Noticing Passive Voice

Instructions: Review a presentation on Passive Voice under “Supplemental Grammar Information.” Read the following passages from the article “From Prison to Professor” and highlight all verbs in the passive voice that you can find. Some passages have more than one verb in the passive voice.

Think of the reason the author uses passive voice in these sentences. For example, is the subject not known, understood and does not need to be mentioned, or not important?

Introduction: Dr. Andrisse discusses access to high education for people who are, or previously were, incarcerated.

Paragraph 2: People’s prior convictions should not be held against them in their pursuit of higher learning.

Paragraph 3: I also believe more must be done to remove the various barriers that exist between formerly incarcerated individuals such as myself and higher education.

Paragraph 5: A person who once sold illegal drugs on the street could become tomorrow’s medical doctor. But this can only happen if such a person, and the many others in similar situations, are given the chance.

Paragraph 9: Roughly 2.2 million people in the United States are essentially locked away in cages. About 1 in 5 of those people are locked up for drug offenses.

Paragraph 11: I started selling drugs and getting involved with other crimes at a very young age. I was arrested for the first time at age 14.

Paragraph 16: Despite these facts, education is woefully lacking among those being held in America’s jails and prisons. Nearly 30 percent of America’s incarcerated – about 690,000 people – are released each year and only 60 percent of those individuals have a GED or high school diploma, compared to 90 percent of the overall of U.S. population over age 25. And less than 3 percent of the people released from incarceration each year have a college degree, compared to 40 percent of the U.S. population.

Paragraph 17: Due to complications of diabetes, my father had his legs amputated. He fell into a coma and lost his battle with Type 2 diabetes. I was devastated. This experience made me want to learn more about how to fight this disease.

Paragraph 19: I finished near the top of my graduate school class, suggesting that I was likely qualified for the programs that rejected me.

Paragraph 20: Based on the difficulty I experienced in going from prison to becoming a college professor, I believe there are things that should be done to remove barriers for incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people who wish to pursue higher education.

Paragraph 23: This program is at-risk of being discontinued at the end of 2018. Historically, some have argued that allowing Pell dollars to be used by those in prison takes precious Pell dollars from people who did not violate the law. However, the current Second Chance Pell pilot funding being directed to prisons, $30 million, accounts for 0.1 percent of the total $28 billion of Pell funding. Even if the program were expanded, based on historical levels, it would still amount to one-half of 1 percent of all Pell funding. This is justified by the impact that Pell dollars would have in prison in terms of reducing recidivism.

Paragraph 26: This question also disproportionately affects people of color, since people of color are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the question runs the risk of making formerly incarcerated people feel isolated and less valuable than those who’ve never gotten in trouble with the law.

Choosing Between Active and Passive Voice

Find verbs in the sentences.  Decide whether each verb is used in the active or passive voice.

Then decide whether the use of active or passive voice is effective.  Be prepared to explain your answer.  If you think that a sentence would be more effective if it used a different voice (active instead of passive, or passive instead of active), write down the revised version.

1. More must be done to remove the various barriers that exist between formerly incarcerated individuals and higher education.
2. A person who once sold drugs can become a medical doctor if society gives the person the chance.
3. Roughly 2.2 million people in the United States are essentially locked away in cages. About 1 in 5 of those people are locked up for drug offenses.
4. I started selling drugs and getting involved with other crimes at a very young age. The police arrested me for the first time at age 14.
5. Some people in the drug world wanted me to keep moving drugs.
6. I finished near the top of my graduate school class, suggesting that I was likely qualified for the programs that I was rejected by.
7. Educational institutions should do something to remove barriers for incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people who wish to pursue higher education.
8. People of color are disproportionately impacted by the criminal justice system.
9. Less than 3 percent of the people who are released from incarceration each year have a college degree, compared to 40 percent of the U.S. population.
10. Opportunities for education could be increased if federal policymakers removed Question 23 on the federal student aid form that asks if applicants have been convicted of drug crimes.

Error Correction – Passive Voice

Instructions: The following sentences contain errors in the use of passive voice. Find and correct these errors.

Adapted from “From Prison to Professor”

1. People’s prior convictions should not held against them in their pursuit of higher learning.
2. More must done to remove the various barriers that exist between formerly incarcerate individuals.
3. Roughly 2.2 million people in the United States are essentially lock away in cages. About 1 in 5 of those people are lock up for drug offenses.
4. I started selling drugs and getting involve with other crimes at a very young age. I was arrest for the first time at age 14.
5. Less than 3 percent of the people release from incarceration each year have a college degree, compare to 40 percent of the U.S. population.
6. Base on the difficulty I experienced in going from prison to becoming a college professor, I believe there are things that should done to remove barriers for incarcerate or formerly incarcerate people who wish to pursue higher education.
7. This program is at-risk of discontinued at the end of 2018. Even if the program were expand, base on historical levels, it would still amount to one-half of 1 percent of all Pell funding.
8. People of color are disproportionately impact by the criminal justice system. Furthermore, the question runs the risk of making formerly incarcerated people feel isolate and less valuable than those who’ve never gotten in trouble with the law.