> Is active voice always better? I recommend this talk by Dr. George Gopen, which does include some advice on the use of the passive voice: "A Radical New Way

> Is active voice always better? I recommend this talk by Dr. George Gopen, which does include some advice on the use of the passive voice: "A Radical New Way to Control the English Language" https://www.youtube.com/embed/XuGII3MzBic https://www.youtube.com/embed/XuGII3MzBic > The writing instruction we received in school was inadequate to prepare us for writing in the adult, professional world. We were taught how to avoid grammatical errors and how to write a 5-sentence paragraphs and 5-paragraph essays. None of that is of use when we try to write grant applications or technical manuals. The writing advice we get (if any) as adults is equally inadequate: We are told to avoid the passive, to keep our sentences short, and to write the way we speak – all very, very bad advice. In school, the important person where writing was concerned was the writer. In the real world, the important person becomes the reader. Concerning the quality of a piece of professional writing, one simple question dominates: Did the reader get delivery of what the writer was trying to send? The part about the passive voice is at 15m10s but I encourage you to watch the whole talk from the beginning. It is worth it. If you want more, some of his writings are easy to find online: https://duckduckgo.com/?q=george+gopen https://duckduckgo.com/?q=george+gopen