1 Introduction

The use of voice in English scientific papers is crucial for fluency and accuracy; The choice of voice is influenced by various factors, including the object being described, context, subject, and the cultural background of the author's native language; Exploring the strategies and methods of using voice has reference value for the practice of scientific writing.

Current Status of Active and Passive Voice Usage

There is a significant difference in the use of the active voice and passive voice in English scientific papers. The active voice emphasizes the doer of the action, while the passive voice emphasizes the object of the action. Scientific papers tend to use the passive voice to emphasize the research object and make the description more objective. The proportion of passive voice usage in medical papers is higher, reaching 46%, while it is only about 3% in The Wall Street Journal. Although the active voice makes the article more vivid, the passive voice is more convenient and necessary in certain situations. The proportion of passive sentences used by Chinese scientific and technological workers in English abstracts is about 49%, which is higher than the international average. At the beginning of the 20th century, the first person active voice was more common in scientific literature, but later the passive voice became popular due to its objectivity. In the past two decades, most English scientific journals have encouraged the use of the active voice, but in certain circumstances, the use of the passive voice is still allowed. The APA writing standard emphasizes determining the use of voice based on the relationship between the performer of the action, the action itself, and the object of action. Researchers tend to balance the use of active and passive voice according to actual needs. The paper will explore the usage methods and advantages of the active voice, analyze the suitable situations for using the passive voice, provide methods for identifying the passive voice, and propose strategies for using the active and passive voice.

3. Use of Active Voice

Discussed the widespread use and advantages of the active voice in English scientific paper writing. The main reasons include: (1) using the active voice can highlight the author's sense of responsibility and confidence in the research results, such as using the "first person+active voice" approach to make the tone firm and powerful, enhancing persuasiveness; (2) Active voice sentences have clear logic and are easy to understand, thereby improving the readability of the paper; (3) Active voice sentences have clear semantic expression, which helps to avoid misunderstandings. By comparing specific examples, the advantages of the active voice in expressing clarity and emphasizing the responsible subject are demonstrated, while pointing out the semantic ambiguity that the passive voice may cause.

4. Use of Passive Voice

The use of passive voice in English scientific papers has a clear purpose and is commonly used to emphasize the action object or action itself, weaken unknown or unnecessary action implementers, describe simple truths or use directive tone, and maintain logical clarity and coherence. However, improper use of the passive voice may lead to ambiguity or confusion among action implementers, such as the issue of dangling modifiers, or masking loopholes and avoiding problems in scientific papers. In addition, improper use of the passive voice may make the sentence appear sluggish and the semantic expression unclear. The correct use of passive voice is crucial for improving the expressive effect of scientific papers.

5 Strategies for Using Active and Passive Voice

In writing English scientific papers, identifying and appropriately using the active and passive voice is crucial. The recognition of passive voice can be achieved through methods such as the "SVO" structure, the "past participle of the auxiliary verb be+transitive verb" structure, or the "by..." ending, but it needs to be combined with semantic judgment. Writing assistance software such as Grammarly can assist in recognition, but accuracy needs to be improved. The passive voice is not a grammatical error in scientific papers and is reasonable in certain contexts. Although the active voice is encouraged to enhance clarity, its actual use should be determined based on the content and context. In a sentence, it is important to avoid mixing the active and passive voices to avoid confusion with the doer of the action. The paragraph can be flexibly used based on the readability of the understanding. APA writing standards suggest specifying the implementer of the action at the beginning of the paragraph and adjusting the voice as needed thereafter. Ferreira et al. (2021) emphasized that clarity and accuracy should be the primary goal, and there is no need to deliberately avoid the passive voice. The usage strategies include: hiding the implementer of the action, emphasizing the object of action or the action itself, prioritizing the active voice at the beginning of the paragraph, considering voice consistency, using the passive voice for directive sentences or simple truths, and prioritizing the active voice in other situations.

6 Conclusion

The purpose of writing English scientific papers is to record and share research results clearly and fluently, and the choice of voice should serve this goal without overly emphasizing the active voice. In writing, one should flexibly choose the active and passive voice according to the objects that need to be emphasized or weakened and the contextual logic.