WHAT IS PASSIVE VOICE?
I describe passive voice as, "That thing that writers do that makes their prose seem lackadaisical and wordy" - two things that writing should never be. Here are some examples of passive voice.
- "The pie was made by Sheldon."
- "The entire house was painted by Tom."
- "The questions, made by the students, are always answered by the teacher."
Sentences written in the passive voice usually begin with the subject and end in the predicate. Here are some examples.
- The pie (subject noun) was made (predicate verb) by Sheldon.
- The entire house (subject noun) was painted (predicate verb) by Tom.
- The questions (subject noun), made by the students, are always answered (predicate verb) by the teacher.
Inexperienced writers may think that making their sentence last as long as possible will give the illusion that they're not inexperienced. Those writers don't realize that this is a dead giveaway of their inexperience. I'll assume that we all know what passive voice is at this point.
WHAT IS ACTION VOICE?
I'll describe Action Voice as clear, direct, to the point, not wordy, and that thing that good writers do to make their readers feel involved. It makes the writing seem appealing, whereas passive voice achieves the opposite and makes the prose seem unattractive. I converted the above examples to action voice.
- "Sheldon made the pie."
- "Tom painted the entire house."
- "The teacher always answers the student's questions."
These sentences are shorter and more to the point. They don't run in circles attempting to catch your attention, they grab your attention by being active. Sentences that begin, or at least have it come first, with the predicate and have the subject come second are usually written in action voice.
- Sheldon made (predicate verb) the pie (subject noun).
- Tom painted (predicate verb) the entire house (subject noun).
- The teacher always answers (predicate verb) the student's questions (subject noun).
Writers with more experience know that readers don't want to run in circles to finally see the point, they write shorter, more involved, sentences in the action voice. This keeps your writers interested in whatever it is that your writing about, as compared to making them bored.
HOW DO I PREVENT THIS FROM RUINING MY WRITING?
Frankly, I proofread. Proof reading is essentially editing your own work. Go back and read through it a few times, edit grammar, tense, passive voice, and anything else wrong with it. Look for passive voice when you re-read a sentence.
If you're not sure about a sentence that you've written, identify the subject and predicate. If the subject is first, then chances are that your sentence is written in passive voice. The bottom line is - no one likes passive voice as a reader. Your goal is to keep readers interested and feeling involved. Keep those readers involved! Use action voice in your writing!
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