Should I Use Active or Passive Voice in a Research Paper?

One decision that gives pause to thousands of research writers every time they start a new paper is whether to use the active or passive voice in their research papers. You may have been taught in school that you should always use the active voice, especially when giving speeches and when writing fiction or persuasive essays, as it gives more agency to the subject than does the passive voice construction, making your sentences leaner and stronger. While this rule generally applies to research writing, there are some definite differences in application, and this accounts for why there are so many sentences in scientific journal articles using the passive voice construction. This video explains the circumstances where an author should choose passive voice over active voice and what difference it can make to comprehension in research and academic writing. This video includes: ✔ An explanation of the difference between active voice and passive voice constructions ✔ General rules for using voices in writing ✔ Detailed breakdown of situations in which applying the passive voice is preferable and why ✔ Many sample sentences taken from research papers and applicable to your writing Who should watch this video: ★Research writers writing a paper for a journal or conference ★Students interested in tips for improving their research and academic writing A Guide to the Proofreading & Editing Process: Wordvice Citation Generator (APA, MLA, Chicago, Vancouver): Other Wordvice Academic Videos on YouTube: How to Write an Abstract” “Which Tense to Use in Your Research Paper“ “How to Write a Journal Submissions Cover Letter“ For more useful writing tips, check out these articles and videos on Wordvice’s “Resources” page: “How to Write the Best Journal Submissions Cover Letter“ “100 Strong Verbs That Will Make Your Research Writing Amazing” Join Wordvice on Facebook: Tweet @ Wordvice on Twitter: @WordviceEditing Wordvice offers services in other languages and countries: ENGLISH: KOREA: JAPAN: TAIWAN: CHINA: TURKEY: