5 exercises — choose the correct passive construction for technical writing contexts including changelogs, postmortems, API specifications, and architecture decision records.
0 / 20 completed
1 / 20
Choose the most appropriate passive construction for a technical release note.
Release notes, changelogs, and API documentation typically use the passive voice to focus on what was done rather than who did it. "The critical authentication bug has been fixed" is the standard passive construction. The present perfect passive ("has been fixed") is preferred over simple past passive ("was fixed") in changelogs because it connects the past action to the current state. Option A is grammatically fine but informal/active — acceptable in some teams' changelog styles. Options C and D have wrong agents or tense.
2 / 20
Passive voice is most appropriate in which of these technical writing contexts?
Postmortem reports and incident analysis documents typically favour passive constructions to describe system events objectively, without assigning individual blame: "A misconfiguration was deployed," "The alert was triggered at 14:03," "The database connection pool was exhausted." This is both a stylistic convention (blameless culture) and a grammatical choice. Tutorials and quickstarts (options A and C) use active imperative ("Run npm install," "Open the file"). Informal communication (option D) uses plain active voice.
3 / 20
The configuration file ___ by the provisioning script each time the service ___.
The configuration file is the object of generation (something generates it), so it takes the passive: "is generated." The service is the subject that starts (it starts itself, or it is designed to start), so the active "starts" is correct here — the service performs the action. Option C uses passive for both, which is awkward for the intransitive "start." Option D uses active for both — grammatically acceptable but less precise for documentation describing automatic provisioning.
4 / 20
Select the sentence that correctly uses a passive with a modal verb in an API specification.
A passive with a modal verb follows the pattern: modal + be + past participle. So: "must be included" (not "must include," which is active, or "must including," which is grammatically invalid). In API documentation and RFC-style specifications, modal passive constructions are standard: "MUST be included," "SHOULD be validated," "MAY be omitted," "SHALL NOT be cached." These express obligation or permission about the state of data or behaviour of systems.
5 / 20
Which sentence best demonstrates the appropriate use of passive voice in an ADR (Architecture Decision Record)?
ADRs (Architecture Decision Records) use formal passive constructions to present decisions as reasoned outcomes rather than personal preferences: "PostgreSQL was selected because..." This passive framing focuses on the rationale rather than the decision-makers, which is appropriate for documentation that will be read by future engineers. Option A is acceptable but informal. Option C is grammatically fine but vague. Option D uses continuous passive ("is being selected"), which implies an ongoing process, not a documented decision.
6 / 20
During a code review of the `auth_service`, Sarah noticed that the following comment was added to the commit message: 'The user authentication logic was implemented by the team.' Which passive construction is MOST suitable for this context?
Option 1 uses the standard passive construction with 'was implemented'. This clearly indicates that the action (implementation) happened to the subject ('logic') without specifying who performed it. Options 2 and 4 are grammatically incorrect. Option 3 is less common and slightly awkward.
7 / 20
In a Slack message to the DevOps team regarding a recent outage, David writes: 'The server was overloaded due to unexpected traffic.' Which of the following statements best explains why using the passive voice in this scenario is appropriate?
The primary purpose of reporting an outage is to accurately describe the situation without assigning blame. The passive construction ('was overloaded') focuses on the cause (unexpected traffic) rather than who was responsible for it. Options 2 and 4 are misleading; passive voice isn't about obscuring blame, but about presenting facts.
8 / 20
The database schema _______ by the migration script during deployment.
Using 'was' creates a standard passive construction. The script *performs* the action of modifying the schema. Options 2 and 4 are grammatically incorrect in this context. Option 3 is less precise.
9 / 20
An API specification describes a function that returns data about user accounts. The response body includes the following line: 'The user details are returned by the service.' Which passive construction is MOST appropriate for this scenario?
Option 0 uses the standard passive construction – 'are returned'. This clearly states that the *service* performs the action of returning the data. Options 1 and 2 are grammatically incorrect, and Option 3 is unnecessarily verbose.
10 / 20
In an ADR (Architecture Decision Record) regarding a new caching layer, Mark writes: 'The data is cached by the system.' Which of the following best explains why this passive construction is suitable for this type of document?
ADRs are meant to describe *how* something works, not *who* is responsible. The passive construction focuses on the automated action of caching – a core architectural decision – without assigning responsibility. Options 2 and 3 are misleading; passive voice isn't about automatic processes or preferences.
