{"id":29617,"date":"2020-12-10T15:00:21","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T20:00:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?p=29617"},"modified":"2024-04-25T10:35:23","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T10:35:23","slug":"what-is-active-voice-in-writing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Active Voice in Writing?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The cat ate food.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The food was eaten by the cat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>First impressions: which sentence flows best? Which sentence do you like the most? The first sentence uses active voice, while the second uses passive voice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this guide, we&#8217;ll dive into the dynamics of active vs. passive voice. Then, we&#8217;ll explore exactly why most content writing platforms recommend the former over the latter.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s get to it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_66_1 ez-toc-wrap-left counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-custom ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title \" >Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #454545;color:#454545\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #454545;color:#454545\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#What_is_Passive_Voice_in_Writing\" title=\"What is Passive Voice in Writing?\">What is Passive Voice in Writing?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#%F0%9F%9A%A7Passive_Sentence_Construction_in_a_Nutshell\" title=\"\ud83d\udea7Passive Sentence Construction in a Nutshell\">\ud83d\udea7Passive Sentence Construction in a Nutshell<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#More_Passive_Sentence_Examples\" title=\"More Passive Sentence Examples\">More Passive Sentence Examples<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#What_is_Active_Voice_in_Writing\" title=\"What is Active Voice in Writing?\">What is Active Voice in Writing?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#%F0%9F%9A%A7Active_Sentence_Construction_in_a_Nutshell\" title=\"\ud83d\udea7Active Sentence Construction in a Nutshell\">\ud83d\udea7Active Sentence Construction in a Nutshell<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#More_Active_Sentence_Examples\" title=\"More Active Sentence Examples\">More Active Sentence Examples<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#Why_Should_I_Avoid_Passive_Voice\" title=\"Why Should I Avoid Passive Voice?\">Why Should I Avoid Passive Voice?<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#Why_is_Active_Voice_Important\" title=\"Why is Active Voice Important?\">Why is Active Voice Important?<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#Its_Much_Easier_to_Read\" title=\"It&#8217;s Much Easier to Read\">It&#8217;s Much Easier to Read<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-10\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#Its_More_Concise\" title=\"It&#8217;s More Concise\">It&#8217;s More Concise<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-11\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#It_Conveys_Authority\" title=\"It Conveys Authority\">It Conveys Authority<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-12\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#Winding_Up\" title=\"Winding Up\">Winding Up<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Passive_Voice_in_Writing\"><\/span>What is Passive Voice in Writing?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Passive voice is the literary equivalent of a limp noodle. In a passive sentence, the subject of the sentence \u2014 the person, animal, inanimate object etc. \u2014 is acted\u00a0<em>upon<\/em>\u00a0by the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"ss-ctt-wrapper ss-ctt-style-4\" data-ss-post-id=\"29617\" data-nonce=\"f285974be7\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%23WritingTip%3A+passive+voice+is+the+literary+equivalent+of+a+limp+noodle.&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crowdcontent.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F29617&#038;via=crowdcontent\" class=\"ss-ctt-tweet\" data-title=\"Click to Tweet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Passive voice is the literary equivalent of a limp noodle.<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=%23WritingTip%3A+passive+voice+is+the+literary+equivalent+of+a+limp+noodle.&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crowdcontent.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F29617&#038;via=crowdcontent\" class=\"ss-ctt-link\" data-title=\"Click to Tweet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t<span>Click to Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"ss-svg-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t<\/div><!-- END .ss-ctt-wrapper -->\n\n\t\t\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%F0%9F%9A%A7Passive_Sentence_Construction_in_a_Nutshell\"><\/span>\ud83d\udea7Passive Sentence Construction in a Nutshell<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To construct a passive sentence, you need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A subject (<em>Sarah<\/em>)<\/li><li>An object (<em>the chicken coop<\/em>)<\/li><li>A conjugated version of &#8220;<em>to be<\/em>&#8221; (<em>was<\/em>)<\/li><li>Your verb&#8217;s past participle (<em>was cleaned<\/em>&nbsp;vs.&nbsp;<em>cleaned<\/em>, for example)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>Nearly all passive sentences also include a preposition (<em>by<\/em>,&nbsp;<em>after<\/em>&nbsp;or&nbsp;<em>since<\/em>, for instance).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The chicken coop was cleaned by Sarah.