Advanced Passive Forms in Academic Writing ESL Lesson Plan (C1, 60 Minutes)

Who it is for. Advanced students preparing for university study. They use basic passives accurately but their academic writing is too personal (We think that ..., I asked 50 people ...) and they make errors with complex passives (It is believed him to be ..., She hates to be interrupting, The data were looked).

Everything the lesson needs is on this page: the language analysis, the timed stages with the teacher's own words and instruction-checking questions, the differentiation, the printable handouts and the answer key.

Main aim. To develop students' use of impersonal passives (It is thought that ... / X is thought to ...), passive infinitives and gerunds (to be given, being asked), passives of prepositional verbs (was looked into) and passives of verbs with two objects (Participants were given a questionnaire) in academic writing.

Learning outcome. By the end of the lesson, students can rewrite a personal, informal research summary as a 150-word objective academic paragraph using at least six advanced passive forms.

• Subsidiary aim. To develop awareness of objectivity and hedging in academic style.
• Subsidiary aim. To edit a student report collaboratively.

What to know before the lesson: the meaning, form and pronunciation of the target language, and the problems learners usually have with it.

• Objectivity: the focus is on the research process and findings, not the researcher.
• Distance and hedging: reporting passives show that a claim comes from others or is not certain.
• Information flow: the passive lets known information (the topic) come first.

• Weak forms in reading aloud: is thought to have /ɪz θɔːt tə həv/; being /ˈbiːɪŋ/.

• Social media is believed to affect sleep. Is this the writer's personal opinion? (Not necessarily; it's a general belief.) · Is it certain? (No, it's believed.)
• Participants disliked being observed. Who observed whom? (Researchers observed the participants.) · Did participants like it? (No.)

The paragraph uses at least six advanced passive forms accurately. The paragraph contains no first-person pronouns and uses hedging appropriately. 7 out of 8 or better on Handout 3, Exercise A.

Did students use the infinitive forms with the correct time reference? Did the writing become more objective without becoming unclear?

Summary A (informal)

We asked 200 teenagers in Colombo about how they use their phones at night. We gave them a questionnaire and we also interviewed 20 of them. Lots of people think that social media is bad for sleep, and our results agree. Most teens said they hated it when their parents interrupted them, and they didn't like it when we watched them. We looked at the data carefully. We think the problem started around 2015, when smartphones got cheap. People say it is getting worse.

Summary B (academic)

A total of 200 teenagers in Colombo were surveyed about their night-time phone use. Participants were given a questionnaire, and 20 were selected to be interviewed. It is widely believed that social media has a negative effect on sleep, and the findings support this view. Most respondents reported disliking being interrupted by their parents, and many were uncomfortable at being observed. The data were carefully looked into. The problem is thought to have begun around 2015, when smartphones became affordable, and it is reported to be worsening.

List three differences between the summaries.

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

Find an example of each structure in Summary B.

Discuss.

• Why does the writer avoid we and I? ______________________________
• What is the difference in time between is thought and to have begun? ______________________________
• Most respondents reported disliking being interrupted. Who interrupted whom? ______________________________

Name: ______________________________ Date: ______________

A. Rewrite each sentence using the word given. Keep the meaning the same.

B. Correct the errors.

• People believe that the new drug is effective. (believed) → The new drug ______________________________
• Experts think that the ancient city was destroyed by an earthquake. (thought) → The ancient city ______________________________
• Reports say that prices are rising quickly. (reported) → Prices ______________________________
• They gave each participant a voucher. (given) → Each participant ______________________________
• The committee will look into the complaint. (looked) → The complaint ______________________________
• Students don't like it when teachers ignore them. (being) → Students don't like ______________________________
• The results must be checked by an independent team. They need this. (need) → The results ______________________________
• People say there are over 300 species in the reserve. (said) → There ______________________________
• It is believed him to be the best candidate. ______________________________
• The study is thought to begin in 2010. (It began in 2010.) ______________________________
• The patients were well cared. ______________________________
• Most participants hated to be interrupting. ______________________________
• A questionnaire was given participants. ______________________________

A student's informal notes from a survey. Rewrite them as an academic paragraph (about 150 words).

Your paragraph:

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

..........................................................................................

• we surveyed 150 first-year university students in Kandy
• we gave everyone an online questionnaire; we chose 15 for interviews
• topic: part-time jobs and exam results
• lots of people think part-time jobs hurt grades
• our results: students who worked more than 15 hours a week got lower marks
• many said they hated it when their managers asked them to work extra hours
• we think the trend started after fees went up in 2019
• people say the number of working students is increasing
• the university should look into this

Handout 1 (possible differences)

Summary B avoids we / I; uses the passive to focus on the research; uses formal vocabulary (respondents, affordable, worsening); uses reporting passives to distance the writer from claims (It is widely believed ...).

Handout 2

Handout 3, Exercise A

Handout 3, Exercise B

Handout 4 (model paragraph)

A total of 150 first-year students at a university in Kandy were surveyed about part-time employment and academic performance. All participants were given an online questionnaire, and 15 were selected to be interviewed. It is widely believed that part-time work has a negative effect on grades, and the findings appear to support this view: students who worked more than 15 hours a week were found to have lower marks. Many respondents reported disliking being asked to work extra hours. The trend is thought to have begun after tuition fees were increased in 2019, and the number of working students is reported to be rising. It is recommended that this issue be looked into further.

Common errors to watch for

• Simple passive: 200 teenagers ... were surveyed · Two objects: Participants were given a questionnaire · Passive infinitive: 20 were selected to be interviewed · Impersonal: It is widely believed that ... · Passive gerund: disliking being interrupted; at being observed · Prepositional verb: The data were carefully looked into · Perfect infinitive: is thought to have begun · Continuous infinitive: is reported to be worsening
• To sound objective; the focus is on the research. · 2. is thought = now; to have begun = earlier (around 2015). · 3. Parents interrupted the respondents.
• The new drug is believed to be effective. · 2. The ancient city is thought to have been destroyed by an earthquake. · 3. Prices are reported to be rising quickly. · 4. Each participant was given a voucher. · 5. The complaint will be looked into (by the committee). · 6. Students don't like being ignored (by teachers). · 7. The results need to be checked by an independent team. · 8. There are said to be over 300 species in the reserve.
• He is believed to be the best candidate. / It is believed that he is the best candidate. · 2. The study is thought to have begun in 2010. · 3. The patients were well cared for. · 4. Most participants hated being interrupted. · 5. Participants were given a questionnaire. / A questionnaire was given to participants.