In today's writing tip, we will focus on the benefits of employing the active voice over the passive voice in your prose. This is part of an ongoing series aimed at sharing valuable insights and techniques for writers. While everyone may have their own perspectives on writing, I hope you find the following suggestion helpful. Please feel free to contribute your own tips in the comments.

The recommendation for today is to utilize the active voice to create a more compelling and lively writing style. To illustrate the distinction between active and passive voice, consider these examples:

Passive: I was bitten by Joe Biden’s dog. Active: Joe Biden’s dog bit me.

Which one captures your interest more? While you might prefer avoiding dog bites altogether, the active version is certainly more engaging. Here’s another example:

Passive: The remarkable brilliance of my article was acknowledged by Medium readers. Active: Readers of Medium recognized the remarkable brilliance of my article.

Again, which phrasing resonates more? You might enjoy the recognition itself rather than the structure of the sentence. One more example:

Passive: I was made angry by my tax bill. Active: The tax bill made me angry.

Note how the active constructions are not only more direct but also generally more concise. A brief video below further clarifies the differences between these two voices:

Most writing advice advocates for frequent use of the active voice. It tends to convey more energy, is more direct, and generally utilizes fewer words than the passive voice. Conversely, passive voice can often feel unwieldy, and no one wants to read clunky prose.

This contrast in energy reminds me of a recent article by a friend on Medium that compared characters from A. A. Milne’s "Winnie the Pooh." You might envision active sentences as Tiggers—full of life, energy, and excitement—while passive sentences resemble Eeyores, characterized by a lack of initiative and vitality.

The renowned writer George Orwell, whose six writing principles were discussed in a previous tip, strongly endorsed the active voice. However, there are differing opinions, and sometimes the passive voice may serve a specific purpose in your writing. After all, rules can be bent, especially in politics! For a more academic exploration of the two voices, you can check out this Wikipedia article:

Passive voice - Wikipedia: A passive voice construction is a grammatical voice construction that is found in many languages.

In summary, I align with George Orwell and many others in believing that the active voice is generally preferable. We want our writing to be concise, vibrant, and engaging, as opposed to the more laborious style often associated with passive constructions. Therefore, strive to make your sentences Tiggers, not Eeyores!

I hope you found this article insightful, and I welcome any tips you’d like to share in the comments.

Previous tips:

Day 23 — Dedication — time, place, space Day 22 — On spell-checking, Grammarly and proof-reading Day 21 — The five unspoken commandments of Medium Day 20 — George Orwell’s six tips on writing style Day 19 — The importance of interaction Day 18 — Replying to comments Day 17 — Engagement Day 16 — Attention-seeking behaviour — the importance of your first sentence Day 15 — Keep it snappy — headlines Day 14 — Subject selection Day 13 — Making time Day 12 — Deadlines Day 11 — Layout Day 10 — Niches for Riches Day 9 — Do your own research Day 8 — Choosing your subject Day 7 — Reverse engineering success Day 6 — Planning Day 5 — Location Day 4 — Dictionary and thesaurus Day 3 — Quotations Day 2 — Mind your language Day 1 — The Notebook