Using Passive Voice in Informational Writing

Passives and Modals
Use the "word bank" below to help you fill in the passage on the left. In this activity, the verb "to be" is used in active and passive constructions. Also, modals such as will, should, could, and must are used. First, try to guess the answers. Then view the clues [?] to know which voice or modal is needed. The clues will give you the necessary information to use.

For example, if the clue says:
Verb: "to use"; passive voice with modal "will"; third person, plural.

The answer is:
... will be used ...

Word Bank
The following verbs appear in the passage. Some are used more than once.

to appear
to be
to contain
to come (from)
to devise
to explain
to need
to produce
to reflect
to refract
to reproduce
to say
to seem
to use

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'; //Write it to the frame TopFrame.document.clear(); TopFrame.document.open(); TopFrame.document.write(OutString); TopFrame.document.close(); } function DisplayExercise(){ //Build the output string var OutString = ''; OutString += ''; OutString += ' '; OutString += ''; OutString += TitleCode; OutString += ''; OutString += NavBar; OutString += '

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'; if (is.CRAPBrowser){OutString=ResolveAllURLs(OutString);} //Write it to the frame BottomFrame.document.clear(); BottomFrame.document.open(); BottomFrame.document.write(OutString); BottomFrame.document.close(); } function ShowClue(ItemNum){ //alert(ItemNum); State[ItemNum][0] = 1; WriteFeedback(I[ItemNum][2]); } function SaveCurrentAnswers(){ for (var i=0; i-1){ FirstBit = InString.substring(0, i); LastBit = InString.substring(i + Token.length, InString.length); InString = FirstBit + Replacement + LastBit; i = InString.indexOf(Token); } return InString; } I = new Array(); I[0] = new Array(); I[0][1] = new Array(); I[0][1][0] = new Array(); I[0][1][0][0]='seems'; I[0][2]='Verb: "to seem"; third-person, singular.'; I[1] = new Array(); I[1][1] = new Array(); I[1][1][0] = new Array(); I[1][1][0][0]='contains'; I[1][2]='Verb: "to contain"; third-person, singular.'; I[2] = new Array(); I[2][1] = new Array(); I[2][1][0] = new Array(); I[2][1][0][0]='do not appear'; I[2][1][1] = new Array(); I[2][1][1][0]='don\'t appear'; I[2][2]='Verb: "to appear"; negative (+ not); third-person, plural.'; I[3] = new Array(); I[3][1] = new Array(); I[3][1][0] = new Array(); I[3][1][0][0]='are refracted'; I[3][2]='Verb: "to refract"; passive voice; third-person, plural.'; I[4] = new Array(); I[4][1] = new Array(); I[4][1][0] = new Array(); I[4][1][0][0]='is refracted'; I[4][2]='Verb: "to refract"; passive voice; third-person, singular.'; I[5] = new Array(); I[5][1] = new Array(); I[5][1][0] = new Array(); I[5][1][0][0]='is reflected'; I[5][2]='Verb: "to reflect"; passive voice; third-person, singular.'; I[6] = new Array(); I[6][1] = new Array(); I[6][1][0] = new Array(); I[6][1][0][0]='is reflected'; I[6][2]='Verb: "to reflect"; passive voice; third-person, singular.'; I[7] = new Array(); I[7][1] = new Array(); I[7][1][0] = new Array(); I[7][1][0][0]='needs'; I[7][2]='Verb: "to need"; third-person, singular.'; I[8] = new Array(); I[8][1] = new Array(); I[8][1][0] = new Array(); I[8][1][0][0]='must be viewed'; I[8][2]='Verb: "to view"; passive voice with modal "must"; third-person singular.'; I[9] = new Array(); I[9][1] = new Array(); I[9][1][0] = new Array(); I[9][1][0][0]='will be'; I[9][2]='Verb: "to be"; with modal "will"; third-person, singular.'; I[10] = new Array(); I[10][1] = new Array(); I[10][1][0] = new Array(); I[10][1][0][0]='must be produced'; I[10][2]='Verb: "to produce"; passive voice with modal "must"; third-person singular.'; I[11] = new Array(); I[11][1] = new Array(); I[11][1][0] = new Array(); I[11][1][0][0]='should be reflected'; I[11][2]='Verb: "to reflect"; passive voice with modal "should"; third-person, singular.'; I[12] = new Array(); I[12][1] = new Array(); I[12][1][0] = new Array(); I[12][1][0][0]='could be used'; I[12][2]='Verb: "to use"; passive voice with modal "could"; third-person singular.'; I[13] = new Array(); I[13][1] = new Array(); I[13][1][0] = new Array(); I[13][1][0][0]='should be devised'; I[13][2]='Verb: "to devise"; passive voice with modal "should"; third person, singular.'; Text = new Array(); Text[0]='Problem: What is a rainbow? Where do its colors come from?

