Journal of Technical Writing and Communication Apr 2002

The Passive Voice and Social Values in Science

Daniel D. Ding Ferris State University

Abstract

This article claims that two social values in science—falsifiability of science and cooperation among scientists—determine use of passives in scientific communication. Scientists do not always develop valid theories, so scientific experiments must be amenable to being repeated and found invalid. This requires that the experiments must not be discrete events. Science is also a cooperative enterprise. As an integral part of science, scientific writing employs more passives than actives to focus on materials, methods, figures, processes, tables, concepts, etc. Use of passives to focus on the physical world helps de-emphasize discreteness of scientific experiments. Besides, it also helps remove personal qualifications of observing experimental results. Finally, it enhances cooperation among working scientists by providing a common knowledge base of scientific work—things and objects. Looked at in this way, the passive voice in scientific writing represents professional practices of science instead of personal stylistic choices of individual scientists.

Journal
Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Published
2002-04-01
DOI
10.2190/efmr-bjf3-ce41-84kk
Open Access
Closed
Topics
scientific writing voice and style

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (8)

  1. Zerbe et al. (2025)
    The Rhetoric of Science in (Times of) Crisis
    Rhetoric Society Quarterly
  2. Reid (2019)
    Compressing, Expanding, and Attending to Scientific Meaning: Writing the Semiot…
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  3. Leong et al. (2018)
    Examining Structure in Scientific Research Articles: A Study of Thematic Progre…
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  4. Smith et al. (2016)
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  5. Hoover (2010)
    The Impact of NSF and NIH Websites on Researcher Ethics
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Show all 8 →
  1. Thayer et al. (2010)
    I, Pronoun: A Study of Formality in Online Content
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  2. Ding (2010)
    Introducing China's First Comprehensive Technical Writing Book: <i>On Technolog…
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  3. Rundblad (2007)
    Impersonal, General, and Social
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Cites in this index (5)

  1. KOPPLE (1994)
    Some Characteristics and Functions of Grammatical Subjects in Scientific Discourse
    Written Communication
  2. Rodman (1994)
    The Active Voice in Scientific Articles: Frequency and Discourse Functions
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  3. Wilkinson (1992)
    Jargon and the Passive Voice: Prescriptions and Proscriptions for Scientific Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  4. Harmon (1992)
    An Analysis of Fifty Citation Superstars from the Scientific Literature
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
  5. Riley (1991)
    Passive Voice and Rhetorical Role in Scientific Writing
    Journal of Technical Writing and Communication
Also cites 20 works outside this index ↓
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CrossRef global citation count: 30 View in citation network →

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