Good authors choose their words very carefully. take a few minutes to write a short paragraph describing an experience you have recently had. pick a location you went to or an event you attended. once you have finished, read over what you have written. now, write a second paragraph. in it, you will repeat the information from the first paragraph, but you will choose your words more carefully. ask yourself questions like: what words capture this image exactly? what is the best word to convey how something looked, or how i felt? take more time with the second paragraph.

active voice: my father cut the tree.

passive voice: the tree was cut by my father.

active voice: people buy newspapers every day.

passive voice: newspapers are bought (by people) every day.

active voice: people have been using movies as political propaganda since world war ii.

passive voice: movies have been used as political propaganda since world war ii.

active voice: donna gave me my birthday present.

passive voice: i was given my birthday present (by donna). / my birthday present was given to me (by donna).

active voice: mom will leave the keys on the counter.

passive voice: the keys will be left (by mom) on the counter.

the words in parentheses are the agent of the passive voice and can be omitted when obvious, generic, or simply unnecessary.

“way of writing” should be replaced with “writing style"

“idea” should be replaced with “purpose.”

maybe   “people from a long time ago” should be replaced with “elizabethans.”