Active voice
Our writing must be concise and direct. Active voice supports brevity and clarity and makes written content more engaging. The active voice helps the reader identify the subject of the sentence. In the following example, the person who submits the form is essential information. Omitting that leads to a confusing and impersonal sentence.
Passive
The request form must be submitted to the approving official.
Active
You must submit the request form to the approving official.
The passive voice is usually longer, and deemphasizes who should take an action, Wordy instructions are harder to follow.
Passive
The case number should be saved in your records. It will be required for future inquiries.
Active
Save the case number in your records. You will need it for future inquiries.
When in doubt, cut directly to the verb/action and give the reader clear directions.
Passive voice
Use of the passive voice is common enough that many people don’t notice when they use it. Passive voice occurs when the subject of the sentence is acted upon by the verb. For example, in the sentence "The tire was changed by Sarah," the tire is receiving the action but isn't doing anything itself. Sarah, who’s actually standing on the side of the road with a tire iron in her hand, is an afterthought.
In active voice, the subject of the sentence performs the action: "Sarah changed the tire." Here, Sarah is front and center, and the reader quickly and easily understands what just happened and who did what.
Don’t use passive voice to try obscure who is performing the action.
You may occasionally need to use the passive voice when you don’t know who is taking the action or it’s irrelevant, or when the action is more important than who is performing it.
Examples:
Up to 90% of the energy in light bulbs is wasted in the form of heat.
The solution was heated to 90 degrees for 30 minutes and then allowed to cool.