One in a series of writing tips.
A boss once asked me to recommend improvements to our operations. I labored for weeks and produced a report of nearly 100 pages of (I thought) fine text.
I asked a colleague to read the report before I gave it to my boss.
And was glad I did.
My text was clean, but my colleague marked dozens of sentences I’d written in passive voice. Chastened, I changed most to active voice.
I knew better – and still failed to follow this advice as old as middle school grammar classes. You’ve surely heard it:
Passive-voice sentences drip with limp wordiness: The bone was chewed by the dog. The road was crossed by the chicken.
Active-voice sentences drive forward with energy: The dog chewed the bone. The chicken crossed the road.
It’s spaghetti noodle versus spear.
Here’s the grammar, if it helps. Active-voice sentences use Subject–Verb–Direct Object constructions.
Or: the Giver of Action (dog) comes first, then the Verb (chewed), then the Object Being Acted Upon (bone).
In writing, noodles occasionally do the job.
But active-voice spears usually do it better.
Yoda begs to differ.
But being active can make your sentences stronger and your paragraphs simpler.
Failed that one, I did.