i am writing an essay change the voice

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Active-Passive Voice Converter

Boost your SEO and communicate more clearly by switching between active and passive voices seamlessly. Enhances readability and improve quality in a matter of seconds.

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Instructions

1. Enter the existing text in the designated area.

2. Choose the desired output: active or passive voice.

3. [Optional] Select output length from the drop-down menu.

4. Click "Change Voice"

5. Paste the generated copy into a document or rewrite your copy using our paraphrasing tool.

💡Pro Tip: Break down complex sentences into simpler ones before converting voice.

What is Active and Passive Voice?

Active and passive voice are two different ways of constructing a sentence. The active voice focuses on the subject of the sentence, who is taking direct action. It provides clear, straightforward sentences where the agent of action is easily identifiable, making it a favored choice in most writing styles.

The passive voice shifts the focal point to the recipient of the action. The subject becomes secondary to the action itself, thus presenting a more impartial narrative. It is extensively used in scientific and formal writing where the primary focus is the action, not the doer.

How to Identify Active and Passive Voice?

Active Voice: In active voice, the subject performs the action. It's direct and concise.

Example: "The chef (subject) prepared (action) a delicious meal."

Passive Voice: In passive voice, the subject receives the action. It's indirect and often used when the doer of the action is less important.

Example: "A delicious meal (subject) was prepared (action) by the chef."

Advanced Tip: To identify passive voice, look for forms of "to be" (e.g., was, were) followed by the past participle (e.g., prepared). In active voice, the subject acts on the object, making it easier to spot.

How to Convert Sentences From Active Voice to Passive Voice

Step 1: Identification of Subject, Object, and Verb

A sentence usually comprises the doer (subject), the action (verb), and the receiver (object). In "John reads a book," 'John' is the subject, 'reads' is the verb, and 'a book' is the object. Recognizing these essential components of a sentence is the first step to getting your transformations right.

Step 2: Reposition the Subject-Object Placement

You need to reverse the subject's and object's roles to convert an active voice sentence to passive voice. That means the object becomes the sentence's new subject, and the subject becomes a part of the sentence after the verb.

Taking the same example, the sentence changes to "The book is read by John."

Step 3: Alter Verb Form

The verb in a passive voice sentence typically involves a form of 'be' (is, am, are, was, were) followed by a past participle. So, 'reads' in active voice changes to 'is read' in passive voice.

Step 4: Include Preposition

When the original subject is included in the passive sentence, it is usually introduced by a preposition like 'by'. For example, 'by John' in our previous illustration. However, if the focus of your sentence is the action rather than the doer, you can omit this prepositional phrase.

To recap, the original sentence "John reads a book." is coverted to "The book is read by John" in passive voice.

When to Use A Sentence Voice Changer?

Use passive to active voice sentence converter when:.

1. You want to emphasize the action itself rather than the doer.

2. The doer of the action is unknown or unimportant.

3. Keeping the focus consistent throughout a series of sentences.

4. Avoid putting responsibility on a specific person or group.

5. To sound objective, scientific, technical, or logical.

Passive to Active Voice Example

Passive Voice: "The cake was baked by John."

Active Voice: "John baked the cake."

In the passive voice sentence, the subject (the cake) is acted upon by the verb. The primary attention is on the action done to the subject. In the active voice sentence, the subject (John) is performing the action of the verb. The primary attention shifts to who is doing the action.

Use Active to Passive Voice Sentence Converter When:

1. You want to emphasize the doer of the action.

2. Writing clear and concise instructions.

3. Avoiding ambiguity.

4. Writing non-scientific content.

Active to Passive Voice Example

Active Voice: "John ate the apple."

Passive Voice: "The apple was eaten by John."

In the active voice sentence, the subject (John) is the one doing the action (eating). In the passive voice sentence, the subject (The apple) is the one being acted upon, and the actor (John) is mentioned at the end of the sentence.

Who Benefits From Converting Sentence Voice?

Converting sentences between active and passive voice benefits a wide array of individuals.

1. Writers, editors, linguists, and students studying language or literature can enhance their craft and comprehension.

2. Professionals in marketing or PR sectors can critically analyze text, heightening their ability to produce persuasive content.

3. SEO specialists can optimize content, making it more engaging and search-engine friendly.

How to Make the Most of Active Passive Sentence Voice Changer?

Start by understanding the power of structure in your sentence. Don't merely convert your text; use this tool as an opportunity to refine your content, enriching your writing with diversity in sentence formation.

Apply variety by alternating between active and passive voices, enhancing your writing style and engaging your readers more effectively. Modify the sentence length according to your document needs, whether brief sentences for a swift read or lengthy, descriptive ones for detailed insights.

Convert Sentence Voice & More With Content AI!

You already know how to use our free sentence voice converter tool. But with Content AI, you can do so much more.

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Sentence Voice Changer FAQs

Is an ai sentence voice converter reliable.

Our AI sentence voice converter is highly reliable, guaranteeing consistent and accurate results for your writing needs. The tool is trained on massive datasets of text and code, which allows them to accurately identify and convert sentences between active and passive voice.

Is the copy generated plagiarism-free?

The content produced by our sentence voice converter tool is entirely plagiarism-free, ensuring your originality and peace of mind. It uses a variety of techniques to ensure that the output is unique.

Should you use active voice or passive voice in SEO & content marketing?

You should predominantly use active voice in SEO and content marketing as it makes your writing clearer, more direct, and easier to understand. However, passive voice can be used sparingly for variation or when the focus is on the action rather than the actor.

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ProWritingAid’s Passive Voice Checker FAQs

1. what is passive voice.

Active voice and passive voice are two different grammatical voices in the English language. When a sentence is written in active voice, the subject performs the verb. When a sentence is written in passive voice, the subject gets acted upon by the verb. For example, “I’m writing a novel” is in active voice, whereas “A novel is being written by me” is in passive voice.

2. Why should I avoid passive voice?

Passive voice isn’t a grammatical error, but it’s typically weaker than active voice. Sentences written in passive voice tend to feel unnecessarily convoluted or indirect. Unless you have a strong stylistic reason for using the passive voice, it’s better to write your sentences using the active voice.

3. How does ProWritingAid’s passive voice detector beat Grammarly’s?

With 25+ different writing reports, ProWritingAid offers a more detailed analysis of your writing than other passive voice checkers on the market, such as Grammarly. Plus, ProWritingAid’s premium package is cheaper and more affordable than Grammarly’s.

4. Can I detect passive voice in email? And on social media?

Yes! You can use our browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox and Edge) to use our passive vs active voice checker on nearly every website out there, like Facebook, Twitter, and Medium, as well as on web-based email providers like Gmail and Yahoo.

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Scholarly Voice: Active and Passive Voice

Active and passive voice.

Active voice and passive voice are grammatical constructions that communicate certain information about an action. Specifically, APA explains that voice shows relationships between the verb and the subject and/or object (see APA 7, Section 4.13). Writers need to be intentional about voice in order to ensure clarity. Using active voice often improves clarity, while passive voice can help avoid unnecessary repetition.  

Active voice can help ensure clarity by making it clear to the reader who is taking action in the sentence. In addition, the active voice stresses that the actor (or grammatical subject) precedes the verb, again, putting emphasis on the subject. Passive voice construction leaves out the actor (subject) and focuses on the relationship between the verb and object.

The order of words in a sentence with active voice is subject, verb, object.

• Active voice example : I conducted a study of elementary school teachers.
• This sentence structure puts the emphasis of the sentence on the subject, clarifying who conducted the study. 
• Passive voice example : A study was conducted of elementary school teachers.
• In this sentence, it is not clear who conducted this study. 

Generally, in scholarly writing, with its emphasis on precision and clarity, the active voice is preferred. However, the passive voice is acceptable in some instances, for example:

• if the reader is aware of who the actor is;
• in expository writing, where the goal of the discussion is to provide background, context, or an in-depth explanation;
• if the writer wants to focus on the object or the implications of the actor’s action; or
• to vary sentence structure.  

Also, much like for anthropomorphism , different writing styles have different preferences. So, though you may see the passive voice used heavily in articles that you read for your courses and study, it does not mean that APA style advocates the same usage.

Examples of Writing in the Active Voice

Here are some examples of scholarly writing in the active voice:

• This is active voice because the subject in the sentence precedes the verb, clearly indicating who (I) will take the action (present).

Example : Teachers conducted a pilot study addressing the validity of the TAKS exam.

• Similarly, teachers (subject) clearly took the action (conducted) in this sentence.

Recognizing the Passive Voice

According to APA, writers should select verb tenses and voice carefully. Consider these examples to help determine which form of the verb is most appropriate:

Example : A study was conducted of job satisfaction and turnover.

• Here, it is not clear who did the conducting. In this case, if the context of the paragraph does not clarify who did the action, the writer should revise this sentence to clarify who conducted the study. 

Example : I conducted a study of job satisfaction and turnover.

• This revised sentence clearly indicates the action taker. Using “I” to identify the writer’s role in the research process is often a solution to the passive voice and is encouraged by APA style (see APA 7, Section 4.16).

Using the past tense of the verb “to be” and the past participle of a verb together is often an indication of the passive voice. Here are some signs to look for in your paper:

• Example : This study was conducted.
• Example : Findings were distributed.

Another indication of passive voice is when the verb precedes the actor in the sentence. Even if the action taker is clearly identified in a passive voice construction, the sentence is usually wordier. Making the actor the grammatical subject that comes before the verb helps to streamline the sentence.

• Issue : Though the verb and the actor (action taker) are clearly identified here, to improve clarity and word economy, the writer could place that actor, Rogers, before the verb.
• More concise active voice revision : Rogers (2016) conducted a study on nursing and turnover.  
• Issue : Here, the actor follows the verb, which reduces emphasis and clarity.
• This revised sentence is in the active voice and makes the actor the subject of the sentence.

Intentional Use of the Passive Voice

Sometimes, even in scholarly writing, the passive voice may be used intentionally and strategically. A writer may intentionally include the subject later in the sentence so as to reduce the emphasis and/or importance of the subject in the sentence. See the following examples of intentional passive voice to indicate emphasis:

Example : Schools not meeting AYP for 2 consecutive years will be placed on a “needs improvement” list by the State’s Department of Education.

• Here, all actors taking actions are identified, but this is in the passive voice as the State’s Department of Education is the actor doing the placing, but this verb precedes the actor. This may be an intentional use of the passive voice, to highlight schools not meeting AYP.
• To write this in the active voice, it would be phrased: “The State’s Department of Education will place schools not meeting AYP for 2 consecutive years on a “needs improvement” list. This sentence places the focus on the State’s Department of Education, not the schools.

Example : Participants in the study were incentivized with a $5 coffee gift card, which I gave them upon completion of their interview.

• As the writer and researcher, I may want to vary my sentence structure in order to avoid beginning several sentences with “I provided…” This example is written in the passive voice, but the meaning is clear.

Using Passive Voice in Scholarly Writing

As noted before, passive voice is allowed in APA style and can be quite appropriate, especially when writing about methods and data collection. However, students often overuse the passive voice in their writing, which means their emphasis in the sentence is not on the action taker. Their writing is also at risk of being repetitive. Consider the following paragraph in which the passive voice is used in each sentence:

A survey was administered . Using a convenience sample, 68 teachers were invited to participate in the survey by emailing them an invitation. E-mail addresses of teachers who fit the requirements for participation were provided by the principal of the school . The teachers were e-mailed an information sheet and a consent form. Responses were collected from 45 teachers… As you can see, the reader has no idea who is performing these actions, which makes the research process unclear. This is at odds with the goal of the methods discussion, which is to be clear and succinct regarding the process of data collection and analysis.

