All Actions Aren’t Active: The purposeful use of the passive voice Sean Ruday ATEG 2017

Big questions Why is the passive voice so vilified but also so widely used? Is it just bad writing, or is there another reason? Are the active and passive voices both important tools for effective writing?

AGENDA Passive voice overview Toolkit connection Public apologies Connections to literature and student writing Examples from literature Interactive applications Instructional recommendations Student work Exit question

Passive voice: Major key or nah?

The toolkit approach Concepts As Tools Meta- cognition Mentor Texts Application Reflection

This tool in action: Public apologies

“mistakes were made” Create a sentence in the passive voice containing “mistakes were made”

Ronald Reagan (1987) “And certainly it was not wrong to try to secure freedom for our citizens held in barbaric captivity. But we did not achieve what we wished, and serious mistakes were made in trying to do so.”

Bill Clinton (1997) “Mistakes were made here by people who either did it deliberately or inadvertently.”

David Cameron (2011) “Yes of course mistakes were made and of course you know what happened at Guantanamo Bay, there were mistakes made.”

See for yourself! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gjLOayFi5-w

Connections to literature and student writing Emphasis Action Agent

Published sentences in their original and opposite voices

Sentence in active voice Changed to passive voice Your analysis of the differences A recent tornado damaged the town hall. The town hall was damaged by a recent tornado. The sentence in the active voice puts more emphasis on the tornado, while the sentence in the passive voice puts more emphasis on the town hall. If you wanted readers to pay more attention to the tornado, you would use the active voice. However, if you wanted readers to focus more on the fact that the town hall was recently damaged, you’d use the passive voice.

Your turn Sentence in active voice Changed to passive voice Your analysis of the differences

Published sentence Sentence’s voice Changed to a new voice Explanation of differences

Instructional Recommendations 1) Show students published examples of the active and passive voices 2) Discuss with students how each sentence would be different if it was written in the other voice 3) Ask students to work in groups to create sentences in the active voice, change them into the passive voice, and reflect on the differences between these sentences 4) Ask students to work independently to create paragraphs that use the active voice and then rewrite those paragraphs with the active voice sentences changed to passive 5) Have students reflect on why authors use the active and passive voices

Example of middle school student work

Example of middle school student work

“How do you use the active and passive voices outside of school?” “I use both. I might say something like ‘The Redskins were defeated by the Giants,’ which is in the passive voice, or I might say ‘[The Redskins’ quarterback] threw a game winning- touchdown,’ which is in the active. It depends on what I want to emphasize.”

Two things to try… If you hear a passive voice statement, ask yourself, “Who is the agent? Why did the speaker choose to deemphasize this agent?” Try to turn that passive voice sentence into an active voice sentence and consider how those sentences are different.

Exit question Why are both the active and passive voices important tools for effective writing?