Grade 8 · Voice, Mood and Punctuation · Voice and Punctuation Control
Active and Passive Voice
Choose voice deliberately: active for agency and clarity, passive when the actor is unknown or unimportant.
Learning objectives
- Convert sentences between active and passive
- Explain who is hidden by a passive construction
- Justify a deliberate use of the passive
Common Core ELA alignment
L.8.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Grade 8 emphasis: analyse subtler techniques such as irony, conflicting evidence and differing interpretations.
L.8.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading or listening, choosing precise and concise wording. Grade 8 emphasis: analyse subtler techniques such as irony, conflicting evidence and differing interpretations.
W.8.5
Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting or trying a new approach. Grade 8 emphasis: analyse subtler techniques such as irony, conflicting evidence and differing interpretations.
MYP criteria
- Criterion D — Using language
ENGAGE
Mistakes were made
Mistakes were made. By whom? The passive voice can quietly delete the person responsible, which is why politicians and reports love it.
Think about it
- Rewrite the sentence so someone is responsible.
- When might hiding the actor be honest rather than evasive?
EXPLAIN
Mechanics and choice
| Voice | Pattern | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Active | subject does verb to object | The council closed the pool. |
| Passive | object plus form of be plus past participle | The pool was closed by the council. |
| Passive with deleted agent | actor removed entirely | The pool was closed. |
When passive is the right choice
- The actor is genuinely unknown: My bike was stolen.
- The actor is irrelevant: The samples were heated to 80 degrees.
- You want to keep focus on the receiver: The victims were finally compensated.
Myth
The passive is not a grammatical error and is standard in scientific writing. The error is using it accidentally, at length, in prose that needs agency.
EXPLORE
Diagnose these sentences
- The window was broken.
- Water was added to the beaker until 50 millilitres was reached.
- Our proposal was rejected without explanation.
- The referee ended the match early.
Think about it
- Which are passive, and which hide the actor?
- For each passive sentence, decide whether the choice is justified.
MYP_PRACTICE
Criterion D task
Write two 80-word versions of the same incident report: one predominantly active, one predominantly passive. Then explain in 60 words which version a reader would find more accountable and why.
EXIT_TICKET
Check yourself
Think about it
- Convert one passive sentence you wrote today into active.
- Name one place passive voice is the professional norm.
Interactive practice · sentence revision
Switch the voice
Convert each sentence to the other voice and say which version you would publish.
Your answer
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Key vocabulary
- Active voice
- The subject performs the action.
- Passive voice
- The subject receives the action.
- Agent
- The person or thing performing the action.
- Agency
- Clear responsibility for an action in a sentence.
Practice questions
0/2 correct
Level 1 · Criterion D
Which sentence is passive?
Level 2 · Criterion D
In which case is the passive clearly justified?
MYP criterion tasks
Level 3 · Criterion D
Rewrite Mistakes were made twice: once accountable, once justified.
Reflect & track
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