Practice: Grammar Highlight - Passive Voice in Research

  • Due No due date
  • Points 4
  • Questions 4
  • Time Limit None
  • Allowed Attempts Unlimited

Instructions

Overview

When we write about research, we want to know what was done (methods) and what was learned (results). We are generally less interested in who did it, because in science the combined results of many repeated studies give us more confidence in ‘truth’ than reliance on any single expert.

This is why we see the passive voice in research writing- the people disappear so that we can focus on the information. Try these exercises to notice the form and use of the passive.

illustration of hands pouring liquid into labratory flask

 Image: "Laboratory" by https://pixabay.com/en/users/Clker-Free-Vector-Images-3736/ is in the Public Domain, CC0