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Active and Passive Voice

In most of the writing you will do, you will want to use the active voice. Documents that are written in passive voice tend to be scientific in nature. They can be unclear and cause confusion. Unless otherwise preferred for your type of position, you should aim for using active voice when writing your documents.



In passive voice, the subject is acted upon. In active voice, the subject clearly is performing an action. Active voice is considered direct, personal, and clear. Passive voice can often hide important details. In active voice, the subject is doing something (e.g., cleaning, cooking, writing, walking, etc.). You need your writing to be doing something, which means that the verb needs to be active. When writing the sentences, keep in mind that the subject (doer) comes first and is performing the action (verb).

Active voice examples:
Lisa paints the room.

Donna makes breakfast.

Lisa washes the car.

Passive voice examples:
This room is painted by Lisa.

Breakfast is made by Donna.

The car is being washed by Lisa.

Being Too Wordy

There is a tendency by some people to add fluff or flowery language or to be too wordy with their writing. Regardless of what term you use to refer to it, you should try to avoid it. Adding in words that are not necessary makes a document too wordy. When you are editing your work, you may notice that in removing some of these words the sentence still stands alone and may even become more concise. Here are some commonly used unnecessary words that can be trimmed out of your document to keep it from being too wordy:


This all may seem like a lot to think about when you sit down to write something. However, the more you write, the more it will become a part of your writing process.



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