Should I Write My Dissertation in Passive or Active Voice?
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The difference between active and passive voice, what APA 7 recommends, when passive voice is the better choice, how to use first person, and how to revise passive sentences.
The short answer
Use active voice as your default, and passive voice when it serves a clear purpose. APA 7 recommends active voice because it is clearer, more direct and more concise. It also accepts passive voice when the focus should be on the action or the recipient rather than on who performed it (American Psychological Association [APA], 2020).
Active vs. passive: what’s the difference?
| Active voice | Passive voice | |
|---|---|---|
| Structure | Subject does the action | Subject receives the action (“to be” + past participle) |
| Example | “Researchers interviewed 20 nurses.” | “Twenty nurses were interviewed (by researchers).” |
| Effect | Clear, direct, shows who acted | Shifts focus to the action or recipient; the actor may disappear |
Quick test: if you can add “by zombies” after the verb and the sentence still makes sense (“The data were analyzed by zombies“), it is passive.
When to use active voice
- Describing what authors found: “Nguyen et al. (2023) found that…”
- Describing what you did as the researcher: “I analyzed the transcripts using reflexive thematic analysis.”
- Making claims and arguments: “These findings suggest that mentoring improves retention.”
- Most of your literature review, discussion and conclusions.
When passive voice is appropriate
- The actor is unknown, unimportant or obvious: “Participants were randomly assigned to two groups.”
- The focus should be on the recipient: “Patients were screened for depression at admission.”
- Methods sections, in some fields and programs: “Data were collected between March and June 2025.”
- To improve flow by keeping the same subject across sentences: “The intervention was piloted on one unit. It was then expanded to…”
First person and the “researcher” problem
Many students avoid “I” and write “the researcher” or use long passive constructions. APA 7 recommends first person to describe your own work, because “the researcher” can be ambiguous, since readers may think you mean another researcher (APA, 2020).
| Awkward | Clearer |
|---|---|
| “It was decided by the researcher that interviews would be conducted.” | “I conducted interviews.” / “I chose interviews because…” |
| “The researcher will analyze the data.” | “I will analyze the data.” |
Some programs and chairs still prefer third person. If yours does, follow the program’s rule and write the rest of the sentence in active voice where possible.
How to revise passive sentences
- Find forms of “to be” (is, are, was, were, been, being) followed by a past participle.
- Ask who did the action.
- Make that actor the subject, if naming the actor helps the reader.
| Passive | Active revision |
|---|---|
| “It has been shown by several studies that…” | “Several studies have shown that…” |
| “A significant difference was found between groups.” | “The analysis showed a significant difference between groups.” (or keep passive if the focus is on the finding) |
| “Recommendations are made for future research.” | “I recommend three directions for future research.” |
Consistent verb tense
Voice and tense work together. APA recommends the past tense or present perfect to discuss other researchers’ work (“Smith [2022] found…” / “Researchers have found…”), the past tense to describe your methods and results, and the present tense to discuss implications and conclusions (“These results suggest…”) (APA, 2020). In proposals, describe your planned methods in the future tense.
Conclusion
Active voice makes your writing clear and confident, and it shows who did what. Use passive voice deliberately, when the action matters more than the actor. Next: General paragraph structure in thesis writing.
Doctoral Writing series
- Series introduction
- How to Introduce Your Doctoral Thesis: Writing a Strong Dissertation Introduction (Chapter 1)
- Formatting Your Dissertation: APA 7 Rules, Section Order and Checklist
- Table of Contents in a Dissertation: What It Is and How to Create One
- What Is an Academic Voice? A Guide for Doctoral Writers
- Should I Write My Dissertation in Passive or Active Voice? (you are here)
- General Paragraph Structure in Thesis Writing: The MEAL Plan
- Long Versus Short Sentences When Writing Your Dissertation
- Best Ways to Create Transitions Between Ideas in Your Dissertation
- Analyzing vs. Synthesizing Ideas: Key Differences for Doctoral Writing
- Reference Page Do's and Don'ts: APA 7 Reference List for Your Dissertation
- What Are High-Quality Resources for a Thesis Paper?
- How to Balance Scholarly Voice with Citing Research
- Common Writing Challenges Doctoral Students Struggle With (and How to Overcome Them)
References
American Psychological Association. (2020). Publication manual of the American Psychological Association (7th ed.). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000165-000
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