#WHAT IS ACTIVE VOICE IN WRITING HOW TO#
#WHAT IS ACTIVE VOICE IN WRITING FREE#

And, believe it or not, active voice keeps the reader’s attention much better than does a passive voice sentence. Active voice keeps the reader’s attention. In addition, when you use fewer words, you ensure that your sentences will not become too complicated, and that the meaning therein is clear.ģ. Thus, if you are trying to convey certain concepts, or to persuade the reader, he/she will remember the ideas/arguments that you are making much easier when you present them using active voice. An ‘active voice’ gets to the point!When you write using active voice, you also use fewer words.

An ‘active voice’ sentence is easier to understand.It is very clear, concise and easy for the reader to understand an “active voice” sentence.Ģ. And, we can clearly see those issues when we first look at active voice.ġ. There are various ‘issues’ to be mindful of with passive voice. (“Sophia drove the car” would be active voice.) So What’s Wrong With Passive Voice? “The car was driven by Sophia.” This is passive voice. For example, the sentence “The car was driven” is passive voice, because the sentence does not tell the reader who did the action of driving the car. If the sentence ends with or would need to include the word by to make more sense, it is probably passive voice. There is one other simple tip that can help you identify if a sentence is active or passive voice. In a passive voice sentence, the ‘object’ becomes the subject. Thus, organizationally, in an active voice sentence, we have the subject (boy) followed by the verb (threw), followed by the object (ball). And, the ‘object’ of the sentence (the ball) is the receiver of the boy’s action (throwing). So, in the example of ‘The boy threw the ball’-‘boy’ is the subject of the sentence, and he is doing the action in the sentence…(i.e., ‘throwing’). In active voice, the subject of the sentence is doing the action, while the ‘object’ is affected by the action. You are thinking, “Say what? Huh?”Īn easier way to check to see if you are writing in active or passive voice is to ask yourself who/what is doing the ‘action’ in the sentence. the boy threw the ball), becomes the ‘subject’ in a passive voice sentence (e.g. And, in passive voice, the noun, or noun phrase, that would be the ‘object’ in an active voice sentence (e.g. Technically, passive voice is defined as a ‘grammatical construction’.

Let’s start by defining passive voice and looking at a few examples. Now usually, after I give students a detailed lecture on passive voice, several 1L’s will come up to me sheepishly, and confide that they never understood why something is ‘passive voice’. One of the most important rules in legal writing is that the writer must minimize his/her use of ‘passive voice’. It is ‘quirky’ because there are definite ‘do’s and don’ts’ which you have to remember. Students also learn that legal writing can be a ‘quirky’ subject to understand. Students quickly learn that being able to research and translate that research into written documents for the client is a very important skill that attorneys use throughout their careers. (We will discuss writing objectively and as an advocate another time.)

#WHAT IS ACTIVE VOICE IN WRITING HOW TO#

In Legal Writing, students learn how to conduct legal research, and how to write both objectively (i.e., legal memoranda) and, as an advocate (e.g., a trial brief or an appellate brief). One of the most important classes which you will take is Legal Writing. The Perils of Passive Voice in Legal WritingĪs a first-year student in law school, (1L), your schedule will include several required courses.

#WHAT IS ACTIVE VOICE IN WRITING FREE#

Free Guide on How to Succeed in Law School.

Multistate Bar Exam (MBE) Mastery Class.

Uniform Bar Exam (UBE) Services & Private Tutoring.

JD Advising’s LLM Comprehensive Bar Exam Program.

What is active voice in writing