ABSTRACT

Active.writing.motivates.your.engineering.readers..Writing.passively.takes. more.words.and.often.becomes.wordy,.roundabout,.and.confusing..You.are. using.the.passive.voice.in.a.sentence.if.the.subject.of.the.sentence.is.being. acted. upon. instead. of. acting. on. its. own.. Passive. voice. obscures. or. loses. part.of.the.substance.(i.e.,.the.actor).of.a.sentence..The.following.sentence.is. .written.in.the.active.voice:

Now,.consider. the.following.revision.of. that.sentence,.written. in.passive.voice:

When.you.use.passive.voice,.the.receiver.of.the.action.becomes.the.subject. of. the. sentence,. and. the. actor. appears. in. a. prepositional. phrase. after. the. verb..The.passive.voice.is.used.everywhere.in.the.engineering.literature,.yet. it.is.generally.more.difficult.to.use.accurately,.and.to.understand.accurately,. than.the.active.alternative.