passive Voice Examples

Keller was taught language by Anne Sullivan.

Anne Sullivan was hired by Keller’s parents.

In a crucial moment in her life, the connection between words and things was made by Keller as water was pumped over her hands by Anne Sullivan.

Active Voice Examples

Anne Sullivan taught Keller language.

Keller’s parents hired Anne Sullivan.

In a crucial moment in her life, Keller made the connection between words and things as Anne Sullivan pumped water over Keller’s hands.

Using Passive Voice Effectively

When deciding whether to use active or passive voice, clarity should always be your utmost concern. While readers may prefer active-voice sentences, you will find yourself at times constructing a sentence that is more difficult to understand when it is written in the active voice. In such instances, passive-voice constructions are better choices.

If you are writing a report where you cannot use “I” or are writing about a subject that does not really “do” anything, a passive sentence might be clearer.

Consider these two sentences:

• Random samples were taken from group one to facilitate easy comparison of the groups.
• Easy comparison of the groups was facilitated by random sampling of group one.

Both of these sentences are in passive voice, but the second sentence is clearly more effective and straightforward.

See this page from the Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill on passive voice or this video on passive voice from the Writing Center at UNC Chapel Hill for more help with using passive voice appropriately.