They aren't opposed to using the passive voice. They are opposed to
using it when it is not the best choice. Why would "I" startle the
reader, when it communicates the intended information better than an
ambiguous anonymity would?
On the same page where the CBE writers advise using first person active
where appropriate, they also state:
"Although frequently misused and abused, the passive voice has
justifiable functions in technical writing." They then present several
appropriate examples. Further along, they write: "The passive voice
may sometimes help you avoid an unnecessary and perhaps awkward change
of subject." They follow this again with appropriate examples.
I think the authors of the manual were opposed to ambiguity and lack of
clarity, and were in favor of crisp, clear, easily understood writing.
I think that is the reason that the manual has become the style guide of
choice for much of scientific writing, and is no longer restricted to
biology.
David McNeely
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 2:59 PM, Jane Shevtsov wrote:
I wonder why the writers of the CBE Style Manual are opposed to using
the passive voice. Is it the usual Strunk & White stuff? It's
interesting that they say " 'I' may embarrass the writer", but not, "
'I' may startle the reader".
There's an excellent article on "The Passive in Technical and
Scientific Writing" at
.
You might also want to check out the Language Log piece, "How long
have we been avoiding the passive and why?"
The
essay in which Orwell recommends avoiding passives itself has 20%
passives!
Language Log, a blog run by linguists, is generally excellent on the
topic of passives. See (material posted since April 8, 2008) and
(prior to that).
Jane
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 2:28 PM, wrote:
Again quoting from the third edition (but the admonishment has
persisted) of
the CBE Style Manual (page 6):
"Avoid the 'passive of modesty,' a favorite device of writers who
shun the
first person singular." The authors devote a whole paragraph to
explaining
why. Further down in the paragraph they state: "" 'I' may embarrass
the
writer, but it is less likely to be ambiguous."
Look up the instructions to authors for the journals published by ESA
or any
other scholarly organization in our field, or simply consult
publications in
those journals to satisfy yourself on this matter.
David
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 1:12 PM, Jane Shevtsov wrote:
I've always thought the main reason for avoiding "I" in scientific
papers was to prevent self-aggrandizement. It's not about you --
it's
about the research. "We" may be ok, but the passive voice serves a
moral/social purpose in single-authored works.
Jane
On Mon, Jan 18, 2010 at 11:10 AM, David L. McNeely wrote:
Bill, thank you. Not to hammer a dead horse, but I wrote my
dissertation
in
the seventies. I was encouraged to use active voice and first
person.
The
most recent edition of the CBE Style Manual that I actually own is
the
third
edition (copyright 1972), though I have generally had access to
more
recent
(and massive) versions over the years since.
From my third edition (page 5): "Write in the active voice unless
you
have
a good reason for writing in the passive. The active is the
natural
voice,
the one in which people commonly speak and write, and it is less
likely
than
the passive to lead to ambiguity."
There follows a series of explanations and examples detailing why
first
person is generally preferable to other persons, especially in
describing
methods where it provides clear explanation of who did what, rather
than
the
ambiguity of the third person passive, where one might wonder who
at all
did
the experiments described.
Thanks, David
On Sun, Jan 17, 2010 at 3:29 PM, William Silvert wrote:
Several subscribers have disagreed with my statement about
passive/active
voice, and I stand corrected. Perhaps the case was best stated by
someone
who wrote me off-list to say "I have noticed a change in the last
4
years...I was instructed by many to use the passive voice and to
shy
away
from the active voice which very often required the use of first
person
pronouns. But in the last year, a growing trend has led away from
the
use
of passives. Just today, when haphazardly choosing 3 abstracts
from the
most recent issue of Science, I found all to be written in the
active
voice
and found the first person 'we' in two of them...I think 'modern
scientific
writing' may indeed be evolving again."
I am pleased to be shown wrong and commend the scientific
community for
this stylistic improvement.
Bill Silvert
--
-------------
Jane Shevtsov
Ecology Ph.D. candidate, University of Georgia
co-founder, Check out my blog, Perceiving Wholes
"The whole person must have both the humility to nurture the
Earth and the pride to go to Mars." --Wyn Wachhorst, The Dream
of Spaceflight
--
-------------
Jane Shevtsov
Ecology Ph.D. candidate, University of Georgia
co-founder, Check out my blog, Perceiving Wholes
"The whole person must have both the humility to nurture the
Earth and the pride to go to Mars." --Wyn Wachhorst, The Dream
of Spaceflight
