To catch your reader’s attention and keep it, get active and be engaging. Try this:
- Circle the subject and verb in each sentence. Ask yourself, “Is the subject doing, done, or will do the action stated by the verb?” If not, revise it so that the subject is doing the action.
For example,
- Which sentence is more engaging? “The mat was sat on by the cat” or “The cat sat on the mat”
- How about with this one? “My homework was eaten by the dog” or “The dog ate my homework”
- And what about this one? “The girl loved the boy” or “The boy was loved by the girl”
In each example, the first option seems sluggish and can be downright confusing. Whereas, the second option—using the active voice—breathes new life into the writing.
When your writing gets active it’s contagious
—your reader catches on quicker and keeps moving along.
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