Some professors discourage their students from using the passive voice when writing research papers and essays. But using the passive voice is not grammatically incorrect. The main reason instructors frown upon the passive voice is a stylistic one: it can often leave the writer’s meaning weak and unclear. For example, it is far more direct to say that: “the girl cut herself a slice of cheese” versus “the cheese was cut by the girl.” Furthermore, the use of the passive voice can even be used to soften the meaning of a strong action. Instead of writing “the Germans invaded France” (a sentence which puts the focus of the reader upon the invader), the use of the passive voice in the sentence “France was invaded by Germany” places emphasis on the victim and takes the focus away from the aggressor.

It is not always wrong to use the passive voice. If you are making a conscious choice to emphasize the results of an action, the use of the passive voice can even be appropriate. What is important is that you as a writer make a conscious choice to use it, rather than fall into a pattern of unconsciously using the passive voice in an effort to sound more complicated and academic. In fact, simplicity, even when writing for an academic class, is always valued more than needless complexity.

This is only one example of how choosing the right words to use in a paper can be very confusing. It is also an example of why using custom-written research can be so helpful. Understanding the way a paper should sound can often be half the battle. Our custom research can help you write an excellent final paper which has strong content as well as is professional in tone.