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
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.
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 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
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
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