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That sentence reads like a cobblestone street, doesn&#8217;t it. You feel yourself stumbling over the various parts of speech. Not so good from a content writing perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let&#8217;s break our previous sentence down:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The chicken coop<\/em> <em><strong>(object)<\/strong><\/em> <em>was (<strong>conjugated form of &#8220;to be&#8221;<\/strong>) cleaned<\/em> <em><strong>(past tense verb)<\/strong><\/em> <em>by<\/em> <em><strong>(preposition)<\/strong><\/em> <em>Sarah<\/em> <em><strong>(subject)<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-post-width\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"411\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-730x411.jpg\" alt=\"Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell\" class=\"wp-image-29623\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-730x411.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Passive-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_Passive_Sentence_Examples\"><\/span>More Passive Sentence Examples<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The car was covered in rust.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Directions will be given to you by the organizer.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>A dozen cupcakes were baked by mom.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The kittens were hidden by the mother cat.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_is_Active_Voice_in_Writing\"><\/span>What is Active Voice in Writing?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Active voice brings your story to life. Forget overcooked pasta: active voice is a dish made from hatch chili peppers and sun-ripened tomatoes. In an active sentence, the subject acts autonomously.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"ss-ctt-wrapper ss-ctt-style-4\" data-ss-post-id=\"29617\" data-nonce=\"f285974be7\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=What+is+%23ActiveVoice+in+writing%3F+In+an+active+sentence%2C+the+subject+acts+autonomously.&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crowdcontent.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F29617&#038;via=crowdcontent\" class=\"ss-ctt-tweet\" data-title=\"Click to Tweet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">What is active voice in writing? In an active sentence, the subject acts autonomously.<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=What+is+%23ActiveVoice+in+writing%3F+In+an+active+sentence%2C+the+subject+acts+autonomously.&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crowdcontent.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F29617&#038;via=crowdcontent\" class=\"ss-ctt-link\" data-title=\"Click to Tweet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t<span>Click to Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"ss-svg-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t<\/div><!-- END .ss-ctt-wrapper -->\n\n\t\t\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"%F0%9F%9A%A7Active_Sentence_Construction_in_a_Nutshell\"><\/span>\ud83d\udea7Active Sentence Construction in a Nutshell<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To construct an active sentence, you need:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>A subject (<em>Sarah<\/em>)<\/li><li>An object (<em>the chicken coop)<\/em><\/li><li>A verb (<em>cleans<\/em>)<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll find the subject right at the beginning of an active sentence \u2014 ahead of the verb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sarah cleans the chicken coop.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-post-width\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"411\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-730x411.jpg\" alt=\"Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell\" class=\"wp-image-29626\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-730x411.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-320x180.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Active-Sentence-Construction-in-a-Nutshell.jpg 1600w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>That sentence is much shorter \u2014 and it goes straight to the point. It&#8217;s much easier to digest. You lose the preposition (<em>by<\/em>) and gain a smoother reading experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now let&#8217;s pull our active sentence apart:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Sarah<\/em> <em><strong>(subject)<\/strong><\/em> <em>cleans<\/em> <em><strong>(verb)<\/strong><\/em> <em>the chicken coop<\/em> <em><strong>(object)<\/strong><\/em><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"More_Active_Sentence_Examples\"><\/span>More Active Sentence Examples<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Rust covered the car.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The organizer will give you directions.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Mom baked a dozen cupcakes.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>The mother cat hid her kittens.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_Should_I_Avoid_Passive_Voice\"><\/span>Why Should I Avoid Passive Voice?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>What if other people use passive voice? Is it ever okay to use passive voice in content marketing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, not really.<\/p>\n\n\n\t\t<div class=\"ss-ctt-wrapper ss-ctt-style-4\" data-ss-post-id=\"29617\" data-nonce=\"f285974be7\">\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Is+it+ever+okay+to+use+passive+voice+in+%23ContentMarketing%3F+In+short%2C+not+really.+Here%27s+why%3A&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crowdcontent.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F29617&#038;via=crowdcontent\" class=\"ss-ctt-tweet\" data-title=\"Click to Tweet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Is it ever okay to use passive voice in content marketing? In short, not really.