{"id":1229,"date":"2020-03-25T15:34:59","date_gmt":"2020-03-25T15:34:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab\/chapter\/revising-for-style-voice\/"},"modified":"2024-04-24T22:17:31","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T22:17:31","slug":"revising-for-style-voice","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/chapter\/revising-for-style-voice\/","title":{"raw":"Revising for Style: Voice","rendered":"Revising for Style: Voice"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Identify strategies for revising for style<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Evaluate strategies for revising for style<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nWhen it comes to written composition, the term \u201cvoice\u201d can feel unclear and vague. Voice, however, is an essential element of style that reveals the writer\u2019s personality. Just as a \u201cvoice\u201d that you hear on the radio can sound pleasant, irritated, or excited, a writer\u2019s voice can be impersonal or chatty, authoritative or reflective, objective or passionate, serious or funny.\r\n<h3>Active Voice<\/h3>\r\nReaders prefer sentences constructed with the active voice because they are more concise and direct. Consider the following revisions:\r\n\r\n<strong>Passive<\/strong>: Listeners are encouraged by the lyrics to cast aside their fear and be themselves.\r\n<strong style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">Active<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">: The lyrics encourage listeners to cast aside their fears and be themselves.<\/span>\r\n\r\n<strong>Passive<\/strong>: Alana\u2019s toes were crushed by the garage door.\r\n<strong style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">Active<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">: The garage door crushed Alana\u2019s toes.<\/span>\r\n\r\nIn both cases, the writer was able to eliminate the \u201cbe\u201d verb (is, are, was, were), and the active sentences are less wordy.\r\n<h3>Passive Voice<\/h3>\r\nSometimes the passive voice will \u201ccover up\u201d important information in a sentence. Consider this sentence:\r\n\r\n<strong>Passive<\/strong>: The papers will be graded according to the criteria stated in the syllabus.\r\n\r\nThis sentence leaves the reader with questions: Who will grade the papers? A revision to the active voice can easily answer the question and satisfy the reader\u2019s curiosity.\r\n\r\n<strong>Active<\/strong>: The teacher will grade the papers according to the criteria stated in the syllabus.\r\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\r\n<h3>When is Passive Voice useful?<\/h3>\r\nThere are several situations, however, where the passive voice is more useful than the active voice.\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you don\u2019t know who did the action: The paper had been moved.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you want to hide who did the action: The window had been broken.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you want to emphasize the person or thing the action was done to: Caroline was hurt when Kevin broke up with her.<\/li>\r\n \t<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A subject that can\u2019t actually do anything: Caroline was hurt when she fell into the trees.<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\r\n<iframe src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1292200819059096598\/embed\" width=\"1088\" height=\"637\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" aria-label=\"Revising for Style: Voice\"><\/iframe><script src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/js\/h5p-resizer.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script>\r\n\r\n<\/div>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Identify strategies for revising for style<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate strategies for revising for style<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>When it comes to written composition, the term \u201cvoice\u201d can feel unclear and vague. Voice, however, is an essential element of style that reveals the writer\u2019s personality. Just as a \u201cvoice\u201d that you hear on the radio can sound pleasant, irritated, or excited, a writer\u2019s voice can be impersonal or chatty, authoritative or reflective, objective or passionate, serious or funny.<\/p>\n<h3>Active Voice<\/h3>\n<p>Readers prefer sentences constructed with the active voice because they are more concise and direct. Consider the following revisions:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passive<\/strong>: Listeners are encouraged by the lyrics to cast aside their fear and be themselves.<br \/>\n<strong style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">Active<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">: The lyrics encourage listeners to cast aside their fears and be themselves.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Passive<\/strong>: Alana\u2019s toes were crushed by the garage door.<br \/>\n<strong style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">Active<\/strong><span style=\"font-size: 1rem; text-align: initial;\">: The garage door crushed Alana\u2019s toes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p>In both cases, the writer was able to eliminate the \u201cbe\u201d verb (is, are, was, were), and the active sentences are less wordy.<\/p>\n<h3>Passive Voice<\/h3>\n<p>Sometimes the passive voice will \u201ccover up\u201d important information in a sentence. Consider this sentence:<\/p>\n<p><strong>Passive<\/strong>: The papers will be graded according to the criteria stated in the syllabus.<\/p>\n<p>This sentence leaves the reader with questions: Who will grade the papers? A revision to the active voice can easily answer the question and satisfy the reader\u2019s curiosity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Active<\/strong>: The teacher will grade the papers according to the criteria stated in the syllabus.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox key-takeaways\">\n<h3>When is Passive Voice useful?<\/h3>\n<p>There are several situations, however, where the passive voice is more useful than the active voice.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you don\u2019t know who did the action: The paper had been moved.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you want to hide who did the action: The window had been broken.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">When you want to emphasize the person or thing the action was done to: Caroline was hurt when Kevin broke up with her.<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A subject that can\u2019t actually do anything: Caroline was hurt when she fell into the trees.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>Practice<\/h3>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/content\/1292200819059096598\/embed\" width=\"1088\" height=\"637\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\" aria-label=\"Revising for Style: Voice\"><\/iframe><script src=\"https:\/\/lumenlearning.h5p.com\/js\/h5p-resizer.js\" charset=\"UTF-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-1229\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Style. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-corningcc-engcomp1wmopen-1\/chapter\/text-style\/\">https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-corningcc-engcomp1wmopen-1\/chapter\/text-style\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: English Composition I (SUNY). <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-NC-SA: Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><li>Practice Activities: Active and Passive Voice. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/chapter\/practice-activities-active-and-passive-voice\/\">https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/chapter\/practice-activities-active-and-passive-voice\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Guide to Writing. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":161083,"menu_order":18,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Style\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/suny-corningcc-engcomp1wmopen-1\/chapter\/text-style\/\",\"project\":\"English Composition I (SUNY)\",\"license\":\"cc-by-nc-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Practice Activities: Active and Passive Voice\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/styleguide\/chapter\/practice-activities-active-and-passive-voice\/\",\"project\":\"Guide to Writing\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"8419efd2-80c1-48b3-95f8-71d9a6798fac, 09dcee92-a9ef-4fa4-b147-10459689ad24, c6818041-f91a-4ca7-b1ec-3887b3827ea5","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-1229","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":1211,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1229","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/161083"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1229\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1622,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1229\/revisions\/1622"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/1211"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/1229\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1229"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=1229"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=1229"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=1229"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}