Active Voice Exercise

Description:

You should write your essay in the active voice as much as possible. Using active voice conveys a stronger sense of purpose and certainty, whereas passive voice can convey weakness and may in fact distract your reader. In this exercise, you will practice identifying passive voice and using active voice in writing.

Learning resources:

Review the following learning content:

• Essay content: writing style

Exercises:

Set 1:

Take the following quiz

Set 2:

Visit a news or magazine Web site and read several articles, watching specifically for sentence construction. When you find sentences containing passive voice, write an alternative version in active voice. If you find primarily active voice, try changing a few sentences into passive voice and read the sentences aloud-think about how passive voice makes the sentences less forceful. Web sites you might consider visiting include Slate, CNN, and USA Today.