Tutor Tip Tuesday: Avoiding Passive Voice

Odds are, if you’re majoring in one of the humanities, then you’ve heard one of your professors talk about writing in the passive voice.  You might have even used the passive voice in one your papers, at which point your professor might have even given you a gentle chewing out.  Personally, I can’t disagree.  I’m a historian, and we especially loathe the passive voice because it is indirect, obscure, and, for lack of a better word, so passive.  Now, before my friends who are in the sciences get too upset with me, I’ll concede that the passive voice is acceptable in some disciplines (like science and engineering).  That said, because there are different contexts where it either is or is not acceptable to use the passive voice, it is important to be able to know what it is, what it sounds like, and how to change it, if need be, to the active voice.

So, what is the passive voice?  You are using the passive voice when you construct a sentence where the subject is being acted upon, rather than being the actor.  Here are two examples:

1.       Alabama was beaten by Auburn in the Iron Bowl.

In this sentence, Alabama is the subject, and it is being acted upon by Auburn(or Chris Davis, if you wanted to be really specific).  The construction is passive because instead of Alabama beating someone, Alabama is taking a beating.  Here is another example:

2.      Abraham Lincoln was shot by John Wilkes Booth.

Again, we have a subject, Honest Abe, who is being acted upon.  Put another way the subject, Lincoln, is passive because he is being shot by Booth. [1]

Now that we know how and why this type of construction qualifies as passive, we have to ask ourselves, how do we modify them to be active?  It is actually easy in these cases.  For example:

1.      Auburn beat Alabama in the Iron Bowl.

We know, buddy. We think switching from passive to active voice is mindblowing, too.

and

2.      John Wilkes Booth shot Abraham Lincoln.

Did you really have to use that as an example?

In these cases we changed the subjects to Auburn and John Wilkes Booth, and they are now acting upon Alabama and Abraham Lincoln, respectively.   The constructions are now active, we know who is doing what to who, we’re being direct, we’re being clear, and, most importantly, we’re avoiding the passive voice.

Happy writing.

- Jake

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[1] As an aside, it hurts me to have to use the passive voice to describe the passive voice.  It is what it is, though.

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BCS National Championship: Auburn's Triumph of Words

My dad and I attended the 2014 Vizio BCS National Championship game on Monday, January 6th. Daddy graduated from Auburn, and I will follow in his footsteps when I walk across the stage in May. We are both proud members of the Auburn family, so we jumped at the opportunity to attend this game.

Because our attempts to buy tickets from Ticketmaster were in vain and I was not selected in the ticket lottery until a week before game day, we tracked ticket prices for weeks and ended up buying from Stubhub. We ended up with tickets close to the Florida State section, so most of our game day was spent with the “Tomahawk Chop” ringing in our ears. We were boxed in by FSU fans, but we did have a few other Auburn fans in our area.

As the seconds ticked off the clock to end the game and Auburn’s National Championship dreams came to an abrupt halt, I felt and saw the defeat in the faces and demeanor of the Auburn family. I shook the hands of the FSU fans around us and proceeded to walk out of the stadium. We were so close to the FSU section that I knew attempts to chant “It’s great to be an Auburn Tiger” would be lost and honestly, I just wanted to go to sleep. The loss was tough and disappointing, but I knew the Auburn family would be fine once the shock wore off.

I had no idea how gracefully we would rise above the defeat.

This is when writing comes into the picture. The power of words has been the saving grace of this National Championship defeat. As I walked the mile back to my car after the game, I scrolled through Twitter to read the resounding support from Auburn fans both before, during, and after the game. The next morning, I woke up to see numerous articles posted on Facebook expressing the gratitude fans, coaches, and players felt about this football season. It was the power of words from the Auburn family that made me realize that the hurt of the defeat would dull and eventually disappear.

Three days later and articles, tweets, blog posts, comments, and statuses continue to surface. I am proud to be a part of such a large and supportive family that uses the power of words to show the 2013 Auburn Tigers that we are thankful for their contribution to the larger fanbase.

Words are important and can make an impact. Without these sources of support for our Tigers, I would have spent the entire day after the game thinking mournfully about our loss; instead, I used my bountiful amount of airport sitting time to enjoy the triumph of words used by the Auburn family. War eagle forever.

Here are just a few of the articles that I read following the National Championship game:

Nosa Eguae’s open letter to Auburn fans

http://www.auburntigers.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/010814aad.html

Auburn football 2013: No apologies, No regrets

http://www.collegeandmagnolia.com/football/2014/1/8/5284110/auburn-football-2013-no-apologies-no-regrets

Gone in 79 seconds: Auburn at the BCS Championship

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/ncaaf/2014/01/07/bcs-championship-auburn-tigers-behind-the-scenes/4359835/

- Dianna

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Miller Writing Center Location Spotlight: Athletics

Tilt head for full effect.

This is the Student-Athlete Development Center (SADC). This is where athletes put their blood, sweat, and tears into training…. and their brains. This is also where one of the 6 Miller Writing Center locations is housed.

“There’s a Miller Writing Center location in the SADC?” you ask incredulously.

“Yes, we’re kind of like McDonalds.” I answer, setting up for a clever (read: “awful”) joke. “We’re everywhere, and we never go stale (for different reasons).”

Contrary to what many Auburn students might think, the Athletics location of the MWC is not just for student-athletes. All students with all types of writing are welcome here. This location has an ample schedule; it is open Sunday from 6-8PM and Monday-Thursday at 10-3PM and 5-9PM. It is located within the Athletics Complex at 392 South Donahue Drive near the intersection of Donahue and Samford. Worried about transportation? The Central East Tiger Transit Route drops off right across from the SADC at the South Donahue Residence Hall stop.

Here’s a link with more information about how to get to our Athletics location! https://fp.auburn.edu/writing/mwcDirectionsHoursLocations.aspx

Now that you know all about it, come check it out in person! Make an appointment for the Athletics location here: https://auburn.mywconline.com/index.php

See you soon!

- Miller Writing Center Staff

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