 What are the active and passive voices?  Why does it matter for my writing?  When should I use each one most effectively?  Visit the YouTube Channel (UBC Science Writing)YouTube

By the end of these in-class activities, you should be able to: 1. Determine whether sentences are written in the active or passive voice 1. Re-write given sentences in the opposite style of voice 2. Decide which style of voice is more appropriate for certain situations

 Refresh yourselves about the differences between sentences written in the active and passive voice  Read the introduction on your worksheets, and pay special attention to the ‘handy hint’  Remember to think about whether the action in the sentence is being performed by the subject (ACTIVE), or if it is being performed on the subject, which is effectively doing nothing (PASSIVE)

 For each of the five sentences below, identify the verb before also identifying the subject and object. Then use this information to decide whether the sentence is written in the active or passive voice. You can work alone or with a partner in this activity. 1. Over 60 million years ago, a very large meteorite crashed into Earth. 2. The exact location of the impact is still debated by some scientists. 3. However, most experts think the crash site is in Mexico. 4. The extinction of the dinosaurs is attributed by many palaeontologists to the impact. 5. Dinosaurs would have been affected by sudden changes in temperature, and meteorologists recently showed that the earth’s climate changed considerably at this time.

 1. The mice were kept in controlled conditions by the experimenters before they were removed from their cages and placed on an exercise wheel.  2. Each mouse was weighed by the same experimenters before and after it was placed on the exercise wheel.  3. After 12 weeks had passed, each mouse was randomly placed in one of two treatment groups; in all cases, a dice was rolled by an experimenter for each mouse and if it landed on an even number the mouse was placed in the group that received a pill.  4. If the dice landed on an odd number, the mouse was placed in the treatment group that received a placebo, which was designed by the research team to look like the pill.  5. Following another 12 weeks in their different treatment groups, each mouse was weighed again by the experimenters and average weight gain (g) was calculated by using a calculator.

 Verb = red, subject = black, object = blue 1: Over 60 million years ago, a very large meteorite crashed into Earth = ACTIVE 2: The exact location of the impact is still debated by some scientists = PASSIVE 3: However, most experts think the crash site is in Mexico = ACTIVE 4: The extinction of the dinosaurs is attributed by many palaeontologists to the impact = PASSIVE 5: Dinosaurs would have been affected by sudden changes in temperature, and meteorologists recently showed that the earth’s climate changed considerably at this time = PASSIVE, ACTIVE

 Please note these re-written sentences are suggested answers only; the important thing is that you used the active voice and fewer words.  Original sentences = regular font, re-written versions = bold font. 1:The mice were kept in controlled conditions by the experimenters before they were removed from their cages and placed on an exercise wheel. 1:Experimenters kept the mice in controlled cage conditions before placing them on an exercise wheel (eight fewer words) 2:Each mouse was weighed by the same experimenters before and after it was placed on the exercise wheel. 2:The same experimenters weighed mice before and after placing them on the exercise wheel (four fewer words).

3: After 12 weeks had passed, each mouse was randomly placed in one of two treatment groups; in all cases, a die was rolled by an experimenter for each mouse and if it landed on an even number the mouse was placed in the group that received a pill. 3: After 12 weeks, experimenters randomly placed each mouse in one of two treatment groups; experimenters rolled a die and when it landed on an even number they placed the mouse in a group that received a pill. (11 fewer words) 4: If the die landed on an odd number, the mouse was placed in the treatment group that received a placebo, which was designed by the research team to look like the pill. 4: When experimenters rolled an odd number they placed mice in the group that received a placebo they had designed to look like the pill. (eight fewer words)

5: Following another 12 weeks in their different treatment groups, each mouse was weighed again by the experimenters and average weight gain (g) was calculated by using a calculator. 5: After 12 more weeks, experimenters weighed each mouse and used a calculator to assess average weight gain (g). (10 fewer words)

Please continue to work through Activities on your worksheets, and stick to time. Completing these activities will help you become much more comfortable with the active and passive voice. The goal of these activities is to: 1. Make you more comfortable in writing any sentence in either the active or passive voice 2. Make you more proficient in identifying whether sentences written by someone else are written in the active or passive voice 3.Make you appreciate that either the active or passive voice can be more appropriate for certain sentences (and that sometimes it is only when you see both versions that this jumps out at you)