Writing in Active Voice As a proposal writer, you want to be persuasive and compelling—you are trying to sell a solution. Proposals written in strong, clear language are more effective. Active sentences are usually shorter, more dynamic, and more forceful. Passive voice tends to create longer sentences. There are very few instances when you will need to choose passive over active voice. Active sentences follow the order of actor | verb | recipient of action, as shown below: The volume manager assigns major proposal sections. Passive sentences use the order recipient of action | verb | actor, as demonstrated below. Passive writing may also omit the actor entirely. Major proposal sections are assigned by the volume manager. Rewording your sentences to active voice will make them stronger and often shorter. Figure 22 shows examples of how content is more impactful when it is written in active voice.
Passive
Active
The baseline assessment data will be solicited in a telephone survey.
Assessors will solicit baseline data by telephone.
Our manager will submit monthly progress reports and a comprehensive final report.
Monthly progress reports and a comprehensive final report will be submitted.
We deactivated the network for three hours, but did not tell users why.
The network was deactivated for three hours with no explanation.
We recommend adding a feed-forward sensor to the control system.
It is recommended that a feed-forward sensor be added to the control system.
Figure 22. Choosing Active or Passive Voice. Use active voice sentences to be more persuasive, decisive, and confident. Use active voice unless you have a specific reason to choose passive voice.
See Active/Passive Voice in the Shipley Proposal Guide .
37
Powered by FlippingBook