However, if translated entirely to the active voice, clearly indicating the researcher’s role, “I” becomes redundant and repetitive, interrupting the flow of the paragraph:

In this study, I administered a survey. I created a convenience sample of 68 teachers. I invited them to participate in the survey by emailing them an invitation. I obtained e-mail addresses from the principal of the school… “I” is quite redundant here and repetitive for the reader.

The Walden Writing Center suggests that students use “I” in the first sentence of the paragraph . Then, as long as it is clear to the reader that the student (writer) is the actor in the remaining sentences, use the active and passive voices appropriately to achieve precision and clarity (where applicable):

In this study, I administered a survey using a convenience sample. Sixty-eight teachers were invited to participate in the survey. The principal of the school provided me with the e-mail addresses of teachers who fit the requirements for participation. I e-mailed the teachers an information sheet and a consent form. A total of 45 teachers responded …

The use of the passive voice is complicated and requires careful attention and skill. There are no hard-and-fast rules. Using these guidelines, however, should help writers be clearer and more engaging in their writing, as well as achieving the intended purposes.

Remember, use voice strategically. APA recommends the active voice for clarity. However, the passive voice may be used, with intention, to remove the emphasis on the subject and also as a method for varying sentence structure. So, generally write in the active voice, but consider some of the above examples and some uses of the passive voice that may be useful to implement in your writing. Just be sure that the reader is always aware of who is taking the action of the verb.

• For more practice, try our Clarifying the Actor module .

Related Resources

• Principles of Writing: Active and Passive Voice (blog post) APA Style Blog post.

Didn't find what you need? Email us at [email protected] .

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Changing Passive to Active Voice

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This page is brought to you by the OWL at Purdue University. When printing this page, you must include the entire legal notice.

Copyright ©1995-2018 by The Writing Lab & The OWL at Purdue and Purdue University. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, reproduced, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without permission. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our terms and conditions of fair use.

If you want to change a passive-voice sentence to active voice, find the agent in a "by the..." phrase, or consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb. Make that agent the subject of the sentence, and change the verb accordingly. Sometimes you will need to infer the agent from the surrounding sentences which provide context.

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a by the... phrase. Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit by the... phrase is optional.

This passive voice contains a by the... phrase. Removing the by the... phrase and reworking the sentence will give it the active voice.

Image Caption: Making "most of the class" the subject of the sentence moves the action of the sentence onto the class, and shifts the sentence from passive into active voice.

The agent is not explicitly stated, but it is most likely researchers. Making the agent the subject of the sentence will allow you to use the active voice.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the researchers) are now performing the action as the sentence subject.

The CIA director and his close advisors are the agent of change in this sentence, but they are not the subject. Making the agent the subject will transform the sentence into a more concise, active voice phrase.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (the CIA director and his close advisors) is performing the action as the sentence subject.

The agent is not specified in this sentence.

This sentence now uses the active voice because the agent (we) is the subject of the sentence.

This active voice sentence's agent is the presiding officer, which is the subject.

Changing the sentence subject from the agent (the presiding officer) to the object of the verb (the committee's recommendation) and adding a by the...phrase transforms the sentence into the passive voice.

This sentence includes the agent (the leaders) as the subject performing the action of the verb.

This sentence now uses the passive voice because the subject has been changed from the agent (the leaders) to the object of the verb (a fair resolution).

The scientists are the agent performing the verb's action in this active voice sentence.

This passive voice sentence no longer specifies the agent (scientists) and now uses the passive voice because the verb's object (traces of ice) is now the subject.

• Writing Worksheets and Other Writing Resources

Nine Basic Ways to Improve Your Style in Academic Writing

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• Our Mission and Core Values

1. Use ACTIVE VOICE

Don't say:  "The stepmother's house was cleaned by Cinderella."  (Passive.)

Say instead:  "Cinderella cleaned the stepmother's house."  (Active voice.)

Passive voice construction ("was cleaned") is reserved for those occasions where the "do-er" of the action is unknown.

Example:  "Prince Charming saw the glass slipper that was left behind."

2. Mix it up in terms of PUNCTUATION

Here are a few commonly misused punctuation marks that a lot of people aren't sure about:

The  semi-colon (;)  separates two complete sentences that are complementary.

Example:  "She was always covered in cinders from cleaning the fireplace; they called her Cinderella."

The  colon (:)  is used...

a. preceding a list.

Example:  "Before her stepmother awoke, Cinderella had three chores to complete: feeding the chickens, cooking breakfast, and doing the wash." 


b. as a sort of "drum roll," preceding some big revelation.

Example:  "One thing fueled the wicked stepmother's hatred for Cinderella: jealousy."  


The  dash (--)  is made by typing two hyphens (-). No spaces go in between the dash and the text. It is used...

a. to bracket off some explanatory information.

Example:  "Even Cinderella's stepsisters-who were not nearly as lovely or virtuous as Cinderella--were allowed to go to the ball." 


b. in the "drum roll" sense of the colon.

Example:  "Prince Charming would find this mystery lady--even if he had to put the slipper on every other girl in the kingdom."  


3. Vary your SENTENCE STRUCTURE

Don't say:  "Cinderella saw her fairy godmother appear. She was dressed in blue. She held a wand. The wand had a star on it. She was covered in sparkles. Cinderella was amazed. She asked who the woman was. The woman said, 'I am your fairy godmother.' She said she would get Cinderella a dress and a coach. She said she would help Cinderella go to the ball."

Instead say: (there are multiple correct ways to rewrite this, but here's one)  "Amazed, Cinderella watched as her fairy godmother appeared. The woman dressed in blue was covered in sparkles and carried a star-shaped wand. Cinderella asked the woman who she was, to which the woman replied, 'I am your fairy godmother." The fairy godmother would get Cinderella a dress and a coach; she would help Cinderella get to the ball."

4. Closely related to this, avoid CHOPPINESS

Don't say:  "She scrubbed the floors. They were dirty. She used a mop. She sighed sadly. It was as if she were a servant ."

Instead say : (again, there are multiple ways to do this)  "She scrubbed the dirty floors using a mop, as if she were a servant. She sighed sadly."

5. Avoid REPETITION.

Don't say:  "The stepsisters were jealous and envious ."

Instead say :  "The stepsisters were jealous ."  (...or envious. Pick one.)

6. Be CONCISE

Don't say:  "The mystery lady was one who every eligible man at the ball admired."

Instead say :  "Every eligible man at the ball admired the mystery lady."

7. Use the VOCABULARY that you know.

Don't always feel you have to use big words. It is always better to be clear and use simple language rather than showing off flashy words you aren't sure about and potentially misusing them. This is not to say, however, that you should settle for very weak vocabulary choices (like "bad" or "big" or "mad").

8. But also work on expanding your VOCABULARY.

When reading, look up words you don't know. See how they're used. Start a list. Incorporate them into your writing as you feel comfortable and as they are appropriate.

9. Keep language FORMAL and avoid language of everyday speech.

Don't say:  "Cinderella was mellow and good. She never let her stepmother get to her ."

Say instead:  "Cinderella was mild-mannered and kind. She never let her stepmother affect her high spirits ."

So, essentially, when it comes to working on style, there are three things to remember:

Empower yourself with knowledge..

Learn to punctuate correctly, enhance your vocabulary, etc. Give yourself all the tools there are so that you are free to...

...Mix it up!

Avoid repetition of words and sentence structure. Variance promotes good "flow" and is more interesting for your reader.

"Write to EXPRESS, not to IMPRESS."

Above all, write actively, clearly, and concisely.

Amber Carini

Student Learning Center, University of California, Berkeley

©2002 UC Regents

  This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.

Home / Writing / Using Active Voice: Goodbye “to be,” Hello Better Writing!

Using Active Voice: Goodbye “to be,” Hello Better Writing!

Posted 12 December 2017

Under Writing

Have you ever heard an instructor say it is important to write essays in an active voice ? Indeed, using an active voice is a simple and effective way to make your writing flow better and make your overall argument sound stronger. But, what does writing in an active voice actually mean?

Often, instructors will throw out that rule without properly explaining what active voice looks like compared to an inactive voice. The secret to writing in an active voice is actually quite simple —avoid using “to be” verbs.

Writing in an active voice doesn’t have to feel like an added stress to your writing process. In fact, by making a clear effort to write in an active voice, you will find that your ideas come across more clearly and that your essays will be longer.

Here are 3 steps to cutting “to be” verbs and writing in an active voice.

1. Understand what a “to be” verb is and looks like

Of all the verbs in the English language, you probably use “to be” verbs most often in your daily conversations and in simple writing (there are probably lots of examples in your text message history). In English, “to be” verbs indicate a literal state of being . Of course, depending on the noun and tense of the sentence they look a little different

Here are all of the forms of “to be” verbs:

• Infinitive to be “I want to be a writer”
• Present am, is, are “I am a teacher” “You are a student”
• Past was, were “I was walking”
• Present Participle being “I was being moody last night”
• Past Participle been “I had been shopping at Wegman’s until Whole foods opened.”
• Present Subjunctive be “I like my apartment, but I would prefer there be better parking options”
• Past Subjunctive were “If I were a rich woman, I would still work”
• Imperative be “Be studious!”
• Become- “I want to become a better writer”

2. Understand why “to be” verbs lend themselves to passive voice and other problems in writing

Although “to be” verbs are grammatically correct to use in a sentence, you want to avoid using them as the main verb of your sentence in academic writing, because they cause these three issues associated with inactive voice.

Sentences with a “to be” verb are often quite vague

You probably use “to be” verbs pretty often in your spoken interactions, because they lend themselves well to making short declarative statements that require the listener to use context clues to derive meaning, without the speaker needing to be overly specific.

For example, say you have plans to meet your friend for lunch, but you are running a few minutes behind. You might text them to say:

“I am leaving now!”

In this sentence, you haven’t described the exact action you are performing, such as walking or driving your car, and have instead described “leaving” as your literal state of being. But, because your friend already knows the context behind this sentence, they do not need further information to understand that you are probably walking or driving over to the restaurant. Which is why this sentence is perfectly normal and acceptable for informal writing and spoken English.

In more formal essay writing you want to avoid this construction precisely because it does not describe what action you are actually performing. While it might sound overly formal to write out in a text message, you could say:

“I just started my car engine, and will start to drive to the restaurant. I will arrive in five minutes.”

A reader who does not have the full context of your message will gain a clearer sense of your exact meaning.

Obscures the actors of a sentence

Another main issue that comes up if you use a “to be” verb as the main verb in your sentence, is that it often puts an emphasis on a noun in the sentence that isn’t the actual person or group performing the action.

For example, you might say in a paper arguing that more people should recycle:

“All plastic bottles should be recycled.”

This sentence is grammatically correct, and again would sound normal in conversational English. However, it does not actually specify who should perform the action in the sentence. Do the plastic bottles recycle themselves? No!

You could easily rephrase this sentence using an active voice to instead read:

“Individual people should recycle every plastic bottle that they use.”

This sentence construction is not only longer, and more specific—it is also more persuasive.

