Using the Passive Voice in IELTS Writing

Using the Passive in Formal and Academic Writing

There are various reasons you might use the passive voice in English writing, but generally speaking, the passive voice is used regularly in formal and academic writing. That means it’s very useful for IELTS Academic Writing Task 1, for formal letters in IELTS General Test Writing Task 1, and of course in Writing Task 2. Below you’ll find the rules, example sentences and then some exercises to practice.

The rules for using the passive voice:

The passive voice is made with the verb be + past participle.

• His suit was made in Italy

The passive can be used with all verb forms e.g. is being made, has been made, will be made etc.

• His suit is being made in Italy.

The passive voice is often used when it’s not important or we’re not interested in who does something.

• She has been given a promotion

If we want to say who does the action while using the passive voice, we can use by.

• He was given the car by his grandfather

The object of the action is the focus of the sentence in a passive sentence.

• You will be told what to do later

The passive voice is often used in more academic or formal writing, so it’s particularly useful in formal letters in IELTS General Writing Task 1, or in Writing Task 2.

• More money should be invested in sports facilities

• The service (which was) provided at your hotel was very disappointing

It is also often used to describe processes, so can be very useful in academic writing task 1 diagram tasks.

• The bricks are transported to the ovens on a conveyor belt

Some verbs cannot be made passive (intransitive verbs, which don’t have an object) e.g. arise, consist, depend, exist, fall, happen, occur, rise.

Some verbs are regularly used in the passive. e.g. accuse, base, be born, design, estimate, jail, situate, shoot

• The young man was accused of stealing a car.

The passive voice can be used to paraphrase clauses using verbs such as suggest, argue, think, believe, establish and recognise. Some people argue that… > It is sometimes argued that… . This is very useful in IELTS Writing Task 2.

• It is commonly thought that the relationships between family members are not as strong as they were previously.

• It is believed by some people that more should be invested in trains, while others claim that improvements to the road system should be prioritised.

• It is sometimes suggested that children in the modern world don’t have enough time for leisure because they spend so much time studying.

• It is well established that people in today’s world live less active lives than in the past.

• It is widely recognised that people are not as polite as they were previously.

Exercise 1:

Paraphrase the following sentences using the passive voice.

1.  A generator converts the mechanical energy into electrical energy.

2. Some people think that children do not have enough free time.

3. Her boss gave her a pay rise.

4. Your staff treated us very badly.

5. The construction workers are making too much noise.

6. Her mother has bought her a car.

7. The police arrested the man for burglary yesterday.

8. The government should spend more on education.

9. A pump pumps water through the system.

10. The reactor heats the water and turns it into steam.

11. Many people recognise that there is too great income inequality in many countries.

12. Our driver will pick you up and take you to the meeting location.

13. Our analysts estimate that inflation was 5% last year.

14. Some people suggest that globalisation has too many negative effects.

Exercise 2:

Complete the following description of a process using the passive voice.

The diagram illustrates the way in which electricity _________ (generate) using a nuclear reactor. Overall, it can _________ (see) that the process involves heating water with the reactor to turn a turbine, and cooling the reactor with water from a reservoir.

The nuclear reactor _________ (locate) inside a large protective structure and contains control rods. A liquid _________ (pump) through the reactor, where it absorbs heat which then _________ (use) to heat water to boiling point and produce steam. The steam _________ (send) through a pipe to a turbine which it spins. The turbine _________ (connect) to a generator where the spinning motion produces electricity. The electricity that _________ (produce) _________ (send) away for use via electricity cables. 

Simultaneously, water _________ (pump) from a reservoir through a cooling system. The cooling system _________ (connect) to two large cooling towers. The cooling system passes through a condenser where it cools the steam after it has passed through the turbine.

Exercise 3:

Complete the following formal letter using the appropriate form of the passive voice.

Dear Sir/ Madam,

I am writing with regard to a meal I had at your restaurant on Wednesday evening. I would like to complain about the poor quality of both the food and service which _________ (provide).

I _________ (recommend) to eat at your restaurant by a friend who is a regular customer of yours. I was really looking forward to a fantastic meal with my wife, however, the quality of the food and service we received was much lower than expected. Unfortunately, there was an issue with the chicken in my wife’s main course, which _________(not cook) properly and was partially raw in the centre. I reported the problem to the waiter and was extremely disappointed by his response. Not only did he not replace the dish, but we _________ (tell) to stop complaining.

I would like to request a full refund for the meal, as my wife was unable to eat her dish, and we were both upset by your waiter’s rude behaviour. I sincerely hope that your customer service _________ (improve) and your customers _________ (treat) better in the future.

Yours faithfully,

Mike Jeffries

Exercise 4:

Complete the following formal letter using the appropriate form of the passive voice.

Dear Mr Schneider,

I am writing to complain about the level of noise coming from your apartment late at night. I _________ (keep) awake by loud noises every night for the last several weeks. The noise seems to be coming from a television with the volume set at an extraordinarily high level.

As a result of lack of sleep my work _________ (affect), and I _________ (ask) to explain my poor performance over the last month. If this continues, I’m afraid that I _________ (fire).

Please could I remind you that our building rules state that loud noise must _________ (not make) after 10pm, and could I therefore ask you to reduce the volume of your television or other devices to a reasonable level after this time. If not, I _________ (force) to report the problem to the building management.

Yours sincerely, 

Chris Hamsworth