News is about people doing things. As readers, we find activity interesting, direct, and clear. Therefore, whenever possible, it’s best to write sentences where subjects are doing things - not receiving the actions upon them. Make sense? Journalists should write in active voice, not passive voice. We'll explain.
In This Lesson
Active vs. Passive Voice
- Basic sentence composition
- Active Voice: A does B.
- Passive Voice: B is done by A.
- Advantages of using active voice in journalism
- When using passive voice is appropriate
[Click here to view and use the presentation “Active vs. Passive Voice”]
Activity
Master the Two Structures
Let’s face it. Learning to distinguish between active and passive voice is tricky. Learning to transform passive voice into active voice can be even trickier. In this activity, students will practice both of these things, helping improve their overall understanding of the two sentence structures.
[Click here to view and print the handout “Master the Two Structures”]