TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
In the past it was favored in academia (and other fields) to imply a
neutral position or perhaps a position of higher knowledge. That was the
way I learned to write in grad school, although the approach seemed to
change over time.
Exactly why? If I knew I've forgotten, so your guess is as good as mine.
But lack of responsibility doesn't fit with the academic approach (although
sheer lack of caution sometimes does).
On Sat, Oct 20, 2012 at 5:26 PM, McLauchlan, Kevin <
Kevin -dot- McLauchlan -at- safenet-inc -dot- com> wrote:
> Well, we've had the discussion before, but does anybody remember
> (even confined to some niche) a good reason for using passive voice?
>
> Unlike some, I don't shriek and begin to wither when I or someone
> occasionally uses passive voice (sunshine on a vampire...).
> Although, I admit, my skin begins to crawl when passive voice is
> strung together through paragraph after paragraph, page after page.
>
> So, not counting the minor writerly affectation of applying it sparingly,
> to inject some variety into one's writing, is there any reason for
> employing
> large gobs of passive voice that doesn't come back to avoidance of
> responsibility?
>
> As far as I'm concerned, and until I'm... ahem.... actively persuaded
> otherwise, passive voice was (still is?) beloved of bureau'rats
> (the "c" is silent) because it is embraced as a cloak of anonymity
> and a way to deflect and diffuse (also defuse) blame.
>
> Is there any other (legitimate) reason to prefer passive voice?
> (And please don't say "because the customer/your boss wants
> it that way" - because then I'll say, then what is THEIR reason
> for wanting it that way. And you'll say "it doesn't matter, they're
> the ones paying the bills", and I'll say, it matters to me or I wouldn't
> have asked the question. I want to know if I should automatically
> harbo[u]r diminished respect for whoever demands passive voice
> as the default, or could they have a reason other than evasion of
> blame/responsibility as a defining cultural trait?
>
> It goes toward TW self-respect and not feeling like a total hack
> in how you earn your daily bread.
>
> Becca said
> ...
> > I do think that the numbered and indented paragraphs aren't the best
> > way to do things... but then, what people are writing and calling
> > procedures aren't what I would call a procedure... there's very little
> > "do this... do this next step" in them. Most of them are written
> > passive voice (and I'm getting a lot of push-back when I try to write
> > them in active).
> >
> > I'm doing the best with what I've been given, but I have very little
> > (read,none) influence over the finished projects.
> >
>
>
> The information contained in this electronic mail transmission
> may be privileged and confidential, and therefore, protected
> from disclosure. If you have received this communication in
> error, please notify us immediately by replying to this
> message and deleting it from your computer without copying
> or disclosing it.
>
>
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
> Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because
> your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
>
> See the “Getting Started with Doc-To-Help” blog post.
>http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
> ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
>
> You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com -dot-
>
> To unsubscribe send a blank email to
> techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
>
>
> Send administrative questions to admin -at- techwr-l -dot- com -dot- Visit
>http://www.techwhirl.com/email-discussion-groups/ for more resources and
> info.
>
> Looking for articles on Technical Communications? Head over to our online
> magazine at http://techwhirl.com
>
> Looking for the archived Techwr-l email discussions? Search our public
> email archives @ http://techwr-l.com/archives
>
--
Kathleen MacDowell
kathleen -dot- eamd -at- gmail -dot- com
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Writer Tip: You have more time to author content with Doc-To-Help, because your project can be up and running in 3 steps.
See the “Getting Started with Doc-To-Help” blog post. http://bit.ly/doc-to-help-3-steps
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You are currently subscribed to TECHWR-L as archive -at- web -dot- techwr-l -dot- com -dot-
To unsubscribe send a blank email to
techwr-l-leave -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
