Introduction
Passive voice often gets a bad reputation in academic writing. Many style guides encourage active voice for its clarity and directness, and PhD candidates in India are often advised to avoid passive constructions in order to make their theses more readable. Yet, when it comes to plagiarism removal, passive voice can sometimes play a surprisingly useful role. For scholars preparing for doctoral admission in India, particularly in private universities where thesis formatting workshops are common, this shift in sentence structure can help reduce similarity percentages without distorting meaning.
The idea is not to use passive voice as a shortcut or a trick, but as one of several tools for genuine rewriting. When applied thoughtfully, it can help scholars reframe ideas in ways that keep the academic tone intact while still making the phrasing their own.
How Passive Voice Changes Similarity Detection
Plagiarism detection tools compare sentence structures in addition to exact wording. If a sentence is rewritten in passive voice, its grammatical structure changes enough that the software may no longer match it directly with the original. For example, “Researchers conducted the survey across five districts” (active) becomes “The survey was conducted across five districts by the researchers” (passive). The meaning remains identical, but the structure is significantly altered.
In the Indian academic context, this can be particularly helpful when dealing with technical descriptions in methodology sections, where wording tends to be uniform across studies. Changing from active to passive voice, or vice versa, gives the candidate a way to differentiate their phrasing while still keeping the facts accurate.
Maintaining Academic Formality
Passive voice also has the advantage of aligning with certain formal academic styles. In many research disciplines, especially in the sciences, passive constructions are common because they emphasise the action or the result rather than the researcher. For example, “Data were analysed using SPSS” focuses on the process rather than on who performed it.
For Indian PhD candidates, particularly working professionals balancing research with other commitments, this style can serve two purposes—lowering similarity scores and maintaining the level of formality expected in a doctoral thesis. It is also consistent with the language found in many peer-reviewed journals, which can help in preparing work for publication after the PhD.
Avoiding Overuse
While passive voice can be effective for plagiarism removal, overusing it can make a thesis harder to read. Long stretches of passive sentences can sound impersonal, create ambiguity about responsibility, and slow down the narrative. This is why many Indian universities, including private ones, advise candidates to balance active and passive voice.
One practical approach is to use passive voice strategically for sections where the original text is difficult to rephrase without altering meaning, and to keep active voice for parts of the thesis that benefit from clarity and directness. In other words, passive voice should be a rewriting choice, not a default habit.
When Passive Voice Works Best
Passive voice is particularly useful in certain sections of academic writing. In methodology, it allows the focus to remain on the process rather than the researcher. In results and discussion, it can make interpretations sound more objective. For plagiarism removal, it works best when the candidate understands the original material thoroughly and can restructure it without introducing ambiguity.
For example, in a literature review, “Several authors have suggested that community engagement improves project outcomes” (active) could become “It has been suggested by several authors that project outcomes improve with community engagement” (passive). The change is subtle in meaning but significant in structure, which can help reduce similarity without changing the intent.
Balancing Rewriting and Citation
It’s important to remember that changing a sentence to passive voice does not remove the need for citation. Even if the structure is altered, the idea still belongs to the original author. In the Indian doctoral system, where ethical research practices are increasingly emphasised, paraphrasing and citation are complementary rather than interchangeable.
For candidates in private universities, where supervisors often monitor similarity reports closely before final submission, passive voice can be one of several approved methods for reducing overlap. When used along with other techniques—such as synonym replacement, sentence restructuring, and integration of the candidate’s own examples—it can help create a thesis that meets both academic and ethical standards.
Conclusion
Passive voice is not a cure-all for plagiarism removal, but it can be an effective and academically acceptable technique when used with care. For PhD candidates in India, it offers a way to reframe sentences while keeping meaning intact and tone professional. The real skill lies in knowing when this shift enhances clarity and when it risks making the writing less engaging. Used thoughtfully, it becomes less of a grammatical debate and more of a strategic choice in scholarly communication.