32 Outcome: Voice

Critique the use of both active and passive voices

Voice is a nebulous term in writing. It can refer to the general “feel” of the writing, or it can be used in a more technical sense. In this course, we will focus on the latter sense as we discuss active and passive voice.

You’ve probably heard of the passive voice—perhaps in a comment from an English teacher or in the grammar checker of a word processor. In both of these instances, you were (likely) guided away from the passive voice. Why is this the case? Why is the passive voice so hated? After all, it’s been used twice on this page already (three times now).

In this outcome, we’ll learn about active and passive voices, their construction, and their correct use.

What You Will Learn to Do

• Critique the use of active voice
• Critique the use of passive voice