I’m trying to make this post as clear as possible without getting bogged down in the grammarly details. Typically you should use the active voice as much as possible when you’re writing. Here’s an example:
Active: I created this painting in my studio.
Passive: This painting was created by me in my studio.
See how the first example is more concise and clear? Ok, you probably wouldn’t actually think of using the second example so let me continue.
Consider who is doing what. People are often wary of using “I”s, for instance:
I won the Club’s Excellence Award
as opposed to:
The Club awarded me the Excellence Award.
because they think it sounds egotistical. But that “I” issue aside, the first is stronger and more confident.
It’s not a rule that you must use active voice all the time, nor is the passive voice always incorrect, but you need to distinguish when to use each. A hint is if it sounds cumbersome or feels unwieldy you probably want to use the active voice.
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