Information: Textbooks such as Concepts and Challenges in Physical Science explain that sunlight '; Text[1]=' to be colorless, but in fact '; Text[2]=' a spectrum of colors. The colors '; Text[3]=' unless they '; Text[4]=' through water. Theories explain that, as sunlight is reflected through raindrops, it '; Text[5]=', and its spectrum of colors, in the form of a rainbow, '; Text[6]=' in the sky. Related theories about sunlight say that sunlight '; Text[7]=' more easily on light-colored surfaces rather than dark.

Analysis: In order to prove what a rainbow is and where its colors come from, the student-scientist '; Text[8]=' to reproduce the conditions in which a rainbow appears. Sunlight '; Text[9]=' through water and reflected onto a surface. But it '; Text[10]=' difficult to make a rainbow in the sky. The same effect '; Text[11]=' in a more controlled environment. The sunlight '; Text[12]=' through water, bent, and shone onto a light-colored surface such as a piece of white paper. A glass of water '; Text[13]=', and a way to block all of the light except for a band of light, like a rainbow, '; Text[14]='.'; State = new Array(); function StartUp(){ var i = 0; State.length = 0; for (i=0; i -1){ var TotalChars = GetGapValue(i).length; State[i][3] = (TotalChars-State[i][1])/TotalChars; if (State[i][0] > 0){State[i][3] = State[i][3]/2;} if (State[i][3]<0){State[i][3] = 0;} State[i][4] = 1; } else{ //Otherwise, add zero to the array and increment the hints for this item, as a penalty State[i][1]++; State[i][3] = 0; //then set the flag AllCorrect = 0; } } } //Calculate the total score var TotalScore = 0; for (i=0; i'; } Output += YourScoreIs + ' ' + TotalScore + '%.
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' + Incorrect; } BuildExercise(); WriteFeedback(Output); DisplayExercise(); RestoreCurrentAnswers(); } function TrackFocus(BoxNumber){ CurrentWord = BoxNumber; } function CheckBeginning(Guess, Answer){ var OutString = ''; var i = 0; var UpperGuess = ''; var UpperAnswer = ''; if (CaseSensitive == false) { UpperGuess = Guess.toUpperCase(); UpperAnswer = Answer.toUpperCase(); } else { UpperGuess = Guess; UpperAnswer = Answer; } while (UpperGuess.charAt(i) == UpperAnswer.charAt(i)) { OutString += Guess.charAt(i); i++; } OutString += Answer.charAt(i); return OutString; } function FindLongest(InArray){ if (InArray.length < 1){return -1;} var Longest = 0; for (var i=1; i InArray[Longest].length){ Longest = i; } } return Longest; } function GetGapValue(GNum){ var RetVal = ''; if ((GNum<0)||(GNum>=I.length)){return RetVal;} if (eval('BottomFrame.document.Cloze.Gap' + GNum) != null){ RetVal = eval('BottomFrame.document.Cloze.Gap' + GNum).value; RetVal = TrimString(RetVal); } else{ RetVal = State[GNum][5]; } return RetVal; } function SetGapValue(GNum, Val){ if ((GNum<0)||(GNum>=I.length)){return;} if (eval('BottomFrame.document.Cloze.Gap' + GNum) != null){ eval('BottomFrame.document.Cloze.Gap' + GNum).value = Val; } } function FindCurrent() { var x = 0; FoundCurrent = -1; //Test the current word: //If it's state is not set to already correct, check the word. if (State[CurrentWord][4] != 1){ if (CheckAnswer(CurrentWord, false) < 0){ return CurrentWord; } } x=CurrentWord + 1; while (x -1){return ''} RightBits = new Array(); for (var i=0; i 0){ SetGapValue(CurrGap, HintString); State[CurrGap][1] = State[CurrGap][1] + 1; } WriteFeedback(GiveHint); } function Blank(){ return ' �Half-Baked Software. Loading...

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