: Is active or passive voice more common in scientific writing? I am choosing between two sentences: We display the values of X in Table 1. The values of X are displayed in Table 1. The first

I am choosing between two sentences:

We display the values of X in Table 1.
The values of X are displayed in Table 1.

The first is more action-oriented, the second is more passive but focuses on the values in the table more. Which is better for scientific writing, and are there times when one is better than the other?

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: My writing instructor once told me that the difference between showing and telling is much more subtle than verbal telling only. In essence; 'Showing' focuses on direct actions, and narrating

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@Sims2267584

It depends on the rest of your text.

I'd personally go with option 2, since it sounds more impersonal and straight-to-the-point, but if you already used something like the first option previously in your paper, you may want to keep the same style for consistency.

Honestly I don't know if one formula is better than the other. What I can imagine is that the first option emphasize the subject. It may be good if you want to stress out the work that you or your team have done, but it might come off as a bit pretentious, imho.

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: Is active or passive voice more common in scientific writing? I am choosing between two sentences: We display the values of X in Table 1. The values of X are displayed in Table 1. The first

More posts by @Hamaas631

: In contrast to some (or possibly all) of the other answers, I don't think it's to do with what particular traits the villian has so much as whether they embody a consistent set of ideals

: My writing instructor once told me that the difference between showing and telling is much more subtle than verbal telling only. In essence; 'Showing' focuses on direct actions, and narrating

: In searchable documentation, what function does a glossary serve? I work (with a team) on a large documentation set for a complex software product. We publish HTML and have built-in search

: Examples in documentation can include code, graphics with "fake" data, web sites, and more. Examples are usually tightly coupled with the documentation containing them but often need to be

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