Legalese: (Was Run-on sentences)

[Carol]

Potioncat wrote:
> Granted, it wasn't fiction, but I used to write auditing reports in passive voice. It helped to avoid phrases like, "This nurse reviewed the chart...in this nurse's opinion..." We were able to write "The medical records were reviewed. yada yada. It was determined that all charges were accurate and appropriate."

Carol responds:
Passive voice does have its uses, especially when the action is more important than the person (or animal or thing) performing the action. But it's also a way to hide responsibility when things go wrong, which is why government and business reports usually use it. But in fiction or personal essays, it's usually a flaw, as any editor or English teacher will tell you.

Carol, wondering *who* determined that those charges were accurate and appropriate and whether that person was right