May 22, 2013 No, they did not have such separately. The grammar check takes care of all aspects of grammar and best style, so with 'Check grammar as you type' selected, and Formal Style chosen, it also will check for passive voice. – Launch Word. – Go to the top menu bar, Word Preferences. – Select the 'Spelling and Grammar' icon. How to check for passive voice in word on mac. Posted on November 13, 2020 by November 13, 2020. Crestron master installer tool.
Check the box next to 'Show Readability Statistics' to cause Word to report the percentage of passive sentences in your document after each spell check. 8 Click 'OK' to return to your document. Hello, Welcome to Microsoft Community. As of now is not possible to check use of Passive Voice in Word 2016. The Option to detect passive voice was available in the previous version of Word, however the feature is not available currently in Word 2016.
I tend to prefer old-fashioned pen and paper for going over my drafts and marking revisions and edits. The screen has never struck me as a good medium for reading longer works on, and I think differently with a pen in hand than with a keyboard under my fingers.
That said, Word 2007 puts a lot of useful tools at your fingertips for proofreading and editing. Of course, there's spell-check, which is a useful tool when used wisely and carefully (I can't tell you how many papers I've read by students who apparently ran spell-check and simply accepted whatever changes Word recommended). But there are a lot more little tools that can prove very useful indeed — you just need to know where to look.
Here then, in no particular order, is a grab-bag of tips and tricks for editing and proofreading using Word 2007. Some of these tips might work for earlier versions of Word, but since I don't have an earlier version available, I can't test them to make sure.
Add space between paragraphs
If you're like me and print your documents out to proofread them, you could probably use a little more space between paragraphs for notes and additions. Hit CTRL-A to select the entire document, then hit CTRL-0 (that's a 'zero', not an 'oh') to add an extra line of space between every paragraph. To revert back to normal spacing, just do it again and all the extra spaces will disappear.
Check readability
Word 2007 includes a readability analyzer, which uses the length of sentences, the average syllable-count of your words, and other factors to determine how easy or hard your writing is to read. While it's not a perfect measure, you can get a pretty good idea, especially from the 'Grade Level' ranking, which tells you how many grades of education someone would need to understand what you write. I try to aim for something around 7th-9th grade as a general rule, although I usually end up closer to 10th. (This paragraph has a rating of 14.3, which means you need a couple of years of college to read it — like I said, it's not a perfect measure!)
To activate it, click on the 'Home' button (the big round button at the top right corner), click 'Word Options', go to the 'Proofing' tab, and check the box next to 'Show readability statistics'. Once you've done that, readability figures will come up in the results box after you run a spelling and grammar check.
Highlight passive voice
The 'Reading Highlight' feature is useful for a lot of things, but I think it's an especially neat way to check your writing for passive voice use. What Reading Highlight does is perform a search but, instead of taking you to the next instance of your search terms, it highlights all instances throughout the text.
To use it, select a highlight color from the 'Home' tab, then hit CTRL-F to bring up a search window. Enter your search term or phrase, click the 'Reading Highlight' drop-down, and select 'Highlight All'. Click 'Close' and watch your highlights appear. To remove the highlighting, re-open the search box, click the 'Reading Highlight' drop-down, and select 'Clear Highlighting'. Again, click 'Close' and the highlighting will be gone.
How do you use this to find passive sentences? Well, we know that most passive statements use the verb 'to be' in some form or another. So we want to search for 'be' in all its variants: is, was, are, am, were, etc.
Open the search dialog (CTRL-F), type 'be' as your search term, and click the 'More' button. Put a check in the box next to 'Find all word forms', click the 'Reading Highlight' button and select 'Highlight All', and click 'Close'. Now, every permutation of 'to be' will be highlighted. Not all of them are going to be passive — or too passive, anyway — but many will. Rewrite all those sentences to have more active verbs.
Look at two parts of your document at the same time
Word's 'Split' view allows you to look at two different parts of your document at the same time, scrolling through each part independently. On the 'View' tab, select 'Split' (in the 'Window' section). You will be given a line to place on the page — place it where you'd like (I prefer straight down the middle) and now you can scroll to two separate parts of the same document — useful for cutting and pasting from one chapter to another, reviewing bibliographic citations to make sure you haven't left anything out of the 'Works Cited' page, or keeping a chapter outline visible at the top of the screen while you work at the bottom.
To revert to a normal view, just click the same button (now marked 'Remove Split') again.
Edit in Print Preview
How Do I Check For Passive Voice On Mac For Word Document
I've lost count of the number of times I've looked at document in Print Preview, right before printing, and found one little thing that I need to correct. Well, instead of closing Print Preview, making your change and then previewing your changes again, you can make quick edits directly in Print Preview.
To do so, simply remove the checkmark next to 'Magnifier' in the 'Preview' group on the Print Preview menu. Now, instead of zooming in when you click on the document, your cursor will be placed into the text and you can make your edits.
Your tips and tricks
Word 2007 is a huge and complex piece of software. Even using the tips in this series, you'll still only be using a fraction of its power. What other tricks do you know that offer particular aid to writers? Let us know in the comments!
Posts in 'Word 2007' series
- Word 2007 for Writers: Part 5 – Proofreading and Editing Tricks
Why is passive voice bad? Well, what's wrong with passive voice is that it hides the identity of the person doing the action. It also makes sentences longer than they need to be.
But you're not a bad person just because you use passive constructions. (You're a bad person for other reasons. Ba-dum-bum!)
You see, sometimes it's okay—even desirable—to use the passive voice. But in general, active voice makes for better writing in English.
This post explains why the passive voice is 'bad' and when it's okay to use. You'll also find example sentences below.
