Point of View in Writing and the ActivePassive Voice Adopted from College Writing Skills by John Lan

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Point of View in Writing and the Active/Passive
VoiceAdopted from College Writing Skills by
John Langan, Purdue OWL, and The Bedford Handbook
for Writers by Diana Hacker

• Point of View
• When you write, you can take any of three
  approaches, or points of view first-person,
  second-person, or third person.

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First-Person Approach

• This is a strongly individualized point of
  viewyou draw on your own experience and speak to
  your audience in your own voice, using pronouns
  like I, me, mine, we, our, and us.
• This approach emphasizes you, the writer and is a
  good choice for informal letters and writing
  based primarily on personal experience.

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Example First Person Point of View Paragraph
on Camping

• First of all, I like comfort when Im camping.
  My GMC motor home, with its completely equipped
  kitchen, shower stall, toilet, double bed, and
  color television, resembles a mobile motel room.
  I can sleep on a real mattress, clean sheets, and
  fluffy pillows. Next to my bed are devices that
  make me feel at home a radio, an alarm clock,
  and a TV remote-control unit. Unlike the poor
  campers huddled in tents, I dont have to worry
  about cold, rain, heat, or annoying insects.
  After a hot shower, I can slide into my pajamas,
  sit comfortably on my down-filled quilt, and read
  the latest best-seller while a thunderstorm booms
  outside.

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Second-Person Approach

• In this approach, the writer speaks directly to
  the reader, using the pronoun you.
• This approach emphasizes the reader and
• works well for giving advice, instructions, or
  explaining how to do something.
• Otherwise, as a general rule, never use the word
  you in writing.

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Third-Person Approach

• This approach is the most common point of view in
  academic writing.
• In the third-person, the writer includes no
  direct references to the reader (you) or the self
  (I, me). It derives its name from its stancethat
  of an outsider or third-person observing and
  reporting on matters of public rather than
  private importance.
• This approach emphasizes the subject and draws on
  information that the writer has acquired through
  observation, thinking, or reading. It is
  appropriate in formal academic and professional
  writing.

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Example Third-Person Point of View Paragraph on
Camping

• First of all, modern campers bring complete
  bedrooms with them. Winnebagoes, GMC motor
  homes, and Airstream trailers lumber into
  Americas campgrounds every summer like mobile
  motel rooms. All the comforts of home are
  provided inside. Campers sleep on real
  mattresses with clean sheets and fluffy pillows.
  Next to their beds are the same gadgets that
  litter their night tables at homeradios, alarm
  clocks, and TV remote control units. Its not
  necessary for them to worry about annoyances like
  cold, heat, rain, or buzzing insects. They can
  sit comfortably in bed and read the latest
  best-sellers while a thunderstorm booms outside.

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Coherence suffers whenever a draft shifts
confusingly from one point of view to another.
The solution is to choose a suitable perspective
and then stay with it.
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Example 1 One week our class met in a junkyard
to practice rescuing a victim trapped in a
wrecked car. We learned to dismantle
the car with the essential tools. You (We) were
graded on your (our) skill in
extricating the victim.

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Example 2 One of the fringe benefits
of my job is that you (I) can use a company
credit card for gasoline.
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Shifting Point of View Activity

• 1. Ron refuses to eat pepperoni pizza because he
  says it gives you (him) indigestion.
• 2. When I buy lipstick or nail polish, you (I)
  never know how the color will actually look.
• 3. All you (I) could hear was the maddening
  rattle of the heating registers, even though I
  buried my face in the pillow.
• 4. Hank searched the roadside mailboxes for the
  right name, but you (he) couldnt see much in the
  pouring rain.
• 5. As we pulled on the heavy door, you (we)
  could tell it wasnt going to budge.

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Active Verbs (Active Voice) Versus Passive Verbs
(Passive Voice)

• Active verbs express meaning more emphatically
  and vigorously than their weaker
  counterpartsforms of the verb be or verbs in the
  passive voice.
• Forms of the verb be (be, am, is, are, was, were,
  being, been) lack vigor because they convey no
  action.
• Verbs in the passive voice lack strength because
  their subjects receive the action instead of
  doing it.

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Example Passive The coolant pumps were
destroyed by a surge of power. Active A surge
of power destroyed the coolant pumps.

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Furthermore, carefully selected verbs can
energize a piece of writing.
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Example Original The goalie crouched low,
reached out his stick, and sent the
rebound away from the mouth of the net. Revised
The goalie crouched low, swept out his stick, and
hooked the rebound away from
the mouth of the net.

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If using a be verb makes a sentence needlessly
wordy, consider replacing it.
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Example Original Burying nuclear waste in
Antarctica would be in violation of an
international treaty. Revised Burying
nuclear waste in Antarctica would violate
an international treaty.

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Prefer Active Voice

• In the active voice, the subject of the sentence
  does the action.
• In the passive voice, the subject receives the
  action.
• Although both voices are grammatically correct,
  the active voice is usually more effective
  because it is simpler, more direct, and less
  wordy.
• Example 1 Active The committee reached a
  decision.
• Example 2 Passive A decision was reached by the
  committee.

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To change a sentence from the passive to the
active voice, determine carefully who or what is
performing the action. Example Passive The
book is being read by most of the class. Active
Most of the class is reading the book.


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Sometimes the performer of the action does not
appear in a passive-voice sentence.

Example Passive Results will be published in
the next issue of the journal.
Active The
researchers will publish their results in
the next issue
of the journal.


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Choosing Passive Voice

• In scientific writing, passive voice is more
  readily accepted since using it allows one to
  write without using personal pronouns or the
  names of particular researchers.
• This practice helps to create the appearance of
  an objective, fact-based paper.

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Recognizing Passive Voice

• Passive voice has three basic characteristics
• A form of the verb to be (is, am, are, was, were,
  be, been, or being).
• A past participle (a verb ending in ed or en
  except irregular verbs like kept).
• A prepositional phrase beginning with by.

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Examples The first sentence uses all three
characteristics The meeting is being
held by the human resources department.



Its a great honor to be applying to a

prestigious company.

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Unnecessary Shifts

• Avoid starting a sentence in active voice and
  then shifting to passive.

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Example Original Many customers in the
restaurant found the coffee
too bitter to drink, but it was still
ordered frequently.

Revised Many customers in the restaurant found
the coffee too bitter, but they still
ordered it frequently.