<\/a>\n\n\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=Is+it+ever+okay+to+use+passive+voice+in+%23ContentMarketing%3F+In+short%2C+not+really.+Here%27s+why%3A&#038;url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.crowdcontent.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F29617&#038;via=crowdcontent\" class=\"ss-ctt-link\" data-title=\"Click to Tweet\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">\n\t\t\t\t<span>Click to Tweet<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<svg class=\"ss-svg-icon\" aria-hidden=\"true\" role=\"img\" focusable=\"false\" width=\"32\" height=\"32\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\"><path d=\"M18.244 2.25h3.308l-7.227 8.26 8.502 11.24H16.17l-5.214-6.817L4.99 21.75H1.68l7.73-8.835L1.254 2.25H8.08l4.713 6.231zm-1.161 17.52h1.833L7.084 4.126H5.117z\"><\/path><\/svg>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\n\t\t<\/div><!-- END .ss-ctt-wrapper -->\n\n\t\t\n\n\n<p>One of the biggest problems with passive voice is its lack of immediacy.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/2020\/10\/15\/how-to-create-original-content\/\">Successful marketing content<\/a>&nbsp;uses an engaging tone to draw the reader in, and passive voice just isn&#8217;t very engaging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Disengaged readers leave websites very quickly. You can optimize your content to reduce your bounce rate and hold reader attention. That&#8217;s where active voice comes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Why_is_Active_Voice_Important\"><\/span>Why is Active Voice Important?<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>People (your audience) end up on your site because they&#8217;re on a quest for answers. They&#8217;re not looking for anything complex: they just want to know about your product or service.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here are three more reasons why active voice is a vital part of content marketing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_Much_Easier_to_Read\"><\/span>It&#8217;s Much Easier to Read<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Active voice is much easier to read than passive voice. Website content in active voice flows easily and feels more natural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Active voice:<\/strong><\/em> <em>Our family saw the June 2020 lunar eclipse.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Passive voice:<\/strong><\/em> <em>The lunar eclipse in June 2020 was seen by our family.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Passive voice is clunky. Imagine how exhausting it would be to read an entire page full of content like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Its_More_Concise\"><\/span>It&#8217;s More Concise<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/2020\/07\/17\/top-content-writing-skills\/\">writing marketing content<\/a>, less is more. You need to get to the point \u2014 and you need to get there quickly. The end goal is to get people to go down your sales funnel, and you won&#8217;t get there if you choose passive sentence construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Active voice:<\/strong><\/em> <em>The Earth&#8217;s shadow covered the moon.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Passive voice:<\/strong><\/em> <em>The moon was covered by the shadow of the Earth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are six words in the active sentence, and ten in the passive sentence. That&#8217;s almost double the amount of text.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In short, active voice can help you cut your page content in half, volume wise, and still make the grade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"It_Conveys_Authority\"><\/span>It Conveys Authority<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>To turn visitors into customers (and hopefully into repeat customers), you need to create a feeling of authority on your site. Punchy content written in the active voice can help you get there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Ultimately, active content speaks directly to the reader. Active voice takes responsibility \u2014 it&#8217;s credible, straightforward and efficient.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Active voice:<\/strong><\/em> <em>We ship all orders within 24 hours, and we fully guarantee our products for two years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Passive voice:<\/strong><\/em> <em>All orders are shipped within 24 hours and products are fully guaranteed for two years.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-post-width\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"730\" height=\"730\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/why-active-voice-is-a-vital-part-of-content-marketing-730x730.jpg\" alt=\"why-active-voice-is-a-vital-part-of-content-marketing\" class=\"wp-image-29629\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/why-active-voice-is-a-vital-part-of-content-marketing-730x730.jpg 730w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/why-active-voice-is-a-vital-part-of-content-marketing-320x320.jpg 320w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/why-active-voice-is-a-vital-part-of-content-marketing-768x768.