5 exercises — passive for processes, error messages, API docs, changelogs, and choosing active vs passive.
0 / 5 completed
1 / 5
Which sentence is most appropriate for a process documentation step?
Passive voice ("is validated") is preferred in process documentation when the focus is on what happens to the object, not who performs the action. This is standard in technical specifications and system design docs.
2 / 5
Choose the better error message for an API response:
Passive voice in error messages ("was not found") is appropriate because it describes a system state without blaming the user. It is precise and professional.
3 / 5
Which instruction is clearest for a user-facing guide?
Active imperative voice ("Click Save") is clearest in user-facing instructions. Passive constructions add unnecessary complexity and distance in procedural guides.
4 / 5
Choose the standard changelog entry format:
Changelogs use the passive participle without an auxiliary verb: "Memory leak fixed." This is the conventional format used by GitHub, npm, and most open-source projects — concise and agent-agnostic.
5 / 5
Which sentence from an API reference is written in the preferred style?
API documentation conventionally uses passive ("is returned") to describe what the endpoint produces, since the caller is interested in the response, not the implementation agent. Both passive and "Returns a JSON object..." (active omitting subject) are acceptable.