The passive voice
When to use the passive voice in academic writing
You use the passive voice:
- to avoid using informal personal pronouns (I, we, you)
It will be argued that…
- when the ‘doers’ of the action are not important or you don’t want to mention them
The cottages were built in 1820.
A fatal error was made.
- to describe a process
The dry ingredients are mixed together.
A word of caution:
- Overuse of the passive voice can make your writing ‘wordy’, vague, and more difficult to read.
- When reporting on research especially, be sure to include some active voice.
More info
- Why use the passive voice in academic writing? (University of Wollongong)
- Passive voice: when to use it and when to avoid it (University of Toronto)