Using the Active Voice
In the exercise on the previous screen, you may have noticed the change in verbs from passive in the noun-based sample to active in the verb-based sample. Note the differences between active and passive voice in the table.
Passive Voice |
Active Voice |
| Work … is being done | The country manager is working |
| Further meetings will be carried out | Both parties will meet |
| These efforts will be made with the full participation of both parties | [Both parties will meet] … and participate fully |
| … until the project goals have been achieved | … until they achieve the project goals |
Passive voice is another characteristic of bureaucratic style. Like noun-based writing, overusing the passive tends to sap documents of any sense of action.
There are times when the passive voice is appropriate, but writers tend to overuse it or use it unnecessarily. In order to keep your sentences direct and concise, you should review your writing for the use of the passive voice. If you find that you have written most of your sentences in the passive, then you have probably used it too much and need to find more economical, action-oriented ways of expressing yourself.