When a writer uses passive voice verbs, the reader is unable to determine who or what is the source of the action. Using active voice makes a sentence clearer and livelier, because the sentence states the source of the action. In the examples below, the passive constructions in the original sentences are italicized. Note that the active voice verbs cuts down on wordiness. The process of modernization in any society is seen as a positive change.
Most people see the modernization of a society as a positive change.
In the poems, it is suggested that the narrator has been discouraged by his pursuit of love. Jefferson's thoughts that displayed his new support for the Constitution were documented in one very unique letter to his friend James Madison. Jefferson documented his new support of the Constitution in a unique letter to his friend, James Madison. Subjects and verbs are italicized in the following sentences. Each of the female characters, as well as the male characters they interact with, seem to have difficulty with the transition from traditional to modern values.