<p>Is it ok to use passive voice in your essays or is it seen as grammatically incorrect?</p>
<p>good question, anyone?</p>
<p>There are times when it's <em>good</em> to use passive voice, especially when you don't want to or can't single out a particular agent as the subject that's "doing" the verb:</p>
<p>His lyrics are remembered even today. </p>
<p>is at least as good as:</p>
<p>People remember his lyrics even today.</p>
<p>Or if you really want to emphasize the object of the verb rather than the subject:</p>
<p>This horrible accident was caused by a stray cat. (Unless you're writing for Feline World, where "The stray cat caused this horrible accident." is probably the way to go.) :)</p>
<p>The problem arises when the passive is used too much or is used in places where active voice is simpler and more direct. If you start to write things like "a volunteer trip to Appalachia was taken by me," it's time to do some editing. Did you have specific sentences you were concerned about?</p>
<p>No, I was just wondering in general. Thanks for the help!</p>