Active Voice: Make the Actor Clear

Active voice puts the person or thing performing an action in the subject position. “The editor approved the draft” names the editor first. The passive version, “The draft was approved by the editor,” focuses on the draft.

Neither structure is automatically wrong. Choose the one that gives your reader the most useful emphasis.

Find the action and actor

In “The invoice was checked by Mira,” the action is checking and the actor is Mira. Rewriting it as “Mira checked the invoice” makes responsibility direct.

Keep the tense: “The invoice will be checked by Mira” becomes “Mira will check the invoice.” Changing it to “Mira checked” would change the timing, not just the voice.

Do not invent an actor

“The door was left open” does not tell you who left it open. Rewriting it as “The employee left the door open” adds a claim that was not present. Keep passive wording when the actor is unknown or unimportant.

Use passive voice for a reason

Passive wording can be useful when a process or result matters more than the actor. “The samples were stored at room temperature” keeps the focus on sample handling. In a report about responsibility, naming the person who stored them may be more useful.

Check meaning after conversion

Compare the action, actor, tense, and level of certainty. “The proposal may be approved by the board” becomes “The board may approve the proposal.” The word “may” still matters.

The voice converter can suggest a change. Review each suggestion in the surrounding paragraph. A clear paragraph can use both active and passive constructions when each serves a purpose.