Passive voice
Task 1:
Which sentence in each pair is most appropriate for academic writing? Why?
a)
1. The growth of bacteria was studied. Bacteria were grown in the presence of varying
concentrations of penicillin. It was learned that bacterial growth is inhibited by penicillin.
2. We wanted to understand how penicillin affects growth of bacteria. To do this, we
grew bacteria in the presence of varying concentrations of penicillin. We learned that
penicillin inhibits growth of bacteria.
b)
1. One sample was dissolved prior to thermal treatment. At 30 min. intervals, samples
were withdrawn and dissolved in carrier solutions, and the temperature of the bath was
increased by approx. 5 °C.
2. We dissolved one sample prior to thermal treatment. At 30 min. intervals, we withdrew
samples and dissolved them in carrier solutions, and we increased the temperature of
the bath by approx. 5 °C.
c)
1. It has been shown numerous times that seagrasses are very important to coastal
productivity (Stohl, 1987, Rodel, 2004). It was decided to examine whether this was
also the case in the Bay of Biscay.
2. Numerous studies have shown that seagrasses are very important to coastal
productivity (Stohl, 1987, Rodel, 2004). We decided to examine whether this was also
the case in the Bay of Biscay.
d)
1. Modal auxiliary verbs were chosen because they are integral to academic prose (in
the sense that it is difficult to think of an academic text without modal auxiliary verbs),
and because they can be used to perform a wide range of functions. By examining the
range of functions that writers use modal auxiliaries to perform, it was hoped that a
better understanding of the rhetorical functions common to thesis writing could be
achieved.
2. We chose modal auxiliary verbs because they are integral to academic prose (in the
sense that it is difficult to think of an academic text without modal auxiliary verbs), and
because we can use them for a wide range of functions. We hoped that by examining
the range of functions that modal auxiliaries perform when writers use them, we could
achieve a better understanding of the rhetorical functions common to thesis writing.
Task 2:
Look at two versions of the same paragraph which explain how influenza
vaccines are produced. Which version do you prefer? Why?
Version A
Version B
Task 3:
Choose the best sentence from each pair to construct a continuous text.