Choosing the Appropriate Verb Voice-Active or Passive
You can use either the active or the passive voice when you describe the procedure used in your project. Examples of both voices are given in the following box. Notice that the formation of the passive voice requires the be auxiliary + the past participle of a verb.
EXAMPLE A: For reasons related to personal safety, the test EXAMPLE B: Tests were conducted (by me) with four different types of reactors. However, your professor or editor may specifically ask you not to use the passive voice because he or she prefers a more personal style with frequent use of the pronouns "I" or "we." 2. In addition to questions of style, your choice of the active or passive voice should place old information near the beginning of the sentence and new information at the end. The old information is italicized in each sentence in example C. EXAMPLE C: The four reactors we tested in the work reported here all contained a platinum catalyst (ACTIVE). Each reactor-catalyst configuration will be described separately (PASSIVE). The quartz reactors were manufactured by the Wm. A. Sales Company of Wheeling, Illinois (PASSIVE).
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