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Choosing Respectful Language |
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Most leading authorities on style and usage appreciate that in science or technical writing, sometimes the passive voice is more appropriate than the active. Jack Lynch, in his popular Guide to Grammar and Style, writes:
“In scientific writing... sentences are routinely written in the passive voice; the authors are therefore given less importance, and the facts are made to speak for themselves.”
But the sloppy overuse of the passive voice concerns many science and technology professors and professionals. Kevin Padian, Biology Professor at the University of California, Berkeley, acknowledges that the passive voice permeates unedited science writing, but he nevertheless advises, “write as we say, not as we do.”
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