In addition to choosing strong, precise verbs, you can help make your prose concise by using those verbs appropriately in active or passive voice. Look at the passive voice in the following passage:

[John F. Kennedy] died of a wound in the brain caused by a rifle bullet that was fired at him as he was riding through downtown Dallas in a motorcade.

Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson, who was riding in the third car behind Mr. Kennedy’s, was sworn in as the 36th President of the United States 99 minutes after Mr. Kennedy’s death.

—TOM WICKER, New York Times

As this passage indicates, the passive voice works effectively in certain situations: when the performer is unknown, unwilling to be identified, or less important than the recipient of the action. In general, however, try to use the active voice whenever possible. Because the passive voice diverts attention from the performer of an action and because it is usually wordier than the active voice, using it excessively makes for dull and difficult reading.

Edit an unnecessary passive construction to make it active.