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/why-active-voice-is-a-vital-part-of-content-marketing.jpg 1080w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 730px) 100vw, 730px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Which version of the statement sounds more believable to you? Which one sounds more immediate? Which one sounds less pretentious? Active voice is convincing; passive voice creates a barrier between you and your customer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Winding_Up\"><\/span>Winding Up<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Passive voice is noncommittal. It skirts every issue, it feels indecisive and it looks clumsy on the page. In contrast, active voice takes control, conveys authority and reads smoothly. The winner for web content? Active voice \u2014 hands down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>ALSO<\/strong><\/em>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/2020\/11\/12\/formal-titles-in-ap-style\/\">The Complete Guide to Using Formal Titles in AP Style<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First impressions: which sentence flows best? Which sentence do you like the most? The first sentence uses active voice, while the second uses passive voice. In this guide, [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":283,"featured_media":29620,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>What is Active Voice in Writing? - Crowd Content - Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"What is Active Voice in Writing? - Crowd Content - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Crowd Content - Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T20:00:21+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-04-25T10:35:23+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Meghan McKenzie\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Meghan McKenzie\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/\",\"name\":\"What is Active Voice in Writing? - Crowd Content - Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-10T20:00:21+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-04-25T10:35:23+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0db33900ead676aa00d506361036c691\"},\"description\":\"What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":628,\"caption\":\"Cover image for a blog post explaining what active voice is in writing.\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Blog\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"What is Active Voice in Writing?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Crowd Content - Blog\",\"description\":\"Content Creation Advice You Can Actually Use\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0db33900ead676aa00d506361036c691\",\"name\":\"Meghan McKenzie\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Meghan_headshot.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Meghan_headshot.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Meghan McKenzie\"},\"description\":\"Meghan heads up Enterprise Sales with Crowd Content and comes with 10 years of sales and marketing experience. She loves selling awesome writing services that are proven to work, because she'd rather express herself through eating cheese and drinking wine and leave the writing to the pros.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/author\/meghan-mckenzie\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"What is Active Voice in Writing? - Crowd Content - Blog","description":"What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"What is Active Voice in Writing? - Crowd Content - Blog","og_description":"What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First","og_url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/","og_site_name":"Crowd Content - Blog","article_published_time":"2020-12-10T20:00:21+00:00","article_modified_time":"2024-04-25T10:35:23+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Meghan McKenzie","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Meghan McKenzie","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/","url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/","name":"What is Active Voice in Writing? - Crowd Content - Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg","datePublished":"2020-12-10T20:00:21+00:00","dateModified":"2024-04-25T10:35:23+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0db33900ead676aa00d506361036c691"},"description":"What is active voice in writing? What is passive voice? More importantly, why should you care? The cat ate food. The food was eaten by the cat. First","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/What-is-Active-Voice-in-Writing-Header.jpg","width":1200,"height":628,"caption":"Cover image for a blog post explaining what active voice is in writing."},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/content-marketing\/what-is-active-voice-in-writing\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"What is Active Voice in Writing?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/","name":"Crowd Content - Blog","description":"Content Creation Advice You Can Actually Use","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/0db33900ead676aa00d506361036c691","name":"Meghan McKenzie","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Meghan_headshot.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/16\/Meghan_headshot.jpg","caption":"Meghan McKenzie"},"description":"Meghan heads up Enterprise Sales with Crowd Content and comes with 10 years of sales and marketing experience. She loves selling awesome writing services that are proven to work, because she'd rather express herself through eating cheese and drinking wine and leave the writing to the pros.","url":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/author\/meghan-mckenzie\/"}]}},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29617"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/283"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29617"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29617\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37892,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29617\/revisions\/37892"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29620"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29617"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29617"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crowdcontent.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29617"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}