Lends itself to passive voice

Using “to be” verbs can also lead you towards using the passive voice in your essay, which is a more specific grammatical construction than just using a “to be” verb. In the passive voice, the noun or noun phrase that would be the object of an active sentence appears as the subject.

For example, in the active voice, you might say:

“The teacher graded our papers.”

In the passive voice this sentence would read:

“The papers were graded by our teacher.”

Notice how the object of the sentence appears as the subject of the sentence in passive voice. This is an issue, because it not only obscures the actors of the sentence, it can make it easy to drop the actor all together.

For example, it would be grammatically correct to just say:

“The papers were graded.”

In this sentence, the actor performing the verb drops away, and the sentence becomes even more vague.

It is easy to spot the passive voice in writing because it requires either the “was” or “were” form of the “to be” verb as the main verb of the sentence. While not every instance of a “to be” verb is the passive voice, the passive voice requires using these two specific “to be” verbs.

Hard to prove

You also want to avoid using “to be” verbs as the main verb of your sentence in formal or academic writing, because it makes it hard to prove that the sentence is correct. This problem arises because “to be” verbs indicate a literal state of being.

For example, in your essay on recycling, you might say:

“Plastic waste is harmful to the environment.”

Though this sentence is a grammatically correct and declarative statement, it does not give a specific depiction of what you mean. It is easy for the reader to question “how is it harmful to the environment?” By stating the noun phrase “plastic waste” is in a state of being that is “harmful to the environment,” you have not detailed what action plastic waste performs on the environment. It is therefore easier for the reader to dismiss your claim.

To phrase this same idea in the active voice, you might instead say:

“When plastic waste builds up in landfills, it harms the environment because it disrupts the ecosystems of the wildlife habitat.”

Not only have you moved into the active voice, your sentence is longer and more specific!

3. Use these strategies to avoid using “to be” verbs in your writing

The easiest way to avoid using these pesky “to be” verbs in your writing is to always structure your sentences to have the subject who performs the action come before the verbs .

For Example :

“At the 2017 Superbowl the halftime show was performed by Lady Gaga.”

In this sentence, the subject “Lady Gaga” does not appear until the end of the sentence, and there is a “to be” verb in the passive voice “was.” In order to put this sentence in the active voice, simply restructure the sentence to have the subject appear before the verb.

In the active voice, this sentence would read:

“Lady Gaga performed at the 2017 Superbowl half-time show.”

Another effective strategy to avoid using “to be” verbs in your essay is to make sure you don’t use any verbs that end in “ing.” You want to avoid this, because usually verbs that end in “ing” use a “to be” verb as the main verb in the phrase.

For example:

“Plastic waste is polluting the environment.”

To make this sentence active take the verb that has the “ing” ending and make it the main verb of the sentence to instead read “Plastic waste pollutes the environment.” It is a general rule that active voice requires the verb of the sentence to end with an “s” rather than “ing.”

Although maintaining an active voice in your writing may feel challenging at first, if you focus on avoiding “to be” verbs in each sentence, you will write clear and better developed sentences in the active voice. Once you have gone through these tips, writing in the active voice will come easily to you.

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About the Author

Melanie brusseler.

Melanie is a writer based in Atlanta, Georgia. She graduated in 2017 from Penn State University with a MA in English (creative writing) and with dual BA’s in English and international politics from Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College. While at Penn State, Melanie taught several semesters of PSU’s freshman course in rhetoric and composition—mainly lecturing on why students should never use “to be” verbs in academic writing.

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Tips for Developing Your Voice in Writing

by Melissa Donovan | May 6, 2021 | Creative Writing | 12 comments

Develop your voice in writing.

Each and every writer has a distinct way of writing. We repeat certain words, phrases, and expressions; there are patterns in how we arrange words in sentences and paragraphs, and our writing often carries a recognizable tone and rhythm.

The term for this is voice .

Wikipedia defines one’s voice in writing as “ a combination of common usage of syntax, diction, punctuation, character development, dialogue, etc., within a given body of text (or across several works). ”

In several of my college literature courses, we were given long lists of quotes from literary works, and we had to identify the author of each one. The professors didn’t expect us to memorize the entire literary canon; we were to have learned how to identify each author’s voice.

Imagine someone reading a snippet of text and knowing that you wrote it! That’s voice.

How to Develop Your Voice in Writing

It can take years for a writer to develop a distinct voice. Some writers have a natural voice. Others work at crafting a unique voice with a particular tone or attitude. And plenty of writers don’t think about voice at all. But voice is a key element of writing, because it represents you as a writer and can help readers connect with your work. For example, some readers will be turned off by a sarcastic tone whereas others may be drawn to it. By cultivating your voice, you can exert more creative control over your work and its performance in the marketplace.

Here are some tips for developing your voice in writing:

• Study literature. You can do this in a formal setting, but you can also study on your own. Read several works by the same author. Take notes about the identifying features of the writer’s voice. Compare the voices of two or more authors.
• Describe authors’ voices, including your own. After reading a piece, make a list of five words that describe the author’s voice. Was it serious? Funny? Witty? Review your own work and do the same.
• Talk to someone. Not literally. Your tone and manner changes, depending on whom you’re speaking with. You probably don’t talk to your grandmother the same way you talk to your best friend. Now apply that to your writing. Who are your readers? How do you talk to them?
• Get an outside opinion. Show your work to some friends and ask them to describe your voice in three words or fewer. Do their descriptions of your voice in writing match the voice you want to project?
• Be your best self. Try writing as naturally as you can. Don’t think too much as you put the words down. Focus more on the thoughts, ideas, and images that you’re expressing. Review the piece to examine your voice. Is that the real you? Are there parts of your voice that you want to work on, like phrases you repeat too often or words that are unnecessary? Fine-tune your voice in writing.
• Personality: If you’re writing a history text, the style should be without any discernible personality. But in creative writing, readers connect with prose that shows style and personality. Does your writing match your personality? Does it take on a new persona, depending on what you’re writing? Ask some friends if they detect your personality in your prose.
• Emotion: Many creative works are emotional. Horror stories often have a scary or brooding tone. Romance can range from passionate to humorous. Does the emotional tone of your voice match the emotional tone of your work?

The best way to develop your voice in writing is to simply pay attention. Examine other writers’ voices as well as your own. Ask challenging questions about how your voice comes across, put some effort into crafting a voice that is identifiable and uniquely yours, and keep writing!

12 Comments

I have often noticed that writers tend to have a favourite way of putting things, and that they often have ‘pet incidents’ that seem to find their way into more than one novel, even if the characters are not continuations of those in earlier books. Linton Barclay is a fine example of this is his excellent crime novels, and even Stephen King has recurring and ‘ouchy’ references to poison ivy!

I don’t know if you are aware of the website ‘I write like’? You probably wouldn’t approve of it, but it can be quite interesting; I have got the same author each time I have submitted my stuff to it, so at least it is consistent!

Have a good day, Melissam

Best wishes,

I haven’t heard of the website I Write Like , but it looks interesting. I’m not sure about the technology behind it, but if it really compares our prose to that of established authors, then it would be interesting to see who we write like. Right now I cannot get the site to load, so I’ll have to check it out later.

I know I have a writing style, and I believe I am consistent -but I haven’t the foggiest idea what that would be.

Words flow through me, with little forethought. The stories come alive as I type them on my screen. I hope that others will enjoy my words, but I am as untrained as a new born babe. Scary, uh?

I liked this article. Thanks for giving all of us these wonderful tips.

People find their style in different ways. Some of us write a lot and may even change according to people’s reactions. Although I have learned to be more careful when commenting to posts and others’ comments, I chose the way I wrote in my novel and I wasn’t about to change it for anyone but myself. Though I did discover from my editor certain pesky words or phrases that I tended to repeat. I may have used the word “just” about 50 times! Sherrie

Me too — the best thing about working with an editor was discovering my own writing quirks!

I don’t think it’s scary. I think it’s pretty cool! You’re welcome.

Great post, Melissa. I like the advice to compare several works by the same author to get a handle on what makes their voice distinct. Will share this on Twitter.

Kind regards, Bridget

Thanks, Bridget!

An interesting post. I’m unsure what my voice is. It’s not humerous, that I do know. You Talk about favourite words and phrases, or particular incidents as part of ‘voice’. But we are often told to check for these writing ‘tics’ and eliminate them. Wouldn’t this alter the writer’s voice?

I’m not sure what is meant by writing “tics.” Yes, any writer can have favorite words, phrases, or habits that are either good or bad (or neutral). Of course, if it weakens the writing, we should try to eliminate a habit. As an example of what I was describing, one person might always say, “Terrific!” upon receiving good news while another person might always say, “That’s awesome!” It’s just a preferred word or phrase that is one part of someone’s voice (in writing).

You have covered a really interesting topic here. And from what I have experienced, the voice keeps evolving through time, experiences, and emotions. And I think that is the reason that when I look back at my own work, that once I loved, now seems a little less appealing. It is truly intriguing to be able to notice changes in your own voice because of how much your personality is different yet similar to the person you were before.

Thanks for sharing such a thought-provoking article, I admire your voice 🙂

I agree that many writers’ voices change over time. Interesting, isn’t it?

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Dec 2, 2022

6 Techniques To Change Tone In Writing Easily

Learn how to change tone in writing so that it comes off as fair and reasonable to readers of diverse backgrounds.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Do you need help finding the perfect voice for your content's target audience?

The writer's primary responsibility is to strike a balance that pleases both the writer and the reader. 

However, many authors have a bias that turns off readers - they only present one side of an argument. 

There are two possible causes for this: either the writer has a narrow target audience in mind or needs more skills to adapt the tone of their writing to appeal to a broader audience.

If you belong to the second group of writings,  consider this your lucky day.

Today, we'll talk about how to change tone in writing so that it comes off as fair and reasonable to readers of diverse backgrounds.

Stay tuned!

Why Does The Tone Of Voice Matter in Writing?

The tone of voice in writing can be just as important as the words themselves. 

It is a way you can use language to convey your attitude and intentions, and influence the way your readers perceive your message.

If you want to make a positive impression in your writing, it's important to choose a tone of voice that is friendly and upbeat. 

For instance, If you're submitting a piece to a magazine, you should keep it light and fun. 

On the other hand, if you're trying to be persuasive or convincing, a more serious or authoritative tone may be more effective . 

Writing a blog post or a research paper, for example, requires an objective tone.

To get an appropriate tone in your writing, it is vital to remember that you’re writing for a specific audience. 

Thus, it is essential to make sure you're familiar with their preferences.

Let’s discover how to change tone in writing to set the appropriate tone of voice in your content.

How to Change Tone In Writing — 6 Techniques To Level Up Your Content

1. use a wide range of strategies to tackle the problem..

We all know that topics can be complex and nuanced. However, it's easy to fall into the trap of treating your topic in a stereotyped or one-dimensional manner . 

This can lead to many problems down the line, so it's important to avoid this from the start.

One way to avoid treating your topic in a stereotypical manner is to keep an open mind . 

Be willing to explore all sides of your topic, and don't be afraid to change your opinion if new information arises.

When it comes to your blog, don't take the easy way out by simply rehashing what others have already said about your subject. 

Instead , put your own spin on it and offer up a fresh perspective . 

The world of blogging is vast and there are always new perspectives and fresh spins on old topics. 

If you feel like you have something new to say on a subject, don't be afraid to say it. The worst that can happen is that people will disagree with you, but that's okay. 

