Re:How to Write in Plain English
by naniwaduni on Tuesday August 25, 2020 @04:42PM
(#24275853)
None of this can really be pinned on the use of passive voice. Attention is naturally drawn by the beginning of a sentence and to the end of it, and while the passive is a powerful tool for reordering sentences, its function is equally well served by verbs with the opposite alignment. There is nothing about "there were mistakes" or "mistakes happened" that attributes more agency to anyone than "mistakes were made", but only the last one is passive.
Rather, there is a rich history in English prescriptivism of misdiagnosing and blaming the passive for all ills.
The overwhelming reason why bureaucrats (either those in government or in corporate middle management) love the passive voice is "to avoid taking the blame" (or to avoid appearing to blame someone powerful).
To me (I am not a native speaker), the default emphasis is on the first words:
The police stopped the riot. -> emphasis on the police
The riot was stopped by the police. -> emphasis on the riot
It coincides with the examples in which passive voice is recommended.
> To make something less hostile - 'this bill has not been paid' (passive) is softer than 'you have not paid this bill' (active).
> To avoid taking the blame - 'a mistake was made' (passive) rather than 'we made a mistake' (active).
...
Yes, I agree that we often overuse passive voice, and active voice is a good default. However, I think that the rule of thumb should be "write in the natural order", rather than "don't use passive voice unless strictly necessary".