This handout is also available for download in PDF format. We refer to a sentence as being in the "active voice" when the subject is performing the action of the sentence (the verb). A sentence is in ...

Whether you write on a part- or full-time basis, you can benefit from becoming more familiar with an often-overlooked aspect of writing that is treated in today’s column: active and passive voice ...

Even when you think you’ve got a handle on grammar, you might not realize how easy it is easy to unwittingly venture into lexical territory that would rile your freshman year English teacher.

This tip on improving your SAT score was provided by Vivian Kerr at Veritas Prep. What does it mean when we say sentences on the SAT should be “active”? A sentence is “active” when the subject of the ...

So, you’ve gotten your graded essay back, and you weren’t exactly content with the results. Perhaps you’ve gone through the in-line comments that your GSI left you, or perhaps you’re wondering what ...

The passive voice focuses more on an action that took place and places less importance on the person who performed the action. Writers who use passive voice may cause headaches and frustration among ...

Of all the technical advice I offer writers, none is more controversial than encouragement to use the passive voice. Most writers prefer the active, and so do I. But that preference has been distorted ...

If your resume is full of phrases like "was responsible for ...", then you're using the passive voice. A lot of people make this mistake. If you want a stronger resume, you need to replace the passive ...

How to find and rewrite instances of passive voice in your Microsoft Word documents Your email has been sent Passive speech is awkward and sometimes hard to understand. Let Word find your passive ...

Both sentence pairs make sense. Both describe the same facts. However, in each pair one sentence uses the active voice and one uses the passive voice. Which sentence would you use? That would depend ...