Engaging in thoughtful discourse is one of the best parts of blogging. This will make your blog more memorable and help you stand out from the rest .

2. Ruthlessly Cut Unnecessary Words

No matter how well you write, your first draft is almost never perfect. In fact, it's often a far cry from perfect. That's why editing is so important.

However, it's easy to get caught up in flowery language and unnecessarily long sentences when writing, making it seem cumbersome and difficult to read. 

Instead, focus on using simple, clear language to convey your message effectively . This will make your writing more accessible and easy to understand .

If you want your writing to be more effective, you need to cut the fat and get to the point . 

For example, Hemingway editor is an excellent asset that can help you keep your content in line. 

It will highlight passive voice, sentences that are hard to read and provide appropriate synonym suggestions.

Be ruthless with your editing to make your writing as clear and concise as possible — t rim away any words or phrases that don't contribute directly to your messag e. 

Your readers will thank you for it!

3. Use Tension To Sustain Your Pitch

Tension is an important element in writing, especially in fiction. It's what makes the reader keep turning the pages, anxious to find out what happens next .

And there are different types of tension that can be used in writing:

• Suspense — the type of tension that can be used to keep the reader guessing and wanting more. 
• Conflict — another type of tension which keeps the reader engaged by creating a sense of opposition or struggle.

Both types of tension are important in writing and can be used to encourage your audience to scroll through your content without notice .

For example, if you want to create a tense scene, look for words that describe feelings of anxiety or fear. 

Conversely, If you want to sustain a light-hearted tone, look for upbeat and positive words. 

And to add tension and sustain tone in your writing, you can first use a thesaurus to find words that convey the feeling you're going for . 

You can start with UsingEnglish — a language tool that offers a large collection of tools and resources for students, teachers, and academics for various subject areas.

In addition, here are some tips to help you effectively add tension and sustain tone in your writing:

1. Use punchy and short sentences.

2. Create a sense of urgency by using words like "now" or "quickly."

3. Use an active voice to keep things moving forward.

4. Be specific in your descriptions to create a vivid picture for readers.

5. Use dialogue to reveal characters and advance the plot.

6. Write with emotion to connect with readers on a deeper level.

Experimenting with different word choices until you find ones that create the desired effect in your writing will make your writing more memorable, engaging, and effective.

4. Develop a Sense of Voice by Including Specifics

No matter what you're writing, it's important to convey the right tone. The best way to do this is through your details and descriptions .

For example, if you're writing a lighthearted piece, you might want to use playful language and vivid imagery . 

On the other hand, if you're writing something more serious, you'll want to use more concrete and precise language .

Pay attention to the words you use and the images you invoke. 

By carefully crafting your details, you can ensure that your readers get the right message and engage with what you’re saying.

5. Speak Up

Your voice is one of the most powerful tools you have as a writer. It can be used to convey emotion, create atmosphere, and engage your reader on a personal level . 

When used effectively, your voice can make your writing come alive and help you connect with your audience in a way that dry, lifeless prose cannot.

One of the best ways to ensure that your writing has an impact is to use your own voice. 

This means being authentic and true to yourself – don't try to imitate someone else's style or tone, but let your own voice come through.

Here are some fundamental aspects to keep in mind when including your own tone of voice:

• Your content should be relevant and useful to your audience.
• Make it interesting and informative by providing value to your readers.
• Don't write just for the sake of writing – make sure your content is worth reading.

Another effective way to develop and hone your voice as a writer is to read aloud . 

This will help you to hear how your words sound and also identify any areas where you may need to make adjustments. 

Additionally, reading aloud will also help you to get a feel for the rhythm and flow of your writing .

6. Maintain The Same Tone From Start to Finish

When you're writing a blog post, it's important to keep the tone of your writing consistent from start to finish . 

This will help create a cohesive piece that flows well and engages the reader throughout.

One way to ensure a consistent tone is to plan out your article before you start writing . 

By knowing what points you want to hit and what overall message you want to communicate, it'll be easier to stay on track as you write. 

For instance, If you are writing a piece that is meant to be serious, keep the tone consistent throughout the piece. 

Do not start off with a serious tone and then switch to a more casual tone later on. This will confuse the reader and take away from the overall message of the piece.

On the other hand, if you are writing a piece that is meant to be more light-hearted, you can play around with the tone a bit more. 

You can start off with a light-hearted tone and then switch to a more serious tone later on. 

Additionally, try to avoid switching between first and third person too frequently, as this can disrupt the flow of the story.

By maintaining a constant tone of voice throughout the article, you will prevent the reader from being confused and from assuming you are writing for two distinct audiences.

How to Change Tone In Writing Using TextCortex

The tone you choose while writing is important, as you can see. 

It narrows down the people who already like your work and draws in more people who are in agreement with what you're saying.

We hope that these techniques to change tone in writing can help you become a better writer and attract more audience to your content.

However, there is one more technique we’ll like to share with you — change the tone in your writing by utilizing an AI-powered rewriting add-on called Text Cortex .

What is TextCortex?

TextCortex is a revolutionary text processing and paraphrasing tool that helps you get the most out of your content, and to make text processing easier and more efficient.

Some of the key functionalities of TextCortex include:

• A powerful and user-friendly interface.
• Advanced AI writers that have the ability to write and rewrite your text.
• A variety of rewriting features and 60+ AI templates for instant creation of any type of content.
• Access to 30+ most popular online platforms and text editors such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Gmail, Google Docs, etc

How To Change The Tone With TextCortex?

To use TextCortex, the first thing to do is to add a rewriting Chrome extension to your browser.

To change the voice of a certain paragraph, simply highlight it and choose the ‘Tone’ feature from the feature bar that appears below the selected text.

At the bottom of the suggestion window you’ll get to choose between 10+ different tones of voice , such as formal, urgent, encouraging, cheerful, decisive, concise, etc.

The actual value of the TextCortex rewriting add-on is found in the interoperability of its capabilities.

That means that you can tweak your original text in many ways, including:

Rewriting — get a clearer and better context of the original text without losing its meaning .

Expanding — extend the length of your sentences and paragraphs.

Summarizing — shorten your original text for a brief information.

Autocompleting — get full sentences from a few-words concept.

Creating emails from bullets — get ready-to-sent emails from key takeaways.

Writing long-form posts — generate your blog posts from 5-word-ideas.

Translating — translate your original text in 10+ languages including German, French, Romanian, Ukrainian, etc.

In addition, by utilizing TextCortex add-on, you can track your readability metrics such as character and word count, reading time and overall readability score.

Tempted to give it a try?

Get TextCortex Chrome extension today to eliminate 80% of your writing work, enhance your writing abilities and produce consistently high-quality content.

Interested in adopting AI across your organization?

Teams using TextCortex save 3 work days a month per employee and achieve up to 28x ROI.

Did you like this article? Explore a few more related posts.

12 UX Writing Best Practices You Should Know

7 Best Practices for Writing Policies and Procedures

9 Best Practices for Writing User Stories

Questions  answers..

TextCortex is a powerful AI-powered writing tool that can help you reduce your writing time, handle big tasks, and create high-quality content without errors. With its customizable platform, personalized intelligence experience, advanced writing and research capabilities, and error-free content, TextCortex is the perfect tool for creative professionals who want to be a creative force in their industry.

Our AI copilot learned how to write from more than 3 billion sentences and has the ability to create unique content. However, fact-checking is something which still requires a human approval.

TextCortex supports more than 25 languages including English, Dutch, German, Ukranian, Romanian, Spanish, Portuguese, French, Italian.

Yes, TextCortex is completely free to use with all of its features. When you sign up, you receive 100 free creations. Then you will receive 20 recurring creations every day on the free plan.

Yes, we have a Text Generation API, please talk to us directly to implement it. You can reach out to us at [email protected]

Account sharing is not allowed. If you have a need for more than 5 seats for an account, you can directly contact us at [email protected]

Yes, TextCortex offers 14-day free trial for users to try out all features extensively with higher number of generations. But keep in mind that you can already try everything with the free plan. There is no feature that is locked behind a premium plan.

Overall, TextCortex AI has over 1000 five-star reviews on reputable review sites such as G2, Trustpilot and Capterra.

TextCortex learns and adapts to your unique writing style and knowledge, making it easier for you to write high-quality & personalized content.

Your premium features will be available until the end of your subscription date, then your account plan will be set to Free plan.

General Questions

Your ai copilot is ready to collaborate with you..

Connect your knowledge, customize the style and start collaborating with your AI copilot.

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Your Writing “Voice”

What Is Voice in an Academic Essay or Some Other Type of Composition?

Voice has at least two distinct meanings:

• The audible sound of a person speaking (e.g., high-pitched, rhythmic, loud, soft, accent, pace). Even in writing, the author’s words create the “sound” of the writer talking. Effective writers can control the sound of their words in their readers’ heads.
• The communicator’s implied beliefs and values. Every utterance conveys the impression of a person behind the words—a “self” that may be authentic or constructed as a persona. This “self” can extend beyond an implied personality to include the communicator’s political, philosophical, and social values as well as his or her commitment to certain causes (civil rights, gay rights, women’s rights).

Elements of Voice

Because audiences experience a communicator’s voice as a whole expression, not a set of parts, a reconsideration of some commonly understood elements of voice may be useful.

• Tone. Tone is the communicator’s attitude toward the subject and audience as expressed in a text. For example, are you trying to convey anger, joy, sarcasm, contempt, anxiety, or respect? To gain control of your tone, read drafts aloud and listen to the attitudes you convey. Is the tone consistent throughout the text? Should it be? Have you struck the tone that you were hoping to strike?
• Style. Style is the distinctive way you express yourself. It can change from day to day but it is always you. The style that you choose for a particular writing assignment will largely depend on your subject, purpose, and audience. Style in writing is affected by such values as the level of formality/informality appropriate to the situation and by the simplicity or complexity of words, sentences, and paragraphs. To gain control of style, learn to analyze the purpose and audience. Decide how you want to present yourself and ensure that it suits the occasion.
• Values. Values include your political, social, religious, and philosophical beliefs. Your background, opinions, and beliefs will be part of everything you write, but you must learn when to express them directly and when not to. For example, including your values would enhance a personal essay or other autobiographical writing, but it might undermine a sense of objectivity in an interpretive or research paper. To gain control of the values in your writing, consider whether the purpose of the assignment calls for implicit or explicit value statements. Examine your drafts for opinion and judgment words that reveal your values and take them out if they are not appropriate.
• Authority. Authority comes from knowledge and is projected through self-confidence. You can exert and project real authority only if you know your material well, whether it’s the facts of your life or carefully researched material. The better you know your subject (and this is often learned through drafting), the more authoritative you will sound. Your audience will hear that authority in your words.

What Is Voice in an Academic Essay?

Many students arrive at college with the notion that they must not use the first-person “I” point of view when writing an academic essay . The personal voice, so goes the reasoning, undermines the student writer’s authority by making the analysis or argument or whatever the student is writing seem too subjective or opinionated to be academic. The student who subscribes to this notion is correct—or possibly incorrect; it depends on how the assignment has been designed. One advantage of not using the first-person “I” is that it challenges the student to present ideas as objective claims, which will amplify the degree to which the claims require support to be convincing. Notice the different effects of these two claims:

I feel that Pablo Picasso’s reputation as a great artist conflicts with what his biographers have to say about his personal relationships, especially with women.  

