Style Academy #5

Active vs Passive Voice

Exercises
Rewrite Paragraph in Active Voice
An examination of an applicant's academic record is made by us to determine whether he has established a strong affirmative case in regard to the character of his general education, and his fitness for graduate work in his proposed subject of study. Letters of recommendation from persons who are in a position to analyze the candidate's abilities and to estimate his promise are given very serious consideration. The results of the Graduate Record Examination are used as a supplementary objective check on the candidate's aptitudes and knowledge. In the consideration of applicants, regard is given to character and promise as well as to scholastic attainment. A personal interview is not required. 

We will examine the applicant's academic record to determine whether they have established a strong affirmative case in regard to the character of their general education, and fitness for graduate work in their proposed subject of study. We give very serious consideration to letters of recommendation from persons who are in a position to analyze the candidate's abilities and to estimate the candidate's promise. The results of the Graduate Record Examination are used as a supplementary objective check on the candidate's aptitudes and knowledge. We give regard to character and promise as well as to scholastic attainment in the consideration of applicants. A personal interview is not required.

Combine the sentences into one paragraph.
On September 17, 2007, the student government at the University of Florida invited Senator John Kerry to speak at a Constitution Day forum. After his speak had ended, Kerry was asked questions by students in the audience. Soon, the moderator told students there would be no more questions, but according to eyewitnesses and police reports, Andrew Meyer, a twenty-one year old writer for the UF's student newspaper, shouted, "You will take my question because I have been listening to your crap for two hours!" The police at the forum began escorting Meyer out if the auditorium, but he broke free from their grasp and ran back to the microphone, demanding to be heard. Kerry than encouraged the police to let Meyer ask his question. As Meyer began his long, three part questions, with an obscenity thrown in, the moderator cut the power to the microphone. After he refused to sit down or stop talking, the police officers grabbed Meyer and tried to forcibly remove him, but he resisted and the police officers had to wrestle him to the ground and threaten to shock him the an X-26 Taser. He shouted, "Don't rase me, bro!" but a police officer tased him and Meyer shouted out in pain. Kyle Mitchell, a writer from The Gainsville Sun, filmed the entire event, and the video has been viewed nearly seven million times after he uploaded it to YouTube.

Review
I actually had not focused as much on active verses passive sentences as the video suggested I might have. It was very interesting to learn about the difference. At first, I wasn't really understanding was it was trying to tell me, I could sort of see the difference between active and passive, but it wasn't completely clear until I started on the exercises. It is true that making a sentence active can give it more power. Even as I am writing this paragraph, I am thinking about whether I should write my sentences active or passive. The exercises really helped me think about how I am writing my sentences normally, because in some cases it is easier for me to write in active, but in other cases I struggle to find the correct way to phrase the sentence.
I also liked who the video specified that some sentences can be active, and some can still be written as passive. Like I said, sometimes it was more natural for me to write in passive, and trying to switch it over into active just seemed awkward. Now that I have practiced writing in active instead of passive, I think I will be able to better understand the difference in my writing. It will help me write better, and be more effective in editing my writing.