Passive voice: it's a tool[0]. And in some scenarios, more preferable to active (as you correctly mentioned). Not only does it depend on genre (e.g. scientific

Passive voice: it's a tool[0]. And in some scenarios, more preferable to active (as you correctly mentioned). Not only does it depend on genre (e.g. scientific writing), but on the writer's intent and how they want the reader to interpret the text. It boils down to who's the subject/agent of the story, what you are trying to convey, and what you are trying to "stress" or emphasize. You, as the writer, get to control 1) who's story it is and 2) what should be emphasized. For example: - I wrote this software program - This software program was written by me It would be silly to say that sentence one is better because its written in the active voice. What we need is context. If we want to tell a story through the lens of the software program itself and emphasize it being written by me (i.e. "I"), then I would argue the second sentence does a better job. Passive wins. In contrast, if we want to write a story about the perspective from me (i.e. "I") and emphasize the software program (which is in the "stress" position), then then the first sentence takes the cake. Active wins. [0]: https://georgegopen.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Why-the-Passive-Voice-Should-Be-Used-and-Appreciated-%E2%80%94-Not-Avoided.pdf https://georgegopen.net/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Why-the-P...