Students explore how active and passive voices are appropriate to different audiences. They examine online resources, and then draw conclusions about verb use, which they apply to their own writing.
Without realizing it, we often write in what is called active voice. That simply means someone or something does something in a sentence: “The boy threw the ball to his teammate.” In certain situations, however, the active voice is less preferred and, instead, passive voice is used: “The ball was thrown by the boy to his teammate.” Sound a little clunky? It should. That’s why it is used far less often than the active voice. When researching and writing about research, however, passive voice is the preferred style since it places emphasis on the object, not the person doing the action: “Thirty houses were destroyed by the wildfire.” In that sentence, the focus is on the houses, the victims of the fire. In this seminar, you will become more familiar with active vs. passive voice, and how research writing prefers the latter.StandardsCC.1.4.9-10.KWrite with an awareness of the stylistic aspects of composition. • Use precise language and domain-specific vocabulary to manage the complexity of the topic. • Establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone while attending to the norms of the discipline in which they are writing.CC.1.4.9-10.XWrite routinely over extended time frames (time for research, reflection, and revision) and shorter time frames (a single sitting or a day or two) for a range of discipline-specific tasks, purposes and audiences.CC.1.4.9-10.RDemonstrate a grade-appropriate command of the conventions of standard English grammar, usage, capitalization, punctuation, and spelling.