Passive Voice Exercises to Help You Write Better

Writing clearly requires understanding how sentence structure affects your message. Whether you're writing emails, reports, or social media posts, mastering active and passive voice can transform your writing from weak to powerful.

Here's what you'll learn in this guide:

• The difference between active and passive voice, plus when to use each one
• How to spot passive voice in your writing and change it to active voice
• Practical active and passive voice exercises to strengthen your writing skills
• Tools and techniques to check and improve your writing

Let's start making your writing clearer and more engaging.

What Is Passive Voice?

A passive voice sentence puts the subject of the action at the end of the sentence or leaves it out completely. Instead of showing who or what performs the action, passive voice emphasizes what happens to something. For example, "The ball was thrown" is a passive sentence because we don't know who threw the ball.

The structure typically follows this pattern: the thing receiving the action + a form of "to be" (is, was, were, etc.) + past participle of the main verb + (optionally) by + the doer of the action. Take the sentence "The report was written by Sarah." The report receives the action, while Sarah, who actually did the writing, appears at the end of the sentence.

When to Avoid Passive Voice?

Most writing becomes stronger and more impactful when you use active voice instead of passive voice. Here are the key reasons why passive voice should often be avoided:

• Shorter and Clearer Sentences: Active voice follows a natural subject-verb-object order, which makes sentences concise and easy to follow. For instance, "The team completed the project" is clearer than "The project was completed by the team."
• Clarity About the Doer: Active voice ensures readers understand who is performing the action. This eliminates confusion, especially in complex writing. Compare "A mistake was made" to "The intern made a mistake" — the latter is much more transparent.
• More Engaging Content: Active sentences highlight people and actions, creating content that is dynamic and interesting. Writing like "The teacher gave clear instructions" is far more engaging than "Clear instructions were given by the teacher."
• Enhanced Energy and Directness: Active voice injects vigor into writing by placing the subject in control. Phrases like "The artist painted a vivid portrait" feel more lively than "A vivid portrait was painted by the artist."
• Avoiding a Distant or Academic Tone: Passive voice often creates a detached or overly formal tone, which can alienate readers. Writing such as "The report was finalized" feels less personal than "The team finalized the report."
• Conciseness Through Fewer Words: Converting passive voice to active voice typically removes unnecessary words. For example, "The decision was approved by the manager" becomes "The manager approved the decision," saving space and delivering a sharper message.

When Passive Voice Works Better?

While active voice is preferred in most contexts, passive voice has specific applications where it serves a practical purpose. Below are scenarios where using passive voice is a better choice:

• Scientific Writing: In scientific or technical writing, passive voice is valuable when the focus is on the methodology or results rather than the researcher. For example, "The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions" shifts attention to the process instead of the person conducting it.
• Unknown Doer in News Reports: When the individual performing an action is unknown or irrelevant, passive voice is useful. News reports often say, "Three stores were robbed last night," keeping the emphasis on the event rather than the perpetrator.
• Diplomatic Business Communications: In professional settings, passive voice helps maintain diplomacy and avoid directly assigning blame. For example, "Mistakes were made in the project timeline" softens the language compared to "The manager made mistakes."
• Focus on Processes in Technical Writing: Technical documentation often prioritizes instructions and processes over the individuals performing tasks. A phrase like "The system was updated" keeps the focus on the action, which is more relevant to the reader.
• Maintaining Objectivity in Formal Writing: Passive voice is sometimes required in formal contexts to preserve an objective tone. Sentences like "The data was collected from multiple sources" sound more neutral and less opinionated.
• Ambiguity in Legal Documents: Legal writing frequently employs passive voice when liability or responsibility needs to be ambiguous. For instance, "The contract was breached" avoids specifying who is at fault, which can be strategic in legal contexts.

Tools to Improve Your Writing

Grammar tools can make spotting and revising passive sentences much easier. AISEO, a cutting-edge content generation and optimization platform, offers two powerful tools for handling passive voice.

The Passive Voice Checker

AISEO’s Passive Voice Checker scans your text to identify sentences written in the passive voice. It highlights these areas so you can evaluate whether the structure fits your intended tone and clarity. This tool is ideal for large documents where passive constructions can be difficult to spot manually.

For instance, if you paste a paragraph into the tool, it will highlight phrases like "was completed" or "is being done" in green, alerting you to review them. By using the checker, you save time and ensure your writing is polished and professional.

Beyond detection, AISEO also offers a Passive Voice Changer, which automatically transforms passive sentences into their active counterparts. With one click, "The cake was baked by the baker" becomes "The baker baked the cake." This feature not only corrects but teaches by providing clear examples of how to shift focus in a sentence.

Writers who want to balance clarity with precision find this tool invaluable for crafting engaging and effective writing.

Exercise 1: Identify Active and Passive Voice

Testing your ability to spot passive voice helps build better writing habits. Look at each sentence below and decide whether it uses active or passive voice. Take time to analyze the structure and identify who performs each action.

1. The cake was baked by my grandmother.
2. Dogs chase cats in the park.
3. The window was broken during the storm.
4. Scientists conducted extensive research.
5. The novel has been read by thousands.
6. The team scored three goals.
7. Coffee stains were found on the document.
8. The mechanic fixed my car.
9. An important message was delivered yesterday.
10. Students take notes during class.
11. The house was painted last week.
12. Birds build nests in spring.
13. The award was presented by the mayor.
14. Lightning struck the tree.
15. The homework was completed before dinner.

Answers: 1-passive, 2-active, 3-passive, 4-active, 5-passive, 6-active, 7-passive, 8-active, 9-passive, 10-active, 11-passive, 12-active, 13-passive, 14-active, 15-passive

Exercise 2: Convert Active to Passive Voice

Understanding how to change between active and passive voice helps you choose the right structure for your purpose. Practice converting these active sentences to passive voice while maintaining their meaning.

1. The chef prepares fresh pasta daily.
2. Students submitted their assignments.
3. The storm damaged several houses.
4. Our team won the championship.
5. The police caught the suspect.
6. The gardener planted new flowers.
7. Musicians performed classical pieces.
8. The committee approved the proposal.
9. The artist painted this masterpiece.
10. Volunteers cleaned the beach.
11. The company launched new products.
12. Teachers grade papers weekly.
13. The director selected the cast.
14. Workers built the bridge.
15. The author published three books.

Answers: 1- Fresh pasta is prepared daily by the chef, 2- Assignments were submitted by students, 3- Several houses were damaged by the storm, 4- The championship was won by our team, 5- The suspect was caught by the police, 6- New flowers were planted by the gardener, 7- Classical pieces were performed by musicians, 8- The proposal was approved by the committee, 9- This masterpiece was painted by the artist, 10- The beach was cleaned by volunteers, 11- New products were launched by the company, 12- Papers are graded weekly by teachers, 13- The cast was selected by the director, 14- The bridge was built by workers, 15- Three books were published by the author

Wrapping It Up

Mastering active and passive voice transforms your writing from basic to professional. These active and passive voice practice exercises build skills that transfer directly to your daily writing tasks. Regular practice with active and passive voice exercises online helps you recognize and choose the most effective structure for each situation.

Keep practicing with active and passive voice exercises to develop your writing style. The correct answer might sometimes surprise you - what seems like a clear passive sentence could actually work better in active voice. Through consistent active and passive voice exercises, you'll naturally start choosing the most effective voice for each piece of writing.

Consider using AISEO to support your practice. Whether you need quick passive voice identification or help converting passive voice to active voice, these resources speed up your learning and improve your writing immediately.