Use The Active Voice
Lesson from "The Elements of Style" by William Strunk Jr.
Active voice = A sentence construction where the subject performs the action.
In other words, a straightforward order of subject, verb, and object.
The active voice is usually more direct and vigorous than the passive voice.
Let’s compare active vs. passive voice:
Active Voice: “The team completed the project.”
The subject acts within the sentence
Passive Voice: "The project was completed by the team.”
The subject is acted upon within the sentence
The active voice invites clarity and directness into your sentences. Readers are able to follow your story more easily. It should be used most of the time.
Remember: the passive voice is less direct, less bold, and less concise.
However, the writer should never entirely discard the passive voice. It is frequently convenient and sometimes necessary.
The need to make a particular word the subject of the sentences will often, as in the below examples, determine which voice is to be used:
Active Voice: “The dramatists of the Restoration are little esteemed today.”
The preferred form in a paragraph on the dramatists of the restoration.
Passive Voice: "Modern readers have little esteem for the dramatists of the restoration.”
The preferred form in a paragraph on the tastes of modern readers.
Let’s close with some more examples of sentences made stronger by active voice, as opposed to passive. Note that when a sentence is made stronger, it usually becomes shorter.
Active: Dead leaves covered the ground.
Passive: There were a great number of dead leaves lying on the ground.
Active: Failing health compelled him to leave college.
Passive: The reason he left college was that his health became impaired.
Active: She soon repented her words.
Passive: It was not long before she was very sorry that she had said what she had.
This was a lesson from ‘The Elements of Style’ by William Strunk Jr.
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