This issue of Grammatically Correct will focus on making your writing more concise by using active verbs rather than passive verbs. While active verbs are preferred in most writing for a variety of reasons, in this section we will focus on specifically how they reduce wordiness in a sentence. Let’s take a look at some examples:

Ex. Wordy (Passive)

The house was cleaned by Mrs. Smith’s maid.

John’s research paper was graded by the professor.

Ex. Concise (Active)

Mrs. Smith’s maid cleaned the house.

The professor graded John’s research paper.

Notice how the wordy sentences used the passive voice. The emphasis was on the items receiving the action (the house being cleaned and the paper being graded) rather than on the people performing the actions. The concise sentences used the active voice. Mrs. Smith’s maid and the professor, the people performing the actions, are emphasized instead of the items receiving the action. Note that in both cases using the active voice results in a more concise and more direct sentence structure.

This week’s issue of Grammatically Correct concludes our series on concise sentences.

Along with our website, we recommend the following site: Purdue University’s Online Writing Center’s handout “Conciseness: Methods of Eliminating Wordiness” at http://owl.english.purdue.edu/handouts/general/gl_concise.html. This handout features information on 10 methods that can be used to make sentences more concise, and it also features helpful lists of redundant word pairs.

Test your ability to write concise sentences by revising each sentence accordingly.

1. The case was handled by William’s father.

2. Your car was serviced by Texas Transmission.

3. The truck and the boat were damaged by the storm.

Answers

1. William’s father handled the case.

2. Texas Transmission serviced your car.

3. The storm damaged the truck and the boat.

Grammatically Correct is a grammar tip of the week created by Academic Center Peer Writing Tutors at the University of Houston-Victoria in Victoria, Texas.

Comments about this newsletter should be directed to Summer Leibensperger, leibenspergers@uhv.edu.

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