Passive Voice Misuse: A Writer's Guide to Clarity

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Passive voice is a grammatical construction widely used in many forms of writing, especially in scientific writing or when the doer is unknown. However, using it excessively can lead to less clear and impactful sentences. Passive voice misuse is often seen in creative tasks like essays and blogs, which makes the sentences less clear. They lose their essence and sound less direct, which makes them hard to follow. Now, one must wonder What is passive voice misuse? Read the next point to understand this term in detail.

What Is Passive Voice Misuse And How To Fix It?

 So, the question remains: What is passive voice misuse? To put it simply, it occurs when the sentence uses a more complicated structure, like when the action word is placed before the subject, which is entirely unnecessary. This then results in unclear, very wordy, and indirect writing. For instance,  "The task was completed by John" is in the passive voice, whereas "John completed the task" is more direct and concise.

Passive voice misuse occurs when the passive construction overpowers the meaning, which can weaken the overall text. Although it is helpful in certain writing styles, if it brings uncertainty in the tone, it hinders the idea. Hence, by minimizing its misuse, one can form more effective sentences. Now, after understanding the Passive voice misuse meaning, Let's move on to how to locate this error.

How to Identify Passive Voice Misuse?

Now, to identify the misuse, one has to know What is passive voice misuse in writing. It is an important step that helps in improving clarity and makes the writing more apt. Let's see how one can locate it:

• Understand The Structure 

To locate the passive voice misuse, start by understanding the sentence structure. A sentence becomes passive when it receives the action rather than performing it. If a sentence includes verb forms like "to be" followed by a past participle.

• Check The Subject-Verb Relationship

 In a passive sentence, the subject receives the action, and in an active voice, it acts. So, by checking for minor changes in sentence formation, one can identify passive voice misuse.

• Look For "By" Phases

A lot of passive sentences include a "by" phrase that shows who acted. In this sentence, "The bread was baked by Mira," if we remove it, the sentence structure becomes unclear. Which is a sign that it is a passive sentence.

• Test With Rewriting

The other way is to try and convert the sentence to active voice. So, doing this can determine if the meaning gets clearer and more straightforward. From "Rules were set by the leaders" to "The leaders made the rules", here the second one sounds more clear.

•  Read It Out Loud

Sometimes, simply reading the sentence out loud, one can determine if it is passive or not. This way, one can locate any awkward phrasing or lack of clarity in any sentence. Further, Sometimes phrasing someone's sentence can lead to unintentional plagiarism, therefore, it is best to use a plagiarism checker tool for such purposes.

• Use Editing Tools 

Many popular online tools and websites offer to convert passive sentences to active ones. Many times, these are free of charge and easy to use. This can help save time while giving correct answers.

So, these are a few ways to identify the misuse of passive voice. These also make the sentences more apparent and the meaning more straightforward. Further, you can use an online paraphrasing tool to add clarity to the work. It is important to simplify the writing, and to do that, one has to locate the error.  Now, let's move on to understanding How to correct passive voice misuse.

How to Fix Passive Voice Misuse?

After covering passive voice misuse meaning, learn how to fix it. By doing this one can improve the overall quality of the writing and make it more engaging. Here are a few points that can help rewrite passive sentences into more clear ones.

• Rearrange The Structure

To fix passive voice misuse, start by properly structuring the sentence. Place the subject at the beginning of the sentence. This way, it sounds more direct and straightforward. So instead of "The story was narrated by Miha," rewrite it as "Miha narrated the story." This way, the point becomes more impactful and straightforward for the readers to understand.

•  Practice Active Wiring

To avoid fixing the sentences later, stick to an active voice while writing. Use verbs that make it look like the subject is acting. And by regularly practicing this form one can naturally use a more active voice in the text. Look for Examples of assignments to understand the idea better.

• Locate The Doer

If there is no subject in the sentence look for the ”who” or “what” is performing the task. For example, "The rules were made" can be changed to "The leader made the rules." This way the sentence becomes clearer and makes complete sense.

• Simplify

Passive sentences are often too complicated and longer than usual. The way to tackle this is by removing the extra words from the sentence. For example, "The issue was addressed by the leader" rewrite it as "The leaders addressed the issue." This is the best tip for knowing how to get rid of passive voice misuse. Short sentences are way easier to read and understand.

• Evaluate Context

Often, the passive voice is necessary in the sentence. In scientific writing, it helps in forming a sentence when the doer is unknown. So, before changing it, try to understand its purpose. If it does not serve any purpose, switch to an active voice in the sentence.

Finally, also get feedback on the work from a peer. Or check out assignment help services online to get expert's advise and tips. Next, to better understand the term and its impact let's have a look at passive voice misuse examples.

Passive Voice Misuse Examples for Better Understanding

It is essential to know How to avoid passive voice misuse. Especially in academic writing, where writing simply yet in an effective way is always appreciated. Hence, through these examples, you will gain a better understanding of how to identify and correct passive voice misuse.

• Unnecessary Wordiness:

Passive: "The step was taken by the group after the discussion.'

Active: "The group took the step after the discussion."

• Lack Of Engagement:

Passive: "The book was published by the Moon House."

Active: "Moon house published the book."

• Ambiguity:

Passive: "Errors were made during the writing process. "

Active: "The student made errors during the writing process."

• Scientific context:

Passive: "The test was conducted using dangerous chemicals."

Active: "Students used dangerous chemicals to conduct the test."

Looking at these examples one can learn tips for passive voice misuse correction. Which can help in creating a better flow of sentences in the paper.

Seek Our Guidance to Learn Using Passive Voice

Get in touch with our experts to get English assignment help online. Writing clear points in assignments is the key to getting good grades. To do so, one has to know how to write correctly and engage the readers in the writing. Passive voice is a popular form of writing. And understanding how to use it properly is a must. Our experts provide proper guidance with practice materials to avoid passive voice misuse. The tutorials shared by the experts are easy to follow. And their 24/7 availability makes it more convenient for people to clear doubts. Contact our experts today!

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