Active and Passive voice

Topic: The use of Active and Passive voice

Active voice is the voice used to indicate that the grammatical subject of the verb is performing the action or causing the happening denoted by the verb. Active voice works with leading community advocates, educators, policymakers and social entrepreneurs.

Bob Baker flew the airplane from Chicago to Albuquerque.
Bob Baker is the subject of the sentence; he is the doer of the action within the sentence.

Passive voice is the voice used when the recipient of an action is the subject of the sentence. The passive voice is especially helpful (and even regarded as mandatory) in scientific or technical writing or lab reports, where the actor is not really important but the process or principle being described is of ultimate importance.

The airplane flew from Chicago to Albuquerque with the assistance of Bob Baker.
The airplane is the subject of the sentence; the airplane received Bob’s help with flying.

"The Real Subject"

The “Real” Subject

Example:
The presence of the sandwich gladdened the heart of the student.
In the sentence above, the literal subject is “presence”, which is a weak subject. The sandwich is the strong subject, so a stronger sentence would be: “The sandwich gladdened the heart of the student.” The weak subject in the first example hides the strong subject, making the sentence ambiguous.

Hiding the real subject in a sentence may result from trying to increase sentence length, take the reader’s focus off of the real information at hand (either consciously or unconsciously), or make the sentence fancier.

Another way that the focus is taken off the real subject is by the improper use of expletives. Expletives are words that have no real meaning but serve a grammatical function in a sentence. A few common expletives are:” it is”, “there is”, and “there are.”

Below is an example of a weaker sentence using expletives and a stronger one with the expletives removed:
Weak: There are many options for us to choose from.
Strong: We have many options to choose from.

To avoid using weak subjects and expletives, you can search your document for expletives and anything preceding the word “of”, which often indicates you are using a weak subject.

In summary, the real subject should stand out in every sentence.

Addressing Audience Needs

Right now you all are at work on your "Document in Field" assignment, which requires that you "translate" the technical language of an article from your field into language accessible to a reader who does not possess the field's specialized vocabulary. I want you to answer in your comments here one of the following questions: a) Why do we think that it is such a special skill to be able to do such "translation"? Shouldn't all technical specialists be able to make their work relevant to a member of the lay public? b) Your book covers some of the pieces of information you need to know about your audience before you can effectively present technical information to them. In this project (this is a trick question), what relevant information do you know about your audience? c) I want you to think about the topic covered in the article you chose. Is it, in fact, important for the "average person" to understand the subject-matter? How is it relevant? d) In what sort of work-place situation is it vital that you be able to perform just the kinds of "translations" of technical information that you're working on right now? Can you think of some sample instances?

Ethics in Product Images

Chapter two of your textbook discusses several legal issues associated with technical communication. One interesting topic is "implied warranty." Often, images associated with products imply certain parameters of safe usage (as in the book's example, that a certain product is safe for a child to use). Find an image of a product online and comment upon the implications of that officially produced image. Post a link to the image and your comments below. Do you find any problems with the "implied warranty" of the product you have chosen? Is the image ethical, based on your understanding of "implied warranty"?

Are you a technical communicator?

Please comment on an instance in which you have communicated "technical" information to a non-expert audience. How did your knowledge of your audience affect the piece of communication (a document, video, verbal presentation, etc.) you produced?

Welcome to English 341, Technical Writing!

This class will introduce you to methods of effective communication about technical subjects. You will also develop an understanding of theories of technical communication and you will practice technical communication in many forms. With an eye constantly focused on audience needs and expectations, we will plan, organize, draft, revise, and edit technical communication. We will learn that the content and appearance of each written document must be appropriate to the intended audience.

You will complete many projects in this course. These include a resume, an "instructions" memo, and audience analysis memo, and, foremost, your final technical report with all of its prerequisite components (like a proposal, bibliography, and more). We will also engage in thoughtful discussions about the ethics of technical communication as well as the necessary strategies for communicating complicated technical information in a comprehensible way for an a non-expert audience.

Since the members of our class will represent many different areas of study, classroom discussions will be engaging for all, and we all will learn a great deal. This blog will serve as an additional forum for these discussion as well as serving as a place where you can offer sample ideas for your written projects and then receive feedback from your classmates. Blog posting is a requirement in this course.

I will look forward to meeting you in late August!