Pablo Picasso’s reputation as a great artist conflicts with what his biographers have to say about his personal relationships, especially with women.  

      The only measurable difference between the two sentences above is that the first of them is couched in the first-person phrase “I feel.” The two sentences differ more consequentially in terms of effect, however. The writer—and readers—of the second sentence are probably going to sense more strongly the need for support to make the claim convincing. That’s a good thing, for it indicates to the writer the work that needs to be done to make the claim convincing.

      The disadvantage of keeping the first-person “I” voice out of an essay is that it may squelch something unique and authentic about the writer’s voice and vision, turning the essay into something more formal in tone—something more conventionally academic, let’s say. What is more, while denying the first-person “I” a place in an academic essay may heighten awareness of an essay’s argumentative weaknesses, it also participates in a tradition that privileges certain modes of thought and expression. The traditional ways of approaching academic essays, instructors are coming to accept, may be too limiting for today’s students.

      So, is the first-person “I” correct or incorrect? Ask your instructor this question before you begin writing your academic essay . Talk about what you need, in terms of voice, to convey your ideas most effectively.

Quick tip about citing sources in MLA style

What’s a thesis, sample mla essays.

• Student Life
• Career Success
• Champlain College Online
• About Champlain College
• Centers of Experience
• Media Inquiries
• Contact Champlain
• Maps & Directions
• Consumer Information

How to Find your Individual Writing Voice

Finding your voice in writing is a crucial part of becoming an excellent writer.

It's what makes your stories, essays, and assignments unique, authentic, and recognizable. And it's how you infuse your own personality and tone into your work to craft essays that are as individual and interesting as you are.

But it can be difficult to define voice.

For some, it's the way you tell a story. For others, it's your tone or your feelings about a story. The most comprehensive definition of voice is that it's a combination of all of the things that make your writing sound like you: tone, feelings, perspective, and personality.

How to Develop your Writing Voice

It's worth your time to develop your voice in writing because you want your essays to be unique and original. People should read your work and instantly be able to recognize you as the author. These exercises help you reflect on who you truly are and what aspects of you define your voice.

1. Know Thyself

Duh. This one makes perfect sense. It's hard to infuse more of "you" into your writing if you don't know exactly who "you" are.

• Think about how you would describe yourself.
• Make a list of the first three adjectives that pop into your head.

If you described yourself as funny, outgoing, and friendly, are these the same words you would use to describe your writing?

Create a voice that is faithful to these words. Keep these three adjectives in mind when you're developing your tone. And continue reading to learn more exercises to build on adding the personality you want to portray in your writing.

2. Keep your Audience in Mind

You are probably writing for many different people at this stage of life. And the way you write changes depending on if you are writing for teachers, peers, yourself, admissions teams , or potential managers.

Naturally, your writing voice will adapt as your audience changes.

Think about how differently you speak to your friends versus how you speak to a teacher. You use a different tone, style, and personality.

This is the same for when you are writing. Your voice can fluctuate, but it is still guided by your authentic self. Try this activity:

• Take one writing prompt and write it for three different audiences (maybe try peers, teacher, and an admissions team). You can find sample prompts online or you can write a simple essay about what you would do if you won a million dollars.
• How does your voice change depending on the audience? How does it stay the same?

Certain parts of your personality will still be present in all three prompts. Maybe you incorporate humor. Maybe you show a great passion for volunteering. This is your voice.

Some aspects might vary. You might use more slang or a more familiar tone with a peer. You might be more formal with an admissions team. This is also your voice. It's just adjusting to meet the demands of your audience.

3. Listen to Yourself

Your speaking voice can help you discover your writing voice. The way you sound when you speak should be reflected in your writing.

• Record yourself having a conversation with a friend.
• How do you sound?

If you sound optimistic and upbeat, this is what you should convey in your writing. If you are sarcastic and pessimistic, this should appear in your writing voice.

Just as when your friends and family hear your voice and know it's you, whoever is reading your writing should be able to recognize the essay as yours.

4. Just Start Writing

Pick up a pen (or open up your laptop), and let the thoughts flow. This free-writing activity can reveal your natural voice. As your mind wanders and creates words on the page, you might see some patterns emerge.

If you need a place to begin, find writing prompts online, ask a teacher for suggestions, or find a passage you don't like and write your own version on how you would improve it.

• What flows naturally for you in your writing?
• Is there a certain style or tone that appears?

Writing without boundaries can help you see where your personality comes through. When you find repetitive styles and themes, these can lead you to a more specific definition of your voice.

5. Explore your Inspirations

Think about the people who inspire you. Reflect on their influences on your life .

• Who are your favorite authors? What do you love about their voices?
• What people do you aspire to be like? What personality traits do you admire in them?

Jot down a few thoughts about these people. Your voice can mimic the voices of these people whom you admire. Craft your voice in a way that inspires others as these people have influenced you.

6. Seek Help from Others

When you're completely tired of self-reflection, ask a buddy (or anyone who knows you) for some help. They hear your voice all the time and can sometimes offer some insight into your writing voice . If you have people who look at your writing often (a teacher or a parent), they can help as well.

• Ask them to describe you. What words do they choose for you?
• Ask them to reflect on your speaking voice. How do they describe your voice?

Use their input to paint a better picture of you. Their words can help define who you are. Let these attributes shine through in your writing voice.

7. Reflect and Revise

Once you have started recording some of your answers to the above questions and have tried some activities such as free writing, put all of these reflections, words, and thoughts on to a clean sheet of paper.

As you begin new assignments, look at this page. As you finish assignments, look at it again.

• Does your writing voice match your reflections on the paper?
• Would someone describe the voice in your essay with the same words you've discovered for your voice?

If things aren't matching up, it's time to rethink your writing. If you're a funny person, find ways to let your humor come out in your writing. If you're passionate about politics, make arguments that show how much you care. Look for ways to incorporate your writing voice into your essays.

Making your writing voice distinctive and unique is an important goal but it does take practice. Take time to evaluate your own writing style and use the questions and exercises above to create goals for the qualities you'd like to incorporate in your writing tone. Over time, you'll start to see your authentic personality start to peek through in your written work.

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Voice and analysis in your essay, the tour guide approach.

This handout is available for download in DOCX format and PDF format .

Several people have asked me what I mean when I ask for more VOICE in your essay. This is a great question, and it gets to the heart of what analysis looks like in a research paper. The goal of a research paper is to use the literature (your research) to support your own unique argument. This is different from a literature review, which simply reviews what others have said about a topic. In a research paper, there is some literature review, typically towards the beginning, but the larger goal is to DO SOMETHING with this literature to show your own take on the topic . This is analysis and it is what gives voice to your essay. One way to think about voice is to see yourself as the TOUR GUIDE of your essay.

Imagine a tour of a city. The guide's job is to take people from place to place, showing them things that make the city special. A mediocre guide might just say, "This is Westminster Abbey," "This is Big Ben," etc. They might provide facts, such as who is buried at Westminster Abbey, but they don't put any of the information in context. You might as well do a self-guided tour. This is the equivalent of a literature review: you describe all of the studies and theories, but you don't tell the reader what to do with this new knowledge. The EVIDENCE is there, but the ANALYSIS is missing.

On the other hand, a good tour guide doesn't just show you the buildings. Instead, they tell you about how these monuments reflect the history and culture of the city. They put the buildings into context to tell a story and give you a sense of place, time, purpose, etc. This is the equivalent of a good research paper. It takes evidence (data, observations, theories) and does something with it to communicate a new angle to your reader. It argues something, using the literature as a foundation on which to build the new, original argument.

Good tour guides (writers) insert their voice often. The voice can be heard in topic sentences , where the writer tells the reader how the paragraph fits into the larger argument (i.e., how it connects to the thesis). The voice can be heard in the analysis in the paragraphs as the writer tells the reader what has been learned and what it means for the larger argument. The voice often gets stronger as the essay progresses—especially since earlier paragraphs often contain more background information and later paragraphs are more likely to contain argument built on that background information. A good tour guide also:

• Doesn't tell the reader things they already know
• Doesn't over-explain or provide unnecessary detail
• Doesn't rush— if they move too fast, their tour won't be able to keep up
• Keeps things interesting (doesn't visit boring sites!)
• Keeps things organized (no backtracking to sites they've already visited)

How to use this in your writing:

Analysis is any moment in which you tell the reader your interpretation, how ideas fit together, why something matters, etc. It is when your voice comes through, as opposed to the authors of the articles you cite.

What might analysis / tour guiding look like in a research essay?

• Critique of the literature (methodological flaws, different interpretations of findings, etc.)
• Resolution of contradictory evidence
• Analysis of differing theories (in light of the evidence)
• Incorporation of various lenses, e.g., cultural or societal influences, cross-cultural similarities or differences, etc.
• Historical changes
• Fusion of literature or topics that are not obviously related
• Transitional language that connects pieces of the argument

Credit: Elissa Jacobs, University Writing Program

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Style and Tone Tips for Your College Essay | Examples

Published on September 21, 2021 by Kirsten Courault . Revised on June 1, 2023.

Unlike an academic essay, the college application essay does not require a formal tone. It gives you a chance to showcase your authentic voice and creative writing abilities. Here are some basic guidelines for using an appropriate style and tone in your college essay.

Table of contents

Strike a balance between casual and formal, write with your authentic voice, maintain a fast pace, use a paraphrasing tool for better style and tone, bend language rules for stylistic reasons, use american english, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about college application essays.

Use a conversational yet respectful tone, as if speaking with a familiar teacher, mentor, or coach. An academic, formal tone will seem too clinical, while an overly casual tone will seem unprofessional to admissions officers.

Find an appropriate middle ground without pedantic language or slang. For example, contractions are acceptable, but text message abbreviations are not.

Note that “Why this college?” essays , scholarship essays , and diversity essays are usually similarly conversational in tone.

Prevent plagiarism. Run a free check.

Your essay shouldn’t read like a professor, parent, or friend wrote it for you. Use first-person singular “I” statements, appropriate vocabulary for your level, and original expressions.

Prioritize using the first-person singular

Unlike in some other kinds of academic writing, you should write in the first-person singular (e.g., “I,” “me”) in a college application essay to highlight your perspective.

Avoid using “one” for generalizations , since this sounds stilted and unnatural. Use “we” sparingly to avoid projecting your opinions or beliefs onto other people who may not share the same views. In some cases, you can use “we” to talk about a community you know well, such as your family or neighborhood.

The second-person pronoun “you” can be used in some cases. Don’t write the whole essay to an unknown “you,” but if the narrative calls for it, occasionally addressing readers as “you” is generally okay.

Write within your vocabulary range

Creative but careful word choice is essential to enliven your essay. You should embellish basic words, but it shouldn’t read like you used a thesaurus to impress admissions officers.

Use clichés and idioms with discretion

Find a more imaginative way of rewriting overused expressions一unless it’s an intentional stylistic choice.

Write concisely and in the active voice to maintain a quick pace throughout your essay. Only add definitions if they provide necessary explanation.

Write concisely

Opt for a simple, concise way of writing, unless it’s a deliberate stylistic choice to describe a scene. Be intentional with every word, especially since college essays have word limits. However, do vary the length of your sentences to create an interesting flow.

Don’t provide definitions just to sound smart

You should explain terms or concepts that may be unfamiliar to the reader. However, don’t show off with several definitions to impress admissions officers.

Prioritize the active voice to maintain a lively tone

The passive voice can be used when the subject is unimportant or unknown. But in most cases, use the active voice to keep a fast pace throughout your essay.

