Refactor this to active voice and explain why it is preferred

What's really being asked

This question evaluates whether you can recognize passive voice constructions in technical prose and refactor them into active voice without altering meaning. It also checks your understanding of why active voice is the default standard in technical documentation, specifically around clarity, directness, and reader comprehension.

The full answer

First, the rewrite. The sentence should become something like "The script processes the data and then sends it to the database." The key is making "the script" the explicit actor for both verbs. Second, the structural explanation. You should note that active voice follows an actor plus verb plus target formula, while passive voice reverses this into target plus verb plus actor. Third, the benefits. State that active voice is generally clearer, more direct, and often shorter than passive voice. Fourth, the actor visibility. Emphasize that active voice removes ambiguity by identifying who is doing what, whereas passive voice can omit the actor entirely.

The mistakes people make

A weak answer leaves the sentence partially passive or introduces a new ambiguity, such as "The script processes the data and then it is sent to the database," which retains a passive clause. Another red flag is claiming that passive voice is inherently more professional, objective, or scientific. While passive voice appears in some scientific reports, the Google technical writing guidance encourages active voice for better clarity even in research writing. A third mistake is failing to name the actor, for example writing "Process the data and send it to the database" without establishing what entity performs the action.

What usually comes next

An interviewer might ask when passive voice is actually appropriate, such as when the actor is unknown or when the target truly matters more than the actor. They might also ask you to convert a more complex paragraph with multiple clauses, or to explain how imperative verbs in numbered lists function as active voice with an implied actor of you.

A concrete example

Consider the passive sentence "The configuration file is updated by the system." In active voice this becomes "The system updates the configuration file." The active version is eight words versus six words, but more importantly it frontloads the actor and action so a scanning reader immediately understands who does what. If the passive version omitted the actor, "The configuration file is updated," the reader would not know whether a user, a script, or a scheduler performed the update.