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Voice and Point of View
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Voice
Active vs. Passive
Passive voice occurs when the verb’s agent (the doer) is not the subject of the sentence. Active voice occurs when the subject of a sentence performs the verb’s action.
Active voice is favored in most academic disciplines and everyday speech due to it is considered more assertive and less wordy. However, passive voice is favored in scientific disciplines since the observer may not be aware of what causes a phenomenom.
Examples and Resources
- Active Voice
Examples
- Angel wrote the paper.
- The 19th Amendment gave voting rights to women in the United States.
- Disease and famine have shaped the course of entire civilizations.
- CSUSM undergraduate students completed the online survey.
- With little time to spare, the pastry chef delivered the elegant cake and pastries for the wedding.
Resources
- Passive Voice
Examples
- The paper was written.
- Voting rights were given to women in the United States by the 19th Amendment.
- The course of entire civilizations have been shaped by disease and famine.
- The online survey was completed by undergraduate students at CSUSM.
- With little time to spare, the elegant cake and pastries for the wedding were delivered by the pastry chef.
Resources
Webinars
CSUSM Writing Center webinars may be assigned by instructors for credit. Interested instructors can visit our Assigning the Writing Center page. Students visiting for credit can learn more about confirming visits at our Visiting for Credit page.
Practice
CSUSM Writing Center quizzes may be assigned by instructors for credit. Interested instructors can visit our Assigning the Writing Center page. Students visiting for credit can learn more about confirming visits at our Visiting for Credit page.
- CSUSM Writing Center - Active and Passive Voice Quiz
- Government of Canada - Identifying Active and Passive Voice
- English Grammar - Choose the Right Verb
- Quizizz: Active vs. Passive (needs account)
Point-of-View
1st, 2nd, 3rd Person Point of View
Point-of-view is the perspective from which an essay is written. It can be written in the first, second, or third person perspective. Depending on the type of essay, a certain point-of-view may be preferred over others.
To learn more about the use of pronouns in emails and intrapersonal communication, check out the GEC's Pronouns Matter page.
- 1st Person
First-person point of view is used to write stories/narratives or examples about personal experiences from your own life. It is the “I/we” perspective.
Pronouns: I, me, we, us
Note: Academic writing often requires us to avoid first-person point of view in favor of third-person point of view, which can be more objective and convincing.
- 2nd Person
Second-person point of view, which directly addresses the reader, works well for giving advice or explaining how to do something. It is the “you” perspective.
Pronouns: you
Note: Second person can be too casual for formal/academic writing, and it can also alienate the reader if the reader does not identify with the idea. In academic writing, sometimes "you" needs to be replaced with nouns or proper nouns to create more formality or to clarify the idea.
- 3rd Person
Third-person point of view identifies people by proper noun or noun. It is the he/she/it/they perspective. Most formal/academic writing uses the third person. This point of view is used when referring to any unnamed person, not when referring to someone who’s pronouns are they/them.
Pronouns: it, they, he, she, his, hers, theirs, her, him, they, them
Note: In the past, writers had to use the same pronoun throughout the essay when referring to an unnamed person, whether it was masculine or feminine. Today, writers are encouraged to avoid the automatic use of a gendered pronoun because it may be considered sexist language. However, there are some instructors who prefer the singular “he” or “she” to be used throughout your essay, so it is best to double-check what your instructor requires.
Examples and Resources
- 1st Person
Examples - I am worried about the group presentation in class, but I think my friends are confident we will do well.
- My beliefs and past experiences have shaped who I am today.
- The nice lady offered to pay for my drinks, but I insisted that I pay for hers instead.
- The primary goal of the proposed study is to examine if self-referencing during initial exposure to statements of general knowledge increases source recollection and influences the strength of the illusory truth effect. Since self-referencing is an elaborate process, I hypothesize that participants in the self-referencing condition will demonstrate a smaller illusory truth effect than participants in the no self-referencing condition. Additionally, self-referencing increases source memory, and source recollection reduces reliance on fluency. Thus, I predict that participants in the self-referencing condition will rate reliable statements as more truthful than unreliable statements. Finally, I predict an overall illusory truth effect, in which repeated statements will be rated as more truthful than new statements.
Resources
- 2nd Person
Examples - You are worried about the group presentation in class, but you think your friends are confident you will do well.
- Your beliefs and past experiences have shaped who you are today.
Resources
- 3rd Person
Examples - Anna was worried about the group presentation in class, but unbeknown to her, her friends were confident they will do well.
- Their beliefs and past experiences have shaped who they are today.
- The primary goal of the proposed study is to examine if self-referencing during initial exposure to statements of general knowledge increases source recollection and influences the strength of the illusory truth effect. Since self-referencing is an elaborate process, the researchers hypothesized that participants in the self-referencing condition will demonstrate a smaller illusory truth effect than participants in the no self-referencing condition. Additionally, self-referencing increases source memory, and source recollection reduces reliance on fluency. Thus, it is predicted that participants in the self-referencing condition will rate reliable statements as more truthful than unreliable statements.
- If someone studies a subject regularly, they are more likely to remember the material than someone who attempts to cram it.
Resources
Metacommentary
Metacommentary is when a writer comments on their commentary. Put plainly metacommentary occurs when the writer references a portion of their writing. It helps guide the audience to interpret and process what you have already stated or are about to state.
Some readers do not like metacommentary because it may interrupt their reading process to look at a previous or future paragraph. Some readers prefer more implied structural elements rather than the explicit markers that metacommentary creates.
Examples
- As I stated in previous paragraphs, ...
- In this paper, the following points will be made: ...
- What X really means is ...
- My point is that...
- My point is [stance], not...
- What X is saying here is that ...