I tell them that active voice does not always mean first person. The focus should remain on the participants not the experimenter. So, instead of saying, "I administered a study", it is just as active to say, "The participants completed a survey."
Rick Dr. Rick Froman, Chair Division of Humanities and Social Sciences Box 3055 x7295 [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.jbu.edu/academics/hss/faculty/rfroman.asp Proverbs 14:15 "A simple man believes anything, but a prudent man gives thought to his steps." -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Sent: Monday, April 14, 2008 10:14 AM To: Teaching in the Psychological Sciences (TIPS) Subject: [tips] APA style: active voice I am having a hard time explaining active voice to my students this year. As NCLB works its way through the educational system, student are being taught less and less grammar. Not a one of my research methods students has ever diagrammed a sentence :( I hated it in school but at least I now what the subject and predicate of a sentence might be! However, I agree it is awkward. Getting through the method section in particular seems to be hard because of the seemingly constant need to use an active agent for each step of the process and quite frankly sometimes it's a constant stream of "I" (or "we") did this or that. I have had two recent manuscripts corrected on every single eensy teensy tiny slip I made, so I know it's being rigidly enforced by editors. How are all of you handling this (1) teaching it, and (2) personally in writing? Annette Annette Kujawski Taylor, Ph.D. Professor of Psychology University of San Diego 5998 Alcala Park San Diego, CA 92110 619-260-4006 [EMAIL PROTECTED] --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED]) --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly ([EMAIL PROTECTED])