What's wrong with passive voice? Well, even though the lazy dog is jumped over by the quick brown fox, there's a better way to say it.
I admit that the image caption* is a little ridiculous. But it's just to prove a point: you can rewrite any sentence using a passive construction. The result may not be pretty, but it's always grammatically possible.
As I noted above, active voice is stronger. It makes writing clear and allows speakers to take responsibility for their actions. In short, you should use the active voice most of the time.
However, at certain times, the passive voice is actually better than the active voice. Read on for more.
Why Is Passive Voice Bad?
The passive voice changes the subject-verb relationship in the sentence. The subject, which is normally the 'star of the show' in English sentences, takes a back seat to the object.
But this can be good or bad depending upon what you're trying to stress in your writing. Download Ween MP3 Songs and Albums | music downloads.
- The report was submitted by the team on Friday. (Compare this to The team submitted the report on Friday.)
- Dinner is served by us until 9 pm. (Compare this to We serve dinner until 9 pm.)
Passive constructions often omit the doer of the action. In the first sentence above, it's fine to omit by the team. In the second sentence, it actually sounds more natural to remove the agent:
- Dinner is served until 9 pm.
What's Wrong with Passive Voice? Nothing, in Certain Situations
A passive construction is actually better sometimes. This is why I cringe a little bit when people ask me what's wrong with passive voice. It's proof that some grammar myths are hard to kill.
The anti–passive voice movement is strong (and not without reason). Popular computer programs such as Microsoft Word analyze your use of the passive voice after you run spell-check. And Yoast, a great WordPress plugin for SEO, tells you how many of your sentences are in the passive voice.
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Passive Voice Exercises
Something must be wrong with passive voice. Yoast SEO, a WordPress plugin, checks your use of it in percentage terms.
Examples of When It's OK to Use the Passive Voice
Example sentence: Our laboratory is equipped with the latest microscopy technology for the preparation of samples.
Why it works: Here, the high-tech laboratory is the focus, not the person or entity that equipped it. (The unnamed doer of the action is 'the company,' for example.)
Example sentence: Three U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack.
Why it works: The writer does not yet know who perpetrated the attack and/or wanted to place emphasis on the people who died, not who killed them.
Example sentence: It appears that a mistake was made with our order.
Why it works: You might use the passive voice in a complaint letter to avoid offending the reader. (Compare the example sentence to the much more accusatory 'You made a mistake.' Of course, you could argue that you want to assign blame. But the passive voice is kinder than the alternative here, so you may have more luck getting a resolution to your problem if you use it.)
Passive constructions often omit the doer of the action. In the first sentence above, it's fine to omit by the team. In the second sentence, it actually sounds more natural to remove the agent:
- Dinner is served until 9 pm.
What's Wrong with Passive Voice? Nothing, in Certain Situations
A passive construction is actually better sometimes. This is why I cringe a little bit when people ask me what's wrong with passive voice. It's proof that some grammar myths are hard to kill.
The anti–passive voice movement is strong (and not without reason). Popular computer programs such as Microsoft Word analyze your use of the passive voice after you run spell-check. And Yoast, a great WordPress plugin for SEO, tells you how many of your sentences are in the passive voice.
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Passive Voice Exercises
Something must be wrong with passive voice. Yoast SEO, a WordPress plugin, checks your use of it in percentage terms.
Examples of When It's OK to Use the Passive Voice
Example sentence: Our laboratory is equipped with the latest microscopy technology for the preparation of samples.
Why it works: Here, the high-tech laboratory is the focus, not the person or entity that equipped it. (The unnamed doer of the action is 'the company,' for example.)
Example sentence: Three U.S. soldiers were killed in the attack.
Why it works: The writer does not yet know who perpetrated the attack and/or wanted to place emphasis on the people who died, not who killed them.
Example sentence: It appears that a mistake was made with our order.
Why it works: You might use the passive voice in a complaint letter to avoid offending the reader. (Compare the example sentence to the much more accusatory 'You made a mistake.' Of course, you could argue that you want to assign blame. But the passive voice is kinder than the alternative here, so you may have more luck getting a resolution to your problem if you use it.)
Example sentence: Mr. Smith was given CPR on site and was then transported to Metro General.
How Do I Check For Passive Voice On Mac For Word Document
Why it works: The unnamed subject is likely 'paramedics' or 'first responders.' In terms of sentence emphasis, though, the paramedics are secondary.
Microsoft Word includes an analysis of passive voice use in its readability statistics. (It comes up after spell-check is complete.)
Final Word
As the above passive voice examples show, passive sentences are not only acceptable. They can be better than active sentences.
How Do I Check For Passive Voice On Mac For Word Problems
Of course, the situations I've listed aren't the only times when the passive voice is appropriate. You can also sprinkle passive constructions into longer texts for sentence variety.
Sure, there are 'rules' in writing. But you can break them if you know what you're doing.
So I would never say that you can't use the passive voice.
I would also never say that your writing should have exactly nine active sentences for every one passive sentence. Context, subject matter, tone, and writing style are more important than eliminating every single instance of passive voice from your writing.
If you use them at the right times, then passive voice constructions can be better than their active counterparts.
So the next time you hear someone say, 'What's wrong with passive voice?' you can reply, 'Nothing.'
*This is a passive construction of the famous English pangram The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog. A pangram is a sentence that includes all the letters of the alphabet. (But you knew that already!)
Looking to enhance your grammar smarts? Then check out our posts on restrictive clauses, predicate adjectives, and linking verbs. (Gosh, they sound dry…)
If you need help with your writing, then see our FAQ page on copy editing.
