登录查看更多内容

Last updated on 2024年9月17日

How can scientists use active voice in their scientific writing?

由人工智能和领英社区提供技术支持

Scientific writing is often associated with passive voice, a style that emphasizes the actions and results rather than the actors and agents. However, passive voice can also make your writing vague, impersonal, and hard to follow. Active voice, on the other hand, can help you convey your ideas more clearly, concisely, and confidently. In this article, you will learn how to use active voice in your scientific writing and when to avoid it.

此文章中的业界达人

由社区从 5 条内容中精选。了解更多

Marko Ladis

?? Unified Leadership | Integrating Collaboration & Communication in the Digital Age | Senior AV Engineer | Ex-Google |…
WAJEEHA NOOR

Certified Writer | Innovative Researcher | Life Sciences | Scientific Writer | Author that Build Businesses |…
Cynthia Daoud, PhD

Freelance Medical Writer l PhD in Molecular Biology and Myology l Trilingual l Scientific blog creator l Seeking…

1 What is active voice?

Active voice is a grammatical structure that shows who or what is performing the action of the verb. For example, in the sentence "The researcher analyzed the data", the researcher is the subject and the agent of the verb analyzed. Active voice makes it clear who is doing what and how. It also allows you to use fewer words and avoid repetition.

添加您的观点

Marko Ladis

?? Unified Leadership | Integrating Collaboration & Communication in the Digital Age | Senior AV Engineer | Ex-Google | Guiding the Future of Work ??
举报内容
Using active voice in scientific writing brings clarity and engages the reader. Instead of saying "The experiment was conducted by us," try "We conducted the experiment." This shift not only makes the sentence more direct but also emphasizes the researchers' active role. In my own writing, switching to active voice made my research more accessible and dynamic. It's a small change that can significantly impact how your work is perceived. If you agree or have found similar benefits, a ?? would be appreciated! #ScientificWriting #ActiveVoice ????

已翻译

赞
WAJEEHA NOOR

Certified Writer | Innovative Researcher | Life Sciences | Scientific Writer | Author that Build Businesses | GhostWriter | Script writer | Turning strategies & words into ?? | Project Manager & Liaison
(已编辑)
举报内容
In scientific writing, clarity is essential in explaining scientific complex concepts or findings. And active voice is key to convey information clearly. It makes sentences direct, reduces confusion, and allows readers to absorb information easily, e.g., Passive Voice (More Complex): The results of the computational tests by X software suggested that there are mutations in genes. These defects can be carried by the offspring if the mutations are passed on. Active Voice (Clearer & Easier to Understand): We used X software for mutation analysis. The results were positive, indicating genetic mutations. If passed on to offspring, the children could potentially carry genetic defects. (P.S: Running out of word limit, please DM for TIPS)

已翻译

赞
Dr T. S. Mehreen Begum, Ph.D.

Scientific Writer & Analyst at Accenture
举报内容
In general, the active voice emphasizes the agent of action—that is, the person or object performing the action. For e.g., 'The scientists conducted a pilot study in validating the questionnaire.' Here, scientists (person) clearly took the action (conducted) in this sentence. Since active-voice constructs are usually stronger, clearer, more direct, and often more concise than the passive-voice counterparts, most style guides (AMA, APA, etc.) advise scientific and clinical authors to favor active voice in scientific writing.

已翻译

赞

2 What are the benefits of active voice?

Active voice can improve your scientific writing in several ways. First, it can make your writing more engaging and persuasive by showing your involvement and contribution to the research. Second, it can make your writing more precise and accurate by avoiding ambiguity and confusion about the roles and responsibilities of different entities. Third, it can make your writing more coherent and logical by highlighting the connections and transitions between sentences and paragraphs.

添加您的观点

3 When should you use active voice?

When emphasizing the agency and accountability of yourself or others in the research process, you should use active voice. This can be used to state research questions, hypotheses, objectives, and conclusions; describe methods, procedures, and actions; explain interpretations, implications, and recommendations; and acknowledge sources, collaborators, and funders.

添加您的观点

4 When should you avoid active voice?

When you want to focus on the facts and findings rather than the actors and agents, it's best to avoid active voice. Passive voice should be used to report results, observations, and measurements, cite previous studies, literature, and evidence, indicate the generalizability, limitations, and uncertainties of your research, and maintain objectivity, neutrality, and modesty.

添加您的观点

Cynthia Daoud, PhD

Freelance Medical Writer l PhD in Molecular Biology and Myology l Trilingual l Scientific blog creator l Seeking opportunities in medical writing
举报内容
This is debatable. It depends on whom you ask, but I think that an active voice can be used in limitations and uncertainties to show that you are self-aware and accountable for any limitations. In scientific articles, however, it is possible to use the passive voice in the methods, some journals even require it.

已翻译

赞

5 How can you identify and revise passive voice?

You can identify passive voice by looking for sentences that have a form of the verb to be followed by a past participle. For example, in the sentence "The data was analyzed by the researcher", the data is the subject but not the agent of the verb was analyzed. You can revise passive voice by moving the agent to the subject position and changing the verb form. For example, you can rewrite the sentence as "The researcher analyzed the data".

添加您的观点

6 How can you practice active voice?

You can practice active voice by checking your drafts for passive voice and revising them accordingly. You can also use online tools and resources to help you identify and correct passive voice. For example, you can use Grammarly or Hemingway Editor to highlight passive voice in your text and suggest alternatives. You can also use Active Voice Checker or Passive Voice Detector to measure the percentage of passive voice in your writing and compare it with the recommended range for your discipline and genre.

添加您的观点

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?

添加您的观点

Merri Skrdla

Freelance Scientific Writer
举报内容
You are correct that active voice is rarely used in scientific writing. The definitions and suggestions of other contributors should lead you in the right direction.

已翻译

赞

Communication

+ 关注

给文章评分

我们借助人工智能创建了此文章。您认为这篇文章怎么样？

很棒不太好

举报此文章

查看全部

How can scientists use active voice in their scientific writing?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 What is active voice?

2 What are the benefits of active voice?

3 When should you use active voice?

4 When should you avoid active voice?

5 How can you identify and revise passive voice?

6 How can you practice active voice?

7 Here’s what else to consider

Communication

给文章评分

感谢您的反馈

更多Communication相关文章

更多相关阅读内容

How can scientists use active voice in their scientific writing?

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

1 What is active voice?

2 What are the benefits of active voice?

3 When should you use active voice?

4 When should you avoid active voice?

5 How can you identify and revise passive voice?

6 How can you practice active voice?

7 Here’s what else to consider

Communication

给文章评分

感谢您的反馈

查看其他技能