"The report was written by the team." vs. "The team wrote the report." Active voice is usually shorter, clearer, and lands harder. But passive voice isn't always wrong — it's just wrong most of the time.
When passive is the right call:
1. The actor is unknown or irrelevant. "The suspect was arrested at 3 a.m." We don't care which officer; we care about the arrest. 2. You want to emphasize the object. "The vaccine was developed in 12 months." The vaccine is the story, not the lab. 3. The actor is obvious from context. "Payment is processed within 24 hours." Of course we process it; stating the obvious adds nothing. 4. Scientific writing conventions. "Samples were collected from 200 participants." Style, not grammar.
When to rewrite:
1. Corporate fog. "Mistakes were made." Who made them? Name a subject. 2. Instructions. "Users must be verified before login." Say "Verify users before they log in." 3. Marketing copy. Passive voice kills energy. "Your workflow is streamlined by our tool" vs. "Our tool streamlines your workflow." 4. Academic writing that doesn't need it. Modern journals increasingly accept active voice — check your target style guide.
Our grader flags sentences with "am/is/are/was/were/been/being + past participle." Aim for under 10% of sentences. 20%+ usually means you're hiding behind your writing. Test your draft on the main tool.