When I use the passive voice, it's usually either to add some variety or to not place blame when someone was supposed to do something and didn't.

I've had to do a lot of passive voice killing in my writing.

It's hard to avoid in academic writing - but that irritates me. I use it where necessary, but I refuse to write such phrases as 'The author of this paper concludes that...' which one of my teachers in research methods class actually advocated. Ugh.

The whole French school system is pretty much based on this--or rather, highlighting both the bad and the good. I remembered a few incidents in grad school when a French TA or professor didn't understand that calling someone out for shoddy work or a bad grade was something just not done.

The year I studied in France the exchange program from our school would take the grade the teacher gave us, compare it with other native and exchange students in the class, factor in somehow the teacher's evaluation of us and our evaluation of the teacher, and *somehow* come up with a grade. I got a 12/20 in French lit and a 16/20 in Prehistory (he was so nice to me, for me to get that grade on an oral exam on a randomly chosen subject). My American GPA went up.

I heard many times the explanation that they're really tough at University, especially the first year, because it's so cheap for French students to go to college that they need to weed a bunch out. I don't know how true this is, or was in 1996, anyway.

It's hard to avoid in academic writing - but that irritates me. I use it where necessary, but I refuse to write such phrases as 'The author of this paper concludes,' which one of my teachers in research methods class actually advocated. Ugh.

The author of this post concludes you are correct.

If the only thing the student takes away from this class is not to use textspeak, then that's entirely on the student and not on the teacher. And I say that not as this particular teacher's sister, but because of my own beliefs on education.

There are going to be teachers that as a student, you don't like, and that are not going treat every student as that student feel they should be treated. Or, they are going to expect things that that student is going to disagree with. But the student has the choice to get past that and learn or sit there and focus on the fact that they think the teacher sucks.

The author of this post concludes you are correct.

It is good that this fact is now known by me.

I'd rather say "the author conclueds," than "it was concluded that." Concluded by who?? WHOM???

I also try to avoid starting any sentence or clause with 'it was'.

I'd rather say "the author conclueds," than "it was concluded that."

I'm in favour of writing 'I conclude.' Apparently the academic community doesn't like this construction. I don't care. I'm the one who's bloody well concluding.

I also try to avoid starting any sentence or clause with 'it was'.

But then we'd have no, "It was a dark and stormy night"!