Scrib.sheet: Active vs. Passive Voice. How to Control Your Writing Voice

"It was found that errors were made in the analysis." Passive voice like this doesn't just sound formal; it hides who actually made the mistake. Academic writing isn't about avoiding the passive voice. It's about choosing your voice deliberately rather than defaulting to one throughout.

This Scrib.sheet shows you exactly when each voice does its job: passive when the result or process matters more than who did it, active when the actor matters and you're arguing, interpreting or persuading. You get the sentence structure for both, a side-by-side comparison table, discipline-neutral examples, and a quick test question to run before you commit to either.

Four exercises take you from identifying voice, to converting between the two, to rewriting a full paragraph for deliberate balance, with a complete answer sheet explaining why each choice works, not just what the "correct" answer is.

Use it while drafting to catch yourself slipping into one voice throughout, or run it as a final edit pass before you submit.

What you get 10-page PDF, instant download, yours to keep. Best for undergraduate, postgraduate and international students writing in English. 4 exercises with a full answer sheet explaining why each choice works.

Bonus: a rewrite-for-balance challenge for combining both voices deliberately.

Built by Anna Yeadell, a professional academic editor and lecturer with over 20 years' experience helping international students and researchers write clearly and get better results.

One of seven standalone Scrib.sheets. Working on the essay itself? Scrib.how: The Complete Essay-Writing Series (introductions, thesis statements, body paragraphs, conclusions) is £19: https://payhip.com/b/Ltk0U. Got comments back on a draft? The Feedback Bundle is £16: https://payhip.com/b/s439Q

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