Tip 711: Keeping Things Short, Part IV

From the Writing Workshops: Keeping Things Short, Part IV

Did the ancient Romans refer to intravenous tubes as “fours”? 

A return to our discussion about writing more concisely. 

Our counsel this week: Use active voice. The first in a short series. 

We talked about this eighteen months ago, but it’s important counsel. 

You’ll always write more concisely in active voice than you will in passive voice. Always.  

Wait a minute. “Active” voice? “Passive” voice? What’s that? 

“Voice” relates to who or what is doing the action of a sentence. (Not all sentences involve action: “The wagon was red,” for example, is information.) 

Active Voice: If the subject does the action, the sentence is in “active voice”: 

     “Belle wrote the report.” 

Notice how the subject, Belle, is doing the action, the writing. And notice, for conciseness’ sake, the sentence is four words long. 

Passive Voice: If the subject receives the action, the sentence is in “passive voice”: 

     “The report was written by Belle.” 

Notice how the subject, the report, is receiving the action; it’s being written. And notice, for conciseness’ sake, the passive-voice sentence is six words long. A fifty percent increase in word count.  

Use active voice as your standard. It’s more concise. It’s more conversational. It’s more direct. 

A Challenge. Identify a well-known quotation or passage in passive voice. We bet you can’t find one. Glory, laud, and honor to whoever can. 

In next week’s tip, we’ll explore three warning flags to identify passive voice.