What is Active vs. Passive Voice and When to Use It in Essays?

📚 What is Active Voice?

Active voice is when the subject performs the action. It's direct and clear. The subject is doing something.

• ✍️ Structure: Subject + Verb + Object (e.g., The dog chased the ball.)
• 🎯 Focus: The subject performing the action.
• 🗣️ Example: The student wrote the essay.

📖 What is Passive Voice?

Passive voice is when the subject receives the action. The action is being done to the subject. It can sometimes sound less direct.

• 🏗️ Structure: Object + Verb 'to be' + Past Participle + (by + Subject) (e.g., The ball was chased by the dog.)
• 🔦 Focus: The action being performed or the object receiving the action.
• 📝 Example: The essay was written by the student.

🆚 Active vs. Passive Voice: A Comparison

💡 When to Use Active Voice in Essays

• ✅ General Writing: Use active voice for most of your essay to make it clear and engaging.
• 💪 Showing Agency: When you want to emphasize who is doing what, active voice is best.
• 🚀 Directness: Active voice creates a more direct and impactful statement.

🤔 When to Use Passive Voice in Essays

• 🕵️ Unknown Actor: When you don't know who performed the action (e.g., "The window was broken.").
• 🎭 Emphasis on Action: When the action is more important than the actor (e.g., "Mistakes were made.").
• 🧪 Scientific Writing: Often used in scientific reports to maintain objectivity (e.g., "The experiment was conducted...").

🔑 Key Takeaways

• 🎯 Active voice is generally preferred for clarity and directness.
• ⚙️ Passive voice has specific uses, especially when the actor is unknown or the action is more important.
• 💡 Choose the voice that best suits your purpose and context.