Principle #1

Use the active voice.

Instead of:
All correspondence is to be filed in chronological order.

Use:
You should file all correspondence in chronological order.

Instead of:
A mistake was made on the bill.

Use: I made a mistake on your bill.

Instead of:
Funding for literacy programs will be cut.

Use:
The government will cut literacy funding.

Hint for identifying passive voice:

The sentence usually contains a past participle (generally with “ed” on the end) and a form of the verb “to be".