🔄 Using Passive Voice Effectively in Task 1 and Task 2

The passive voice is a powerful tool in IELTS Writing when used correctly. It helps you vary sentence structure, sound more formal, and shift focus to the action instead of the actor — which is especially useful in Task 1 and formal essay writing. However, it should be used with purpose, not overused.

📚 What Is Passive Voice?

The passive voice is used when the object of an action becomes the subject of the sentence.

Structure: be + past participle

Example: “The road was repaired last week.”

✅ When to Use Passive in Task 1 (Academic)

• When describing process diagrams
• When the person doing the action is not mentioned or unimportant

Examples:

• “The water is filtered before it enters the treatment tank.”
• “The seeds are planted after the soil is prepared.”

✅ When to Use Passive in Task 2

• To sound formal or objective
• To describe policies, actions, or societal effects without naming specific actors

Examples:

• “Laws should be introduced to regulate social media usage.”
• “A large number of forests have been destroyed due to human activity.”

⚖️ Passive vs. Active – When to Choose

Active: “The government built a new hospital.”
Passive: “A new hospital was built by the government.”

✅ Use passive if the actor is unknown, less important, or already obvious in context.

🚫 Common Mistakes

• ❌ Using the wrong form of “be”: “It was build” → ✅ “It was built”
• ❌ Overusing passive in places where active is clearer
• ❌ Omitting the subject when it’s necessary (e.g., “The law was passed” — but by whom?)

🧠 Passive Voice Tenses Reference

✍️ Practice Task

Convert the following into passive voice:

1. Factories release harmful chemicals into rivers.
2. People will install solar panels on rooftops.
3. They have launched a new education program.

🎯 Final Tip

Passive voice is ideal for describing data, processes, and formal arguments. Don’t avoid it — just use it when it helps your writing flow or adds clarity. A mix of active and passive structures shows real control of grammar, which can boost your score in both Task Achievement and Grammatical Range.

See also next Quantifiers in IELTS – Much, Many, Few, Little, A Lot of – When and Why?

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