Andrew's Digital Garden

Using an active voice to make your writing better

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

Why?

  1. Easier to read and parse
  2. Removes ambiguity around who needs to do what
  3. Encourages you to be more specific
  4. Makes it clearer who is doing what

How to change from passive voice to an active voice:

  1. Find the action of the sentence
  2. Find the subject of the sentence
  3. Put the subject before the action
  4. Put the object where it belongs

Some examples (passive to active): "The children (object) were instructed (action) by the teacher (subject)" -> "The teacher instructed the children" "Icons can be used with this button, instead of a text label." -> "You can use an icon with this button, instead of a text label." "Contributions are reviewed against the component acceptance criteria." -> "The design system team reviews contributions against the component acceptance criteria."

https://amyhupe.co.uk/articles/use-active-language/

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Using an active voice to make your writing better