What exactly is the passive voice, and why is it such a big deal in business writing? If it’s such a bad thing, why do people use it, and how can you avoid it in your own writing?

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 ...

People who give advice on copywriting often say, “Avoid using the passive voice.” This universal statement is not always correct but, more importantly, it is often confusing because most of us ...

Passive: “The treaty was signed by two generals.” Active: “Two generals signed the treaty.” In Modern English, New York University’s Marcella Frank provides a more academic treatment: “The active ...

Strunk’s passive voice example My first visit to Boston will always be remembered by me is admittedly awful. The problem, though, isn’t about the sentence being less direct or bold, as he claims.

Essayists, poets, and literary writers also use the passive voice to make certain points, to build suspense, and to develop the point of view of their narrators. To emphasize the object.

He described everything in the active voice until he reached "where they were shot." He was an illiterate man from rural South Carolina, who surely had never heard of the passive voice.

The passive voice: despised by teachers, maligned by editors, and misunderstood by almost everyone. For over a century, this ...