The Passive Engineer Article by Professional Training Company Presentation by Judith Faucette

Introduction  What are some reasons for using passive voice?  What is passive voice?  When do we use passive voice?  When do we not use passive voice?  What are some reasons for using passive voice?  What is passive voice?  When do we use passive voice?  When do we not use passive voice?

Reasons for Passive Voice  “The passive sounds objective”  Professionals want to be objective, so they use the passive voice to provide distance from their statements and lend truth.  This is unsound reasoning, however, because objectivity should come from the methods used in a professional’s work, not the language used to describe it.  “The passive sounds objective”  Professionals want to be objective, so they use the passive voice to provide distance from their statements and lend truth.  This is unsound reasoning, however, because objectivity should come from the methods used in a professional’s work, not the language used to describe it.

Reasons for Passive Voice  “Using ‘I’ or ‘We’ sounds unprofessional”  Professors sometimes claim that the first person is unprofessional and the passive voice is the best alternative.  This is unsound reasoning because professors actually discourage first person to avoid tedious writing; using active voice lends responsibility to writing and avoids writing that glosses over mistakes  “Using ‘I’ or ‘We’ sounds unprofessional”  Professors sometimes claim that the first person is unprofessional and the passive voice is the best alternative.  This is unsound reasoning because professors actually discourage first person to avoid tedious writing; using active voice lends responsibility to writing and avoids writing that glosses over mistakes

Reasons for Passive Voice  “The passive emphasises results”  Passive voice is appropriate in professional reports because it emphasises the results, rather than the subject  Using active voice may place inappropriate emphasis, for example, on the researcher as opposed to the study  “The passive emphasises results”  Passive voice is appropriate in professional reports because it emphasises the results, rather than the subject  Using active voice may place inappropriate emphasis, for example, on the researcher as opposed to the study

What is Passive Voice?  In a passive sentence, the object (of the active sentence) becomes the subject  Passive voice uses an auxiliary verb (form of “to be”) and a past participle  The actor is either omitted or joined by a preposition  Example: “We washed the car” becomes “The car was washed (by us.)”  In a passive sentence, the object (of the active sentence) becomes the subject  Passive voice uses an auxiliary verb (form of “to be”) and a past participle  The actor is either omitted or joined by a preposition  Example: “We washed the car” becomes “The car was washed (by us.)”

When do we use passive voice?  To emphasise results  Example: “Our clients followed our advice” versus “Our advice was followed”  When an actor is not needed  Actor is unknown  Actor is unimportant  Actor does not wish to be stated  To emphasise results  Example: “Our clients followed our advice” versus “Our advice was followed”  When an actor is not needed  Actor is unknown  Actor is unimportant  Actor does not wish to be stated

When do we not use passive voice?  When writing instructions  Passive voice can make it unclear who should do what in a set of instructions.  When “it” is the subject  Constructions such as “it should be noted that” give no actual information.  When writing instructions  Passive voice can make it unclear who should do what in a set of instructions.  When “it” is the subject  Constructions such as “it should be noted that” give no actual information.

Conclusion  Use passive voice for results or when the actor is not needed  Don’t use passive voice in instructions, when “it” is the subject, or to avoid responsibility  Don’t rely on the grammar checker! Look at individual cases to make a choice  Use passive voice for results or when the actor is not needed  Don’t use passive voice in instructions, when “it” is the subject, or to avoid responsibility  Don’t rely on the grammar checker! Look at individual cases to make a choice