Active Voice
Choose voice according to information focus, not a blanket prohibition. Active clauses often make responsibility and action easy to identify; passive clauses can be better when the affected entity is the useful topic or the agent is unknown, obvious, irrelevant, or intentionally withheld.
In active voice, the grammatical subject is presented as the doer or agent of the action: “The committee approved the plan.” Active voice is often the clearest choice when the actor matters, but passive voice is still useful when the receiver, result, or unknown agent should be foregrounded.
Key details
Important caveats
Passive Boundary
Use passive voice when the receiver or result deserves focus or when the actor is unknown, obvious, unimportant, or appropriately omitted.
Further guidance
Identify
In “The analyst revised the forecast,” the subject “the analyst” performs the action, so the clause is active.
Revision Test
If a sentence hides responsibility unintentionally, identify the real actor and make that actor the subject. Do not convert every passive mechanically.
Use Active
Prefer active voice when readers need to know who is responsible, when the actor is important, or when the active form is simpler and clearer.
Worked Example
Passive: “The deadline was changed.” Active when responsibility matters: “The project manager changed the deadline.” Keep the passive if the actor is genuinely unknown and the changed deadline is the relevant fact.
Sources and evidence
Sources are shown with the role they play in this guide. Historical or style-sensitive claims are kept within the evidence boundary described above.
- Active and passive voice (opens in a new tab)Australian Government Style Manual · Current government guidance defines active voice by emphasis on the doer and notes its usual directness and brevity while distinguishing the information focus of passive voice.
- Active Versus Passive Voice (opens in a new tab)Purdue Online Writing Lab · Current university writing guidance identifies active constructions by subjects performing the action and explains the common clarity/conciseness benefit without making passive voice universally wrong.