Mastering Active vs. Passive Voice in Communications Writing

In communications studies, the choice between active and passive voice directly impacts the perceived agency of media actors and the clarity of strategic messaging. Whether you are analyzing news framing or drafting a public relations plan, mastering this distinction ensures your academic writing reflects the power dynamics inherent in human interaction.

What Is an Active Vs Passive Voice in Communications?

In communications, the active voice emphasizes the 'sender' or 'actor' of a message, making it essential for persuasive writing and direct reporting. The passive voice, while often discouraged in journalism, is a strategic tool in media effects research to focus on the 'receiver' or the 'phenomenon' itself, such as when describing how audiences are impacted by digital algorithms.

Before You Start

• Identify the primary actor in your communication theory (e.g., the gatekeeper, the audience, or the medium).
• Determine if your assignment follows AP Style (which heavily favors active voice) or APA Style (which allows passive voice for methodological descriptions).
• Clarify the 'direction' of influence in your thesis—are you focusing on the creator's intent or the message's reception?
• Review your data set: are you analyzing the actions of a brand or the reactions of a consumer demographic?

Identify the Subject in Media Effects

Locate the entity performing the action in your sentence. In communications, this is often a media outlet, an influencer, or a technological platform.

Example: Active: 'The social media platform filtered the content based on user engagement.'

Tip: Use active voice when discussing the intentional choices made by media organizations to show agency.

Use Active Voice for Theoretical Application

When applying frameworks like Agenda-Setting Theory, use active verbs to show how the theory explains the world.

Example: Active: 'Agenda-Setting Theory explains how news organizations prioritize specific issues.'

Tip: Avoid saying 'It is explained by...'; instead, make the theory the subject of your sentence.

Deploy Passive Voice for Methodological Neutrality

In the 'Methods' section of a research paper, use passive voice to focus on the process rather than the researcher.

Example: Passive: 'A semiotic analysis was conducted on thirty television advertisements.'

Tip: This shifts the focus from your personal actions to the rigor of the communication research process.

Highlight the Receiver in Audience Studies

Sometimes the 'who' receiving the message is more important than 'who' sent it. Use passive voice to emphasize the audience's experience.

Example: Passive: 'Viewers were exposed to high-frequency political messaging during the primary election.'

Tip: Use this when the focus of your study is the impact of the message, not the sender's identity.

Strengthen PR Crisis Communications

When writing about crisis management, active voice demonstrates accountability, while passive voice is often used (and criticized) for distancing actors from blame.

Example: Active: 'The corporation issued a formal apology to the stakeholders.'

Tip: In your analysis, point out when a company uses passive voice to avoid taking responsibility for a PR blunder.

Refine Ethical Discussions

In media ethics papers, use active voice to clearly assign moral responsibility to journalists or content creators.

Example: Active: 'The journalist violated the SPJ Code of Ethics by failing to verify the source.'

Tip: Active voice makes your ethical arguments more forceful and definitive.

Clarify Technological Affordances

When discussing how technology shapes communication, use active voice to describe the 'affordances' of a tool.

Example: Active: 'The interface encourages rapid scrolling through algorithmic curation.'

Tip: Making the 'interface' or 'algorithm' the subject helps illustrate technological determinism.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using 'dangling' passive voice in news analysis that hides who is responsible for a specific framing.
• Overusing 'There is' or 'There are' instead of identifying a specific communicator or audience group.
• Failing to switch to active voice when transitioning from the literature review to your original argument.
• Using passive voice to describe the findings of a specific study (e.g., 'It was found that...') instead of citing the authors actively.
• Writing 'The message was received by the audience' when the focus should be on the audience's active interpretation.

Pro Tips

• Search your draft for 'by' phrases; these often signal a passive construction that could be more impactful if flipped.
• In journalism-heavy courses, strictly follow the 'Subject-Verb-Object' pattern to maintain professional clarity.
• Use passive voice strategically in 'Limitations' sections of your thesis to sound more objective about research constraints.
• Check your verbs: communications writing thrives on strong verbs like 'frames,' 'mediates,' 'cultivates,' and 'disseminates.'
• Read your abstract aloud; if it feels sluggish, you likely have too many 'to be' verbs (is, was, were) in passive structures.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is passive voice allowed in the Journal of Communication?

Yes, passive voice is commonly used in the methodology sections of top-tier journals like the Journal of Communication to maintain a focus on the research procedure. However, the findings and discussion are increasingly written in active voice to enhance readability.

Why do professors tell communications students to avoid passive voice?

Professors emphasize active voice because communications is about action, influence, and agency. Passive voice often obscures who is doing what, which is a major flaw in media analysis and professional PR writing.

Can I use 'I' (active voice) in a media analysis paper?

This depends on the sub-discipline; while qualitative researchers in cultural studies often use 'I' to acknowledge their positionality, quantitative media researchers usually avoid it, opting for passive voice or third-person active voice.

How does voice affect the 'framing' of a sentence?

Voice is a framing tool itself. Using active voice ('The police arrested the protesters') places the focus on the actors, while passive voice ('Protesters were arrested') focuses on the event, potentially downplaying the actions of the authorities.

Related Resources

• How to Write an Active Vs Passive Voice for Computer Science

• How to Write an Active Vs Passive Voice for Biology

• How to Write an Active Vs Passive Voice for Psychology

• How to Write a Sentence Rewriting for Communications

• How to Write Topic Sentences for Communications

• How to Write a Paragraph Structure for Communications

• Find Peer-Reviewed Sources with Sourcely

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