3/26/2015

Agenda

Do Now/Share Out Literary Present

tense Active Voice

What is it? How do I avoid it?

Independent work

Objective

Students will apply active voice and present tense writing in order to establish and maintain a formal style and objective tone.

AGENDA AND OBJECTIVE

LITERARY PRESENT TENSE

When discussing the characters in ANY work of literature, your verbs should always be in the PRESENT TENSE form. We do this because the author of the work is

communicating to the reader at the present time.

For example: “In 'A Good Man Is Hard to Find,' the grandmother reaches out to touch her killer just before he pulls the trigger.

Similarly, use the present tense when reporting on how other writers have interpreted the work you are discussing. Harper Lee describes Scout Finch as…

LITERARY PRESENT

ACTIVE VOICE

BUT FIRST…A LITTLE GAME

Create a sentence for what I’m doing that starts with MY NAME and is in the PRESENT

TENSE.

• What is the subject? • What is the verb?

“Ms. Freda drops a pencil on the floor.”

BUT FIRST…A LITTLE GAME

Create a sentence for what I’m doing that starts with THE PENCIL and is in PRESENT

TENSE.

• What is the subject? • What is the verb?

“The pencil drops to the floor by Ms. Freda.” 

Active voice means the SUBJECT performs the ACTION (verb). Remember the literary present!

Katniss shoots the arrow at President Snow, sparking a revolution. No: When the arrow is shot by Katniss…

When Scout yells at Walter, she points out that he has no manners No: When Walter is yelled at by Scout…

After Gus dies in The Fault in Our Stars, Hazel learns that she is stronger than she thought. No: When death comes to Gus…

WHAT IS ACTIVE VOICE?

Look for a "by" phrase (e.g., "by the dog" in the last example above). If you find one, the sentence may be in the passive voice. If you can insert the phrase “by zombies” after the verb, your sentence is PASSIVE.

Rewrite the sentence so that the subject buried in the "by" clause is closer to the beginning of the sentence.

Write in literary present tense .

TIPS FOR CONVERTING PASSIVE VOICE TO ACTIVE VOICE/ PRESENT

TENSE