THE PASSIVE ENGINEER By Bill H., PE Presented by Obinna Okadigbo

OVERVIEW  Why do engineers write in the passive voice?  When and how to use the passive voice.  Conclusion

WHY DO ENGINEERS WRITE IN THE PASSIVE VOICE?  3 reasons engineers rely on the passive voice are:  The passive voice sounds objective  Using the words “I” and “we” sounds unprofessional  The passive emphasizes results

The Passive voice sounds Objective  Engineers and not only engineers value objectivity. They do not want their data or finding to be criticized or prejudiced. They want to be as unbiased as possible. They try as much as possible to generalize their points rather than the information just being based on their own opinions.

Using words “I” and “we” sounds Unprofessional  Many engineers have been scolded in the past by their teachers at school for using the words “I” or “we”. According to the experience they got from their professors at school, it is unprofessional to refer to yourself “ever” when making a point.

THE PASSIVE EMPHASIZES RESULTS  The nature of scientific and technical report writing often requires using the passive voice. Professional reports emphasize results and the objects of actions. The actor (who produced the results or acted on the object) is less important. Without the passive construction, report writers would emphasize the wrong information.

WHEN AND HOW TO USE THE PASSIVE VOICE  3 guidelines for using the passive voice are to know  What the passive construction is?  When is it alright to be passive?  When is the passive voice the wrong choice?

WHAT IS THE PASSIVE CONSTRUCTION?  The passive construction inverts the active word order to emphasize what happened, rather than who did it.  Example: “I repaired the computer” (Active voice ) “The computer was repaired (Passive) “The computer was repaired (Passive)

WHEN IS IT ALRIGHT TO BE PASSIVE?  When you want to emphasize Results  When the sentence does not need an actor.

WHEN YOU WANT TO EMPHASIZE RESULTS  In this case, there’s no penalty if you write a sentence in either the passive or active voice. It all depends on what you wish to emphasize or something you want to give importance to.  Example: “Our clients followed our advice” (Active) “Our clients followed our advice” (Active) “Our advice was followed (passive) “Our advice was followed (passive)

WHEN THE SENTENCE DOES NOT NEED AN ACTOR  Examples:  When the actor is not important  When the actor is unknown  When you do not wish to name the actor

WHEN IS THE PASSIVE THE WRONG CHOICE  When you write instructions:  Examples: “The form must be signed by the employee to authorize release of physician information to the insurance company” “The form must be signed by the employee to authorize release of physician information to the insurance company” “The employee must sign form to authorize release of physician information to the insurance company. “The employee must sign form to authorize release of physician information to the insurance company.

Continued  When “it” is the subject of the passive verb:  In this case, it’s best to just write in the active voice. If your talking about something in which the subject is the actor, you want to specifically identify what that subject is and not refer to him/her as “it”. Example:  It is recommended that this new policy be instituted at once (Passive)  We recommend instituting this new policy at once. (active)

CONCLUSION  All in all, using the passive word is not bad but it all depends on how you use it and when your supposed to use it.