Academic Writing: The Passive Voice: Why use it?
Insulin was first discovered in 1921 by researchers at the University of Toronto. It is still the only treatment available for diabetes. You are writing in a scientific genre that traditionally relies on passive voice. Passive voice is often preferred in lab reports and scientific research papers, most notably in the Materials and Methods section.
According to scholars, the general opinion is that the passive voice makes writing flat and insinuates evasion of responsibility in writing of any form, not just scientific writing. In fact, some scholars have actually shown that active voice was the preferred form till the beginning of the 20 th century when the trend of objectivity became favored.
The verb form “was leaving” and the verb form “left” are both past tense, but the difference is that one is passive and one is active. Active voice. Active voice is used when a writer wants the sentence to have more emphasis on the verb action and does not want the subject of the action obscured.
Printable version of Active and Passive Voice (PDF). Strong, precise verbs are fundamental to clear and engaging academic writing. However, there is a rhetorical choice to be made about whether you are going to highlight the subject that performs the action or the action itself. In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action.
Definition and examples of passive voice in English grammar. Passive voice is one of the most polarizing bad writing habits out there. Many self-proclaimed grammar snobs consider passive voice to be incorrect. Here’s the thing: passive voice isn’t actually grammatically incorrect. That being said, it’s often stylistically better to use active voice.
Impersonal style and passive verb construction. An impersonal style is often preferred for academic writing. This is because the reader will normally be more interested in the ideas themselves rather than the person writing, and use of an impersonal style allows these to be highlighted.
The key use of passive voice is to switch the order of the subject and object. It is important to have the correct backwards-linking information at the beginning of the sentence. This may require passive voice. Conclusion Generally, I prefer active voice, but I think the passive voice has its place in scientific writing.