One of the most difficult skills to teach AP students is the skill of developing their unique authorial "voice." Too often, students confuse "good writing" with overly scholarly diction (sometimes misused) or a generic style devoid of any vestige of their unique personalities.
One of the major tools of vagueness and pomposity in writing (sometimes on purpose) is passive voice. It's easy to see why passive voice appeals to some writers: it sounds legalistic, academic, professional. The problem with passive voice is that it's also wordy, generic, and vague, obscuring the clarity of the writer's point more often than not. The exercises below are designed to help identify and eliminate passive voice. |
Tips: How to Find the Passive Voice
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Original Sentence: As per the corporate policies for McZippy's, the coffee had been heated to temperatures exceeding the boiling point, and when it was spilled on the customer, she was burned.
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