How can you use active voice to improve your academic writing?

Active voice is a sentence structure where the subject of the sentence performs the action. In other words, the subject is the doer of the sentence, and the object is the receiver of the action. For example, in the sentence, "The dog chased the cat," the subject (dog) performs the action (chased) on the object (cat).

Employing active voice enhances academic writing by promoting clarity and directness. Instead of passive constructions, where the subject receives the action, active voice emphasizes the doer of the action. This makes sentences more concise and engaging. Choose strong verbs that clearly convey the action, avoiding unnecessary words. Active voice energizes your writing, conveying authority and accountability. Regularly review and edit your work, transforming passive constructions into active ones for a more dynamic and impactful academic writing style.

Active voice is similar to what we learn as the definition of a verb in our primary school days. We were simply taught that a verb is an action word. So active voice in academic writing performs the function of the verb. For instance, when reporting the method of carrying out the research, say, 'The researcher used snowball sampling to get the respondents while I shared questionnaire through Google Forms'. This gives more authentication and affirmation to the research.

Active voice is essential because it makes writing more engaging, clear, and concise. It helps you convey your message more effectively and makes it easier for your readers to understand what you are trying to say. Active voice also adds more power to your writing by emphasizing the doer of the action.

Active voice is appropriate for most types of writing, including academic writing. It is beneficial when you want to emphasize the doer of the action or when you want to make your writing more engaging and concise. However, there may be times when passive voice is more appropriate, such as when the focus is on the recipient of the action rather than the doer.

To use active voice, you need to ensure that the subject of your sentence is performing the action. This means that the sentence structure should be subject verb object. For example, instead of writing, "The cake was baked by the chef," you could write, "The chef baked the cake." This sentence is more effective because it places emphasis on the doer of the action (chef) rather than the recipient (cake).

Here is an example of a sentence in passive voice and how it can be rewritten in active voice: Passive voice - The paper was written by the student. Active voice - The student wrote the paper. In the active voice, the sentence is more concise and engaging because it emphasizes the doer of the action (student) rather than the recipient (paper).

Paraphrasing are some of the creative ways, in which the students writting skills are reinforced and reinvented. It does not impact the conventional method of structuring and synthesising, both written and verbal communication. As an illustration, a sentence could be uttered in many ways, to reinforce both it's hermeneutics and logic.

Using active voice is just one of the many ways to improve your academic writing. You should also consider other factors such as grammar, punctuation, vocabulary, and sentence structure. It is also important to proofread your work thoroughly to ensure that it is error-free and communicates your message effectively.