Professional writing: using the passive voice for formality

Summary

This 90-minute ESL lesson for B2 learners explores Professional writing: using the passive voice for formality through a real audio recording. Across 11 interactive exercises, you'll develop listening comprehension, vocabulary, grammar, practical communication, speaking skills — all built around authentic English content.

What you'll practise:

• 5 key vocabulary items with definitions and usage notes
• Grammar focus: The passive voice with examples and practice
• Real-world phrases for presenting findings and recommendations
• Gap-fill and cloze exercises to test vocabulary in context
• Matching exercise to connect terms with their meanings
• Error correction to sharpen grammar awareness
• A reading passage to practise newly learned language

Lesson activities (11 exercises)

Each exercise builds on the previous one. Work through them in order for the best learning experience.

1. Warm-up — Discussion questions to activate what you already know about the topic.
2. Comprehension — Answer questions to check your understanding of the main ideas and supporting details.
3. Grammar — Study The passive voice — explanation, examples, and key rules.
4. Error correction — Find and fix the mistake in each sentence — a great grammar workout.
5. Vocabulary — Learn key words and expressions from the audio recording, with definitions and usage notes.
6. Matching — Connect words, phrases, or concepts to their correct counterparts.
7. Practical English — Learn phrases for presenting findings and recommendations — ready to use in real conversations.
8. Cloze passage — Fill in blanks within a connected text to practise vocabulary in context.
9. Reading — Read a short passage on the topic and answer comprehension questions.
10. Discussion — Reflect on the topic and share your opinions using the language you've learned.

Vocabulary

This lesson introduces 5 key terms drawn directly from the audio recording:

• To strike the right tone — to use a style of speaking or writing that is suitable for a particular audience or situation.
• To maintain a professional distance — to keep a separation between your personal feelings and your professional role, ensuring objectivity.
• Actionable insights — valuable conclusions from data or analysis that can be used to make decisions and take action.
• To get bogged down in (something) — to become so involved in the details of something that you cannot make progress or see the main point.
• Due diligence — the necessary research and investigation done before making a business decision or entering into an agreement.

Grammar

This lesson focuses on The passive voice.

The passive voice is frequently used in formal business writing, such as reports and emails, to create an objective and impersonal tone. It shifts the focus from the person performing the action (the agent) to the action or the result itself, which is often more important in a professional context.

Examples from the lesson:

• The quarterly sales figures were reviewed last week. — This is more formal than 'We reviewed the quarterly sales figures.' It focuses on the action (reviewing the figures) rather than who did it.
• A new strategy is being developed to enter the European market. — Here, the passive continuous tense is used. The person or team developing the strategy is not mentioned, keeping the focus on the strategy itself.
• The final decision will be made by the board of directors. — You can still mention the 'doer' of the action by adding 'by + agent'. This is useful when the agent is important information for the reader.

Key rules:

• Form the passive with: subject + form of 'to be' + past participle.
• Use it in professional writing to sound objective and formal.
• A common mistake is overusing the passive, which can make writing unclear. Use it strategically.

Practical English

presenting findings and recommendations

In a professional meeting, how you present your conclusions is as important as the information itself. These phrases will help you share findings from a report or project in a way that sounds objective, confident, and collaborative.

Phrases you'll learn:

• "Based on the data, it appears that..." — introduces a finding in an objective, evidence-based way.
• "What stands out from the analysis is..." — emphasizes your most significant or surprising finding.
• "With this in mind, it might be worth considering..." — proposes a course of action in a soft, collaborative manner.
• "Therefore, our primary recommendation is to..." — states a clear, confident recommendation based on your findings.
• "We'd be interested to hear the team's thoughts on this." — opens the floor for feedback and discussion.