Which sentence uses active voice to improve clarity?

• A. The data were analyzed by the researchers.
• B. The researchers analyzed the data.
• C. The data were analyzed by the researchers, revealing insights.
• D. Analyzing the data was performed by the researchers.

Answer: (B)

Active voice makes who does the action clear and the sentence direct. In The researchers analyzed the data, the researchers are the subject performing the verb analyzed on the data, so the sentence reads quickly and plainly what was done and by whom.

The other options shift focus away from the doer. The data were analyzed by the researchers uses passive voice, putting the data at the front and placing the actor after the verb, which makes the sentence longer and less immediate. Adding “revealing insights” keeps it passive and adds extra information, but it doesn’t restore the directness. Analyzing the data was performed by the researchers is awkward and wordy, with the action expressed as a gerund and a passive construction, which reduces clarity.

So, the active-voice sentence—The researchers analyzed the data—delivers the action crisply and assigns responsibility directly, improving clarity.