Reddit reviews On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction
We found 1 Reddit comments about On Writing Well, 30th Anniversary Edition: The Classic Guide to Writing Nonfiction. Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.
Oh my, big passive voice fan? Let’s see, where to start?
> There are also times when passive voice is preferred
I did say that, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s usually not preferred. It’s preferred when there is no known actor or when the main subject is not the actor.
> Non-psychologists tend to ignore the American Psychological Association’s style guide, yes.
APA is used for a lot more fields than just psychology, including scientific ones. Besides, most style guides say the same thing. AP does, and I’m pretty sure Chicago does.
>And are you seriously citing style guides to make a point about natural language? Yes, prescriptivists tend to dislike passive voice in English. How is that at all relevant?
AP and APA actually cite natural usage as a reason for proscribing against passive voice. The active voice is more natural in most cases and is the way we tend to talk. Therefore, using active voice is better for clarity. Clear writing is good writing.
But this isn’t a subreddit on writing. This is a sub about learning Japanese. The meme we’re commenting on is about things that are difficult for Japanese learners whose native language is English. Passive voice in Japanese is difficult for many English-speaking learners for all the reasons I mentioned. If you want to keep using it in your English writing anyway, I mean, whatever floats your boat. I do recommend picking up On Writing Well, though, and maybe also The Elements of Style. They’re excellent books that I think can explain better than I can why some of these kinds of things that seem “prescriptivist” are actually ways to make your writing clearer, more succinct, and, ultimately, more successful.