Whether you write on a part- or full-time basis, you can benefit from becoming more familiar with an often-overlooked aspect of writing that is treated in today’s column: active and passive voice ...

"We applied an external magnetic field of 4 T while increasing the pressure to 300 kPa." or "An external magnetic field of 4 T was applied as the pressure was increased to 300 kPa." Which is the ...

In most writing, active voice is preferred. In active voice, the subject performs the action. Ex: The cow jumped over the moon. In passive voice, the subject is passive; it performs no action. The ...

Conventional wisdom about writing: "Do not use the passive voice." The passive voice, simply expressed: "B" was caused by "A." The active voice: "A" caused "B." The passive voice deadens communication ...

Upon reading "Teaching Writing to Undergrads," I was a bit dismayed by John T. Ikeda Franklin's statement on use of the passive versus active voice when writing science reports (C&EN, Oct. 30, 2006, ...

The passive voice focuses more on an action that took place and places less importance on the person who performed the action. Writers who use passive voice may cause headaches and frustration among ...

Teaching students to write in the active voice will significantly strengthen their essays because sentences written in the active voice often have much more impact than those written in the passive ...

So, you’ve gotten your graded essay back, and you weren’t exactly content with the results. Perhaps you’ve gone through the in-line comments that your GSI left you, or perhaps you’re wondering what ...

Writer Lori Mortimer has one simple rule (that's actually followed up with lots of good tips) to improve your writing: use active voice. Use the active voice. Instead of saying, "The running back was ...

Too often, many of us start to read a story in a newspaper or magazine but soon lose interest. Sometimes the opening sentence is enough to put you off, which is why the introduction to any story ...