Transcript The Passive Engineer

By
Christian de Castro
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The subject of the sentence is neither a do-er
or a be-er, but is acted upon by some other
agent or by something unnamed.
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The Passive Sounds Objective
Using I or We Sounds Unprofessional
The Passive Emphasizes Results
All three appeal to professional motives, but
two of these reasons are based on bad logic.
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Engineers and scientists value objectivity.
They do not want their consideration of the
data contaminated by personal whims and
prejudices
Writers think they are simply stating an
emotionless truth — and not just expressing
their opinion.
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Using the passive construction does not make
writing objective more professional.
Using personal pronouns does not, in itself,
make writing subjective or unprofessional.
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Technical report writing often requires using
the passive voice.
Professional reports emphasize results and
the objects of actions.
Who produced the results or acted on the
object is less important.
Without the passive construction, report
writers would emphasize the wrong
information
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Here are a few guidelines for using the
passive construction wisely and well
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The passive construction inverts the active
word order to emphasize what happened,
rather than who did it:
Active:
I repaired the computer.
Passive:
The computer was repaired by me.
When you want to emphasize results.
 Consider this statement, written three ways.
Which is preferable?
Active:
Our clients followed our advice.
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[The emphasis falls on "our clients."]
Passive:
Our advice was followed by our clients.
Our advice was followed.
[The emphasis falls on "our advice."]
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Sometimes the passive construction is the
clearest way to express your meaning. You
must choose the construction that best says
what you mean.
On these occasions the passive construction
is a better choice:
When the actor is not important
When the actor is unknown
When you do not wish to name the actor
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When you write instructions
When “it” is the subject of the passive verb
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Write instructions with active or imperative
verbs — never with passive verbs.
Passive: Static-sensitive components are stored
in protective enclosures.
Active/ Imperative: Store static-sensitive
components in protective enclosures.
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There are no instances where a passive
construction using "it" as the subject clarifies
anything.
Passive: It should be noted that any
modification may seriously impact our
present transmission rate and/or our system
production.
Active: Any modification may seriously impact
our present transmission rate and/or our
system production.
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Definition from:
http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/
passive.htm
Article:
http://www.protrainco.com/info/essays/pass
ive.htm#eg