Active and Passive Voice in Writing

Use of Passive and Active Voice
 
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
1
Steps in this tutorial
1) State the goals of this tutorial
2) What are active and passive voice
3) Examples of active and passive voice
4) How they differ
5) How we use them in psychology writing
6) How to change passive to active voice
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
2
Goal
To explain what active and passive voice are in
writing
To explain why active voice is usually the
better choice for science writing
To help you learn how to write with active
voice instead of passive voice
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
3
Objectives
By the end of this tutorial you should be able
to
Articulate what passive and active voice are
Recognize them in writing
Understand how we use them in psychology
writing
Change passive voice phrasing to active voice in
your own writing
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
4
What are Active and Passive voice?
Active and passive voice refers to whether the
subject or the object in the sentence performs
the action of the verb
In active voice the 
subject
 performs the action
of the verb
In passive voice the 
object
 performs the
action of the verb
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
5
Active Voice
The subject performs the action of the verb
Example:
The student presented the talk.
The subject
The action of the verb
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
6
Active Voice
The subject performs the action of the verb
Example:
The article summarized the research
The subject
The action of the verb
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
7
Passive Voice
The object performs the action of the verb
The talk was presented by the student
The object
The action of the verb
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
8
Passive Voice
The object performs the action of the verb
Example:
The research was summarized by the article
The object
The action of the verb
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
9
How do Active and Passive voice
Differ?
The examples just shown are the same in
terms of what actually happens
In both cases the student did the presenting
In both cases the article did the summarizing
So how are they different?
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
10
How do Active and Passive Voice
Differ?
Active voice is direct
The subject directly acts on the object
The tone is clear and immediate
As if you throw a ball directly at a target
The target gets 
all
 the force of the ball
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
11
Active Voice
 
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
12
How do Active and Passive voice
differ?
Passive voice is indirect
The subject is acted ON by the object
The tone is roundabout
As if you bounce a ball off a wall to hit a target
The wall and the target 
both
 get some of the force
of the ball
So the impact is not as strong or clear
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
13
Passive Voice
 
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
14
Using Active and Passive Voice in
Psychology Writing
APA recommends the use of active rather than
passive voice
Good writing usually uses both active and passive
voice
Active voice is very direct, so if you use it all the
time, the reader may feel a bit like she is being
hollered at
Passive voice is indirect, so if you use it all the
time the reader will have a hard time following
your argument
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
15
Using Active and Passive Voice in
Psychology Writing
Psychology writing is objective
Writing should be clear
We don’t want to make the reader work too
hard
If you aren’t certain which voice to use, you
are probably better off choosing active voice,
rather than passive voice.
But it is ideal if you can use some of each
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
16
Changing Passive to Active Voice-
Example
Here is a bad example of using passive voice in
a psychology paper
Depression has been researched by scientists for
decades.
There is no reason to use passive voice, it
makes the sentence harder to follow.  A
preferred version uses active voice:
Scientists have researched depression for
decades.
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
17
Changing Passive to Active Voice-
Example 2
Here is a 2
nd
 bad example of using passive
voice in a psychology paper
Surveys were handed out to participants by
research assistants.
This sentence makes the research process
sound rather mysterious.  A preferred version
uses active voice:
Research assistants handed surveys out to the
participants.
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
18
Summary
This tutorial presented and explained the
differences between active and passive voice
in writing
It explained why active voice is generally
preferred
And noted that APA recommends the use of active
voice
It gave examples of how to change typical
sentences from passive to active voice
Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of
Psychology, University of Massachusetts,
Lowell
19
Slide Note
Embed
Share

Active and passive voice are two important concepts in writing that determine whether the subject or object performs the action of the verb. This tutorial by Alice Frye, Ph.D., explains the goals, differences, and applications of active and passive voice in psychology writing. By the end of the tutorial, you'll be able to recognize, understand, and make use of both voices effectively.

  • Writing
  • Grammar
  • Active Voice
  • Passive Voice
  • Psychology

Uploaded on Sep 17, 2024 | 0 Views


Download Presentation

Please find below an Image/Link to download the presentation.

The content on the website is provided AS IS for your information and personal use only. It may not be sold, licensed, or shared on other websites without obtaining consent from the author. Download presentation by click this link. If you encounter any issues during the download, it is possible that the publisher has removed the file from their server.

E N D

Presentation Transcript


  1. Use of Passive and Active Voice Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 1

  2. Steps in this tutorial 1) State the goals of this tutorial 2) What are active and passive voice 3) Examples of active and passive voice 4) How they differ 5) How we use them in psychology writing 6) How to change passive to active voice Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 2

  3. Goal To explain what active and passive voice are in writing To explain why active voice is usually the better choice for science writing To help you learn how to write with active voice instead of passive voice Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 3

  4. Objectives By the end of this tutorial you should be able to Articulate what passive and active voice are Recognize them in writing Understand how we use them in psychology writing Change passive voice phrasing to active voice in your own writing Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 4

  5. What are Active and Passive voice? Active and passive voice refers to whether the subject or the object in the sentence performs the action of the verb In active voice the subject performs the action of the verb In passive voice the object performs the action of the verb Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 5

  6. Active Voice The subject performs the action of the verb Example: The student presented the talk. The subject The action of the verb Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 6

  7. Active Voice The subject performs the action of the verb Example: The article summarized the research The subject The action of the verb Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 7

  8. Passive Voice The object performs the action of the verb The talk was presented by the student The action of the verb The object Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 8

  9. Passive Voice The object performs the action of the verb Example: The research was summarized by the article The object The action of the verb Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 9

  10. How do Active and Passive voice Differ? The examples just shown are the same in terms of what actually happens In both cases the student did the presenting In both cases the article did the summarizing So how are they different? Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 10

  11. How do Active and Passive Voice Differ? Active voice is direct The subject directly acts on the object The tone is clear and immediate As if you throw a ball directly at a target The target gets all the force of the ball Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 11

  12. Active Voice Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 12

  13. How do Active and Passive voice differ? Passive voice is indirect The subject is acted ON by the object The tone is roundabout As if you bounce a ball off a wall to hit a target The wall and the target both get some of the force of the ball So the impact is not as strong or clear Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 13

  14. Passive Voice Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 14

  15. Using Active and Passive Voice in Psychology Writing APA recommends the use of active rather than passive voice Good writing usually uses both active and passive voice Active voice is very direct, so if you use it all the time, the reader may feel a bit like she is being hollered at Passive voice is indirect, so if you use it all the time the reader will have a hard time following your argument Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 15

  16. Using Active and Passive Voice in Psychology Writing Psychology writing is objective Writing should be clear We don t want to make the reader work too hard If you aren t certain which voice to use, you are probably better off choosing active voice, rather than passive voice. But it is ideal if you can use some of each Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 16

  17. Changing Passive to Active Voice- Example Here is a bad example of using passive voice in a psychology paper Depression has been researched by scientists for decades. There is no reason to use passive voice, it makes the sentence harder to follow. A preferred version uses active voice: Scientists have researched depression for decades. Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 17

  18. Changing Passive to Active Voice- Example 2 Here is a 2nd bad example of using passive voice in a psychology paper Surveys were handed out to participants by research assistants. This sentence makes the research process sound rather mysterious. A preferred version uses active voice: Research assistants handed surveys out to the participants. Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 18

  19. Summary This tutorial presented and explained the differences between active and passive voice in writing It explained why active voice is generally preferred And noted that APA recommends the use of active voice It gave examples of how to change typical sentences from passive to active voice Created by Alice Frye, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, University of Massachusetts, Lowell 19

More Related Content

giItT1WQy@!-/#giItT1WQy@!-/#