Active vs Passive Voice Examples

Active vs passive voice is one of the most taught — and most misunderstood — concepts in writing. Most guides tell you to avoid passive voice. That is partly right. The full answer is more useful: passive voice is a tool, and like any tool, what matters is knowing when to use it. This guide gives you real examples across different writing contexts so you can make the right choice every time.

The difference in one sentence

In active voice, the subject does the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action. That is the entire distinction. Everything else follows from it.

The core difference

Active: The editor reviewed the draft. (subject → action → object)

Passive: The draft was reviewed by the editor. (object ← action ← subject)

Both sentences convey the same fact. The active version is shorter, clearer, and more direct. The passive version shifts emphasis to the draft rather than the editor — which is sometimes exactly what you want, and sometimes a problem.

Active vs passive voice examples in everyday writing

These are the most common rewrites you will need across general writing, emails and blog posts.

Business emails

❌ The meeting has been scheduled for Thursday by the team.

✓ The team has scheduled the meeting for Thursday.

❌ Your feedback was appreciated by us.

✓ We appreciated your feedback.

❌ A decision will be made by management next week.

✓ Management will decide next week.

Blog posts and articles

❌ Research has been conducted that shows exercise improves mood.

✓ Research shows exercise improves mood.

❌ The tool can be used to check grammar by writers.

✓ Writers can use the tool to check grammar.

When passive voice is the right choice

Passive voice is not always wrong. There are three situations where it is the clearer and more appropriate option.

When the agent is unknown

If you do not know who performed the action, passive voice is the honest choice. "The window was broken overnight" is correct — you do not know who broke it. Forcing an active version ("Someone broke the window overnight") adds a vague subject that weakens the sentence.

When the agent is irrelevant

Scientific and technical writing frequently uses passive voice because who performed the action matters less than what happened. "The samples were incubated at 37°C for 24 hours" is standard scientific writing. The researcher's identity does not affect the finding.

Scientific / technical writing — passive is appropriate

The data were collected over three months.

Participants were randomly assigned to two groups.

The solution was heated to boiling point.

When you want to emphasise the recipient

Passive voice shifts the spotlight to the object. "The award was given to a first-year student" emphasises who received the award. "The committee gave the award to a first-year student" puts the committee first. The passive version is better here if the student is the story.

Active vs passive voice in academic writing

Academic writing is one area where the active vs passive voice debate is genuinely contested. Older style guides recommended passive voice throughout ("it was found that..."). Modern academic writing increasingly prefers active voice where the author's role is relevant ("we found that..."). Check your institution's style guide, but lean toward active voice unless your field's conventions say otherwise.

Academic — both versions acceptable

Passive: It was concluded that the intervention had no significant effect.

Active: We concluded the intervention had no significant effect.

How much passive voice is too much

A useful guideline is to keep passive voice below 10–15% of your sentences in general writing. Marketing copy and journalism sit closer to 5%. Academic writing can be higher. There is no absolute rule — the test is whether your writing feels direct and clear to the reader.

Use the SmartWriteTools Passive Voice Detector to count passive constructions in your text automatically. It catches both regular passive forms (was written, were reviewed) and irregular past participles (was known, was given, was taken) that are easy to miss by eye.

Quick reference: active vs passive voice

Use active voice when

The agent matters · You want directness · You are writing for a general audience · The sentence feels slow or bureaucratic

Use passive voice when

The agent is unknown or irrelevant · You want to emphasise the recipient · You are following scientific or technical writing conventions · The agent would sound accusatory if named

Find passive voice in your writing

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