Académique Documents
Professionnel Documents
Culture Documents
A shift occurs anytime a writer changes tense, person, number, or voice. As you write
and revise, be sure that any shifts you make are logical. An illogical shift occurs when a
writer changes tense, person, number, or voice for no good reason.
An illogical shift in tense occurs when a writer shifts from one tense to another for no
apparent reason.
Illogical Shift in Tense: The dog walked to the fireplace. Then, he circles twice and
lies down in front of the fire. (past to present)
Revised: The dog walked to the fireplace. Then, he circled twice and
lay down in front of the fire. (consistent past)
Revised: The dog walks to the fireplace. Then, he circles twice and
lies down in front of the fire. (consistent present)
Practice:
Edit the following sentences for illogical shifts in tense. If a sentence is correct, write C
in the blank.
received
Example 1: She was surprised when she receives the news.
Example 2: Last year, she was a captain on the force. Now, she is a chief of police. C
(correct)
1. When Beverly Harvard became the chief of the Atlanta police force, she is the
first African-American ever to hold that title in a major U.S. city. _____
2. She started on the police force when she was twenty-two, at a time when mostly
3. Now, more than half the department is African-American, and women made up
4. Harvard first thought about joining the force because her husband and a male
friend said they do not believe women are capable of doing police work _____
5. Her husband even agrees to pay her $100 if she is accepted on the force. _____
6. She accepted the challenge, and today she looks back on her first years of training
7. In fact, when she entered the police academy, she did not really plan to be a police
8. One thing that helped her to advance was her administrative ability; another is her
9. When her promotion was announced, some veteran officers criticize her
appointment as police chief, but most younger officers praised the choice. _____
10. Eventually, most members of the force came to appreciate her accessibility and
are happy about her willingness to listen to new ideas and approaches. _____
AVOIDING ILLOGICAL SHIFTS IN PERSON:
Person is the form a pronoun takes to indicate who is speaking, spoken about, or spoken
to.
Singular Plural
First Person: I We
Second Person: you you
Third Person: he, she, it they
An illogical shift in person occurs when a writer shifts from one person to another for no
apparent reason. Most errors occur in the second and third person.
Illogical Shift: The hikers were told that you had to stay on the trail. (3rd to
2nd person)
Revised: The hikers were told that they had to stay on the trail.
(consistent use of 3rd person)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Illogical Shift: Anyone can learn to cook if you practice. (3rd to 2nd person)
Revised: You can learn to cook if you practice. (consistent use of 2rd
person)
he or she has
Example: Before a person finds a job in the fashion industry, you have to have some
experience.
1. Young people who want a career in the fashion industry do not always realize
2. They think that working in the world of fashion will be glamorous and that you
3. In reality, no matter how talented you are, a recent college graduate entering the
4. The manufacturers and retailers who employ new graduates expect you to work
for three years or more at this salary before you are promoted.
5. A young designer may receive a big raise if you are very talented, but this is
unusual.
6. New employees have to pay their dues, and you soon realize that most of your
7. Employees may be excited to land a job as an assistant designer but then you find
realistic.
10. For most newcomers to the industry, the ability to do what you are told to do is
Number is the form a noun, pronoun, or verb takes to indicate whether it is singular
(one) or plural (more than one).
Number
Singular Plural
I We
he, she they
Fred Fred and Ethel
Man men
an encyclopedia encyclopedias
his, her their
am, is, was are, were
An illogical shift in number occurs when a writer shifts from singular to plural (or the
other way around) for no apparent reason.
Illogical Shift: Each visitor to the museum must check their cameras at the
entrance. (singular to plural)
Revised: Each visitor to the museum must check his or her camera
at the entrance. (consistent singular)
his or her
Example: Each attorney first makes their opening speech. _____
Good jurors
A good juror takes their time in making a decision. _____
1. According to recent studies, a juror may have their mind made up before the trial
3. This unfounded conclusion often depends on which attorney makes their initial
4. During the trial, that juror will pay attention only to evidence that corresponds to
5. A juror with poor decision-making skills is also not likely to listen to challenges
6. No matter how wrong they are, such a juror argues their positions strongly and
rather than to weigh all the evidence and alternative possibilities. _____
8. Such a juror will even make up their own evidence to support their case. _____
9. For example, one juror argued that a man being tried for murder was acting in
their own defense because the victim was probably carrying a knife, but no knife
10. Studies suggest that a person who jumps to conclusions on a jury will not take
When the subject of a sentence performs the action, the sentence is in the active voice.
When the subject of a sentence receives the action, the sentence is in the passive voice.
An illogical shift in voice occurs when a writer shifts from active to passive voice or
from passive to active voice for no apparent reason.
Illogical Shift in Voice: Cliff Prem wrote Soccer Success, and How Not to Break a
Skateboard was also written by him. (active to passive)
Revised: Cliff Prem wrote Soccer Success, and he also wrote How
Not to Break a Skateboard. (consistent active voice)
Illogical Shift in Voice: Musicology was discovered by Ian Denson, and Grace
Taquard invented a new acting technique. (passive to
active)
The active voice is stronger than the passive voice. For this reason, you should
usually use the active voice in your writing. To change a sentence from the passive to
the active voice, determine who or what receives the action, and make this noun the
subject of a new active voice sentence.
Use the passive voice in your writing only when the action being performed is more
important than the person performing it. To change a sentence from the active to the
passive voice, determine who or what receives the action, and make this noun the
subject of a new passive voice sentence.
Practice:
The following sentences contain illogical shifts in voice. Revise each sentence by
changing the underlined passive voice verb to the active voice.
Revised: Several researchers are interested in leadership qualities, and they recently
conducted a study of decision making.
1. A local university funded the study, and the research team was led by Dr. Alicia
Flynn.
________________________________________________________________.
2. The researchers developed a series of questions about decision making, and then
one hundred subjects were interviewed by them.
_________________________________________________________________.
3. Instinct alone was relied on by two-thirds of the subjects and only one-third used
logical analysis.
__________________________________________________________________
4. After the researchers completed the study, a report was written about their
findings.
_________________________________________________________________.
5. The report was read by many experts, and most of them found the results
surprising.
__________________________________________________________________