Frost Miller Group

16

Feb

2010

Writing in Active vs. Passive Voice
Labels: Copywriting
Written by Elizabeth Johnson   
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You know that one lesson from high school that made such an impression on you that you'll never forget it? For me, it happened in 11th grade English. For every paper we wrote we could not use more than 4 (yes, 4) "to be" verbs per 500 words. Now I think about it every time I write advertising copy. It forces me to use verbs that convey energy and emotion and put the emphasis back on the doer.

Check out this very basic example to see what I mean:

Passive: Frost Miller Group's blog posts about copywriting are written by Liz Johnson.

Active: Liz Johnson writes Frost Miller Group's copywriting blog posts.

When I rewrote the sentence to remove the "are" it focused on me rather than the blog posts, making it more dynamic.

Sometimes "to be" verbs are necessary, but 90% of the time in our business, we just don't need them. So, take the challenge and try it. Eliminate those boring "to be" verbs and write in the active voice. Readers will find your writing more interesting.

Need a refresher list of the "to be" verbs?

Is

Am

Are

Was

Were

Be

Been

Being

Become

Became 

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Elizabeth Johnson
Director of Public Relations & Content Development
Frost Miller Group


Whether it’s reaching new customers or targeting the media, Elizabeth takes concepts and puts them into words that speak to specific audiences. She’s created strong sales pieces for organizations in a variety of industries. Through her work in public relations, she establishes companies as recognized experts in their field by pitching story ideas to the media; creating supporting collateral; and utilizing the latest Web 2.0 technologies to deliver messages to the public. Her association background means she knows what members are looking for and can deliver that message. Elizabeth holds a degree in advertising from Penn State, so yes, every Monday in the fall we listen to a Nittany Lion football update. She maintains memberships in PRSA and IAEE.
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