Writing Grit: Passive vs. Active Voice

redhens (58)in #writing • 7 years ago

In my work as a business editor, I spend a majority of my time stamping out the dreaded passive voice. Because although what I'm about to say appears to contradict popular opinion, passive voice does not belong in the world of business communications. In fact, I might go so far as to argue that passive voice rarely belongs in any type of communication and that one of the best ways to improve your writing is to increase your use of active voice.

But first you need to understand the difference between the two.

What are active voice and passive voice?

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With active voice, the subject of the sentence is the one doing the action: "I (subject) took (action) the dog for a walk." We always know who is doing what.

With passive voice, the subject is being acted upon: "The dog (subject) was taken (action) for a walk."

Often, when passive voice is used, the person or thing doing the action is omitted. However, even when it is included, passive voice can be awkward: "The dog (subject) was taken (action) for a walk by me."

Here are a few other examples:

Active: We rode our bikes to the park on Saturday.
Passive: Our bikes were ridden by us to the park on Saturday.

Active: I shot the sheriff but I did not shoot the deputy.
Passive: The sheriff was shot, but the deputy was not.

Active: I sipped on my morning coffee while reading the newspaper.
Passive: The morning coffee was sipped by me while the newspaper was read by me.
Passive: The morning coffee was sipped while the newspaper was read.

When should you use passive voice?

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As Grammar Girl points out, there are situations where using passive voice is helpful. Here are a few of her examples, as well as a few of my own:

When you don't want to assign or accept accountability for an action. You know who loves passive voice? Politicians. And people who have to deliver bad news. Because they can say things like, "Mistakes were made" or "Jobs have been cut" without actually admitting to making the mistakes or cutting the jobs.
When you don't know who is accountable for an action. Grammar Girl gives the example of crime reporting where the culprit is unknown. However, you may be better served by using active voice and simply referring to the culprit in non-specific terms (i.e. "the suspect", "unknown individual", "someone").
When you don't want your reader to know who the subject is. Arguably, the best example of when to use passive voice is if you are writing a mystery or suspense story. Passive voice not only keeps your reader in the dark on who is doing what, but it can also helps to set the tone of the story by keeping the focus on the action instead of the subject. The reader knows what's happening in the story, but they have no sense of who is doing it.
When you want to appear objective. Grammar Girls notes that passive language is often used when the author wants to appear objective, such as in science writing where authors want to "take themselves and their actions and opinions out of the experimental results." However, even in this context, using passive voice can do more harm than good as it often makes information more obscure and difficult to understand. Plus, there are many ways to maintain a sense of objectivity while using active voice. For example, "The results indicate … "
When you have space to fill. Passive is the voice of choice for university and college students because it allows them to say the same thing, but with twice as many words. This is a huge advantage in school settings where assignments are judged on word count as much, if not more, than content (i.e. complete a 10-page essay or a 20-page research paper.) The problem is that once students develop this habit, they don't know how to stop and instead carry their unnecessarily lengthy writing habits into the real world, where they are far less effective.

When should you should active voice?

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Only one of the above reasons to use passive voice is a good reason, and since most people are not currently working on a thriller novel, this means that you should use active voice ninety-nine per cent of the time.

Active voice is a great way to address three of the five Cs of good communication because it:

is easier to understand (clear)
enables you to say the same thing with fewer words (concise)
tells the reader who is doing what (complete)

It can also:

add energy to your writing
increase reader engagement
sound more natural or closer to the spoken word
foster a sense of accountability, honesty and integrity

Using active voice is a great way to ensure your writing is direct, which works very well in a business environment, where you're competing for attention, or when you have limited space. However, many people believe that using active writing will always result in punchy, to-the-point prose. This is a misconception.

You can still create descriptive, flowy, conversational texts using active voice. Take this random passage from The Catcher in the Rye by J.D. Salinger, for example. It's teeming with active language:

I ignored him. I really did. I went right on smoking like a madman. All I did was sort of turn over on my side and watch him cut his damn toenails. What a school. You were always watching somebody cut their damn toenails or squeeze their pimples or something.

I'll leave you with that lovely image and one gentle reminder to go forth and write actively.