Question

Oops! A journalist made a mistake! The following paragraphs were written using the passive voice. Rewrite them in an active voice. Explain how the two versions differ. Why is active voice a better choice for journalistic writing?

A college entrance exam was taken by nearly 100 students on Saturday. Results from the exam were received by the school’s principal who reported that the exam was failed by over half the students who took it.
Recently, talks have been conducted by the administration to determine the amount of aid to send to foreign countries. Previously, the countries were sent nearly $1 million in aid each year, but it was decided by the administration that countries would receive at least half that amount this year.
A local construction worker was killed by a faulty ladder last week. The worker had been putting tiles onto a roof when he was left hanging after the ladder fell. Unable to keep his grip, the fingers of the man slipped and were the cause of his fall.

Answer 1

In this very simple sentence, the active voice is the better choice. It is more concise (shorter), more direct, and stronger. The passive voice, in this case, is unnecessarily wordy and clunky.

Answer 2

To rewrite in active voice, you simply make the subject act upon the object (rather than the object being acted on by the subject). For example, passive voice would be, “The cat was chased by the dog.” Active voice would be, “The dog chased the cat.” With that being said…

Nearly 100 students took a college entrance exam on Saturday. The school’s principal received the exam results, and reported that over half the students who took the exam failed.

Recently, the administration conducted talks to determine the amount of aid to send to foreign countries. Previously, nearly $1 million in aid was sent to countries each year, but the administration decided that countries would receive at least half that amount this year.

A faulty ladder killed a local construction worker last week. The worker had been putting tiles onto a roof when he was left hanging after the ladder fell. Unable to keep his grip, the man’s fingers slipped and caused his fall.

The only one I am not 100% sure of is the second sentence in the last paragraph, which I did not make any changes to. Otherwise, I hope this helps you/someone else. If there is an error in my response, feel free to let me know.