What is your usual response when your grammar checker questions your passive voice?

Shrug and click "ignore"? Trust the software and click "change"?

Grammar checkers can identify sentence patterns but not necessarily sentence sense, so it's up to you to make active/passive voice decisions.

Mastering passive and active voice can make you a more effective writer for these reasons:

• Using active voice helps ensure clear simple sentences; complete information; and direct instructions.
• Using active and passive voice strategically helps you emphasize key ideas.
• Using passive voice can help you eliminate harsh wording.

But what are active voice and passive voice and when do you use them? Next week we'll discuss the differences between active and passive voice.