Passive voice involves a form of the helping verb to be and the past participle of the main verb. Athenian democracy was critized. Most writing handbooks advise students to avoid passive verbs. Passive voice often makes sentences vague or unclear.
Writers somtimes use passive voice in order to avoid identifying the subject of the sentence.
This allowed him to avoid specifying who made the mistakes. Always ask yourself whether a given sentence could be rephrased in active voice. The voters reelected the president with 54 percent of the vote. The president was reelected with 54 percent of the vote . Research that demonstrated the soundness of our reasoning and the need for action supported this decision.