Page 106 - SpringBoard_ELD_Grade8_Flipbook

Quick conversation
• Share your work with a partner. Read aloud the original and revised sentences. Discuss how they compare.
• What is emphasized in the passive voice compared to the active voice?
Why might the writer have chosen the passive voice? Is the passive voice effective? Record notes from your discussion.
ACtiVitY 3.5
continued
I think the -voice sentence emphasizes .
Write a short argument
After analyzing the use of the active and passive voice, you have enough information to write a short argument. Choose one of the sentences from your chart and explain why the writer chose the passive voice. Then evaluate the effectiveness of the choice. Before writing, read the model short argument provided. Notice what information is in each of the four sentences. Try structuring your argument in the same way.
In my opinion, the writer used the passive voice because .
I disagree with your evaluation because .
The passive voice is effective because .
ModEl: SHort ArguMEnt
In the article “Cellphones and driving: As dangerous as we think?” Matthew Walberg uses the passive voice when he describes research on the impact of cellphones. In my opinion, he chooses the passive voice to emphasize the “two decades” of research. He does this to show how much research and study has been done on the issue. The use of the passive voice is effective because it emphasizes that even a long period of study has not given enough data to answer the question about cellphones and driver safety.
Unit 2 • The Challenge of Utopia • Part 3: Cellphones and driving: As dangerous as we think? 83
© 2017 College Board. All rights reserved.