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RE: Active versus passive (WAS Displays versus Appears-Which One? )
Subject:RE: Active versus passive (WAS Displays versus Appears-Which One? ) From:Sharon Deitch <sharon -at- sintecmedia -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- raycomm -dot- com> Date:Tue, 19 Dec 2000 12:59:07 +0200
Mike writes:
> I think a more useful rule is this:
>
> Passive voice is fine when the
> identity of the actor doesn't matter.
>
> When it matters, use active voice.
I've seen similar comments on this list about the passive voice not
identifying the "actor." This is simply untrue.
Example:
The mess was made by the cat, and that puddle was made by my toddler. In
both these passive-voice clauses, it is very clear who did what.
Compare: The cat made the mess, and my toddler made that puddle. Fewer
words; sharper, clearer writing.
>From what I've read, research has shown that readers, when reading sentences
in the passive voice, tend to turn the sentences around in their head
(unfortunately, at the moment I cannot remember where I read this). I would
imagine this is particularly true for English speakers, who are used to
sentences structured subject, verb, object. Therefore, it makes sense to
write as directly as possible, using fewer words rather than more.
One place to use passive voice in writing error messages, where it is
preferable to state the problem and the required action without ever
addressing the user directly. After all, who wants to be told they screwed
up by a computer?
Sharon
Sharon Deitch
Technical Writer
SintecMedia
Jerusalem, Israel
sharon -at- sintecmedia -dot- com
"It's amazing how much easier it is for a team to work together when no one
has any idea where they're going." Despair, Inc.
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