Grade 8 · Voice, Mood and Talk · Voice and Mood
Active and Passive Voice
Identify active and passive constructions.
Learning objectives
- Identify active and passive constructions
- Choose voice for a purpose
- Revise vague passive writing
AERO English Language Arts alignment
AERO.ELA.8.L.1
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking. Grade 8 / MYP 3 emphasis: handle subtler techniques such as irony, bias and conflicting evidence, and justify interpretations.
AERO.ELA.8.L.3
Use knowledge of language and its conventions to make effective choices for meaning, style and audience. Grade 8 / MYP 3 emphasis: handle subtler techniques such as irony, bias and conflicting evidence, and justify interpretations.
AERO.ELA.8.L.2
Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English capitalisation, punctuation and spelling when writing. Grade 8 / MYP 3 emphasis: handle subtler techniques such as irony, bias and conflicting evidence, and justify interpretations.
AERO.ELA.8.L.5
Demonstrate understanding of figurative language, word relationships and nuances in word meanings. Grade 8 / MYP 3 emphasis: handle subtler techniques such as irony, bias and conflicting evidence, and justify interpretations.
AERO.ELA.8.SL.2
Interpret and analyse information presented in diverse media and formats, and explain how it contributes to a topic, text or issue under study. Grade 8 / MYP 3 emphasis: handle subtler techniques such as irony, bias and conflicting evidence, and justify interpretations.
AERO.ELA.8.SL.5
Integrate multimedia and visual displays into presentations to clarify information, strengthen claims and add interest. Grade 8 / MYP 3 emphasis: handle subtler techniques such as irony, bias and conflicting evidence, and justify interpretations.
MYP criteria
- Criterion A — Analysing
- Criterion D — Using language
ENGAGE
Who did it?
Imagine that your class is reporting on a clean-up beside the Doha Corniche. One report says, “Students collected the litter.” Another says, “The litter was collected.” Both describe the same action, but they direct your attention differently. The first names the people responsible. The second focuses on the result and leaves the people unnamed. This grammatical choice is called voice. In this lesson, you will explore how active and passive voice can clarify information, shape emphasis or sometimes hide responsibility.
Think about it
- Which report gives clearer responsibility?
- When might the result matter more than the person acting?
EXPLORE
Read closely: Two versions of the evidence
Mangrove survey report
At sunrise, Grade 8 students from Doha visited a mangrove shore to record bird activity. The team counted thirty-two herons and photographed several nesting areas. Before the survey began, measuring points were marked by the science teacher, so every group observed the same stretch of water. The results were entered into a shared table. By mid-morning, the students had collected enough evidence to compare quiet areas with places near the boat channel.
Later, two summaries appeared on the class noticeboard. One stated, “Boat traffic disturbed the birds; our group saw fewer herons beside the channel.” The other stated, “Fewer herons were observed beside the channel, but the cause was not established.” It was also claimed that engine noise had increased during the morning, although no sound measurements were recorded. The first summary sounds decisive and names boat traffic as the cause. The second is more cautious, yet its passive wording hides who observed the birds and who made the claim. Both summaries use the same count, but their grammatical choices guide readers towards different interpretations.
Read like a careful investigator
Notice who performs each action, what receives attention and where responsibility becomes unclear.
Think about it
- Which sentences in the extract use passive voice?
- Why might the writer focus on the results rather than the students in the first paragraph?
- How does “It was also claimed” affect your trust in the statement about engine noise?
EXPLAIN
How voice shapes meaning
Grammatical voice shows the relationship between an action and the participants in that action. In active voice, the subject performs the action. In passive voice, the subject receives the action.
| Voice | Pattern | Example | Main emphasis |
|---|---|---|---|
| Active | doer + verb + receiver | The students recorded the birds. | The students and their action |
| Passive | receiver + form of be + past participle | The birds were recorded by the students. | The birds or the completed action |
A passive construction usually contains a form of the verb “be” followed by a past participle: “is protected”, “was measured” or “have been restored”. The doer, called the agent, may appear in a phrase beginning with “by”. It can also be omitted.
Voice is not tense
Active and passive constructions can appear in different tenses. “The team records the data” and “The data are recorded” are both present tense.
- Choose active voice when the doer and responsibility are important: “The researchers checked the figures.”
- Choose passive voice when the result or receiver deserves emphasis: “Al Zubarah was added to the World Heritage List.”
- Use passive voice when the agent is unknown or unnecessary: “The damaged sign was replaced overnight.”
- Use passive voice in some formal procedures: “Three samples were placed in separate containers.”
Passive voice becomes vague when an important agent is hidden. “Mistakes were made” does not reveal who made them. “It was decided that the survey should end” does not identify the decision-maker. If responsibility or evidence matters, revise the sentence by naming the agent: “The survey leader decided to end the survey.”
Voice, bias and evidence
A writer can use active voice to assign responsibility or passive voice to soften it. Ask whether the named agent is supported by evidence. In the extract, “Boat traffic disturbed the birds” sounds certain, but the class did not measure noise or prove a cause. A justified revision would be: “Our group observed fewer herons near the boat channel, but we did not establish the cause.”
MYP_PRACTICE
Revise a short field report
You will revise sentences from a desert ecology field report. First identify each sentence as active or passive. Then decide what the reader should notice: the agent, the action or the result. Keep useful passive constructions, but revise any sentence that hides important responsibility or suggests evidence that the researchers did not collect.
- Underline the subject and circle the complete verb phrase in each sentence.
- Label each construction active or passive.
- Decide whether the chosen voice suits the purpose and available evidence.
- Rewrite at least three sentences, naming the agent where responsibility matters.
- Add one sentence explaining why your strongest revision is clearer and fairer.
EXIT_TICKET
Before you close this lesson
Think about it
- When can passive voice improve a factual report?
- How can an unnamed agent create vagueness or bias?
Watch
Independent and Dependent Clauses
Janet Bergman · 5 min
Learn to distinguish complete independent clauses from dependent clauses that cannot stand alone.
Before you watch: What does a group of words need in order to express a complete thought?
- How can you identify a dependent clause?
- Combine an independent and a dependent clause to create a complete sentence.
Interactive practice · voice revision
Desert field report editor
Edit the report sentences for clarity and fairness. Label the voice, decide whether the agent matters, and revise vague or unsupported wording.
Check your answer
Task
You are editing notes from a student survey of a protected desert habitat.
Moves to try
Labels you can use
Work through each line
Your answer
This draft stays in this tab only. Copy anything you want to keep into your learning log below.
Key vocabulary
- active voice
- A construction in which the subject performs the action.
- passive voice
- A construction in which the subject receives the action.
- agent
- The person, group or thing that performs an action.
- bias
- Language that unfairly favours one interpretation or viewpoint.
Practice questions
0/3 correct
Level 1 · Criterion D
Which sentence uses passive voice?
Level 2 · Criterion A
Why is passive voice effective in “The results were entered into a shared table”?
Level 3 · Criterion D
Which is the clearest and most responsible revision of “It was decided that the observation should stop”?
MYP criterion tasks
Level 2 · Criterion A
Explain how “It was also claimed that engine noise had increased” may affect a reader's interpretation.
Level 3 · Criterion D
Rewrite “The seedlings were damaged, and it was suggested that visitors caused it” so that the evidence and responsibility are clear. Do not claim more than the evidence proves.
Reflect & track
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