11 / 20
During a code review of the `auth_service`, Sarah noticed that the following comment was added to the commit message: 'The user authentication logic was implemented by the team.' Which passive construction is MOST suitable for this context?
Option 1 uses the standard passive construction with 'was implemented'. This clearly indicates that the action (implementation) happened to the subject ('logic') without specifying who performed it. Options 2 and 4 are grammatically incorrect. Option 3 is less common and slightly awkward.
12 / 20
In a Slack message to the DevOps team regarding a recent outage, David writes: 'The server was overloaded due to unexpected traffic.' Which of the following statements best explains why using the passive voice in this scenario is appropriate?
The primary purpose of reporting an outage is to accurately describe the situation without assigning blame. The passive construction ('was overloaded') focuses on the cause (unexpected traffic) rather than who was responsible for it. Options 2 and 4 are misleading; passive voice isn't about obscuring blame, but about presenting facts.
13 / 20
The database schema _______ by the migration script during deployment.
Using 'was' creates a standard passive construction. The script *performs* the action of modifying the schema. Options 2 and 4 are grammatically incorrect in this context. Option 3 is less precise.
14 / 20
An API specification describes a function that returns data about user accounts. The response body includes the following line: 'The user details are returned by the service.' Which passive construction is MOST appropriate for this scenario?
Option 0 uses the standard passive construction – 'are returned'. This clearly states that the *service* performs the action of returning the data. Options 1 and 2 are grammatically incorrect, and Option 3 is unnecessarily verbose.
15 / 20
In an ADR (Architecture Decision Record) regarding a new caching layer, Mark writes: 'The data is cached by the system.' Which of the following best explains why this passive construction is suitable for this type of document?
ADRs are meant to describe *how* something works, not *who* is responsible. The passive construction focuses on the automated action of caching – a core architectural decision – without assigning responsibility. Options 2 and 3 are misleading; passive voice isn't about automatic processes or preferences.
16 / 20
During a code review of the `auth_service`, Sarah noticed that the following comment was added to the commit message: 'The user authentication logic was implemented by the team.' Which passive construction is MOST suitable for this context?
Option 1 uses the standard passive construction with 'was implemented'. This clearly indicates that the action (implementation) happened to the subject ('logic') without specifying who performed it. Options 2 and 4 are grammatically incorrect. Option 3 is less common and slightly awkward.
17 / 20
In a Slack message to the DevOps team regarding a recent outage, David writes: 'The server was overloaded due to unexpected traffic.' Which of the following statements best explains why using the passive voice in this scenario is appropriate?
The primary purpose of reporting an outage is to accurately describe the situation without assigning blame. The passive construction ('was overloaded') focuses on the cause (unexpected traffic) rather than who was responsible for it. Options 2 and 4 are misleading; passive voice isn't about obscuring blame, but about presenting facts.
18 / 20
The database schema _______ by the migration script during deployment.
Using 'was' creates a standard passive construction. The script *performs* the action of modifying the schema. Options 2 and 4 are grammatically incorrect in this context. Option 3 is less precise.
19 / 20
An API specification describes a function that returns data about user accounts. The response body includes the following line: 'The user details are returned by the service.' Which passive construction is MOST appropriate for this scenario?
Option 0 uses the standard passive construction – 'are returned'. This clearly states that the *service* performs the action of returning the data. Options 1 and 2 are grammatically incorrect, and Option 3 is unnecessarily verbose.
20 / 20
In an ADR (Architecture Decision Record) regarding a new caching layer, Mark writes: 'The data is cached by the system.' Which of the following best explains why this passive construction is suitable for this type of document?
ADRs are meant to describe *how* something works, not *who* is responsible. The passive construction focuses on the automated action of caching – a core architectural decision – without assigning responsibility. Options 2 and 3 are misleading; passive voice isn't about automatic processes or preferences.
What will I practise in "Passive Voice in Technical Documentation — Grammar Exercises"?
Practise using passive voice correctly in technical English: changelogs, postmortems, API specs, and ADRs.
How many exercises are in this module?
This module has 20 multiple-choice exercises, each with instant feedback and a full explanation of the correct answer.
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How is this different from reading an article on the same topic?
Articles explain grammar rules in prose; this exercise tests and reinforces those rules through active recall with immediate feedback — the two work best together.
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Every exercise is written by the CoderSlingo team, drawing on real workplace English used in IT roles, then reviewed for accuracy and clarity.