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I am writing an abstract for my manuscript (with my mentor), and the abstract includes active and passive voices together, as below:

In the present paper, we have proved [...] by using [...]. Some new results have also been obtained.

Is it a mistake to use passive and active voice together in the abstract?

guest
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1 Answers1

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I don't think there is any inherent problem with mixing active and passive voice. However I would offer the following suggestions:

  • The passive voice is certainly unnecessary here, so you might as well avoid it. You could simply say "We have also obtained some new results."

  • I think most people prefer to write abstracts in the present tense. "In the present paper, we prove theorems... We also obtain some new results."

  • The last sentence "obtained some new results" is so vague that it doesn't tell the reader anything. Either add more details ("We also obtain some new results on the reticulation of splines") or just omit the sentence altogether.

Nate Eldredge
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  • thanks for reply, ı took this abstract only to show the usage of passive and active together. this is not the abstract ı will write. I only wonder is it true to use passive and active together. And ı understand from your saying that it doesnt make an inheretnt problem. – guest May 06 '15 at 17:36
  • My native language is not english, ı dont know it is true or not but when ı use passive and active together in a paragraph like this, ı feel the paragraph seem to be more diverse. Is it true? – guest May 06 '15 at 17:42
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    @guest In some sense, perhaps the writing style is more varied, but it's probably not a sense you should strive for. Say things in the way that makes them clearest. – Tim May 06 '15 at 17:48
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    @guest: Variety in writing style is desirable when writing fiction or popular works, but for technical writing it isn't necessarily beneficial. It is much more important to be clear, precise, and concise, even at the expense of variety. – Nate Eldredge May 06 '15 at 17:54
  • I understand what you say. Since my native language is not english sometimes ı focus on the writing and the style of abstract more than it deserve. As you say the important thing is to convey the idea in clearest way rather than stylist way. Thanks for your helps... – guest May 06 '15 at 17:55
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    I would make the text impersonal, it looks more professional that way: '...In the present paper, theorems dealing with matrix summability factors by using quasi β-power increasing sequences are established...' – Chu May 06 '15 at 20:51
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    I think your writing is great. Relax about the active/passive thing and keep writing! - - - Note, if you were mixing active and passive in one sentence, that would probably be a problem. – aparente001 May 07 '15 at 05:04
  • I disagree with Chu's comment about making the text impersonal. If the natural way to write something happens to be impersonal, that's fine, but if the natural way involves "we did xxx", that's also fine. I wouldn't devote any effort to impersonalizing my writing. – Andreas Blass Feb 23 '17 at 22:52