Ever wonder why some academic papers put you to sleep faster than a 2-hour lecture after an all-nighter, while others keep you surprisingly engaged? The secret might be hiding in plain sight: it’s all about voice — active versus passive voice, to be precise.
What’s the Voice Dilemma
“The ball was thrown by John.”
“John threw the ball.”
Both sentences convey the same information, but one feels distinctly more alive than the other. If you picked the second sentence as more engaging, congratulations. You’ve just identified active voice in action.
For generations, students have been taught (passive) that academic writing should employ passive voice to sound more objective and scholarly. Many professors still believe (active) this myth. The result? Thousands of unnecessarily dull papers that obscure rather than clarify meaning.
What’s the Difference, Really?
In active voice, the subject performs the action: “Students write papers.” The structure follows our natural thought pattern: someone does something.
In passive voice, the subject receives the action: “Papers are written by students.” The natural order gets flipped, creating a subtle cognitive speed bump for readers.
One notable linguistics scholar puts it bluntly: “Passive voice isn’t inherently wrong, but it’s like salt — a little goes a long way, and too much ruins everything.”
The Passive Problem in Academia
Why has passive voice dominated academic writing for so long? Three reasons:
1. The Objectivity Illusion: Removing yourself from your writing (“It was observed that…” instead of “I observed…”) creates a façade of objectivity. But modern academic thinking increasingly recognises that perfect objectivity is impossible, and pretending otherwise is intellectually dishonest.
2. Tradition by Inertia: Academic conventions are sticky. What worked for scholars in 1923 somehow became gospel for students in 2023.
3. Responsibility Dodging: Passive voice conveniently obscures who’s responsible. “Mistakes were made” sounds better than “I made mistakes.” Politicians love this trick. The real question is “Should scholars?”
When Passive Voice Actually Works
Before you put off passive voice forever, know that it does serve legitimate purposes:
– When the actor is unknown or irrelevant: “The ancient temple was built around 1200 BCE.” (We don’t know who built it, and it doesn’t matter for this sentence.)
– When emphasising the recipient of action: “The treatment was administered to thirty patients.” (The focus is on the patients, not who gave the treatment.)
– In scientific writing — sometimes: “The solution was heated to 100°C.” (The focus is on the procedure, not the person doing it.)
Strengthening Your Writing: The Active Advantage
Active voice brings several superpowers to your academic writing:
1. Clarity: “The researcher analysed the data” immediately tells us who did what. No confusion.
2. Concision: Active voice typically uses fewer words. Compare “It was determined by the committee that the policy should be implemented” (12 words) with “The committee determined to implement the policy” (7 words).
3. Energy: Active voice creates momentum. It pulls readers through your argument rather than making them slog.
4. Accountability: Taking ownership of your ideas shows intellectual courage. “I argue” rather than “It could be argued” demonstrates conviction.
The Voice Transformation Challenge
Want to see the difference in action? Here’s a paragraph from a fictional psychology paper:
Before (Passive-Heavy):
“It was observed that anxiety levels were reduced when meditation was practiced by participants. It is suggested by these findings that stress management techniques should be incorporated into student life. The possibility of meditation rooms being established on campus should be considered by university administrators.”
After (Active-Dominant):
“Our study observed that participants who practiced meditation experienced reduced anxiety levels. These findings suggest universities should incorporate stress management techniques into student life. University administrators should consider establishing meditation rooms on campus.”
The rewritten version feels more direct, engaging, and about 20% shorter.
Practical Tips for Voice Awareness
1. The Zombie Test: If you can add “by zombies” after the verb and it makes grammatical sense, you’re using passive voice. “The experiment was conducted (by zombies)” = passive. “Researchers conducted the experiment (by zombies)” = not passive.
2. Use Writing Tools: Most word processors and tools like Grammarly or Hemingway Editor will identify passive constructions.
3. Think Actor – Action: When drafting, visualise who’s doing what and structure your sentences that way.
4. Revise Strategically: Don’t waste time eliminating every passive construction. Focus on passages where clarity and impact matter most — introductions, topic sentences, and conclusions.
Finding Your Academic Voice
The strongest academic writing doesn’t blindly follow either extreme. Instead, it makes deliberate choices about voice based on purpose, emphasis, and reader needs.
Think of active and passive voice as different tools. A good carpenter doesn’t use a hammer for everything, but they certainly use it more often than a specialised tool designed for rare situations.
As you develop as a writer, your voice choices should become less about following rules and more about crafting meaning. Your readers will thank you for it.
After all, clear writing wasn’t just appreciated by ancient scholars; it built civilizations. (See what I did there?)