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- # Passive Voice Testing - ## The "By Zombies" Test - **Core Concept**: If you can add "by zombies" after the verb and it makes sense, you're using passive voice - **Examples**: - Passive: "The road was crossed (by zombies)" ✓ PASSIVE - Active: "He crossed the road (by zombies)" ✗ NOT PASSIVE - Passive: "The meeting was postponed (by zombies)" ✓ PASSIVE - Active: "We postponed the meeting (by zombies)" ✗ NOT PASSIVE - ## Why Avoid Passive Voice? - Creates distance between the reader and action - Often uses more words than necessary - Can obscure who performed the action - Makes writing less direct and engaging - Weakens the impact of your statements - ## When Passive Voice Works Well - When the actor is unknown: "The store was robbed overnight" - When the actor is irrelevant: "The samples were tested repeatedly" - When you want to emphasize the receiver: "The award was given to a first-time nominee" - In scientific writing where objectivity is valued: "The experiment was conducted under controlled conditions" - ## 20-Minute Practice Exercise - **Setup** (5 min): - Take any letter or document you've recently written - Mark each sentence as you test it with the "by zombies" method - **Revision** (10 min): - Rewrite any passive sentences into active voice - Note how the meaning shifts with each change - Decide which version works better for your purpose - **Analysis** (5 min): - Review your patterns - where do you default to passive? - Create a personal checklist of your passive voice triggers - Consider which instances of passive you intentionally kept and why - ## Quick Reference - **Passive Structure**: [Subject] + [form of "to be"] + [past participle] + [optional "by" phrase] - **Active Structure**: [Actor] + [action verb] + [receiver of action] - ## Related Tool - Books/Writing Tools - See Tool 3: Activate your verbs which references George Orwell's advice: "Never use the passive where you can use the active."