From the course: Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer

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Passive sentences

Passive sentences

From the course: Writing with Flair: How to Become an Exceptional Writer

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Passive sentences

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- Some people place passive sentences and reversing inter-sentences into the same category but I like to handle them differently because I think the dynamics are a bit different in each case. Now, have you ever been advised to avoid passive sentences in your writing but you've had the trouble understanding exactly what that means. I want to introduce you to the idea in this course, in terms of evocativeness. A passive sentence is one where, as with reversing inter-sentences, the picture you're trying to create forms, as I said, more slowly, than if it's phrased actively. This is a passive sentence. The company was told by the regulator to hand over the documents. It's passive because of the way the information is ordered. Actually, in terms of the players and the action. Who are the players? The company and the regulator, right? What's the action? It's one of those players telling another to hand over some documents. The trouble is that in this passive sentence the focus is on the…

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