Using the active and passive voice appropriately in on-the-job writing

Journal of Technical Writing and Communication

Volumn 28, Issue 1, 1998, Pages 85-117

  Riggle, Keith B ^a,b  

^a U States AF Acad Preparatory Sch   (United States)

^b UNITED STATES AIR FORCE ACADEMY   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

EID: 0037590491     PISSN: 00472816     EISSN: None     Source Type: Trade Journal    
DOI: 10.2190/4G7U-PMYR-8M2T-RA3C     Document Type: Article

References (24)

1. R. A. Day, Scientific English: A Guide for Scientists and Other Professionals, Oryx Press, Phoenix, Arizona, 1995.
2. M. K. McCaskill, Grammar, Punctuation, and Capitalization: A Handbook for Technical Writers and Editors, National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Office of Management, Scientific and Technical Information Division, Washington, D.C., 1990.
3. K. W. Houp, T. E. Pearsall, and E. Tebeaux, Reporting Technical Information (8th Edition), Allyn and Bacon, Boston, 1995.
4. M. M. Lay et al., Technical Communication, Irwin, Chicago, 1995.
5. M. H. Markel, Technical Writing: Situations and Strategies (3rd Edition), St. Martin's Press, New York, 1992.
6. M. H. Markel, Writing in the Technical Fields: A Step-by-Step Guide for Engineers, Scientists, and Technicians, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Press, Piscataway, New Jersey, 1994.
7. S. E. Parley and D. G. Riordan, Technical Report Writing Today (5th Edition), Houghton-Mifflin Company, Boston, 1993.
8. M. K. Trammell, Enlightened Use of the Passive Voice in Technical Writing, in Technical Communication: Perspective for the Eighties, J. C. Mathes and T. E. Pinelli (eds.), National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, 1981.
9. B. Coleman, In Defense of the Passive Voice in Legal Writing, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 27:2, pp. 191-203, 1997.
10. J. Svartvik, On Voice in the English Verb, Mouton, The Hague, The Netherlands, 1966.
11. D. Kies, Some Stylistic Features of Business and Technical Writing: The Functions of Passive Voice, Nominalizations, and Agency, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 15:4, pp. 299-308, 1985.
12. L. H. Cornelis, The Passive Voice in Computer Manuals: A New Perspective, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 25:3, pp. 285-301, 1995.
13. K. Riley, Passive Voice and Rhetorical Role in Scientific Writing, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 21:3, pp. 239-257, 1991.
14. L. Rodman, The Active Voice in Scientific Articles: Frequency and Discourse Functions, Journal of Technical Writing and Communication, 24:3, pp. 309-331, 1994.
15. G. J. Broadhead and R. C. Freed, The Variables of Composition: Process and Product in a Business Setting (2nd Edition), Southern Illinois University Press, Carbondale, Illinois, 1986.
16. R. R. Freisinger and B. T. Petersen, Toward Defining 'Good Writing': A Rhetorical Analysis of Words, Sentences, and Paragraphs in 16 Industrial Scripts, in Technical Communication: Perspective for the Eighties, J. C. Mathes and T. E. Pinelli (eds.), National Technical Information Service, Springfield, Virginia, 1981.
17. J. Selzer, What Constitutes a Readable Technical Style? in New Essays in Technical Writing and Communication: Research, Theory, and Practice, P. V. Anderson, R. J. Brockman, and C. R. Miller (eds.), Baywood Publishing Co., Amityville, New York, 1983.
18. L. Odell and D. Goswamie, Writing in a Nonacademic Setting, Research in the Teaching of English, 16:3, pp. 201-223, 1982.
19. R. L. Hake and J. M. Williams, Style and Its Consequences: Do as I Do and Not as I Say, College English, 43:5, pp. 433-451, 1981.
20. L. G. Alexander, Longman English Grammar, Longman, New York, 1988.
21. J. P. Kaplan, English Grammar: Principles and Facts (2nd Edition), Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1995.
22. S. J. Keyser and P. M. Postal, Beginning English Grammar, Harper and Row, New York, 1976.
23. J. E. Warriner, English Grammar and Composition: Complete Course, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1982.
24. L. Odell, D. Goswamie, and A. Herrington, The Discourse-Based Interview: A Procedure for Exploring the Tacit Knowledge of Writers in Nonacademic Settings, in Research on Writing: Principles and Methods, P. Mosenthal, L. Tamor, and S. A. Walmsley (eds.), Longman, New York, 1983.