If it seems hard to find the right tone and voice for your college essay, there are tools that can help.

One of these tools is the paraphrasing tool .

To begin, you can type or copy text you’ve already written into the tool.

After that, select a paraphrasing mode (e.g., fluency for better flowing text) that will rewrite your college essay accordingly.

You can occasionally bend grammatical rules if it adds value to the storytelling process and the essay maintains clarity. This can help your writing stand out from the crowd. However, return to using standard language rules if your stylistic choices would otherwise distract the reader from your overall narrative or could be easily interpreted as unintentional errors.

Sentence fragments

Sentence fragments can convey a quicker pace, a more immediate tone, and intense emotion in your essay. Use them sparingly, as too many fragments can be choppy, confusing, and distracting.

Non-standard capitalization

Usually,  common nouns should not be capitalized . But sometimes capitalization can be an effective tool to insert humor or signify importance.

For international students applying to US colleges, it’s important to remember to use US English rather than UK English .

For example, use double quotation marks rather than single ones, and don’t forget to put punctuation inside the double quotation marks. Also be careful to use American spelling, which can differ by just one or two letters from British spelling.

If you want to know more about academic writing , effective communication , or parts of speech , make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples.

Academic writing

• Writing process
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• Passive voice
• Paraphrasing

 Communication

• How to end an email
• Ms, mrs, miss
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• Hope you are doing well

 Parts of speech

• Personal pronouns
• Conjunctions

College application essays are less formal than other kinds of academic writing . Use a conversational yet respectful tone , as if speaking with a teacher or mentor. Be vulnerable about your feelings, thoughts, and experiences to connect with the reader.

Aim to write in your authentic voice , with a style that sounds natural and genuine. You can be creative with your word choice, but don’t use elaborate vocabulary to impress admissions officers.

Use first-person “I” statements to speak from your perspective . Use appropriate word choices that show off your vocabulary but don’t sound like you used a thesaurus. Avoid using idioms or cliché expressions by rewriting them in a creative, original way.

Write concisely and use the active voice to maintain a quick pace throughout your essay and make sure it’s the right length . Avoid adding definitions unless they provide necessary explanation.

In a college application essay , you can occasionally bend grammatical rules if doing so adds value to the storytelling process and the essay maintains clarity.

However, use standard language rules if your stylistic choices would otherwise distract the reader from your overall narrative or could be easily interpreted as unintentional errors.

A college application essay is less formal than most academic writing . Instead of citing sources formally with in-text citations and a reference list, you can cite them informally in your text.

For example, “In her research paper on genetics, Quinn Roberts explores …”

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Use the active voice

Generally, try to use the active voice whenever possible. Passive voice sentences often use more words, can be vague, and can lead to a tangle of prepositional phrases.

Active vs. passive voice

In a sentence written in the active voice, the subject of sentence performs the action. In a sentence written in the passive voice, the subject receives the action.

Active: The candidate believes that Congress must place a ceiling on the budget. Passive: It is believed by the candidate that a ceiling must be placed on the budget by Congress. Active: Researchers earlier showed that high stress can cause heart attacks. Passive: It was earlier demonstrated that heart attacks can be caused by high stress. Active: The dog bit the man. Passive: The man was bitten by the dog.

Converting sentences to active voice

Here are some tips and strategies for converting sentences from the passive to the active voice.

• Look for a “by” phrase (e.g., “by the dog” in the last example above). If you find one, the sentence may be in the passive voice. Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried in the “by” clause is closer to the beginning of the sentence.
• If the subject of the sentence is somewhat anonymous, see if you can use a general term, such as “researchers,” or “the study,” or “experts in this field.”

When to use passive voice

There are sometimes good reasons to use the passive voice.

To emphasize the action rather than the actor

After long debate, the proposal was endorsed by the long-range planning committee.

To keep the subject and focus consistent throughout a passage

The data processing department recently presented what proved to be a controversial proposal to expand its staff. After long debate, the proposal was endorsed by . . . .

To be tactful by not naming the actor

The procedures were somehow misinterpreted.

To describe a condition in which the actor is unknown or unimportant

Every year, thousands of people are diagnosed as having cancer.

To create an authoritative tone

Visitors are not allowed after 9:00 p.m.

Improving Your Writing Style

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Clear, Concise Sentences

Put the action in the verb

Tidy up wordy phrases

Reduce wordy verbs

Reduce prepositional phrases

Reduce expletive constructions

Avoid using vague nouns

Avoid unneccessarily inflated words

Avoid noun strings

Transitional Words and Phrases

Connecting Ideas Through Transitions

Using Transitional Words and Phrases

• Tips & Guides

How To Avoid Using “We,” “You,” And “I” in an Essay

• Posted on October 27, 2022 October 27, 2022

Maintaining a formal voice while writing academic essays and papers is essential to sound objective. 

One of the main rules of academic or formal writing is to avoid first-person pronouns like “we,” “you,” and “I.” These words pull focus away from the topic and shift it to the speaker – the opposite of your goal.

While it may seem difficult at first, some tricks can help you avoid personal language and keep a professional tone.

Let’s learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

What Is a Personal Pronoun?

Pronouns are words used to refer to a noun indirectly. Examples include “he,” “his,” “her,” and “hers.” Any time you refer to a noun – whether a person, object, or animal – without using its name, you use a pronoun.

Personal pronouns are a type of pronoun. A personal pronoun is a pronoun you use whenever you directly refer to the subject of the sentence. 

Take the following short paragraph as an example:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. Mr. Smith also said that Mr. Smith lost Mr. Smith’s laptop in the lunchroom.”

The above sentence contains no pronouns at all. There are three places where you would insert a pronoun, but only two where you would put a personal pronoun. See the revised sentence below:

“Mr. Smith told the class yesterday to work on our essays. He also said that he lost his laptop in the lunchroom.”

“He” is a personal pronoun because we are talking directly about Mr. Smith. “His” is not a personal pronoun (it’s a possessive pronoun) because we are not speaking directly about Mr. Smith. Rather, we are talking about Mr. Smith’s laptop.

If later on you talk about Mr. Smith’s laptop, you may say:

“Mr. Smith found it in his car, not the lunchroom!” 

In this case, “it” is a personal pronoun because in this point of view we are making a reference to the laptop directly and not as something owned by Mr. Smith.

Why Avoid Personal Pronouns in Essay Writing

We’re teaching you how to avoid using “I” in writing, but why is this necessary? Academic writing aims to focus on a clear topic, sound objective, and paint the writer as a source of authority. Word choice can significantly impact your success in achieving these goals.

Writing that uses personal pronouns can unintentionally shift the reader’s focus onto the writer, pulling their focus away from the topic at hand.

Personal pronouns may also make your work seem less objective. 

One of the most challenging parts of essay writing is learning which words to avoid and how to avoid them. Fortunately, following a few simple tricks, you can master the English Language and write like a pro in no time.

Alternatives To Using Personal Pronouns

How to not use “I” in a paper? What are the alternatives? There are many ways to avoid the use of personal pronouns in academic writing. By shifting your word choice and sentence structure, you can keep the overall meaning of your sentences while re-shaping your tone.

Utilize Passive Voice

In conventional writing, students are taught to avoid the passive voice as much as possible, but it can be an excellent way to avoid first-person pronouns in academic writing.

You can use the passive voice to avoid using pronouns. Take this sentence, for example:

“ We used 150 ml of HCl for the experiment.”

Instead of using “we” and the active voice, you can use a passive voice without a pronoun. The sentence above becomes:

“150 ml of HCl were used for the experiment.” 

Using the passive voice removes your team from the experiment and makes your work sound more objective.

Take a Third-Person Perspective

Another answer to “how to avoid using ‘we’ in an essay?” is the use of a third-person perspective. Changing the perspective is a good way to take first-person pronouns out of a sentence. A third-person point of view will not use any first-person pronouns because the information is not given from the speaker’s perspective.

A third-person sentence is spoken entirely about the subject where the speaker is outside of the sentence.

Take a look at the sentence below:

“In this article you will learn about formal writing.”

The perspective in that sentence is second person, and it uses the personal pronoun “you.” You can change this sentence to sound more objective by using third-person pronouns:

“In this article the reader will learn about formal writing.”

The use of a third-person point of view makes the second sentence sound more academic and confident. Second-person pronouns, like those used in the first sentence, sound less formal and objective.

Be Specific With Word Choice

You can avoid first-personal pronouns by choosing your words carefully. Often, you may find that you are inserting unnecessary nouns into your work. 

Take the following sentence as an example:

“ My research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

In this case, the first-person pronoun ‘my’ can be entirely cut out from the sentence. It then becomes:

“Research shows the students did poorly on the test.”

The second sentence is more succinct and sounds more authoritative without changing the sentence structure.

You should also make sure to watch out for the improper use of adverbs and nouns. Being careful with your word choice regarding nouns, adverbs, verbs, and adjectives can help mitigate your use of personal pronouns. 

“They bravely started the French revolution in 1789.” 

While this sentence might be fine in a story about the revolution, an essay or academic piece should only focus on the facts. The world ‘bravely’ is a good indicator that you are inserting unnecessary personal pronouns into your work.

We can revise this sentence into:

“The French revolution started in 1789.” 

Avoid adverbs (adjectives that describe verbs), and you will find that you avoid personal pronouns by default.

Closing Thoughts

In academic writing, It is crucial to sound objective and focus on the topic. Using personal pronouns pulls the focus away from the subject and makes writing sound subjective.

Hopefully, this article has helped you learn how to avoid using “we” in an essay.

When working on any formal writing assignment, avoid personal pronouns and informal language as much as possible.

While getting the hang of academic writing, you will likely make some mistakes, so revising is vital. Always double-check for personal pronouns, plagiarism , spelling mistakes, and correctly cited pieces. 

 You can prevent and correct mistakes using a plagiarism checker at any time, completely for free.

Quetext is a platform that helps you with all those tasks. Check out all resources that are available to you today.

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English Composition 1

Formal writing voice.

Have you ever attended an event in which "formal" attire is expected? You probably did not wear old jeans with holes in the knees, a stained tee shirt promoting your favorite beverage, and a pair of sandals. You probably chose more formal attire.

If you were giving an important speech to a group of people you do not know, would you use the same kind of language you use when talking with friends? Probably not. Recognizing your lack of familiarity with the audience, the importance of the occasion, your desire to demonstrate your knowledge of the subject, and the impression you would like to make, you would probably use a more formal voice for your speech than what you would use when talking with close friends.

For all of the essays you write for this course, you should use a formal writing voice. You should use the kind of language you would use when giving an important speech, not the kind of language you might use when talking with close friends. A formal tone helps establish the writer's respect for the audience and suggests that the writer is serious about his or her topic. It is the kind of tone that educated people use when communicating with other educated people. Most academic writing uses a formal tone.

The following guidelines should help you maintain a formal writing voice in your essays.

1. Do not use first-person pronouns ("I," "me," "my," "we," "us," etc.).

Using these expressions in analytical and persuasive essays can make the writing wordy, can make the writer seem less confident of his or her ideas, and can give the essay an informal tone. Use of first-person pronouns is unnecessary in the kinds of essays you are writing for the course. Readers will know that they are reading your thoughts, beliefs, or opinions, so you do not need to state, "I think that," "I believe that," or "in my opinion." Simply delete these expressions from sentences, and you will be left with stronger sentences.

