Default to active voice — the subject performs the action. Active sentences are shorter, clearer, and easier to parse. Use passive voice deliberately when the actor is unknown, irrelevant, or you want to emphasise the object.
- Active: "The team shipped the feature."
- Passive: "The feature was shipped by the team."
Most readability formulas penalise passive voice indirectly — passive constructions tend to be longer, which raises sentence-length scores. See How to improve your readability score.