Of course these are just guidelines and you can make the passive voice work. However, I found the example given in the article pretty convincing: > Instead of

Of course these are just guidelines and you can make the passive voice work. However, I found the example given in the article pretty convincing: > Instead of “The factory was bombed by an F18,” military professionals would say, “An F18 bombed the factory.” That also rings true with (5) of George Orwells advice on good english writing [1] (1) Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. (2) Never use a long word where a short one will do. (3) If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. (4) Never use the passive where you can use the active. (5) Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. (6) Break any of these rules sooner than say anything outright barbarous. === [1] George Orwell - Politics and the English Language http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit/ http://www.orwell.ru/library/essays/politics/english/e_polit...