Example I think that this character is confused. This character is confused. (The second sentence is less wordy, sounds more formal, and conveys a more confident tone.)

"One," "the reader," "readers," "the viewer," or something similar sometimes can be used effectively in place of first-person pronouns in formal papers, but be careful not to overuse these expressions. You want to sound formal, not awkward and stiff.

Example I can sense the character's confusion. Readers can sense the character's confusion.

2. Avoid addressing readers as "you."

Addressing readers using second-person pronouns ("you, your") can make an essay sound informal and can bring assumptions into an essay that are not true. A student once wrote in her essay, "If you wear a tube top, guys might think that you are easy." I wondered why the student would think that I, a male, would wear a tube top. As with first-person pronouns, second-person pronouns can be replaced by words such as "one," "the reader," "readers," and "the viewer."

3. Avoid the use of contractions.

Contractions are shortened versions of words that use apostrophes in place of letters, such as "can't," "isn't," "she's," and "wouldn't." The more formal, non-contracted versions are "cannot," "is not," "she is," and "would not." You might be surprised by how much better a sentence can sound if non-contracted versions of the words replace the contractions.

Example The character isn't aware that he's surrounded by people he can't trust. The character is not aware that he is surrounded by people he cannot trust.

Making your writing more formal by avoiding contractions is easy: just find the contractions and replace them with the non-contracted versions of the words.

4. Avoid colloquialism and slang expressions.

Colloquial diction is informal language used in everyday speech and includes such words as "guys," "yeah," "stuff," "kind of," "okay," and "big deal." Highly informal diction, such as "freak out" and "dissing," falls into the category of "slang." While slang words often are vivid and expressive, slang comes and goes quickly, another reason why slang should be avoided in formal writing. Both colloquialism and slang expressions convey an informal tone and should be avoided in formal writing.

Example The guy was nailed for ripping off a liquor store. The man was convicted of robbing a liquor store.

As you avoid informal language, be careful not to use words that suggests ideas that you may not intend. "The gentleman was convicted of robbing a liquor store" would probably leave readers wondering why the man who robbed the store is considered to be a "gentleman." Likewise, "the lady was convicted of robbing a liquor store" would probably cause readers to wonder why a woman who robs a liquor store is considered to be a "lady."

5. Avoid nonstandard diction.

Nonstandard diction refers to expressions that are not considered legitimate words according to the rules of Standard English usage. Nonstandard diction includes "ain't," "theirselves," "hisself," "anyways," "alot" (the accepted version is "a lot"), and "alright" (the accepted version is "all right"). Most good dictionaries will identify such expressions with the word "Nonstandard." Because nonstandard expressions generally are not regarded as legitimate words, I mark these expressions in essays as examples of "inaccurate word choice."

6. Avoid abbreviated versions of words.

For example, instead of writing "photo," "phone" and "TV," write "photograph," "telephone," and "television."

7. Avoid the overuse of short and simple sentences.

While the writer might use formal diction in such sentences, too many short and simple sentences can make an essay sound informal, as if the writer is not recognizing that the audience is capable of reading and understanding more complex and longer sentences. Short and simple sentences can be used effectively in formal writing, but heavy reliance on such sentences reflects poorly on the writer and gives the writing an informal tone.

Final Comments

Do not confuse formal diction with presumptuous diction (the kind of language that seems intended mainly to impress readers) or jargon (the kind of language only familiar to people within a specialized field, such as computer technicians).

You should not sound "artificial" as you use formal diction. Instead, consider that different situations require different uses of language and that educated people are able to adapt their use of language to a variety of writing and speaking situations. Educated people have several different writing and speaking voices, and one voice is no more "genuine" than another. Instead, the different voices reflect choices based on the writing or speaking situation. Through your word choice in essays, you can portray yourself as an intelligent person who is aware of your audience--a group of well-educated people whom you do not know. Imagine the kind of language that you might use in a job interview for an important job. With formal diction, you can express yourself clearly, accurately, and effectively, without relying on the kind of language that you might use in less formal situations.

Formal vs Informal Writing: What's the Difference and When to Use Them from EzineArticles  

Encyclopedia for Writers

Writing with artificial intelligence, making sure your voice is present.

• CC BY-NC-ND 4.0 by Kyle D. Stedman

Table of Contents

The Terror of Voice

I like order. I love the comfort of a beautiful and functional Excel spreadsheet. I organize my CDs by genre and then alphabetically by artist. I eat three meals a day.

But my love of order sometimes butts heads with my love of writing. That’s because no matter how much attention I pay to following the rules of writing, I know that to produce writing that astounds readers—moving them, making them gasp, enticing them—I’ll have to include more than just  correct  writing. I’ll need to find a way to make my voice present.

And sometimes, that terrifies me with the uncertainty of it all. I sometimes wish writing excellently were like working in Excel. I know I can make a spreadsheet absolutely perfect if my formulas are coded properly and my data is lined up correctly. Writing excellently is messier than that: it means admitting the difficult truth that even when everything in my essay follows all the grammatical and mechanical rules, my writing can still lack qualities that will make my readers’ eyes pop out of their heads with delightful surprise.

I often tell my students that the difference between A -level and B -level writing is voice. In other words, essays often deserve B ’s even when they have perfect punctuation and grammar, an intriguing concept, brilliant ideas, excellent and well-integrated sources, and a Works Cited page that would earn a standing ovation at the annual MLA convention. An essay can have all of those things but still feel dry and voiceless, reading like a dying man trudging through the desert, sandal-slap after sandal-slap, lifeless sentence after lifeless sentence.

So What is Voice in Writing?

“Voice” is a weird term, right? We usually say your voice is the quality of how you sound when you talk out loud—but aren’t we talking about writing?

First, let’s think about everything that makes your speaking voice distinctive. It has its own aural quality, formed by the size of your mouth, throat, and tongue, along with your distinctive habits of how you use your body to manipulate the sound of the air exhaling from your lungs.

But beyond the sounds your body naturally produces through your mouth, you also have your own way of choosing words, and that’s part of your voice, too. You have words you use more often than others, phrases you rely on, and ways you make the musical tone of your voice go up and down in distinct ways. All of those choices are partly based on how you learned to speak in your family and culture, and they’re partly based on what you bring to the table as an individual. Sometimes you just let out whatever you’re thinking, and sometimes you pause to consider how you want to sound.

Don’t miss that: qualities of spoken voice are, to some extent, chosen . Depending on where and when and with whom we’re speaking, our voice can change.

Now let’s turn to writing. I would define voice in writing as the quality of writing that gives readers the impression that they are hearing a real person, not a machine . Voice in writing is therefore multifaceted: it’s partly an unconscious, natural ring that dwells in the words you write, but it’s also related to the words you choose (stuffy and overused or fresh and appealing?), the phrases you rely on (dictionary-like or lively?), and how you affect your readers’ emotions (bored or engaged?). And it’s not something that is magically there for some writers and not there for others. Voice is something that can be cultivated, practiced, watered, even designed.  

I’m reminded of a quote from poet D.A. Powell, which I heard on the trailer for a documentary called Bad Writing . He says, “Bad art is that which does not succeed in cleansing the language of its dead—stinking dead—usages of the past” (MorrisHillPictures). Voice in writing is like that: it gives readers the sense that they’re hearing a fresh, cleansed voice unlike any they’ve heard before.

The writing in this documentary is called “bad” because of its lack of an authentic voice.

We Need Voice in Academic Writing, Too

A common misconception among writers is that writing for college, especially in a fancy-looking, citation-filled essay, should have the complexity and difficulty of Pride and Prejudice : “She is all affability and condescension, and I doubt not but you will be honoured with some portion of her notice when service is over” (Austen). That is, we sometimes assume that academic writing is where we say things with big words and in roundabout ways that seem sort of something like what we imagine talk is like around a gilded dinner table in a palace, somewhere.

I think this assumption is wrong. Even when reading essays that were written for college classes, readers don’t want to be bored or confused. They want liveliness; they want voice. Listen to veteran writing teacher Donald Graves use all of his cute-old-man powers to beg you to use your personal voice in even your standardized writing tests:

Donald Graves on the importance of putting voice in your writing

I recently taught a class that focused entirely on blogging for the first thirteen weeks of the course, followed by a final academic essay at the end of the semester. Students regularly asked me what style they should adopt in their final essay, how formal to be, what kind of voice to adopt. To most of the students, my reply was, “Write it how you wrote your blog!” To which almost all of them said, “Huh? That was informal . This is formal .” To which I said, “You’re partly right. You paid less attention to details when you were blogging, sure, but your voices were there. You used sentences that sounded like you! They were resonant ! I was moved ! Do you hear the italics in my voice? That’s how good your writing was! So don’t lose that by putting on a new coat of formality when it doesn’t fit well!” As the one who was going to read their academic essays, I was afraid that I was going to get a bunch of essays that sounded like Pride and Prejudice , with big words and roundabout sentence constructions. I wanted big, complex ideas in these final essays, but I also wanted stylistic liveliness, sentences that made me sit up straight and open my eyes wide. I admit that after the students had written first drafts of their essays, I backed off a little, and we talked about the ways that formal writing situations do indeed demand a different kind of voice than a blog post—but I was always insistent that no writing situation called for bored readers.

You should know this: teachers talk about their students. And I’ve heard the following story, or some variant of it, something like twenty times: “My student wrote this awful draft that confused me to no end. So I emailed the student and told him to come in to my office to talk about it. And he gets there to my office and I say, ‘What are you trying to say on page 2?’ and he explains it, and—get this!—he explains it in this beautifully clear language, and it becomes clear that he knew all along what he wanted to talk about and how to defend it and even how his ideas relate to his sources. So I asked him, ‘Why didn’t you write it that way? Why don’t you write the way you talk?’ and you know what he says? He says, ‘Because I thought I was supposed to write formally.’ I swear, sometimes I think students get into more trouble trying to write formally than it’s worth.”

I’m serious. Every semester, I hear that story.

Of course, I see the other side: there’s a place for formality in a lot of writing. Depending on the circumstance, sometimes our most formal coat is indeed what we need to wear. In your future college classes, you might not get much of an idea from your professor about what kind of coat they expect you to wear, so you’ll probably have to do some asking. (“Dear Professor X, I’m baffled about what kind of voice to use in my essay. For example, may I write the word baffled ? Please send examples. Sincerely, Judy Jetson.”)

My favorite trick here is one I learned from a small writing textbook called They Say, I Say : purposefully mixing the formal and informal in a single sentence or two. If you want to talk about something using a formal term, which is often a good idea in formal writing, use the formal term but then turn around and say it again informally. Like this: “Spoken voice is affected by our use of the epithelium, the vocal ligament, and the vocalis muscle. We’ve got a lot of ways to make sound.” The authors of They Say, I Say remind us that “translating the one type of language into the other, the specialized into the everyday, can help drive home a point” (Graff, Birkenstein, and Durst 118).

That leads me to the stuff you’re probably here for: actual ideas about how to get this elusive thing called voice into your writing.

