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Re: [Phys-L] passive or active voice



I wouldn't want to see measurements like this presented in the text anyway. I would expect: "Table 1 contains the data measured according to procedures 2-5." A passive rendition of this: "The data of procedures 2-5 are presented in Table 1." I like the active here.

Also, I like "The group performed the experiment during a single 2-hour session" rather than "The experiment was performed in a single 2-hour session." In the first, the group (of students, named in a previous statement, hopefully) takes explicit responsibility. In the 2nd, they don't.

-----Original Message-----
From: Phys-l [mailto:phys-l-bounces@phys-l.org] On Behalf Of David Marx
Sent: Wednesday, September 11, 2013 9:59 PM
To: Phys-L@Phys-L.org
Subject: Re: [Phys-L] passive or active voice


John, thanks for a better example than I gave. I realized after I sent this that
my water temperature in the example was a bit too high.

What I do not want to see in my junior/senior level experimental physics lab
reports is something like, "The RMS voltage I measured was 1.23(5) V, but my
lab partner found it to be 1.19(4) V."

On 09/11/2013 02:06 PM, Bill Nettles wrote:
When you have students write a report of an experimental activity, do
you expect them to write primarily in active voice, passive voice, or
do you let them choose?

The only real requirement is clarity.
De gustibus non disputandum.

FWIW it hath been perceived by me that ye olde passive voice hath
largely gone by ye wayside, along with ye electrical "condensers".

On 09/11/2013 02:30 PM, marx@phy.ilstu.edu wrote:

the focus should be on the
experiment and not on the particular experimenters

That may be, but that's mostly a separate question. Very often, you
can focus /directly/ on the experiment, with no need for active agency
*or* passive agency:
"In the first set of measurements, the RMS
voltage was 1.23(45) volts."
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