How to Write an Active Vs Passive Voice for Computer Science

In computer science, the choice between active and passive voice directly impacts the clarity of your technical documentation and system descriptions. While traditional peer-reviewed journals like IEEE Transactions on Computers now favor the clarity of active voice for describing software logic, passive voice remains essential for detailing objective hardware configurations and experimental environments.

What Is an Active Vs Passive Voice in Computer Science?

Active voice occurs when the subject of the sentence performs the action (e.g., 'The compiler optimizes the code'), whereas passive voice occurs when the subject receives the action (e.g., 'The code is optimized by the compiler'). In computer science, this distinction is critical because it clarifies whether a human researcher, a specific algorithm, or a hardware component is responsible for a computational event.

Before You Start

• Review the specific style guide of your target venue, such as the ACM Style Manual or IEEE Author Center.
• Identify the 'actors' in your research: are they the researchers, the software agents, or the hardware nodes?
• Differentiate between your methodology (what you did) and the system's behavior (what the code does).
• Determine if the focus of a specific section is on the process or the outcome.

Use Active Voice for Algorithm Logic

When describing how an algorithm functions, use active voice to show the logical flow. This makes the sequence of operations easier for other developers to follow.

Example: The Dijkstra algorithm calculates the shortest path between two nodes by maintaining a priority queue.

Tip: Treat the algorithm or function as the 'doer' of the action.

Apply Passive Voice for Experimental Setup

When describing the hardware environment or the parameters of a simulation, use passive voice to maintain an objective tone that focuses on the configuration rather than the person who set it up.

Example: The neural network was trained on an NVIDIA A100 GPU with a batch size of 64.

Tip: Use passive voice when the person performing the setup is irrelevant to the technical results.

Choose Active Voice for Contribution Statements

In the introduction or conclusion of your CS paper, use active voice (often with 'we') to clearly state what your research adds to the field.

Example: We propose a new lightweight encryption protocol for IoT devices that reduces latency by 15%.

Tip: Avoid 'It is proposed that...' as it obscures who is making the claim.

Use Passive Voice to Describe Established Standards

When referencing existing protocols or industry standards that you did not create, passive voice helps signal that these are fixed constraints of your study.

Example: Data packets are encapsulated according to the IEEE 802.11 standard.

Tip: This keeps the focus on the protocol rather than the implementation process.

Describe Software Interactions in Active Voice

To explain how different modules in a distributed system interact, active voice prevents ambiguity regarding which module triggers an event.

Example: The Load Balancer distributes incoming requests across three distinct microservices.

Tip: If you have multiple components, active voice helps prevent 'dangling modifiers' in complex technical sentences.

Utilize Passive Voice for Error Handling Narratives

When discussing system failures or exceptions in a post-mortem or results section, passive voice can describe the state of the system without implying human error.

Example: A stack overflow was triggered when the recursion depth exceeded the 1024-byte limit.

Tip: This emphasizes the system's state over the user's action.

Structure Mathematical Proofs with Active Voice

In the theoretical analysis of computational complexity, active voice makes the logical transitions between steps more forceful.

Example: Equation 4 demonstrates that the Big O complexity remains linear regardless of input size.

Tip: Let equations and figures act as the subjects of your sentences.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

• Using 'I' in multi-author CS papers; use 'we' or stay in passive voice for methodology.
• Overusing passive voice in the Abstract, which leads to wordiness and lowers the impact of the findings.
• Creating 'anthropomorphic' active voice, such as 'The RAM thinks that...', instead of 'The system allocates...'.
• Switching voices mid-paragraph when describing a single sequence of code execution.
• Using passive voice for the main thesis statement, which makes the research objective sound tentative.

Pro Tips

• Read your 'Methods' section aloud; if it sounds like a recipe, you probably need more active voice for the procedural steps.
• Check the 'Instructions for Authors' for the Journal of Functional Programming, as they have specific preferences for active voice in code proofs.
• Use active voice when your software is the 'agent'—it makes your system sound more autonomous and capable.
• Reserve passive voice for when the recipient of the action is significantly more important than the agent, such as a security breach.
• In LaTeX, use the 'active' package or similar linting tools to flag excessive passive constructions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is active voice allowed in IEEE papers?

Yes, modern IEEE guidelines strongly encourage active voice for clarity and conciseness, especially when describing the authors' own contributions or the logic of an algorithm.

When should I use 'we' in a computer science paper?

Use 'we' when describing specific decisions made during the research process, such as 'We selected a learning rate of 0.01,' to distinguish your choices from standard practices.

Can I use passive voice in a README file?

It is better to avoid it. Documentation and README files should primarily use the imperative mood or active voice to give clear instructions to the user.

Does passive voice make a CS paper sound more formal?

Not necessarily. While it was once the standard, many top-tier CS conferences (like SIGGRAPH or NeurIPS) now prefer the directness and brevity of active voice.

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• How to Write a Sentence Rewriting for Computer Science

• How to Write Topic Sentences for Computer Science

• How to Write a Paragraph Structure for Computer Science

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