Suggestions

1. Trust the gush—but then come back to the gush with a critical eye.

In one of my favorite articles about voice in writing, writing scholar Tom Romano tells the story of a student who turned in a piece of paper with the words “TRUST THE GUSH” messily scribbled on it. Romano expounds on what the phrase means to him:

Trusting the gush means moving on the heat quickening in you. Trusting the gush means being fearless with language. Trusting the gush means writing about what you are emotionally moved by and perhaps don’t even know why. Trusting the gush means putting onto the page those thoughts, connections, and perceptions that stand ready to be uttered. (51)

It’s beautiful advice that feels true to me. I’ve had times where I turn off the screen of my computer and write with no visual reference, letting words gush out of me in their most natural, voice-filled way.   

But remember how I said that voice isn’t just natural, it’s also constructed for specific occasions? My gush is usually full of some good, usable words, phrases, and sentences, but it’s also a big, gushy mess. So that’s when I back away for a bit of time (more than a day, if possible), returning later to my gush in search of the lines that seem most lively, most full of voice, the ones that fit best into my current writing context.

2. Don’t be afraid to use some of speech’s informalities, but always punctuate them in formal ways.

Sometimes students ask if they can use contractions in their academic essays, and I always say yes—but then I regret it when I get “theyre not understanding” and “he said your not smart enough” in submitted work. But on the flip side, I find I’m more willing to be lenient with student writing that is slightly too informal for my taste when the writer shows that they know what they’re doing with their punctuation. Life is like that, you know? If you take one step of goodwill (knowing your punctuation), people want to give you lenience in other areas (accepting informality, even if it seems to step over the line).

This advice extends to colons (never mistaking them for semicolons and never using a hyphen as a colon), em-dashes (using them wisely and punctuating them perfectly, as two hyphens between two words and no spaces at all), and commas (especially when someone is being addressed, as in “I agree, Mr. President” and when introducing a quotation immediately after a verb, such as when I write, “Yessiree”).

3. Read your work aloud—and don’t be afraid to have fun with it.

I tell students to read their stuff aloud all the time, and usually I get a scared, silent look in return. (I think this look might mean, “Do you have any idea how stupid I would look if someone walked in while I was talking to myself?”) Well, fine—play around with it:

• Read your own stuff aloud to yourself. I like to do this after printing it out. Listen for places where you stumble, where you seem to be saying the same word over and over, where you think you might be boring. Peter Elbow justifies this well:

I find that when students have the repeated experience of reading their writing aloud, they are more likely to write sentences that are inviting and comfortable to recite—which in turn makes the sentences better for readers who get them in silence. Putting this differently, the sound of written words when spoken is a crucial benefit for silent readers, yet too few students hear the words they write. When they have to read their writing aloud frequently and thus hear it, they tend to listen more as they write—and readers hear more meaning as they read. (5)

• Have someone else read your stuff aloud to you, with another copy in front of yourself to follow along with and mark spots that feel voiceless. Ask your friend what sounded best, what they most remember on the sentence level, where it sounded like you .
• Play The Boring Game: have three people sit down, each with a piece of paper with a line drawn through the middle; this is The Boring Line. Make one person the timekeeper. Start reading your essay out loud to them, and ask the timekeeper to raise his hand every thirty seconds. At those moments, the readers all make a dot on the paper to show how bored they are; a dot way above the boring line means they’re absolutely engaged, as if beautiful aliens had just transported into the room, while a dot way below the boring line means they’re wondering why they agreed to play the stupid boring game with you. After the essay is done, ask them to connect the dots, showing you a line of where they were relatively more or less bored. Talk to them to help identify what parts of the essay bored them; you probably didn’t have much voice in those spots.

4. Surprise Your Readers

I’m serious: make sure that throughout your piece, every once in a while you throw in a word or phrase that makes you think, “I bet they never saw that one coming!” (In this piece that you’re reading now, one of my attempts at that is my first heading, “The Terror of Voice.” I’m counting on readers thinking, “Wait, the terror of voice? . . . I’m confused! I’d better read on to figure out what he means!”)

My guess is that with a little practice, this won’t be too hard to achieve. You could read through a draft of something and highlight (either on paper or the computer) every place where you think you’re breaking the expectation of your reader in a surprising way, whether because of the topic you chose to dive into or because of a phrase or sentence they might not have seen coming. Then you skim back through and find places without any highlights around, and try to work something in there.

As with most of my suggestions, this can backfire if you take it too far, which is why I think playing The Boring Game (above) is so important, so you can feel out your choices with real people. Obviously, your readers will be surprised if you start slamming sexually explicit words onto the screen, but that’s clearly not the kind of voice I’m talking about. Less dramatically, I’ve been in situations where I go for a strong, surprising personal voice and later discover (on my own, or with the help of someone else) that it’s just not working for that audience.

This happened to me recently when I was writing a piece about integrating sources into essays. I worked up this detailed analogy involving Jane Austen, gardens, statues, and helicopters (seriously), and I even kept the analogy through a few drafts. But a friend, whom I had asked to read my draft, told me she was a little confused by the whole thing. At first I ignored her—I was being surprising! There were helicopters— helicopters ! But eventually, I realized she was right; I had to back down and rework my surprising analogy into something that just plain made more sense. The revised version was still surprising (involving Spider-Man), but it was surprising and it worked . There’s a difference.

5. Use Rhetorical Figures to Help Shape Your Sentences

Sometimes we hear or read something and say, “Wow, there was so much power in those words!” And sometimes, we fall for a common lie: we think that powerful speakers and writers are just plain born that way, that their skill comes from some indefinable something that they have and we don’t.

I like rhetorical figures because they expose that thinking as a lie.

Since the days of classical Greece and Rome, instructors in rhetoric have realized that this lie existed, so they formulated organized ways of figuring out what exactly makes some speaking and writing feel so powerful. They labeled these terms and encouraged their students to try using these sentence forms in their own sentences. Here are some examples, all of which are direct quotes from Silva Rhetoricae: The Forest of Rhetoric , an awesome site at http://rhetoric.byu.edu/ (Burton):

• anaphora : Repetition of the same word or group of words at the beginning of successive clauses, sentences, or lines. Example: This blessed plot, this earth, this realm, this England, / This nurse, this teeming womb of royal kings.
• asyndeton : The omission of conjunctions between clauses, often resulting in a hurried rhythm or vehement effect. Example: Veni, vidi, vici (Caesar: “I came; I saw; I conquered”)
• epitasis : The addition of a concluding sentence that merely emphasizes what has already been stated. Example: Clean your bedroom. All of it.

These and dozens of others are available at Silva Rhetoricae and at the (somewhat more manageable) American Rhetoric site, especially the page on “ Rhetorical Figures in Sound ” (Eidenmuller).

The idea is to force yourself to try setting up a sentence or two following the guidelines of one of the rhetorical figures, and then to sit back and gauge the result for yourself. Often, I think you’ll be impressed with how excellent you sound, with a very present and powerful tone of voice.

The Terror of Practice

In the end, there’s one more terrifying thing about writing with voice: it’s unlikely that you’ll see a huge change without lots of practice. And that means lots of writing. And that means time. Which you might not have.

So I’m closing with a word of moderation. To see a change in your writing voice in just a short semester, you’ll need to think about voice in every piece of writing you do. Shooting off a quick Blackboard forum response? Try using a rhetorical figure. Confirming a meeting time with a friend over text message? Try to surprise them with an unexpected phrase. Writing an in-class essay? Read it over slowly in your head, paying careful attention to how it would sound if you read it out loud. (Or, if your teacher lets you, just read it out loud there in the classroom. This is unlikely.) Writing an essay draft that feels like busy-work? Play around with how you might perfectly punctuate some informal language (and don’t be afraid to ask your teacher if you did it correctly).

Even though a YouTube search for “voice in writing” will give you lots of good advice—including one devastatingly cute video of young kids baking brownies while the “Word Chef” talks about what makes for a strong voice in a book about a cockroach (teachertubewriting)—there really is no substitute for practice. Thinking about writing is never, ever the same as practicing writing.

And most of all, breathe. Our voice comes from our breath, the life that flows from our bodies into the minds of our listeners. Shape it, practice it, use it for good. (That’s asyndeton—did you catch it?)

Brevity – Say More with Less

Clarity (in Speech and Writing)

Coherence – How to Achieve Coherence in Writing

Flow – How to Create Flow in Writing

Inclusivity – Inclusive Language

The Elements of Style – The DNA of Powerful Writing

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Taking essays to the next level: how to write in your own voice

It’s not unusual to get an essay back from a teacher with the feedback, “write in your own voice,” scrawled across the top. But it’s easier said than done. Here you are, writing your own thoughts and your own opinions, all according to the directions of the assignment; how can it not be in your own voice? What your teacher is actually telling you is that your writing sounds too formulaic, too stilted, or too bland. Sure, you’ve learned how to write using proper grammar and you’ve learned how to formulate and format your thoughts into an essay, but now you need to take it to the next level. Don’t stick to the formula; write in your own voice. Here are a few tips for getting started.

1. Word vomit

This sounds graphic, but what I mean is that once you have a topic chosen and you’re getting started, just let it loose. Start writing whatever comes into your head, as naturally as it comes. Get your ideas out. Once you’ve got some material, rearrange, cut, and edit, but preserve some of the vivacity of that original brainstorm. When you are brainstorming, you usually have more sentence variety and more natural turns of phrase. Use those moments to let your voice shine.

2. Write as you speak—almost

If you’re stuck on this concept, ask a friend or your teacher (or yourself, if you’re good at multitasking) to type what you saw as you explain your topic in your own words. Most people are comfortable speaking aloud; they’re not encumbered by grammatical errors or thinking about elevating their vocabulary. They speak plainly and clearly. Try transcribing some of that naturalness and using it in your academic writing. The key is always to be clear, and what’s clearer than a good, simple explanation.

3. Leave out the slang, the idioms, and the cliches

As much as you want to bring some personality to your academic writing, you don’t want to make it seem too voicey . By that I mean, you don’t want your reader to start to think of your writing voice as a character. It’s still an academic essay, after all. Avoid going too far into colloquialism by leaving out any slang, idiomatic expressions, or cliches. Don’t call subjects or characters guys , don’t say that something was cool , don’t say that he was mad as all get out. These phrases, while they add some color to your sentences, undercut your good ideas and lose you the credibility you are trying to gain as a writer.

4. Read editorials and opinion pieces

If you’re grasping for inspiration, try reading editorials or opinion pieces in the newspaper. These are researched “essays” grounded in the writer’s take on a topic—just like an essay. They often employ strong visuals, humor, satire, sarcasm, personality—all while maintaining an elevated tone and making an organized, well written argument. Try and dissect the moves those writers are making and incorporate them into your repertoire.

5. Know your audience

Tone is key in any piece of writing. It’s important to strike the right notes, especially if you are trying to find your writerly voice. Your audience is often your teacher or your class. Keep that in mind. They are reading this to see if you’ve given thought to some material. They want to hear your opinion. They want to evaluate your skills. They want to be entertained. Knowing that, how might you lead them through your argument? How might you illustrate one point, then the next? Show your audience that you are a comfortable expert on this topic. Your writing self should sound like you—but a version of your that’s been edited for clarity, organization, and cleverness.

This is a very difficult skill, and it’s one that even professional writers are constantly working on. The best practice is writing—in all kinds of forms. Creative writing can help you experiment with description and figurative language in ways that you can bring into your analytical writing. Take every assignment, no matter the genre, as an opportunity to find your voice, further develop your ear, and become something that all writers aspire to be: someone who uses language with precision so that anytime anyone reads something they’ve composed they’re moved to say, yes, I never thought of it that way but that’s exactly right—I know just what they mean.

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